Overnight Sourdough Artisan Bread Recipe (easy & no scale)

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This Artisan Sourdough Recipe will easily be your go to recipe for delicious sourdough bread! It’s beginner friendly and so simple, without even using a scale!

I highly recommend this recipe as an overnight bake for flavor and texture, but I do also give you the option of a same day bake if you need it done sooner!

Tools you may need to make this sourdough artisan bread recipe:

Large Bowl

Danish Dough Whisk or you can use a regular whisk and your hands)

2 lightweight towels (one damp and one dry)

A sprinkle of flour for your countertop

Dutch oven for baking: This is important for creating steam and getting your loaf to rise with that perfect crispy crust!

Ingredients:

Water

Active Sourdough Starter (If you need to make a starter, check out my starter blog post here!)

Salt (favorite mineral salt)

All Purpose Flour (My favorite high quality flour is Sunrise Flour Mill!)

Notes For Same Day Bake:

Like I mentioned above, I highly recommend this as an overnight bake for flavor texture, and for easier digestion (the longer your bread ferments, the more gluten is broken down so you get an easier bread to digest), but I know sometimes you want it that day or just need flexibility for convenience so you can certainly turn this into a same day bake!

For a same day bake, follow the instructions below with these modifications.

(Same day bakes do not go in the fridge)

1. After stretch and folds are complete let the dough sit for about 1 hour on the counter, covered with a damp towel.
2. Then, shape your dough and place seem side down into a banneton basket (or a bowl lined with a kitchen towel).
3. Cover with a dry towel and let sit about 4 hours until the dough has proofed and has slow bounce back when an indent is made with a finger. This time is flexible, but will also deepened on your temperature and moisture in your home.
4. Once it is proofed and ready, bake per instructions below.

How to make this sourdough artisan bread recipe:

Whisk together water, starter, and salt.

Mix in the flour. The mixture should be sticky and wet.

Cover the bowl with a damp towel and let it sit for 1 hour.

After an hour, do four sets of stretch and folds 30 min apart, covering with the damp towel between sets. If you need visual instructions making this loaf or the stretch and fold, watch my tutorial here!

After stretch and folds are done, cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge overnight ((8-12 hours, up to two days). The longer you ferment, the more sour flavor your bread will have and the easier it is for your body to digest.

(if you want to do a same day bake, see the note above these instructions)

Shaping and Baking:

The next day, or when you ready to bake, pull out the dough from the fridge and shape loaf on a lightly floured surface, building tension as you tuck the sides under. You can do this right out of the fridge or let it come to room temp first. Either way will work.

Place shaped loaf upside down into a bowl lined with a dry towel or a banneton basket and pinch the bottom of the dough together. Lightly cover with a dry towel and let it rise at room temp for 2-4 hours.

When you are ready to bake, preheat the oven to 500 F with your dutch oven inside the oven (You want the inside of the dutch oven to be very hot)

Turn your loaf right side up onto a parchment paper, flour the top and score the bread.

Take the dutch oven out of the oven, place the loaf and the parchment paper into the dutch oven, using the parchment paper to lower it in gently.

Bake for 20 min at 500 with the lid on. Remove lid, lower the temp and bake at 450 F for 20 min.

Let cool before cutting (or cut the end off when hot if you are like me and can’t resist a hot end slice of fresh bread!)

Happy baking 🙂

Xo, Emily

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Overnight Sourdough Artisan Bread Loaf (no scale)

5 from 3 votes

a simple beginner friendly sourdough artisan bread recipe

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Ingredients Method

Ingredients

  

• 1 1/4 cup Water
• 1 cup Active Sourdough Starter
• 1 tsp Salt
• 3 Cups All Purpose Flour

Method

 

1. Whisk water, starter, salt together.
2. Mix in the Flour until well incorporated. Mixture should be very sticky and wet.
3. Cover with a damp towel and let sit 30 minutes to an hour.
4. Do four sets of stretch and folds 30 min apart, covering with the damp towel between sets.
5. After stretch and folds are done, cover with plastic wrap or a lid and place in the fridge overnight for a bulk ferment (8-12 hours, up to two days). The longer you ferment, the more sour flavor your bread will have and the easier it is for your body to digest.
6. When ready to bake, remove the dough from the fridge and shape on a lightly floured surface, building tension as you tuck the sides under. You can shape it cold or let it warm up on the counter first. Either way will work.
7. Place shaped loaf upside down (seem side up) into a bowl lined with a dry towel or a banneton basket and pinch the bottom of the dough together. Lightly cover with a dry towel and let it rise at room temp for about 2 hours for the final proof. If it is winter/cold you may need to let it rise longer, until you can poke it and the indent has a little bit of a delay in bouncing back.
8. When you are ready to bake, preheat the oven to 500 F with your dutch oven inside the oven (You want the inside of the dutch oven to be very hot).
9. Turn your loaf right side up onto a parchment paper, flour the top and score the bread with one deep cut and smaller decorative cuts.
10. Take the dutch oven out of the oven, using the parchment paper as a cradle for the dough, gently lower the loaf and the parchment paper into the preheated dutch oven.
11. Bake for 20 min at 500 with the lid on. Remove lid, lower the temp and bake at 450 F for 20 min.
12. Let cool before cutting for best results! (I alwasy cut the end slice off hot out of the oven!)

Tried this recipe?

Let us know how it was!