You must have known this was coming after my homemade sourdough starter post last week, and I hope you’re happy about it because this bread is amazing! Not only is it wonderfully tasty and sour, but it is really easy to make. I’m sure you’ve heard of the no knead bread craze, but it has changed my world in bread making! Not only is it easier, but it makes some of the best bread I’ve ever had. Can’t argue with that! Look at how amazing this no knead sourdough bread is.
No Knead Sourdough Bread Recipe
This method was largely popularized by Jim Lahey in his book, My Bread: The Revolutionary No Work, No Knead Method (a really great book in my opinion). This sourdough version was inspired by this recipe from Mother Earth News magazine. I used part whole wheat flour because that’s how I roll, but feel free to make it how you like. So, let’s get to it and make some no knead sourdough bread!
You will need a 4-6 quart Dutch oven that you will bake your bread in. Lodge brand makes nice cast iron or enameled cast iron ones that work well and are reasonably priced. It really is a kitchen tool that you should have if you don’t already. Another really helpful tool is a dough scraper (or two!), but regular metal spatulas will work in a pinch.
Making this bread requires a bit of forethought as you’ll need to start it the night before. No big deal, you just have to remember to do it! So, the night before you’ll stir together the some flour, salt and yeast, and then add your sourdough starter…
And the water and stir it all together. I almost always need to add a tablespoon or two more water to properly hydrate the flour, probably because of the whole wheat flour. This will make a fairly moist and shaggy dough, a little bit too wet to knead (thankfully we won’t have to deal with that!).
Now you cover it up with plastic wrap and leave it on your counter overnight. After about 12-14 hours it will look like this:
You will notice that it has risen a lot! Check out these bubbles:
Use a rubber scraper to turn the dough out on a well floured board. Put a little flour on your scrapers or spatulas and use them to fold the dough over on itself a few times until it looks like this:
Sprinkle the top of the dough with flour, cover with a clean cloth and let sit to rise for another 1-2 hours.
About 30 minutes before the dough is done rising, preheat your Dutch oven in your oven at 450°F.
Here is the dough after it has risen and is ready to be baked:
Take your bread scrapers and fold each side of the bread in on itself. It doesn’t have to be pretty!
Pull the Dutch oven out (it will be smokin’ hot!), take off the lid, and sprinkle in a little bit of cornmeal. I have to admit, this next part is probably the hardest and always makes me a little nervous, but it turns out fine every time. Use your dough scrapers or metal spatulas and scoop up your dough on either side and then plop it into the hot Dutch oven. Don’t stress.
Sometimes it lands funky, don’t worry about it, just give the Dutch oven a little shake back and forth to center it if need be (remember to use hot pads!). Sprinkle a little more cornmeal on the top of your dough, cover it with the lid, and put it back in the 450°F oven for 35 minutes. Then take the lid off and bake for another 15 minutes. This is what you’ll get:
Unbelievable! I was shocked when I first made no knead bread by how wonderful it turned out, just like bread from an artisan bakery! Take the bread out of the Dutch oven and allow to cool completely before you cut into it. This is actually the hardest part of all! The bread will smell amazing and will tempt you. But you need to wait!
When it’s time it will be wonderful! You really don’t need to put anything on it because it will taste so good… A little butter never hurts anything, though. The sourdough flavor really shines through and it makes wonderful garlic bread. Or perhaps a spoonful of Strawberry Rhubarb Butter or Hard Apple Cider Jelly. Really, it makes wonderful everything!
Once you have your hands on some sourdough starter you have no reason not to make this bread. While it does take a little bit of planning ahead and a lot of mostly hands off time, it is actually unbelievably easy and the taste can’t be beat. With all the processed junk in conventional bread and the price tag for artisan loaves I’m certain this bread will have you hooked on homemade forever!
Here are a few of my other favorite sourdough recipes:
- No-Knead Sourdough Bread
- Sourdough Rye Bread
- Sourdough Pizza
- Sourdough Blueberry Pancakes
- Sourdough Naan Bread
- Mini Sourdough Appetizer Pizzas
- Sourdough Flatbread
- Sourdough Discard Bagels
No Knead Sourdough Bread Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups bread flour
- 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp rapid rise bread yeast
- 2/3 cup sourdough starter
- 1 1/2 cups cool water
- cornmeal for dusting
Instructions
- Stir together the bread flour, wheat flour, salt, and yeast.
- Add the sourdough starter and water and stir together until a moist and fairy shaggy dough forms. It should be just a little too wet to knead (see post photos).
- Cover with plastic wrap and set aside to rest at room temperature for 12+ hours. It should rise quite a bit and become very bubbly.
- Flour a work surface, then use a rubber scraper to turn the dough out. Place a little flour onto a dough scraper or rubber spatula and use them to fold the dough over itself a few times.
- Sprinkle the dough with flour, cover with a clean cotton towel, and set aside to rise for another 1-2 hours.
