Same Day Sourdough Bread

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Are you craving the delightful aroma of freshly baked bread without the wait? Look no further! This easy same day sourdough bread recipe will have you enjoying a delicious loaf of bread in just a matter of hours.

With a few simple ingredients and a little bit of patience, you'll achieve that beautiful golden-brown crust and airy crumb you've been dreaming of- without compromising the taste or the fermentation benefits of sourdough bread. AND it is totally appropriate for a beginner baker- just like my skillet sourdough naan recipe!

same day sourdough bread on a cooling rack

If you've always been intimidated by the idea of making your own sourdough, you're going to love this recipe. It's really easy to put together, you can plan it around your schedule and is actually quite forgiving too!

If you're super into bread baking and you mill your own flour at home (like I do!), here's a fresh milled same day sourdough bread recipe you need to check out!

Recipe Quick Look

Prep time: 2 hours.
Cook time: 45 mins.
Servings: 15 slices.
Main ingredients: Flour, sourdough starter, water, salt.
Cooking method: Combine water, starter and salt 🡢 add flour 🡢 mix, cover and rest 🡢 do 4 sets of stretch and folds 🡢 cover and rest for 20 minutes 🡢 do 4 more sets of stretch and folds 🡢 shape into a ball, cover and let rise for 3-4 hours 🡢 shape dough ball 🡢 rise again and score 🡢 transfer to parchment paper and into a Dutch oven 🡢 bake for 30-40 minutes 🡢 cool, slice and serve.
Difficulty: Medium.
Serving ideas: Serve a slice of the crusty sourdough with a bowl of your favorite soup, or use it as a bowl to make broccoli cheddar soup in a sourdough bowl.

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Recipe Quick Look
Important Ingredients
Substitutions & Variations
How to Make Same Day Sourdough Bread
Baking Schedule
Crucial Success Tips
Recipe FAQs
More Easy Sourdough Recipes
Same Day Sourdough Bread

Important Ingredients

Ingredients for speedy same day sourdough bread recipe arranged in a surface.

Active sourdough starter: For that signature tang and lift. If you don't have this at hand, follow my easy recipe that teaches you how to make sourdough starter from scratch.
Water: To hydrate the dough and activate the starter for fermentation.
Salt: To enhance the flavor and strengthen the dough structure.
All-purpose flour: The base of your dough creating structure and texture for the loaf.

See recipe card for quantities. I included a baking schedule at the end, so you'll have an easier time calculating when to feed your starter and start the whole process.

Also, a Dutch oven is a must if you ask me. There are ways of baking bread that don't require you to have it, but having it makes everything much simpler!

Substitutions & Variations

You can swap up to 20% of the all purpose flour you're using here for a different kind of flour like rye flour or bread flour to create different versions of the bread. If you want to bake your sourdough using whole wheat flour, I suggest you check out my no-knead rustic whole wheat sourdough bread recipe.
You can also top the bread with some seeds for a bit of extra texture and deliciousness. Sesame seeds, poppy seeds, pumpkin seeds, and sunflower seeds are all great options.
For that hint of golden yellow color, you can also add some turmeric powder into the mix. I usually about 1 teaspoon at the beginning to my water, starter, and salt mixture to ensure it is evenly distributed.
To make a cheesy loaf, add a cup of shredded cheese into the dough during the last series of stretch and folds. This one's sure to be a total crowd pleaser- just like my roasted garlic and Parmesan sourdough bread.

How to Make Same Day Sourdough Bread

starter and water mixture at the start of making same day sourdough bread

In a large bowl, combine water, starter, and salt. I like mixing those up first so the starter and the salt have a chance to disperse in the water

flour, starter and water mixture at the start of making same day sourdough bread

Add the flour and mix well. I usually do this with a spoon and finish with my hands to break up all the flour. Cover with something airtight (plastic wrap, aluminum foil, plastic bag, even a shower cap works!) and let rest for 30 minutes.

same day sourdough bread after the finished bulk rise

After 30 minutes, do a set of stretch and folds. Grab the edge of the dough, stretch it up, and fold it under on the other side. Rotate your bowl for 90 degrees and repeat 3 more times. We're going for 4 sets of stretch and folds in total. Cover again and leave to rest for 20 minutes and do another set of stretch and folds. Repeat this process until you do 4 sets of stretch and folds (which should take 1 hour in total). Be sure to cover your dough with something airtight in-between sets of stretch and folds to prevent the dough from drying out! After that's done, let the dough ball rise for 3 - 4 hours at room temperature.

