Easy Sourdough Artisan Bread Recipe (Ready in 1 Day)
If you’ve been looking to bake a crusty, golden loaf of sourdough without the complexity of typical recipes then this easy sourdough artisan bread recipe is for you! Designed for simplicity, this method uses everyday measurements, minimal steps, and a stand mixer (or hand-kneading) to create a dough that’s ready to bake in just one day. Baked in an enameled cast iron pot (with other options), the result is a beautifully blistered crust with a soft, chewy interior — perfect for both beginners and seasoned bakers seeking a reliable, no-fuss loaf.
✩ What readers are saying…
“I wish I could say how great this recipe is in words!… Could this be true? Could I have found the perfect sourdough recipe for me and my family? After all these years and all these attempts, suddenly, in my lap, the sourdough recipe that really IS “The Easiest Best Sourdough Recipe on Earth”? Really? Well, I’m here to tell you, “YES!” Emphatically, “YES!” This is it! So good! So easy! So perfect! Please try this recipe! You will be so happy you did.” -David
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Ever since I grew my first sourdough starter and explored how to make sourdough bread, I’ve wanted to be able to make a really good loaf of artisan sourdough bread like my favorite regular yeast easy artisan bread.
I was looking for an easy sourdough bread recipe that had a crispy crust with a nice texture and holes inside, but that was simple to make. Preferably a same day sourdough bread similar to my super easy artisan bread which bakes in an enameled cast iron pot.
What I mean by ‘easy’ is a basic everyday kind of sourdough bread recipe that uses cups to measure, few steps, and very little science involved, sort of like our great-grandmothers would’ve made.
If you’d like to get really into sourdough – which can quickly become complicated (and frankly, overwhelming to me), I’ve found Northwest Sourdough to be very thorough and not too hard to follow for those wanting to dig a little deeper.
I searched for a couple years to find a technique that would produce a loaf of artisan sourdough bread that was all the things I wanted.
When I found this great recipe I knew right away that I could adapt it to be even easier, use my favorite enameled cast iron pot, and consistently turn out good loaves.
And it did! This is truly the easiest sourdough bread recipe that anyone can make, from beginners to seasoned bread bakers. It can be made quickly (well, in sourdough terms) in one day or you can choose a bulk fermentation overnight in a refrigerator.
I want to say, too, that for me an easy bread is always made with a stand mixer, but this recipe can be made by hand – you will just have to work a bit harder.
Artisan Sourdough Bread Recipe Video
Ingredient Notes
You need only 3-4 ingredients for this classic bread – here are some notes and answers to questions I’ve gotten about the ingredients:
- Flour: You can make this bread with all-purpose, white whole wheat, spelt, or whole wheat flours. Spelt and whole wheat will have a denser crumb and less holes. You may get a taller rise by using bread flour, either white or whole wheat, which contains more protein (higher protein content in flour is needed for gluten development). Note: Pastry flours have less protein, which makes them great for cookies, muffins, and quick breads, but not for yeast or sourdough (wild yeast) breads.
In these photos I have used all white whole wheat flour with my regular whole wheat starter so the bread isn’t as white as loaves made with white flour. I also share a loaf made with regular whole wheat below. I always use a whole wheat starter and typically mix and match the flours I have on hand.
- Sourdough starter: I created my starter using these easy steps with whole wheat flour. Your starter should be strong for this recipe – very bubbly and doubling in volume after feeding in 6 hours or less (see the Important Note below). I like to feed the starter the night before (see timeline below).
- Salt: This is the third ingredient you must include in the recipe (in addition to water) or your bread will be very tasteless. After making this one time, feel free to adjust the salt to your preferences.
- Honey: I’ve made this ingredient optional, but I always use it. It adds a bit of immediate sugars for the yeasts to feed on as well as helping the crust to brown.
