Easy No-knead Sourdough Bread

This is an easy no-knead sourdough bread recipe that can be made at home. It is nourishing for the body and packed with flavor!

Over the years, I have tried several sourdough recipes. There are many sourdough bread books on my shelf, but, in the past, I struggled to keep up the habit of making sourdough bread. I know it is healthy for me and nourishing for my body, but it was so involved to make. Practically speaking, I just couldn’t maintain a steady supply of sourdough bread in our house.

Sourdough recipes called for weighing ingredients, letting it rest for 30 min. and then kneading 5 min., then resting again. As a mother of six, these recipes were not for me. I needed something I could mix up and forget about for awhile.

Because I still wanted the benefits of eating sourdough bread without out all the fuss, I began creating my own recipe. My family needed a gut healthy bread and I wanted something simple, no weighing of ingredients allowed! This recipe is just that! I have made this recipe over and over and have never had a bad loaf, it is very forgiving.

Now, some of you may be asking, why sourdough? That is an excellent question! Sourdough bread is easily digestible and allows your body to absorb more nutrients from the bread due to it’s long preparation time.

If you are new to making bread and just want something quick to get you started, try my Quick and Easy Homemade Bread Recipe. This recipe is an excellent beginner recipe for those wanting to dive into making homemade bread regularly. It is super easy and takes no time to make and it will get you in the habit of making bread, and hopefully, ditching the store bought stuff!

Why make sourdough bread?

My sourdough bread journey began several years ago when I discovered that grains needed to be prepared properly in order for the body to fully benefit from its nutrition. I stumbled upon an article that explained what happens to grains when we skip the soaking process.

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To put it simply, when we prepare our grains, legumes, and nuts with soaking, which is essentially what happens with sourdough, it allows those things that can leach nutrients from our body to be neutralized. This allows our body to absorb the nutrients versus the grains actually leaching nutrients from our bodies.

We live in a quick society, from technology to food. It hits every aspect of our lives. But, if you look back at the traditional ways of cooking, they soaked and prepared food days in advance. They were on to something and new the benefit of taking the time to prepare food properly. Unfortunately,our society has skipped that step. Our grocery stores are filled with breads that claim to be healthy, but are actually leaching nutrients from our bodies! It is no coincidence that America is one of the leading countries in osteoporosis. It all boils down to diet and the way we prepare our food.

If you really want to dive into more about soaking, check out this short podcast from Nourishing Traditions author Sally Fallon.

What is a sourdough starter?

In order to make sourdough bread you will need a sourdough starter. Making a starter may seem intimidating, but it is as simple as remembering to feed it. I have kept my sourdough starter going for over 5 years now and I use it to make everything from homemade bread to pancakes to pizza. There are tons of ways to use a sourdough starter.

Here is my little guy right here…

A sourdough starter is composed of flour, water, and wild yeast from the air. By leaving the flour and water mixture on the counter it captures the wild yeast from the air and gives the starter the leaven used to help the bread rise. It also gives that distinct “sour” taste.

There are a lot of ways to begin a sourdough starter, you can buy a starter or make your own. If starting your own seems intimidating, Cultures for Health has some excellent starters you can purchase.

How to make a sourdough starter

Alright, for all you daring people out there who have chosen to make your own sourdough starter, here we go. It is actually quite simple. To begin, grab a jar. This will be your sourdough starter’s home. I am going to assume your jar is clean, so mix 1/4 cup of filtered or well water with 1/4 cup of flour. Cover the jar with a cloth or a coffee filter and leave it on the counter. For the next 7 days (give or take depending on how warm your kitchen is) feed your starter morning and night with the same ratio, 1/4 cup flour and 1/4 cup of water. By the end of the seven days, you should begin to see bubbles, bubbles are good! This show’s that your sourdough is active and ready to go!

Now, in order to maintain this sourdough starter, after the initial 7 days you will need to feed it once a day. You can keep to the same ratio, or if you are making something that requires a lot of sourdough, just add more flour and water, keeping with the same ratio of equal parts water and flour.

Tips for a healthy sourdough starter

I have had my sourdough starter for over five years and have I accidentally forgotten to feed it? Absolutely! It takes a lot for a sourdough starter to pass the point of no return. However, we don’t want it to get to that point, so here are some tips I have learned along the way.