- Place a dutch oven, including the lid, into your oven, then heat the oven to 450°F.
- Using a bread scraper, fold each side of the bread in on itself.
- Remove the dutch oven from the oven (use potholders, it will be very hot!), remove the lid, and sprinkle some cornmeal into the bottom. Use your dough scrapers to scoop up the dough on either side and transfer to the dutch oven. Sprinkle the top with cornmeal, cover, and transfer back to the oven.
- Bake for 35 minutes. Then remove the lid and bake for an additional 15 minutes uncovered.
- Remove the bread from the dutch oven and allow to cool completely before slicing.
Notes
- Use a sourdough starter that was fed about 12 hours before preparing the bread dough.Â
I made my dough this morning :/ I totally didn’t pay attention that I was supposed to start this in the evening. That means my dough will be done with first rise at about 10:00pm. Can I do the second rise for longer than 2 hours? Or can I do the second rise in the fridge overnight tonight? Not sure what to do but don’t want to stay up past midnight making the bread :) Just wanted to see if there was any way to salvage it.
Hi Hayley, you can let the first rise go for up to 24 hours, then start the second rise first thing in the morning. Hope that helps!
Perfect! Thanks so much for the Speedy reply.
I’ve been looking for a good No-Knead Sourdough recipe that incorporates whole wheat flour. I’ve finally found it. Thank you!
Also…..
How much rosemary do you add to your recipe?
Thank you for a great, true no knead for over 12 hours, sourdough bread recipe! This is such a forgiving recipe and the man and I waited long enough for the bread to cool down a bit before digging in. Yum!
Hi Colleen,
Wow, I just had two slices of my first loaf of homemade sourdough and it’s fantastic! I’ve never made bread before because I always figured it was too complicated, but after a friend started making it and very generously gave me a starter I had to try it. Thanks so much for this easy recipe! Teach a man to fish, right?
Just made this for the first time and it turned out wonderfully! It is so easy that once I finished baking it this morning, I started another batch and it is rising and bubbling nicely as I write this. Thank you for sharing an easy way for novice sourdough bakers to be successful!
Can you make this with all white flour instead of using any wheat flour and if so what would the portions be?
Yes you can simply substitute all white flour for the whole wheat if you prefer!
This recipe is a cracker! When I made it I didn’t have yeast and don’t own a Dutch oven, so I left out the yeast, humidified my oven with a pan of water in the bottom and used my normal bread tins. Still got excellent results. Best sourdough recipe I’ve tried.
Thank you for your take on no-knead sourdough bread making. I’ve been baking bread this way for about 6 months now and do two loaves every weekend.
How do I make more of a sour-tasting bread? The starter I am using is about a year old and I’ve never really get a real sour-tasting sourdough bread. I know that the bread is not sauerkraut but I am looking for a more dominant flavor and can’t find it in commercially nor can I make it at home. I remember growing up in the 60’s and having sourdough bread that had that wonderful sour-taste.
Thank you…
To make your starter more sour, feed it a little less often and keep it in the fridge most of the time (once a week take it out and feed it). Also, it will be more flavourful if the starter is made with rye flour.
You can let the fermentation steps go on for a lot longer if your dough still has integrity, and also can be greatly extended by a stop in the fridge (a day or two rise or proof step for example).
My bread experiments tend to be much more sour than I’d like!
Add 1/2 tsp ascetic acid to the dry mixture.
I am getting a sourdough starter from a friend this week. So I am excited about this recipe. I have been making the Dutch oven bread for several years now and love how easy it is to make. You have used whole wheat flour in this recipe, is there anyway to omit that flour? How much regular flour would I need with the sourdough starter? Thank you.
Thanks for your recipe!!! My first sourdough!! My dream came true! It turned out excellent!
My dough rose too much and collapsed. How can I salvage it?
Salvaging over proofed dough is as simple as degassing and starting the rising process again from the beginning.
I made this! My first handmade bread. Turned out so so well!
What if I start this in the morning and only let it sit for 10 hrs? And what about slashing the top? Is it needed?
I haven’t ever done it that way, but my guess is that you probably won’t get as much of a rise. I don’t find slashing to be necessary with this recipe.
I have a wonderful starter and have tried many recipes. I return to this . This is a sure fire wonderful bread….every time. I now use a half cup of rye and only one cup of whole wheat. It is beautiful and delicious. My husbands favorite. Also have started using a banneton for last rise. Not necessary but makes a lovely looking loaf. This is so easy I am embarrassed, and would use a harder recipe if this wasn’t soooo perfect. Thank you????
I was wondering what would happen if you let the first rise go longer than 12-14 hours? Would you have a stronger sourdough taste? Would it be safe?
You can let it go a bit longer, but if you let it go to long then it will over proof and the end result will be a flat loaf of bread.
This bread is amazing tasting and easy. I have been making it every day! My kids are eating it faster than I can bake!