Sourdough Artisan Bread Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1. Add all the ingredients (flour, water, starter, optional honey, and salt) to a bowl and mix dough just until combined. Let sit for 15 minutes. If using a mixer and dough hook, knead for 5 minutes. If making by hand, knead for 8 to 10 minutes.
Step 2. As you’re kneading, add more flour as needed, a little at a time, to create a dough that’s still clinging to the bottom of the bowl, but clearing the upper part of the bowl. It should be tacky, but not cling to your finger other than a bit of residue as shown.
TIP: If you’d like to add dried or fresh herbs or any other mix-ins, add them during this kneading portion. Wait until you’ve got the dough to the stage you see in step 2 and then mix them in before scraping into the bowl.
Step 3: Transfer to a large bowl, lightly coated with oil. The dough should stick to the bottom and need to be scraped out.
Step 4: Cover with plastic wrap or a damp towel and let the dough rest for 3 hours.
TIP: I use plastic “shower cap” type bowl covers which I wash and reuse over and over – I’ve had many of them for years. I’ve found plastic keeps the dough more moist over the long rise than a damp towel. Update: I’ve recently been moving away from plastic in the kitchen and have found that beeswax bowl covers do a nice job of keeping the dough moist while rising.
Step 5: During the 3 hour rise, turn and fold the dough once or twice by bringing all the edges of the dough to the center.
Step 6: Remove dough, turn and fold again, and place it back in the bowl, seam-side up. Let rise for another 2 hours.
TIP: I do this right over the bowl with my hands oiled from the dough, which is usually enough – add more oil to your hands if needed. This is described in detail in the video.
Step 7: After the second rise, place a piece of parchment paper on a cookie sheet or small skillet (see tip below), sprinkle the dough with flour and gently shape the dough into a ball or oval right over the bowl (using lots of flour, as the dough is moist) and set on the parchment. Make sure there’s a good coating of flour on the top, as this will make slicing the top later easier. Replace the cover for the final rise.
Step 8: While the shaped dough is resting at room temperature, set an empty 4-6 quart enameled cast iron (or regular cast iron) dutch oven into a cold oven and turn heat to 450 degrees (alternately, you can use a baking stone), and set the timer for 40 minutes. (See FAQs below for cooking without a dutch oven.)
TIP 1: I flour my fingers after setting on the parchment and then use them to push the edges under the loaf to get the shape I want, make it more compact, and create more surface tension. See video for more details.
TIP 2: Shape the dough into a small skillet to keep the edges from spreading as much as a cookie sheet. If you have a bread proofing basket, feel free to use that.
Step 9: When the timer goes off, slash the top of the loaf with a serrated knife in 2-3 places making whatever pattern you’d like. If you have a lame, you can use that to make more intricate patterns.
Step 10: Transfer the slashed loaf to the hot pot (or stone) by holding the edges of the parchment to gently lower into the pot (the bread will bake while on the parchment).
Step 11: Replace the hot lid and bake for 12-15 minutes. Remove the lid and continue baking for another 13-15 minutes, until golden brown and internal temperature reads 190 to 200 degrees with an instant read thermometer.
Look at that crust! That’s bread-beauty right there, isn’t it? Blistered and cracked and bubbly. You can see why I think this easy sourdough bread recipe is the best!
What about using all whole wheat flour?
The sliced loaf pictured above was made with whole wheat bread flour (verses the previous loaf pictures made with whole wheat white flour), so the crust isn’t quite the same, but still passes the test.
And the interior is a bit more dense, but still full of holes, chewy, and with just a touch of sourness. Perfection. (Note: When made with all regular whole wheat flour there will be only tiny holes in the crumb, making it more dense than this – but it’s still good in my opinion.)
Since sourdough starter is best when it’s used weekly or every two weeks, I now make this sourdough bread recipe more than my favorite easy artisan bread. But either is a winner recipe, in my book.
