There's nothing quite like pulling your first golden, crackling loaf of sourdough from the oven. The blistered crust. The open, airy crumb. That deep, slightly tangy flavor that only real fermentation creates.

If you've been intimidated by sourdough — don't be. This guide walks you through exactly how to make sourdough bread from start to finish, using clear steps and the core techniques that actually matter.

Before you bake your first loaf, you need a healthy, active starter. If you're completely new to the process, our sourdough starter for dummies guide walks you through everything from scratch in plain language — no experience required. Once your starter is established, our step-by-step guide on how to make sourdough from starter shows you exactly how to go from a bubbly jar to a finished loaf.

Ready to bake? Our guide on baking bread with sourdough starter covers the full process from mixing to crust — perfect for your first or second bake. And if you're gluten intolerant or baking for someone who is, our gluten free sourdough starter guide explains how to build and maintain a starter without wheat flour so nobody gets left out.

What You'll Learn in This Guide

How to mix and build gluten through proper development
How to shape, pre-shape, and bench rest correctly
What bulk rise really means — and how to read your dough
The Dutch oven method for bakery-style oven spring
How fermentation temperature affects timing and flavor
How to score sourdough for maximum expansion
When to use the windowpane test
A simple no-knead variation for beginners

🍞 Basic Artisan Loaf — Ingredients (1 Large Loaf)

70% Hydration
  • Active sourdough starter (fed & bubbly)100g
  • Warm water (75–78°F)350g
  • Bread flour500g
  • Fine sea salt10g

No commercial yeast. No sugar. No oil. Just flour, water, salt, and wild fermentation.

Equipment: Large bowl, bench scraper, banneton or towel-lined bowl, Dutch oven, bread lame, kitchen scale.

Nutrition per slice: Carbs 36g · Protein 6g · Fat 1g · Fiber 1g · Sodium 290mg

Why These Ingredients Matter

Sourdough Starter — your natural leaven (sometimes called a levain when freshly built). It contains wild yeast and beneficial bacteria that drive fermentation and flavor. If your starter isn't reliably doubling within 4–8 hours of a feed, see our guide on how to feed and maintain a sourdough starter before you begin.

Bread Flour — higher protein supports stronger gluten development, which improves oven spring and crumb structure. Water — hydration affects dough extensibility and fermentation speed. Salt — controls fermentation rate and strengthens gluten structure. These ingredients rely on a healthy, active sourdough starter recipe to provide the lift and flavor your bread needs. To keep that starter strong and predictable, you must follow a consistent maintenance routine. Mastering the process of feeding sourdough starter ensures it reaches peak activity exactly when you are ready to mix your dough.

65%
Easier to handle
70%
★ This recipe
75–80%
More open crumb, stickier

1 Mix the Dough & Autolyse

Mix water + starter + flour until no dry bits remain
After mixing: dough will look shaggy and rough. Cover and rest 30–45 minutes for autolyse.

In a large bowl, combine 350g warm water and 100g active starter. Stir until cloudy and dispersed. Add 500g bread flour and mix until no dry flour remains. The dough will look shaggy and rough — that's correct. Cover and rest 30–45 minutes.

This rest period is called autolyse. During it, flour fully hydrates, gluten begins forming naturally, and the dough becomes smoother with less effort. It dramatically reduces how much stretching you'll need later. For a deeper look at autolyse technique and timing, see our sourdough autolyse guide.

After the rest, sprinkle 10g salt over the dough. Pinch and fold until fully incorporated. The dough will tighten slightly — that's normal.

2 Develop Gluten (Stretch & Folds)

Sourdough doesn't require aggressive kneading. Instead, we build strength gradually using stretch and fold sets.

Every 30 minutes for the first 2 hours: grab one side of the dough, stretch it upward, fold it over itself, rotate the bowl 90°, repeat 4 times. Do 3–4 rounds total. Each round strengthens the gluten network. To master the technique and timing, our stretch and fold schedule for beginners has a full visual breakdown.

The Windowpane Test: Stretch a small piece of dough gently between your fingers. If it forms a thin membrane without tearing, gluten is well developed. If it tears easily, give it another fold session. Don't obsess over perfection — moderate strength is enough for a great beginner loaf.

3 Bulk Fermentation

"Bulk fermentation is where flavor develops, structure strengthens, and natural leavening does its work. It determines everything: crumb openness, oven spring, sourness, texture."

Bulk fermentation (or bulk rise) is the period after mixing and strengthening where the dough ferments as one mass. It begins after salt incorporation and ends when you divide or pre-shape. If your sourdough has been dense, gummy, or flat — bulk rise timing was almost certainly the issue. Knowing when bulk fermentation is done is the most important skill in sourdough. Our bulk fermentation chart maps dough temperature to the exact rise percentage you need before shaping — bookmark it before your first bake. For a full breakdown of every visual and tactile signal, see our guide on

Dough Temp Bulk Time Activity Notes
68–70°F / 20°C 6+ hours Slow More complex flavor, longer window
72–75°F / 23°C 4–6 hours Ideal ✓ Standard recipe baseline
78–82°F / 26°C 3–4 hours Fast Check frequently from 3 hrs
82°F+ / 28°C+ ~2 hours Very Fast Easy to over-ferment, monitor closely