Celebrate Sourdough Bread Day with this fresh bake
This simple recipe starts with an active sourdough starter, which you can make yourself at home with just flour, water, and a little patience.
Today is Sourdough Bread Day, a celebration of one of the oldest breads still baked in home kitchens today. Long before shop-bought yeast existed, bread rose on its own. All it needed was time, flour, water, and patience. That slow approach still shapes sourdough now.
Sourdough stands apart because it relies on a living starter rather than commercial yeast. Wild yeast and bacteria do the work, fermenting the dough over hours or even days. This long process gives sourdough its tang, chewy crumb, and crackling crust. It also changes how the bread behaves in your body. The fermentation helps break down gluten and reduces phytic acid, which can make minerals easier to absorb. Many people find sourdough easier to digest than standard loaves.
Sourdough Bread Day is the perfect excuse to bake a fresh loaf at home. Before you start, you’ll need an active sourdough starter (steps included in the recipe below).
Ingredients
For the starter
- 50g strong white bread flour
- 50ml water
For the bread
- 100g active sourdough starter
- 350ml lukewarm water
- 500g strong white bread flour
- 10g salt
Method
- Make the starter: In a clean jar, mix the flour and water until smooth. Loosely cover and leave it at room temperature. Each day, discard half and feed it with another 50g flour and 50ml water. After five to seven days, it should look bubbly, smell lightly sour, and double in size within a few hours of feeding. That’s when it’s ready to use.
- In a large bowl, stir the active starter into the water until cloudy. Add the flour and salt and mix into a rough, sticky dough. Cover and let it rest for 30 minutes.
- Gently stretch and fold the dough a few times in the bowl. Cover and leave it to rise at room temperature for four to six hours until it looks puffy and holds its shape.
- Shape the dough into a round, place it into a floured bowl, cover, and refrigerate overnight.
- Heat the oven to 230°C with a heavy, lidded pot inside. Tip the dough into the hot pot, cover, and bake for 20 minutes. Remove the lid and bake for another 20 minutes until golden and crusty. Cool before slicing.