Important Note on Using Starter to Make Bread
I have gotten many comments on this recipe along the lines of, “great flavor, but it was so flat,” or “I let it rise all day and it didn’t double.” Here’s what I’ve learned on my sourdough journey:
You cannot make bread rise well with a new starter. It needs time to grow and strengthen to be able to rise bread.
You may be able to rush it if you’re doing a lot of feedings, but it may take weeks or up to a month for the starter to be strong enough to raise bread.
How do you know if a starter is strong enough to raise bread?
Here’s the test I use and find the easiest:
If your starter doubles in less than 6 hours, it is strong enough to raise bread.
If you don’t have a way to measure, use a piece of tape on the outside of your container – anything that allows you to see if it’s doubled. When it’s doubled, you can confidently use this recipe! (
What about using the float test? I find that when working with whole grains the float test (seeing if a piece of your starter floats in water) isn’t as good a guideline as doubling.
What do I do with all the starter I’m making, feeding, and removing while waiting for it to be strong enough to double?
You can make recipes that don’t rely on the wild yeast in sourdough to completely raise it! Lovely baked goods like:
- Whole Wheat Sourdough Crackers
- Sourdough English Muffins
- Sourdough Waffles
- Sourdough Cheese Batter Bread (use this when you’re this close to making bread – the batter doesn’t need to rise as much, but still gives a nice bread).
For even more unique and delicious ways to use your sourdough discard, check out this amazing list of 35 sourdough discard recipes!
Shop This Easy Sourdough Bread Recipe
- This is a great quality, decently priced enameled cast iron dutch oven, similar to the one I use. Here’s another option for a bit less that’s very similar, too.
- I’ve used Kitchenaid mixers for years to make all my breads – this is the current version of the one I’m using now.
- Here’s a rising bucket that holds a lot and is easy to see when your starter is doubling. Personally, though, I use my glass 2-quart measuring cup with a lid instead of plastic.
- This is my favorite brand of white whole wheat flour (made from hard white wheat).
- And I use this brand for hard red wheat flour (‘regular’ whole wheat). My starter is fed with this.
Timing For Same Day Sourdough Bread
The timing of sourdough bread was hard for me to figure out in the beginning, since it takes longer to rise than regular yeast breads, so I thought I’d share the typical timeline needed to serve a loaf of artisan bread for dinner.
To have this sourdough artisan bread ready for an evening dinner:
- Feed your sourdough starter the night before you want to bake.
- Start the sourdough artisan bread recipe the next morning.
- Let the dough rise until early afternoon before baking and cooling in time for dinner.
Forgot to feed your starter? It happens to the best of us! If you find yourself in that situation, you can feed the starter right when you get up in the morning and let it sit until it is bubbly, usually a couple of hours, and then proceed with the recipe.
Made this way, the bread doesn’t have quite the optimum time to cool, so you’ll have a warmer loaf with a bit more squished crumb – but we’ve sure never minded.
Sourdough Artisan Bread FAQs
Yes, the second rise can happen in the fridge. Let the dough come to room temperature for about an hour before you start to shape and heat the pot.
You will have the best results with a dutch oven or some type of pot with a heavy lid. But if you don’t have one, here’s what you can do:
-After shaping the loaf on the parchment on the counter (or in a small skillet), place either a baking stone, cast iron skillet, or cookie sheet into a cold oven and preheat to 450 degrees.
–Creating Steam: To try and get the crust we all love, you’ll need to create some steam (that’s what the dutch oven does – it traps the steam): put a pan with water on the bottom rack to heat while the stone heats OR spray the dough with water right before putting in the hot oven to bake and see which you like best. Also, if you have any deep lid that will fit over the dough and allow to rise, you can add that OR try tenting aluminum foil over the top.
–Baking: Slash and use parchment corners to transfer dough to your hot stone and bake 15 minutes, turning the dough halfway, and then bake until done, another 15 to 20-25 minutes.
These add-ins can be kneaded into the dough at step 2, after the first step of letting the dough sit for 15 minutes.