I routinely do sourdough with good results but have not tried the no-knead method. I use the gold and stretch method which takes about 8 hours and requires proofing. I would like to try the no-knead with no yeast sometime soon. I generally do not like cup measurements but prefer weights for baking as they are way more exact. You get reproducible results this way. Anyway, if I can nail this bread, I will post the recipe. Might be a couple weeks.
To answer question above, you can not use a pizza stone for this for two reasons. First the dough is too watery and will run across the stone – the pot provides form. Second, the pot provides the mini-steam oven effect that allows for a great oven bounce for the bread. I do use a pizza stone for my breads but I also cover them with an inverted cast iron (cast aluminum works as well) pot for the first 20 minutes roughly to allow for the dough expansion. Then remove pot for final crusting.
Finally, parchment paper is, imo, a better thing to use rather than cornmeal to avoid sticking.
That is stretch and fold method not gold and stretch… my bad.
If a recipe instruction is in volume, I use these measurements: 1 cup starter =227g; 1 cup water=226g; 1 cup flour= 113g.
Can anyone tell me if you are to use fed or unfed starter for this recipe?
I usually feed it every morning, then use it to start the bread dough that evening.
I’m freaked out about keeping my starter alive, but I want to make sourdough bread so bad! My dad has some VERY old starter (my great grandma started the culture when she was a young woman) he’s been offering me for years, and I’m terrified of killing it. Do you have any tips for keeping starter alive? My dad is very vague when I’ve asked him. Your bread looks absolutely amazing, I really need to try it!
Starters are simple… I feed mine a couple of tablespoons of flour and a couple of tablespoons of lukewarm chlorine-free water everyday (sometimes every other day if I forget). That keeps it bubbly on the counter. If you don’t bake very often you can put it in the fridge and feed it once a week to keep it happy. The starter is very forgiving. Don’t be afraid.
I have had my starter for about 3 years now. The starter is pretty flexible about care. I keep it in the refrigerator. Every few weeks, I get it out, add a cup of flour and 1/2 cup water. Stir well and after 6 hours more or less, I take out what I need for my recipe and with the remainder, I either put back in the refrigerator covered loosely, or add 2 parts flour to one part water, stir and return to refrigerator covered loosely.
If your recipe calls for a lot of starter, then when you take it out of the refrigerator, add a greater amount of flour and water before letting it rest. My starter uses 2 parts flour to 1 part water.
Can a pizza stone be used in place of a Dutch oven?
I don’t think you will get the right rise on the bread using a pizza stone, but you can always give it a try! Let me know how it works if you do.
if I want to omit yeast all together, and bake this bread only with the starter, do you recommend increasing the starter amount? to what?
I have never experimented with that before so I can’t give you a definite answer. I would try it as is first, then maybe add more starter the next time if you think it needs it.
That bread is gorgeous! You know what I’m realizing as I read your very fine post? I have yet to bake any of my sourdough bread in my Dutch oven – what’s wrong with me?! You’ve totally inspired me to go do that this week. Duh.
I have a sourdough starter that will turn 23 this December, so I make sourdough bread/rolls/pizza a lot. This is the easiest and really almost the tastiest bread I have ever made. I used a 50/50 blend of KA white and their white whole wheat, so took your advice and added a bit more water. It didn’t rise quite as beautifully as yours, so next time I will add a little more yeast and maybe a little more of my fed starter as well (since it is a dryer starter vs watery). Thanks you for tweaking the Mother Earth recipe. It is a keeper!
This sounds great. Wondering if you’ve made this without the added yeast and just the sourdough starter?
I never have, but I know that people do. It’s my understanding that you can get quite variable results by not adding even a tiny bit if yeast and it is a little more advanced of a process. Give it a try! If your sourdough starter has been around for a while you may end up with great results!
For a greater rise when i use only starter, I add a teaspoon of baking soda about 1/2 hour before baking. Can I use that also with this yeast and starter recipe?
I’ve never tried it, but I think it would be redundant since this recipe calls for a starter, as well as, rapid rise yeast.
You always have such great recipes!!!! This looks so yummy!
Thanks, glad you like them! This bread is so easy and super tasty, you should definitely try it!
You don’t need another review but this is just astounding! I’ve never baked bread because I’m a little nervous of the whole process but this was one of the simplest things I’ve ever made, and one of the tastiest! It’s already finished so I’ll either have to make it more regularly, or make two to keep my greedy family happy :-)
Awesome! It really is an easy way to make amazing bread! Glad you and your family like it.
Nice-looking loaf! I love no-knead bread! And though I also often make Peter Reinhardt’s (also really easy) slow ferment french bread, I have not yet delved into sourdough. However, this mod on no-knead uses miso for those of us who have that on hand but have trouble finding sourdough starter. It is soooo flavourful!
Pictures look really good Colleen! Makes me want to make more bread!
Thank you so much for this !!!!! It was my first time baking a real sour dough loaf and this saved the day !!!!
You’re welcome! Glad I was there at just the right time :)