How to Make a Small Sourdough Loaf - Easy Mini Bread!
This small sourdough loaf recipe makes one loaf with 200 g of all-purpose flour and an active starter. It's a useful size when you want homemade bread without a large loaf sitting on the counter.
You can bake it in one day or refrigerate the shaped dough overnight and bake the next morning. Small doesn't mean instant, though - you still need to give the dough time to rise.
Although this is a small batch sourdough recipe, you can easily double or tripple it and bake one loaf the same day and save the other one (or two) in the fridge to bake the day after. That way, you'll have fresh bread in the house for two or three days!
For more ideas, also check out my Speedy Same-Day Sourdough and Long-Fermented Sourdough Bread recipes.
Quick Look
- Yield: 1 small loaf, about 10 slices.
- Flour: All-purpose flour.
- Starter: Active, bubbly sourdough starter. The main recipe has no added commercial yeast.
- First rise: About 6-9 hours from mixing, including the initial rest and stretch and folds.
- Final rise: About 2-3 hours at room temperature, or overnight in the fridge.
- Baking: 23 minutes covered, then 8 minutes uncovered.
- Plan ahead: Allow time for the loaf to cool before slicing. Rising times depend on your starter and kitchen temperature.
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Important Ingredients
- All-purpose flour: essential for the dough structure, all-purpose flour ensures a balance between a soft interior and a firm crust, crucial for a good sourdough loaf.
- Active sourdough starter: Replaces commercial yeast, vital for leavening the bread and creating air bubbles. It adds a distinct sourdough tang.
- Water: Warm water makes the starter a little more active quicker, aiding in fermentation and texture. You can also use cold water if you want your bread to take its time and maybe develop more sourness.
- Salt: Not just for taste, salt controls yeast activity and strengthens the dough, a little bit goes a long way. I like to use real salt without unnecessary additives.
See recipe card for quantities.
How to Make Small Sourdough Bread
Mix the dough. Combine the water, salt, and active sourdough starter in a bowl. Stir to disperse the starter, then add the flour and mix until no dry flour remains. The dough will be sticky.
Rest for 30 minutes. Cover the bowl and let the flour absorb the water. Bulk fermentation - the first rise - starts when you mix the starter into the dough, so this rest counts toward that time.
Stretch and fold. After the rest, perform 3-6 sets of stretch and folds or coil folds during the first two hours, spacing them about 20-40 minutes apart. Keep the dough covered between sets.
Finish the first rise. Leave the dough covered at room temperature until it has noticeably risen and looks airy and puffy. Allow approximately 6-9 hours from mixing, including the rest and folds. Follow the dough rather than waiting for an exact number of hours.
Shape. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and and let it rest for about 10 minutes. Gently stretch it, bring opposite edges together, and pinch to form a small loaf.
Final proof. Place the loaf seam-side up in a floured, tea towel-lined banneton or bowl. Cover and let it rise for about 2-3 hours at room temperature, or refrigerate overnight. If refrigerated dough still looks underproofed the next day, let it finish rising at room temperature before baking.
Preheat and score. Preheat the oven with your Dutch oven inside to 460°F (238°C). Turn the proofed loaf onto parchment paper or a bread mat and make two slashes across the top with a sharp knife or razor blade.
Bake and cool. Carefully transfer the loaf into the hot Dutch oven. Cover and bake for 23 minutes. Remove the lid, lower the temperature to 440°F (227°C), and bake for another 8 minutes, until golden brown. Transfer to a wire rack and let it cool before slicing.
Take a look at that crumb! Completely optional, but I do recommend admiring your work before reaching for the butter.
Hint: use your bench scraper whenever you have a hard time handling the dough! It's great for moving the dough around, for shaping the dough, and also for cleaning your work surface after you are done!
Substitutions & Variations
- Whey: If you have leftover whey (I always have some from making homemade yogurt), use it instead of water for added tang and nutrition. It enhances the sourdough's complexity.