A Few of The Many Reader Raves
“Wanted to tell you your sourdough recipe was the best and easiest! It tasted great and I felt like I accomplished my dream of finally making sourdough!” -Stephanie
“Here’s another thank you for the simple recipe. I have been been struggling to find one that want so overwhelming; I don’t want to understand every minute detail of science….I just wanna bake some bread! This is the only recipe that I’ve had success with.” -Brittney
“Since I am new to sourdough, I was skeptical that this would work on my first try. It turned out fantastic.” -Helen
“Thank you for this awesome video! A friend gave me a jar of starter over a month ago and I was hesitant and unsure of how to proceed after watching other videos online. I made my first loaf ever last night and it was incredible. I really appreciate your video, it’s like you’re in my kitchen helping me along the way. All of your tips were super helpful and I now love making bread!” -Tracy
I hope you love this sourdough artisan bread as much as we do – if you make it, be sure to leave a recipe rating to let me know!
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Easy Sourdough Artisan Bread Recipe
Equipment
- stand mixer or hand kneading
- 4-6 qt cast iron pot or baking stone/cookie sheet with steam bath
Ingredients
- 3+ cups (360-400 g) flour white whole wheat, whole wheat, unbleached, or a combo
- 1 ¼ cups (300 g) warm water*
- 3/4 cup (150 g) active sourdough starter 75%-100% hydration (I prefer 80-90%)
- 1 tablespoon (21 g) honey**
- 1 ½ teaspoons (9 g) salt or to taste
Instructions
- Mix all ingredients together in the bowl of a stand mixer (or large mixing bowl) just until combined and then let sit for 15 minutes.
- Using a dough hook, knead for 5 minutes. If making by hand, knead for 8 to 10 minutes. (TIP: You may add more flour as needed, a little at a time, to create a dough that's still clinging to the bottom of the bowl, but also clearing the upper part of the bowl. It should be tacky, but not cling to your finger.)
- Transfer to a medium-sized bowl, lightly coated with oil. Cover with plastic or a damp towel and let rise for 3 hours, turning and folding the dough once or twice.
- Remove dough, turn and fold again with oiled hands, and place it back in the bowl, seam-side up. Let rise for another 2 hours. TIP: I do this right over the bowl with my hands oiled from the dough, which is usually enough – add more oil to your hands if needed.
- After the second rise, place a square of parchment paper on a cookie sheet, sprinkle the dough with flour and gently shape the dough into a ball or oval (using lots of flour, as the dough is moist) and set on the parchment. Shape it in your hands right over the parchment. I often flour my fingers after setting on the parchment and use my fingers to push the edges under the loaf to get the shape I want and make it more compact. Make sure there's a good coating of flour on the top, as this will make slicing the top later easier. TIP: I often shape the dough in a small skillet to keep the edges from spreading as much as a cookie sheet.
- To Bake with a Dutch Oven: While the shaped dough is resting, set an empty enameled cast iron (or regular cast iron) dutch oven into a cold oven and turn heat to 450 degrees (alternately, you can use a baking stone), and set the timer for 40 minutes.
- When the timer goes off, slash the top of the loaf with a serrated knife (in 2-3 places) and transfer it to the hot pot (or stone) by holding the edges of the parchment to gently lower into the pot (the bread will bake while on the parchment).
- Replace the hot lid and bake for 12-15 minutes. Remove the lid and continue baking for another 13-15 minutes, until golden brown.
- To Bake without a Dutch Oven: After shaping the loaf on the parchment on the counter (or skillet), place either a baking stone, cast iron skillet, or cookie sheet into a cold oven and preheat to 450 degrees.Creating Steam: To try and get the crust we all love, you'll need to create some steam (that's what the dutch oven does – it traps the steam): put a pan with water on the bottom rack to heat while the stone heats OR spray the dough with water right before putting in the hot oven to bake and see which you like best. Also, if you have any deep lid that will fit over the dough and allow to rise, you can add that OR try tenting aluminum foil over the top.Baking: Slash and use parchment corners to transfer dough to your hot stone and bake 15 minutes, turning the dough halfway, and then bake until done, another 15 to 20-25 minutes.
