How to bake your first sourdough loaf

To bake your first sourdough loaf, mix a 500g flour dough with active starter, water, and salt, let it bulk ferment for 4-6 hours with a few stretch and folds, shape it, proof it briefly, then bake in a covered pot at 245C (475F). You can do the whole thing in one day if your starter is lively.

The single biggest factor is your starter. It should be bubbly and roughly doubling within 4-6 hours of a feed. If it is sluggish, give it a day or two of regular feeds before you commit a loaf to it. Need a refresher? See feeding your starter.

The formula

This makes one medium loaf at about 72% hydration. That is wet enough to give an open crumb but still manageable for a beginner.

Ingredient	Weight	Baker’s %
Bread flour	500g	100%
Water	360g	72%
Active starter	100g	20%
Salt	10g	2%

Total dough weight is 970g. If you want to scale this up or down, run the numbers through [/calculators/hydration]. Use lukewarm water, around 27-28C (80-82F), to keep fermentation moving on a same-day schedule.

Mix and rest

Whisk the starter into the water until it looks cloudy. Add the flour and mix by hand until no dry patches remain. Hold the salt back for now. Cover the bowl and let it sit for 45 minutes. This rest, the autolyse, lets the flour hydrate and makes the dough easier to work.

Now add the salt with a small splash of water and squeeze it through the dough until it disappears. The dough will feel rough. That is fine.

Bulk ferment

This is where the dough does most of its work. Over the next 4-6 hours at room temperature (around 22-24C, 72-75F), give it three or four sets of stretch and folds, spaced about 30-45 minutes apart in the first couple of hours.

To stretch and fold: wet one hand, grab an edge of the dough, pull it up, and fold it over the top. Rotate the bowl a quarter turn and repeat until you have gone all the way around.

Watch the dough, not the clock. Bulk is done when it has grown by roughly 50%, looks puffy and domed, and shows bubbles at the edges. Cooler kitchens take longer. These times are estimates, so trust what you see and feel.

Shape and proof

Tip the dough onto a lightly floured counter. Fold the edges into the center to build a loose round, then flip it seam-side down and drag it toward you a few times to tighten the surface. Let it rest 15 minutes if it fights you.

Do a final shape, then place it seam-side up in a floured banneton or a bowl lined with a floured tea towel. Proof for 1-2 hours at room temperature. The poke test is your guide: press a floured finger into the dough about 1cm. It is ready when the dent springs back slowly and leaves a slight mark.

Short on time, or worried about over-proofing? Slide the banneton into the fridge overnight and bake cold the next morning. The flavor improves and scoring gets easier.

Bake

Put a Dutch oven or covered cast-iron pot in the oven and preheat to 245C (475F) for 45 minutes. Turn the dough out onto parchment, score the top with one confident slash about 1cm deep, and lower it into the hot pot.

1. Bake covered for 20 minutes. The trapped steam helps the loaf rise and sets a thin crust.
2. Remove the lid and bake another 20-25 minutes until deep golden brown.
3. Tap the base. A hollow sound means it is done. An internal temperature near 96C (205F) confirms it.

Cool the loaf on a rack for at least 1 hour before slicing. Cutting in early releases steam and leaves the crumb gummy. The wait is the hardest part of your first sourdough loaf, and it matters.