the dough same day sourdough bread in the stage of the final rise

Once it looks almost double in volume, transfer your dough to a lightly floured surface. It's now time to shape the dough! Grab the opposite ends of the dough and pinch them together on top. Repeat with the other two opposites. Prepare your bread basket (or banneton basket) so that you line it with a lightly floured tea towel.

same day sourdough bread in a proofing basket on a lightly floured tea towel

Carefully transfer your dough ball into a tea towel-lined basket. The pinched parts should be facing upwards. Preheat your oven and prepare a piece of parchment paper. Transfer your dough from the basket to the parchment paper, so the floured bottom of the dough is now the top of the dough up. Score your dough with a razor blade or a sharp knife; make two deep cuts so you get a crisis cross pattern.

freshly baked same day sourdough bread on a cooling rack beside a sieve and a proofing basket

Transfer your parchment paper with a dough on it into a hot Dutch oven. Splash just a bit of water between the parchment paper and Dutch oven to create some steam and cover quickly to capture it inside. Put the bread in the oven for 30 minutes at 460°F (238°C). Take the lid off and bake for an additional 10 minutes with the lid off at 440°F (227°C) to get that golden brown color. Transfer to a cooling rack, cover with a damp kitchen towel and cool for at least an hour before you slice into it.

Pro Tip: Use a HEAVY bowl for mixing the dough and doing stretch and folds. I love using this natural ceramic bowl from Amazon (also in the pictures above!). When I stretch the dough, no matter how dense it is, the bowl stays on the counter. And I can make big amounts of dough in it when I'm batch baking sourdough bread.

Baking Schedule

OPTION 1: Feed the starter the day before, have bread for dinner the next day.

8.00: Mix up the dough.
8.30: Start stretch and folds.
9.30 - 12.30: Bulk rise.
12.30: Shaping and second rise.
13.30: Bread goes in the oven.
14.15: Bread comes out of the oven to cool down.

OPTION 2: Feed the starter in the morning, have bread for late dinner or the next day.

8.00: Feed starter.
13.00: Mix up the dough.
13.30: Start stretch and folds.
14.30 - 17.30: Bulk rise.
17.30: Shaping and second rise.
18.30: Bread goes in the oven.
19.15: Bread comes out of the oven to cool down.

Crucial Success Tips

The temperature of your kitchen plays a big role in how fast your dough will rise. If you want to speed your process up a little, proof your dough in a warmer spot if you have one.
For best results, wet your fingers with water to prevent the dough from sticking to your hands when you handle the dough. It will still stick a bit (because we're dealing with medium to high-hydration dough, but wetting your hands really helps! Use this tip especially when doing the sets of stretch and folds.
It is normal for the dough to be very sticky the first time you do stretch and folds- don't panic. Just keep going.
If you're adding seeds to your same day sourdough bread, sprinkle them in during the last series of stretch and folds.
Wrap your cooled sourdough bread in a clean cloth or paper bag. This allows the bread to breathe slightly and helps maintain its crust's texture.
Avoid storing sourdough bread in plastic bags, as they can trap moisture and make the crust soft. However, if you want to keep the crust softer for a longer time, you can use a plastic bag but leave it open or puncture a few holes in it.
If you have a bread box, it can be an excellent option for storing your sourdough bread. A bread box provides a slightly humid environment that can help keep the bread's crust from becoming too hard.

Recipe FAQs

How will I know if the dough has proofed or not?

Check the size of the dough. If it has nearly doubled in size, it has proofed. You can also perform a "poke test." When you poke the bread dough, your finger should leave a dent behind, but the dent should slowly start to fill up again.

Can I use sourdough starter the same day that I feed it?

Absolutely! A (mature) starter is usually ready to use in baking after 4 - 6 hours after feeding. If you look at the first baking schedule below, you'll see that it calls for feeding your starter in the morning and having the bread baked in the late afternoon.

How do I store leftover same day sourdough bread?

Although sourdough bread can last up to a week at room temperature, it's best to eat it within the first three days.

Can I freeze leftover sourdough bread?

After three days, consider freezing it. If it goes stale before you have a chance to eat or freeze it, you can always turn it into bread pudding, stuffing, breadcrumbs, etc.

More Easy Sourdough Recipes

Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:

If you tried this same day sourdough bread 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!