- Remove to a wire rack to cool at least 30 minutes before cutting.
Notes
Nutrition
More Sourdough Recipes to Use Your Starter
Find recipes like no-knead sourdough focaccia, sourdough lemon loaf, soft sourdough bagels and much more on the sourdough recipes page here.
This recipe was originally published in 2012 – it’s been updated as recently as 2025.
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Thank you for the great recipe! Question about heating the pot and moving the dough to the parchment. Would it be detrimental if you heated the pot in the oven during the last 40 mins of the second rising and put the loaf on parchment in the pot right away or is it best to start heating the pot after the 2 hours and leave the loaf on the parchment for 40 mins before putting in the heated pot? Just trying to see if I can cut down the time needed for the next time.
You’re welcome! You can do that, Estelle – your loaf just may not rise as much.
How many quart cast iron enamel pot do you need for this recipe
I use a 6-quart pot, but a 4-5 qt. would work as well – just don’t go bigger.
Have you ever tried this with a poolish?
No, I don’t have one, though I’ve thought it may work.
Can this recipe be doubled
I haven’t tried it, Joan. You’d need to have two cast iron pots or a way to hold one off for awhile.
This is the first bread I made with my sourdough starter. I didn’t expect much just because the He starter was only a few weeks old, but I was floored! This was the best bread I’ve ever made! I suspect this will be my standard sourdough recipe.
Wow, that is so wonderful to know Samantha!! And kudos for starting your own sourdough and hoping on the sourdough train. 🙂
I’m in the middle of making this bread- so far, it looks pretty awesome. A question though- I just took the dough out of the bowl, and placed it on parchment. Will it fall while my oven & pot are heating? I feel like maybe I’ve missed something? Or I’m just worrying! The dough looks amazing, I’d hate for it to get messed up now.
Thanks!
Hopefully it all turned out for you, Natalie – you can let it sit longer if you want to make sure. Sourdough is more forgiving that way. I haven’t noticed a fall in that time frame, though.
Thanks for getting back to me- It turned out wonderfully, the best sourdough recipe I’ve come across yet! I’m making more of it today, as per many requests. I think it will be my go-to from now on.
Thanks again!
Yay!!
This came out beautifully!! Wish I could post a photo.
Yay!!
Do you have a video for this bread recipe?
No, not yet Teri – we’ll put that on our list!
This is a really great easy recipe. I made sourdough for the first time with starter my son gave me. Bread turned out super great, if not a little dense. My starter was probably too wet, but resulted in a nice, soft middle with a great crust. I think it could’ve had an even longer rise as it was a cooler morning. I will do that with the next loaf. Thanks for the easy recipe!
Hi Jami
Thanks for this wonderful recipe and technique. I am making this easy SD for the 2nd time today.
Today I have a question about when in the active sourdough cycle is it best to use the starter for a recipe? I feed mine every 12 hours at 8am and 8pm. It is 100g AP flour, 100g active starter and 100g room temp water. Can the discard from the 8am feeding be used at 8am?
Thanks for your advice!
John
As long as the starter doubled in the proceeding 12 hours (you’ll be able to tell from the line on the container, even if it’s fallen) it’s good to use and considered an “active starter.”
By far the best same day Sourdough Bread recipe I have tried. My starter doubles in 4 hours, so it is strong. The bread comes out perfect, great golden brown crispy, not tough, crust, and wonderful airy, slightly sour inside. I am thrilled, thank you. This is now my go to recipe for Sourdough Bread forever, and the bonus is it is ready in just over 6 hours.
This is wonderful – thank you for leaving this great review. I’m so glad this is now a go-to recipe for you.