💭Crucial Success Tips
- Handling Sticky Dough: If the dough is too sticky, wet your hands before handling it. This makes shaping easier and helps you achieve that perfect loaf without the dough sticking to your fingers.
- Rising Time: Let the bread rise for a sufficient amount of time, especially during the second rise in the proofing basket. This is key to a well-structured loaf with good volume. Although some recipes instruct for just 30 minutes or 1 hour of the second rise, try to go longer as this was never enough for my loaves!
- Dough Rest Before Shaping: After transferring the dough to a work surface, let it rest for about 10 minutes. This brief dough rest helps to relax the gluten bonds and makes for easier shaping, making the dough more elastic.
- Oven Spring Technique: For an impressive oven spring, throw an ice cube or a splash of water into the Dutch oven right before baking. The steam created is essential for a well-risen, crusty loaf.
Recipe Timeline
OPTION 1: Same-Day Variation
- 6:00 AM: Mix the dough, cover, and rest for 30 minutes.
- 6:30-8:00 AM: Do your stretch and folds, keeping the dough covered between sets.
- 8:00 AM-2:30 PM: Leave the dough covered to finish its first rise. Look for dough that has noticeably risen and feels airy and puffy.
- Around 2:30 PM: Rest the dough on the counter for about 10 minutes, then shape and place in your floured banneton. Allow about 2-3 hours for the final rise.
- Around 4:30-5:30 PM: Once the loaf is proofed and your Dutch oven is preheated, score and bake.
- About 31 minutes later: Transfer to a wire rack and let it cool before slicing.
This works as a same-day loaf, but it isn't a particularly fast one!
OPTION 2: Overnight Variation
- 10:00 AM: Mix the dough, cover, and rest for 30 minutes.
- 10:30 AM-12:00 PM: Do your stretch and folds.
- 12:00-6:30 PM: Leave the dough covered to finish its first rise.
- Around 6:30 PM: Once the dough is ready, rest briefly, shape, and place seam-side up in a floured, towel-lined banneton. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
- Next morning: Preheat your oven with the Dutch oven inside.
- Around 8:00 AM: Score and bake straight from the fridge if the loaf is properly proofed.
- Around 8:30 AM: After the 31-minute bake, transfer to a wire rack to cool.
Cold dough is easier to score. If it still looks compact and underproofed in the morning, let it finish rising at room temperature before baking.
Where Can I Pause?
After shaping is the easiest place to pause this recipe.
You can also refrigerate during the first rise. For this loaf, I'd keep that pause to no more than 12 hours. Take the dough out and let it finish bulk fermentation before shaping.
If you've already chilled it during the first rise, I recommend doing the final rise at room temperature. If you refrigerate it again after shaping, keep that second fridge rest to no more than 12 hours too.
Can I Add Yeast?
Yes. You can add a little instant yeast while keeping an overnight fermentation, or use more for a faster loaf. Keep the 65 g active starter and the other ingredients the same.
Option A: Just a Pinch of Yeast - Long Fermentation
- Add about 1 g instant yeast, approximately ⅓ teaspoon, with the flour when you mix the dough.
- Follow the usual rest and stretch and folds, but check the dough earlier. This recipe already uses a generous amount of starter for a small loaf, so the added yeast can move things along quite quickly in a warm kitchen. If the dough is ready to shape, don't leave it sitting just because the recipe says it might take longer.
Timeline: Mix and complete the first rise on day one. Shape, cover, and refrigerate overnight. Bake on day two once the loaf is properly proofed.
This option is for a little help with the rise or for those who enjoy the flavor commercial yeast adds. It still keeps the overnight fermentation.
Option B: Faster Version - Yeast Provides the Main Rise
- Add 4-5 g instant yeast, roughly 1½ teaspoons, with the flour. There's no need to activate it separately.
- Mix the dough and rest for 30 minutes. Do 2-3 sets of stretch and folds, about 20-30 minutes apart, then leave it covered to finish rising.
- At 24-26°C (75-79°F), allow approximately 2 hours from mixing for the first rise, including the rest and folds. Look for a roughly 50-75% increase in volume and dough that feels aerated, elastic, and puffy. Shape earlier if it's ready.