• Use it! This is my number one tip! A healthy starter is one that is used often! If you keep feeding it daily but use it only once a week, that won’t fly for this guy. If you are only using your starter once a week or less, then leaving it on the counter and feeding it daily may not be the best option. You might consider storing it in the fridge when not in use. When you are ready to use it, take it out and feed it 12 hours beforehand.
• If leaving it on the counter, feed your starter once a day equal parts water and flour. I don’t feed my starter the same amount everyday. If I am using it for pancakes the next day, I will feed it 2 or more cups of water/flour. If I am not making anything, I may feed it 1/4 cup of water/flour. Once you get the hang of what the starter should look like and you become more comfortable, you can just throw some flour and water in there. I don’t measure anymore, I just toss in some flour and water and let it do its thing.
• Feed your starter 6-12 hours before you use it to get the maximum amount of activity. You will know it is ready for use when you see a ton of bubbles hanging out in the mixture.
• Don’t fret if your sourdough starter begins to develop mold on the sides of the jar. Not all mold is bad! Don’t freak out! This has happened to me before. Do your best to transfer the starter to another jar without touching the mold on the sides, your sourdough starter will be just fine.
• Do not put your sourdough starter near anything else that is fermenting, you don’t want any crossing between the wild yeast. Why? Because the experts say so 🙂

Ingredients for making sourdough bread

• active sourdough starter

• flour

• water

• salt

We are going to assume that your sourdough starter is active and ready to go. Place 1 cup of sourdough starter in a mixing bowl. Add 2 1/2 tsp of salt and 2 1/2 cups of water.

Now we are going to add the flour. Technically the recipe calls for 6 cups of flour. But I hold this measurement loosely and here is why. Everyone’s sourdough starter is going to have a different hydration level. You can aim for 6 cups of flour, but around 5 cups you want to keep an eye on the dough.

Once it reaches a consistency where you can touch it and it forms an indention without sticking to your finger, then you’re finished.

For this next step, the dough can be transferred to a lightly oiled bowl or kept in the mixing bowl. I keep mine in the mixing bowl and cover it with the mixing lid, because why dirty up more dishes? Whatever you decide, make sure you have a lid of some sort or damp towel to cover it.

Now it is time to let the dough rest and do its thing. This resting period will range from 8-12 hours, again, it depends on the warmth of your kitchen. If I am mixing it at night, then I let it rest for about 12 hours, if I mix it in the morning it is closer to 8 hours because I probably need the loaves for dinner.

Once it is finished resting, it is time to form the dough into loaves. This recipe makes two loaves.

First, divide the dough evenly into two sections. Grab one section and pull on the outer edges and tuck under. Do the same for opposite ends so that all outer edges have been tucked under. Do this for the second loaf as well. Place the formed loaves into a floured container to rest while the oven begins heating.

I using anything from a bowl to a proofing basket at this stage.

Now, this next step isn’t absolutely necessary but does make for an excellent loaf. I use a cast iron dutch oven and a clay pot, called a Romertopf, for cooking the bread. I like to put these containers in the oven as the oven is preheating so that they are nice and hot when I transfer the bread to them.

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees and, once it is ready, transfer the dough to your container. I flour the tops of my bread and then gently flip it into the containers. You can also had some slits on top to give the dough a better rise and well it just looks plain professional.

I place a lid on top, but you can bake without a lid as well.

Bake the bread for 40 min. If using a lid, bake 20 min. with the lid on and 20 min. with the lid off.

After 40 minutes, the bread is ready. It should have a golden crispy top like the picture below. Take that gorgeous bread out and let it rest on the counter for about 45 min. before cutting.

Why in the world would you wait??? I know, and sometimes I don’t wait. The smell of freshly baked bread is just too enticing. But, if you want the bread to hold its shape internally, let it rest. This loaf will continue to cook on the counter.

There you have it. Once you make the recipe a couple of times it will become second nature and you won’t even have to think about it! And if you are feeling really daring, check out my video on baking sourdough bread on the wood stove…

~Amanda

P.S. Try this bread recipe with some of my favorite jams!

• Blueberry Honey Jam
• Strawberry Honey Jam
• Easy Fig Jam