Think you can’t make a loaf of artisan sourdough bread at home? Well, think again! It may feel like shooting for Olympic gold, but it’s really a very achievable goal. With a little practice & patience, homemade sourdough is well within your grasp!

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Before I began making sourdough, I was so intimidated by the process. And yes, there are usually a lot of steps & a good bit of time involved, but when you get right down to it, making sourdough bread really isn’t that complicated – it’s not that hard…
Just a bunch of small, quick steps, spread out over a weekend – which is a small price to pay for two mouth-watering loaves of rustic sourdough bread.
Plus your house will smell like a bakery – it will be amazing – you’ll thank me later…

Now, I hate to call this recipe foolproof – but hey, it’s pretty foolproof!
If you’ve already got a rocking sourdough starter, you should have no trouble parlaying that into loaves of bread.
If you’re starting from square-one, you can learn more about making your own sourdough starter here.
Overall, there’s only one major note for this recipe…
** Make Sure Your Water is Free of Chlorine **
Chlorine can totally kill the sourdough process – quite literally. It will destroy the good bacteria in the sourdough, rendering it unable to grow and rise properly.

To fix this, just fill a container with water and let it sit out for 24 hours. All the baddies will dissipate and you’ll be left with clean water.
We usually always have a couple of old milk jugs filled with water sitting about, de-chlorinating for bread-baking & plant-watering purposes.
Other than that it’s a fairly straight-forward rustic overnight sourdough bread recipe!
Want to Know More??
– Check Out Our Video Below –
Includes helpful visuals for shaping your loaves..
So what do you think? Are you ready to get baking? I promise this sourdough bread will be amazing for morning toast, sandwiches, dipping in soups & pastas…pretty much anything…
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Did you give this recipe a try? How did it turn out? What’s your favorite way to enjoy sourdough bread? Send us an email or leave a comment below! You can also let us know on our Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or Pinterest pages.
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Be sure to check out these articles for more baking ideas…

Overnight Sourdough Bread Recipe
Ingredients
- 525 g water – 80°F – NO CHLORINE
- 200 g very active sourdough starter – should float when dropped in water
- 700 g all-purpose or bread flour
- 1 tbsp salt
Instructions
- Combine water & sourdough starter until the starter is completely dissolved.
- Add the flour and mix until you form a shaggy dough ball – don't overmix.
- Let rest 1 hour for the autolyze process – that's basically the sourdough starter turning the rest of the flour mixture into sourdough. This can be extended up to 4 hours with no problems.
- Add the salt using a downwards pinching/stabbing motion – so you don't knock out too much air.
- Now you'll begin the slow knead. Looking at your bowl of dough, grab the far side of the dough and pull it up and towards you. Then turn your bowl a quarter turn and repeat – all the way around. That's one round of kneading – repeat that every 30 mins for the next 2.5 hours.
- Let rest for 30 minutes or until the dough rises by 30%.
- Cover your bowl with plastic wrap or put the bowl inside a large roasting bag.
- Proof in the fridge – overnight – or for 12-15 hours.
The Next Day
- Take your dough out of the fridge & allow 1-2 hours for it to come to room temperature.
- Dump your dough out onto an unfloured surface, trying to handle as little as possible.
- Divide the dough in half & shape into balls by sliding a dough scraper or spatula under the edge of the dough and scraping along the counter, around in a circle.
- Let rest for 20-30 mins. They will spread, but should not become completely flat. If they entirely flatten out, reshape & let rest another 20-30 mins.
- Heavily flour the center of two tight-weave tea towels. Slide bowls under your towels to prepare for another fridge rise.
- Using your hands, spread the dough ball out into a rough square. Grab the left side and fold in a third, then the right side to fold on top of that third. Then grab the top and come down a third, and the bottom to fold ontop. Now start the spread that dough on top around the ball to seal it in. You'll need to quickly flip the dough ball over & pull all the loose edges around to form one seam on the opposite side.
- Now pick it up by that seam & drop it onto your floured tea towel in a bowl. Repeat with the other loaf & put them both in the fridge to rest for another 2-4 hours.
Baking Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450°F – with your dutch oven inside, lid separated from the top. It's important the pan is scorching hot when the bread goes in. Heat for at least 30 minutes.
- Pull your dough from the fridge and flip into the hot dutch oven pan.
- Score the top of your loaf, put the lid on, and bake for 30 minutes.
- Remove the lid and bake for the last 10 minutes.
- Loaves should be crusty, golden brown, and sound hollow when you tap on the bottom.
- Be sure to reheat your pan – with lid separated from the bottom – for at least 15 mins before cooking the second loaf.
- Let loaves cool at least an hour before cutting. Pro-Tip: if you store the loaves in a sealed bag overnight, the hard crusty exterior gets softer & it's easier to cut into slices. We usually pre-slice both loaves & store them in the freezer. It will mold fairly quickly on the countertop because it's full of such living goodness.
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