If I don’t ave a Dutch oven and have to use a stone or cooking sheet, do I cover the dough with foil before baking? Or will I just have to deal with the bread however it bakes uncovered?
You can try using a roasting pan cover if you have one, or spritz the crust with water before baking, or add a pan of water to the floor of your oven before heating. None of them work as well as the oven, but the bread will still be delicious. 🙂
Excellent excellent excellent. I was out of bread for the kids and we had an ice storm, so I was looking for a same day recipe for my sourdough starter. Stumbled upon this one. Used maple syrup in place of the honey, (we live in Vermont), and was astonished at how good this turned out. Its a big loaf. Tons of oven spring, soft, slightly open crumb, not an overly crunchy crust, great for little kids. Same day sourdough perfection. This one is going in my collection. Thank you!
So glad! It’s nice you still had power to make it (we’re in the aftermath of a snow storm and do not have power – warm bread’s sounding really good about now. 🙂
I made this yesterday, and it is incredibly good! I used 2 cups of King Arthur Whole Wheat and 1 c of King Arthur unbleached, added a tsp of yeast, 3 T of vital gluten, and 1/4 t of citric acid, Raised it in the microwave (cold, of course!), heated the oven after the 2nd rising, put a glass corningware Visionware Dutch Oven in, and plopped it in. It turned out incredibly nice, and we went to bed last night with the house STILL smelling like homemade bread!
So glad you liked it!
So my dough was really wet I guess I should have addd more flour. Do you actually bake the bread at 450 degrees.? That seems way too hot.
I bake it as written – the hot temp causes the fast cooking that creates the great crust. After removing lid you can lower to 425 if you’d like, but I’d take an instant read temp of the loaf before removing to make sure you’ve reached 200 degrees – you may have to cook longer.
Hello. Can this be made in a glass Corningware pot, as I don’t have a Dutch Oven. Would I adjust the oven temperature?
I’ve never done that, but you can sure try! I’d probably add foil around the lid to try and keep as much moisture in there the first 15 minutes (that’s what gives it the good crust). You’ll have to check the manufacturer’s recommendations for temperature to see how hot you can cook the pot and adjust from there.
It’s a Corningware Visionware pot.I googled it, and Corningware says it can go in the oven up to 450*.
Great!
I have been making sourdough bread for about 6 months. This is undoubtedly the BEST I’ve tried. After a series of tasty but disappointing ‘pancake’ flat loaves;this one was a dream. It rose higher than I had ever hoped for and it is the tastiest bread I have ever had; chewy crust, lovely crumb and an amazing light sour taste. I found the dough required quite a lot of extra flour for kneading. I left it in the bowl and kept adding fistfuls (about 4) and gently kneading it into the dough to get a satiny feel that wasn’t overly sticky. I let it rise in two sessions, turned into a Dutch oven and let it rise up again before baking. Heaven.
I’m so glad Judy! And I will have to try your 3-rise technique, sometimes it’s good to get out of our normal routine. 🙂
Hi Jami, I am in middle of trying your ‘Easy sourdough bread recipe’, so far so good and given there is not much about sourdough that’s easy, I am stilling hanging in there. I managed to make a great starter though it did take me awhile.. I will be back to let you know how the recipe turned out for me.. Thanks so much for posting it, it looks really good.. Anna
Do you place the bread dough into the cast iron skillet for 40 minutes or is the 40 min for warming up?
40 minutes is for warming up the pot – the bread is waiting and then gets put in the hot pot. That’s how you get that good crust – the steam escapes from the dough hitting the hot pot and then bathes the loaf. Or at least that’s how I understand it, lol. It does what spritzing loaves with water while baking does.
Followed the recipe as written but my dough rose hardly at all. The taste was good and the crust was nice but the bread was too dense. Has this happened to anyone else? Should I try adding dry yeast?
Without knowing everything about your kitchen, I’d guess your starter isn’t strong enough yet. Was it doubling in 6 hours or less when you used it?