How to Make a Sourdough Loaf

Written by
Elaine Lemm
Elaine Lemm is a renowned British food writer, classically trained chef, teacher, and author with over 25 years of experience writing about British food and cooking.
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Elaine Lemm
Updated 04/29/20
Paul Hollywood sourdough loaf recipe

The Spruce / Diana Chistruga
  • Total: 80 mins
  • Prep: 30 mins
  • Cook: 50 mins
  • Proof: 14 hrs
  • Yield: 1 loaf (10 servings)

Thanks to British celebrity bakers like Paul Hollywood, making sourdough bread has become very popular. Despite a reputation for being difficult to make, sourdough is actually easy once you have the required sourdough starter. In exchange for your starter and a bit of patience, you will be rewarded with a chewy bread with that distinctive sour tang.

We are more accustomed to adding cultured, store-bought yeasts when making bread, but it is wild yeasts that have helped bakers make loaves for centuries—long before commercial yeast was available. The wild yeasts in sourdough are also believed to be healthier for us as well as easier to digest. The natural ferment used for the sourdough starter also creates an acidic environment in the loaf that good bacteria love and molds don't like. Therefore, sourdough lasts much longer than commercial bread, and even when a week old, it still makes great toast.

Before you begin with this recipe, make sure you have your starter ready and healthy. This may require feeding for a few days if it has been dormant.

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Ingredients

  • 15 ounces/425 grams bread flour
  • 1/3 ounce/9 grams salt
  • 10 ounces/285 grams ​sourdough starter
  • Olive oil (for greasing)

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

    Ingredients for Paul Hollywood sourdough
    The Spruce / Diana Chistruga

  2. Mix the flour and salt together in a large, roomy mixing bowl. Make a well in the center and add the starter. Drawing the flour into the center, mix the flour with the starter to create a loose dough. You can use your hands to do this. If the mixture is too dry, add warm water a little at a time until you produce a soft, slightly sticky dough.

    Mix salt and flour in bowl
    The Spruce / Diana Chistruga

  3. Sprinkle your worktop lightly with a little flour. Tip the dough onto the worktop and knead the dough until it is smooth, silky, and elastic. Note: If the dough is very sticky, sprinkle with a little more flour. If too dry, sprinkle with a few drops of olive oil and continue to knead. You can expect to be kneading for about 12 to 15 minutes.

    Knead dough
    The Spruce / Diana Chistruga

  4. Once the dough is smooth, silky, and elastic, lightly oil a roomy mixing bowl with olive oil. Tip the dough into the bowl and cover the bowl with cling film/plastic wrap.

    Oil mixing bowl
    The Spruce / Diana Chistruga

  5. Place the bowl in a cool, not cold, draft-free place and leave for up to 6 hours or until the dough has doubled in size. If you want, leave it overnight but in a colder space; this will allow the bread to rise very slowly.

    Place bowl in cool place
    The Spruce / Diana Chistruga

  6. Once doubled, tip the dough onto a floured surface. Knock out the air from the bread and knead the dough lightly for just a few minutes. Roll the dough into a ball, dust with flour, and place into a floured banneton or mixing bowl. Cover with a tea towel. Again place in a cool but not cold place and leave to rise slowly for 8 hours.

    Place dough into a floured banneton or bowl
    The Spruce / Diana Chistruga

  7. Heat the oven to 475 F. Place a roasting tin filled with ice cubes on the lowest shelf of the oven. The steam creates a lovely crust on your loaf.

    Roasting tin with ice cubes
    The Spruce / Diana Chistruga

  8. Line a baking sheet with greaseproof paper (also known as parchment paper) and grease very lightly with a little olive oil. Gently lay the risen loaf onto the sheet (do not worry if you lose a little air from the loaf as you do this, it will come back in the oven). Place in the middle of the preheated oven and cook for 30 minutes, then lower the temperature to 400 F and cook for 20 minutes more or until the loaf is golden brown, the outside crust crisp, and the bread sounds hollow when tapped on the base.

    Tip dough onto a baking sheet
    The Spruce / Diana Chistruga

  9. Place the loaf on a cooling rack and leave to cool completely before eating. The sourdough will keep for up to a week. Do not store it in plastic as this will soften the crust. Instead, place in a paper bag or a bread bin. Stored this way the bread keeps well, and even after a week, it will be great toasted.

    Place baked loaf on a cooling rack
    The Spruce / Diana Chistruga

The Banneton

A banneton is a bowl specifically made for proofing bread. It is usually round, and its features determine the finished shape of your loaf. The banneton will often have circles or indentations, which create a decorative effect on the loaf.

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