Easy Same Day Sourdough Bread

An easy, same-day sourdough bread recipe ready to enjoy for dinner. This is a great beginner-friendly bread, resulting in a golden crust and a delicious chewy loaf—no more overnight fermentation required to get your favorite bread on the table.

Why You'll Love This Recipe

Sourdough bread can be intimidating to make, especially for beginners. It doesn't have to be that way, and this recipe shows you how easy it is to make sourdough bread.

Easy to Make. No need to knead for more than just a few minutes. Fold a few times, let it rise, and bake.

Enjoy the Same Day. I mean, who wants to wait for a fresh loaf of bread until tomorrow? Not me! This is why this recipe is a must-save to your collection.

Family Favorite. One loaf of bread is always gone for dinner, and the second loaf is excellent for sandwiches for the rest of the week. Peanut butter sandwiches, buffalo chicken dip, and curry chickpea soup are some of our favorites to pair with sourdough bread.

Ingredients Needed

For this recipe, you will need for simple ingredients to make this delicious loaf of sourdough bread.

Water. I use regular tap water from the sink. There are many opinions on the water to use for sourdough bread, but I have had success with city water. Where I live, we have hard water, and it doesn't affect the rise of the bread or starter at all. I do make sure the water is warm to the touch - about 100-120°F.

Bread flour. A good quality bread flour will make the loaf taste absolutely delicious. I use King Arthur Bread Flour.

Starter. A sourdough starter that has been fed at least 2 times. I typically start feeding the starter the day before. I fed it twice that day. The day I make the sourdough loaf, I will feed the starter around 6 am.

Salt. In this recipe, I used fine sea salt, and it worked great.

All About the Starter

About three years ago, my sister shared some of her starter with me, and since then, I've kept it alive and growing.

How to feed sourdough starter

When I make a loaf of bread, I typically start feeding my starter the day before. I will pull it out of the refrigerator and feed it immediately. That evening, I will feed it again. The next day, I will feed it one last time, early in the morning, and let it grow for 2-4 hours, and then start making my bread.

If you want to make your starter from scratch, follow this guide on How to Make Starter From Scratch from Alexandra's Kitchen.

Step-by-Step Guide to Same Day Sourdough Bread

After you have fed your starter and it is ready to be used to make bread, here are the next steps:

Step 1: Using a scale, measure 300 grams of starter into a bowl. Add 700 grams of warm water (100-120°F) to the starter. Using a handheld dough whisk, mix the warm water and starter in the bowl.

Step 2: Add all the bread flour (1100 grams) to the starter/water mixture, along with the salt (25 grams). Start mixing with the dough whisk and mix until the flour has absorbed most of the water. Using your hands, knead the dough for a few minutes, or until all the ingredients are combined. Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel and set a timer for 30 minutes to start the folding process.

Step 3: After the first 30-minute rise, fold and stretch the dough, turning the bowl four times. Do this 3 times. Let the dough rise three more times for 30 minutes,

30m fold 30m fold 30m fold 30 fold 2-3hrs shape 1-2 hours bake

Step 4: After the last time folding the dough, allow it to bulk rise for 2-3 hours in the warmest place in the home. If your home is below 70°F, set a bowl of warm water under the dough bowl to keep the dough warm while it rises. The dough should almost double in size.

Step 5: Once the dough has almost doubled in size, it's time to shape the dough. Place it on a floured surface and divide it into two pieces. Flatten one piece of dough into a rectangle shape. Start by rolling the side closest to you, then fold the sides of the dough into the inside until the entire piece of dough is rolled into a rectangular loaf shape.

Place into a bread proofing basket. Repeat with the other dough piece.

Cover the shaped dough with a kitchen towel and let it rise for 1-2 hours more, or until it starts to form a small dome above the bread proofing basket.

Step 6: Preheat the oven with the cast-iron pot and lid at 440°F.

Turn the shaped loaf over onto a piece of parchment paper. Make sure the top of the loaf is floured generously. Using a scoring knife, make one long stripe on the top and a few small stripes on each side.

Remove the cast-iron pot from the oven, place the loaf with the parchment paper in the heated pot, close the lid, and return it to the oven for 25 minutes. After 25 minutes, remove the lid and bake for an additional 20 minutes. This is where the bread will get its crispy crust and beautiful golden color.

Once baked, remove the bread from the oven and allow it to cool for 15-30 minutes before slicing.

Sourdough Baking Schedule

9 am - Make the dough

9:15 am - First 30-minute rise

9:45 am - Fold #1 and second 30-minute rise

10:20 am - Fold #2 and third 30-minute rise

10:50 am - Fold #3 and fourth 30-minute rise

11:20 am Fold #4 and bulk rise

1:30-2:30 pm - shape the dough

4 pm - Bake the loaves

5 pm - Enjoy the sourdough loaf for dinner

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