- Place the shaped loaf in a floured banneton or towel-lined bowl. Let it proof at room temperature for about 45 minutes, until puffy and a gentle finger indentation slowly springs back. Bake using the same temperatures and baking times as the main recipe.
Timeline: About 2 hours for the first rise, about 45 minutes for the final proof, then baking and cooling. Allow time for shaping and preheating too.
Use this shorter schedule instead of the original long sourdough schedule. Commercial yeast provides the main rise here, and this version doesn't have the same long fermentation as the overnight loaf.
Which Grains Can I Use?
This recipe uses all-purpose flour, and I'd keep the swaps simple:
- Bread flour: Use the same amount-200 g-with no other changes.
- Whole wheat flour: You can replace up to 20% of the all-purpose flour. Use 40 g whole wheat and 160 g all-purpose flour, keeping the rest of the recipe the same.
If you'd like to use more whole grains or freshly milled flour, try my 50/50 Fresh-Milled Sourdough Bread or Fresh-Milled Same-Day Sourdough Bread. Those recipes have their own flour amounts, water amounts, and instructions.
FAQ
Absolutely! If you don't have a dutch oven, you can still bake a great sourdough loaf. Use a baking sheet lined with parchment paper instead. To mimic the steamy environment of a dutch oven, place a metal tray or a oven safe pan on the bottom rack of your oven and pour a cup of boiling water into it as you put the bread in (my favorite way to do this is with a cast iron pan!). This will create steam that helps the bread rise and develop a crusty exterior.
Yes! Again, you will have to replicate the steamy conditions of a dutch oven. So just as I described in the quetsion above, position a metal tray or an oven-safe pan (I personally love using a cast iron pan for this!) on the bottom rack of your oven. As you place the bread in, pour a cup of boiling water into this tray or pan. This technique generates steam, crucial for helping with the oven spring and creating a delicious crust on your loaf.
The crust should be a deep golden brown, and the loaf will sound hollow when tapped on the bottom. You could also check with an intermal thermometer; it should read around 200°F (93°C).
I usually use my smallest round banneton for this loaf. Just use the smallest one you have! The dough might not fill the basket completely, and that's perfectly fine. You can also use a small bowl lined with a well-floured tea towel if you don't have a banneton.
If your starter doesn't float, it might not be ready for baking. BUT this is not always true! I go into detail about this in this post. Basically, sometimes the float test can be very unreliable. It is actually better to look for volume increase and bubbly texture.
How to Store Sourdough Bread
Sourdough bread stays fresh for about 3-4 days at room temperature. Wrap it in a cloth or store it in a bread box. For longer storage, slice and freeze it, then toast slices directly from the freezer when needed.
If you tried this Small Sourdough Loaf or any other recipe on my blog please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below! Happy Baking!
More Sourdough Recipes
Looking for other sourdough recipes like this? Try these:
Small Sourdough Bread Recipe
Jump to VideoEquipment
- 1 kitchen scale or measuring cups and spoons
- 1 banneton basket or a bowl to use for proofing
- 1 dutch oven or a loaf pan
- 1 tea towel
- 1 bread mat or parchment paper
- 1 Dough scraper optional
- 1 Cooling rack optional
Ingredients
- 200 grams all-purpose flour 1 ⅔ cups
- 135 grams water ½ cup + 1 tablespoon
- 65 grams sourdough starter active, ½ cup
- 4 grams salt
Instructions
- Mix the dough. Combine the water, salt, and active sourdough starter in a bowl. Stir to disperse the starter, then add the flour and mix until no dry flour remains. The dough will be sticky.
- Rest for 30 minutes. Cover the bowl and let the flour absorb the water. Bulk fermentation-the first rise-starts when you mix the starter into the dough, so this rest counts toward that time.
- Stretch and fold. After the rest, perform 3-6 sets of stretch and folds or coil folds during the first two hours, spacing them about 20-40 minutes apart. Keep the dough covered between sets.
