The Most Low Maintenance Sourdough Bread Recipe

I remember that feeling of overwhelm the first time I got my starter from my FAVORITE bakery. Stephen & I had just had brunch & he said, 'I think you should try baking bread, it seems like something you'd love...' So I brought their LAST starter home and started researching.

I am giving you the exact steps to create a beautiful sourdough loaf. NO kneeding & no big mixer required!

1: Feeding the Starter

I only feed Lady Eleanor James Cornwallis IV (my starter) once a week. If you keep your starter in the fridge, it only needs to be fed once a week. If you keep it out on the kitchen counter, that requires daily feedings. 

How to Feed:

1: Make sure starter is room temp
2: Mix it well
3: Remove 1/2 cup (discard or put into bowl for baking)
4: Replenish with 1/2 cup all purpose flour and 1/2 cup bottled water. MUST USE bottled water! Chlorine KILLS yeast. NO TAP. 
5: Let it continue in room temp until it rises and falls back down (2-4 hours). This will keep it lively before you put it back in the fridge to 'nap' for a week.

Remember:

After feeding, replenish her. Whatever amount you take out to bake, replenish that amount exactly. But, before you can feed the starter, take it out of the fridge so it can get the chill off it and go to room temp. It will be more lively if it's room temp and ready to multiply! MUST USE bottled water! Chlorine KILLS yeast. NO TAP. 

Here's my bread baking schedule:

Thursday Night: Remove starter from fridge, let sit out overnight to acclimate to temperature. 

Friday Morning: Feed starter (see above) and discard 1/2 cup. Wait until it has risen and fallen back down to begin baking bread. You want to start the bread after you've fed it recently.

Into a Bowl:

  1. 1/2 cup starter
  2. 1 & 1/3 cup warm water (90 degree water)
  3. Mix a little with danish whisk
  4. 2 tsp fine sea salt (I use Celtic Sea Salt for the minerals)
  5. 3.5 cups bread flour (I use organic King Arthur Bread Flour)
  6. Mix until it forms a shaggy dough
  7. Cover with wet towel & set out in room temp.
  8. Wait 1 hour.
  9. Stretch, fold, cover up
  10. Wait 30 mins
  11. Stretch, fold, cover up
  12. After the last stretch & fold, let it sit out on counter for 6 hours (overnight). Pro tip: in colder months, I set it on top of the dishwasher or oven so the heat can help it rise. 

Saturday Morning: 
Watch this rise like the sun! Test it by poking for 80% bounce back in the dough.

  1. CAREFULLY Lift dough up out of bowl
  2. Add flour onto counter/cutting board
  3. Roll dough into ball carefully avoiding popping those bubbles!
  4. Flip flowered side down
  5. Gather corners up into ball & Pinch

7. Flip again & scoot ball toward you, rotate & scoop again


8. Add to covered basket/banneton (smooth side down) & cover with a towel.
9. Let sit for 12-36 hours in FRIDGE. 

Sunday:
1: Take bread banneton (basket) out of fridge & get to room temp while oven is heating to 500 degrees. It rises a little but not a LOT like that first rise. This is what mine looks like pre-baking. 

2: Place the Pan in the oven while oven heats.

3: Cover bread in parchment paper & FLIP IT OVER to remove the loaf.

4: Lightly score bread with knife. I like to do a cross, it's the best in my opinion.

5: Lift & lower bread into Dutch oven. IT WILL BE HOT so I wear Stephen's grill gloves. 

6: Cook on 500 for 20 minutes.
7: After 20 Mins, decrease oven to 450 & remove lid
8: Cook for 10 mins or until golden brown

9: Cool for 2-4 hours before cutting! Resist the temptation. 

You're welcome. It took me about a month of tries until I felt like I had it down. Come back to this blog or watch my FAVE video with this method below!

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