- Finish the first rise. Leave the dough covered at room temperature until it has noticeably risen and looks airy and puffy. Allow approximately 6-9 hours from mixing, including the rest and folds. Follow the dough rather than waiting for an exact number of hours.
- Shape. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and let it rest for about 10 minutes. Gently stretch it, bring opposite edges together, and pinch to form a small loaf.
- Final proof. Place the loaf seam-side up in a floured, tea towel-lined banneton or bowl. Cover and let it rise for about 2-3 hours at room temperature, or refrigerate overnight. If refrigerated dough still looks underproofed the next day, let it finish rising at room temperature before baking.
- Preheat and score. Preheat the oven with your Dutch oven inside to 460°F (238°C). Turn the proofed loaf onto parchment paper or a bread mat and make two slashes across the top with a sharp knife or razor blade.
- Bake and cool. Carefully transfer the loaf into the hot Dutch oven. Cover and bake for 23 minutes. Remove the lid, lower the temperature to 440°F (227°C), and bake for another 8 minutes, until golden brown. Transfer to a wire rack and let it cool before slicing.
Video
Notes
- use your bench scraper whenever you have a hard time handling the dough! It's great for moving the dough around, for shaping the dough, and also for cleaning your work surface after you are done!
- if the dough is too sticky, wet your hands before handling it. This makes shaping easier and helps you achieve that perfect loaf without the dough sticking to your fingers.
- let the bread rise for a sufficient amount of time, especially during the second rise in the proofing basket. This is key to a well-structured loaf with good volume. Although some recipes instruct for just 30 minutes or 1 hour of the second rise, try to go longer as this was never enough for my loaves!
- after transferring the dough to a work surface, let it rest for about 10 minutes. This brief dough rest helps to relax the gluten bonds and makes for easier shaping, making the dough more elastic.
- for an impressive oven spring, throw an ice cube or a splash of water into the Dutch oven right before baking. The steam created is essential for a well-risen, crusty loaf
Nutrition
Pin in For Later
Hi Tina,
For my very first sourdough project I made your Small Sourdough Bread Recipe and the results couldn't have been better! I followed your ingredients/measurements exactly as posted. After the first rise I decided to divide the dough ball in half because it had grown to be too large for the small banneton basket I had. I placed each of the portions of dough into a silicone loaf box measuring (I.D.) 6 1/4" x 3" x 2 1/8". I baked them in a large cast iron dutch oven at 450°F for 25 minutes covered and then 10 minutes uncovered. I let them rest for an hour before sneaking a few slices ... the texture and the taste were amazing!
I do have a question about portion size and nutritional info. I get eight slices out of each loaf and the slices are 3/4" thick. Since I used your recipe ingredients and measurements, am I correct in saying that the yield from small loaf is eight slices which are 79 calories each (plus the other nutritional values you posted)?
I can't thank you enough for providing this recipe. You enabled a newbie to achieve fantastic results on his very first sourdough baking endeavor!
What size oval Banneton basket should I use to shape / proof this small loaf?
Hi Johnny,
I usually make this bread in my smallest round banneton, but I'd say use the smallest you have. It might not fill it out completely, which will be ok too.
How would you convert this recipe to a small bread loaf pan?
Hi Emily!
This dough is actually already a great size for a small loaf pan—something like an 8.5 x 4.5 inch (or even a mini pan). You don’t need to scale anything down.
Just follow the same recipe and instructions, but instead of shaping it into a round or using a banneton, shape it to fit your loaf pan after the bulk ferment - so stretch the dough into a rectangle, and roll it up. Grease the pan or line it with parchment paper, and do your second rise directly in the pan. Then bake a pan uncovered at around 440–450°F (225–230°C) for about 30–35 minutes, or until the loaf is golden and sounds hollow when tapped.
If the top browns too quickly, loosely tent it with foil for the last 10 minutes. Let it cool in the pan for a few minutes, then finish cooling on a wire rack.
Let me know how it turns out! 🙂
My new go to recipe. Love the smaller loaves. Delicious.
Thank you so much, that means a lot!