Easy Overnight Sourdough Bread
Our easy overnight sourdough bread recipe includes a video and pro tips for success. This no-knead sourdough bread is perfect for beginners!
Servings: 12 slices
Calories: 155kcal
Equipment
- dough whisk optional
- 5-quart Dutch oven with lid
- parchment paper
- banneton proofing bowl optional
- warming mat (I recommend this if your room is cooler than 75ºF)
Ingredients
- ¼ cup (60 grams) unfed sourdough starter discard or fed 12-24 hours prior
- 1 ⅔ cups (350 grams) filtered or spring water about 100ºF or baby bottle warm
- 4 ¼ cups (500 grams) bread flour can substitute with all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons (9 grams) fine sea salt
Instructions
- In a large bowl, add the sourdough starter. Add in water and use a dough whisk or a wooden spoon to stir until dissolved. Stir in the flour and salt until a shaggy looking dough forms. Finish mixing dough by hand in the bowl until all the flour has been absorbed. Cover the bowl with a clean, damp kitchen towel and let the dough rest for 30-45 minutes.
- Lightly flour your countertop. Pull the dough from the bowl with a dough scraper or by hand onto the countertop. Stretch and fold the dough for 15 seconds (see video below): grab the edge of the dough and bring it straight up it about 4 inches and tuck it into the center of the dough. Then, turn the dough 1/4 a turn. Continue this process until the dough has come full circle and it has tightened. Return the dough to the bowl, cover with a damp towel (or plastic wrap if you live in a dry area). Let it rise overnight or about 8 hours at room temperature or a warm location (72º and 80ºF degrees to ferment). See the chart below in notees for sourdough rising times.. Do not refrigerate the dough. The dough should double in size and look bubbly on the surface and under the dough when fermented.
- In the morning, lightly flour your counter-top. Pull the dough from the bowl and shape the dough by stretching and folding it again. Let the dough rest 10 - 15 minutes. Line a medium sized bowl with a towel, or use a banneton bowl with linen cover (see photos), and dust heavily with flour. Let dough rise in it for 45-60 minutes.
- Preheat your oven to 450ºF. Do not add your Dutch oven or baking pot, it does not get preheated. Cover the dough bowl with a long piece of parchment paper, about 20 inches long, and turn it over onto the countertop (see video). Slash the top of the loaf with a lame or sharp serrated knife. Gently lower the parchment paper dough into a heavy pot with a tight-fitting lid. NOTE: If using a pot with a dark interior cast iron pot, I recommend insulating the bottom with a round silicone sheet underneath the parchment paper. You can also place the Dutch Oven pot on a baking sheet. This helps the bottom crust of the bread from getting too dark in color.
- Place the covered pot in the the oven and bake the bread covered for 30 minutes. Remove the lid and bake 20 minutes. Using oven mitts, carefully remove the bread from the pot. Bake it directly on the oven rack for 5-10 minutes to crisp the exterior (if needed). To ensure your bread is cooked through you can check the internal temperature. It should be 195ºF to 205ºF.
Video
Notes
Sourdough starter - fed 12-24 hours before starting the recipe. This is often referred to as a discard or unfed starter.
Use a mature starter that is at least a week old and doubles in size within 4-6 hours of feeding.
Do not refrigerate the dough! Our recipe does not use a refrigerated rise. If it gets too cold, the fermented yeast will not rise overnight.
Ideas for keeping dough warm for the bulk rise:
Place the bowl in the oven with the door propped open and the light on to create a slightly warmer climate without actually turning the oven on.
Use a heated mat (like those used for germinating seeds) for rising.
Use the “proof” setting of your oven (I set mine at 85ºF) and set a timer. This will speed up the rising process, so check it at 4 and 6 hours.
If there is a sunny room in the house that stays warm, keep the dough covered in that area.
Overnight rising guidelines:
*Rising times will vary according to your room temperature and humidity
80ºF about 4-5 hour
75ºF about 6-7 hours
70ºF about 8-9 hours
For temperatures under 70ºF, it can take up to 12 hours or more
Can I make sourdough bread without a cast iron dutch oven? Yes, a heavy oven-safe pot with a lid will work. Use one about 9" to 10" in diameter and 6" high.
My sourdough bread did not double in size overnight.
- If your starter is active (it doubles in size 4-6 hours after feeding) and was fed within 12-24 hours of starting the recipe, your sourdough might not be warm enough during the overnight rise.
- Find a warm place (ideally 75º- 80º F) like a cool oven with the light on, a warm window, or above the refrigerator or dryer to set the bread for 2 hours. Then continue with the recipe.
- Use a 9" round Silpat silicone sheet, as I do. I place it in the bottom of my Staub cast-iron Dutch oven.
- Dutch ovens that are darker in color tend to brown the bottom of the bread more.
- If your starter is active (it doubles in size 4-6 hours after feeding) and was fed within 12-24 hours of starting the recipe, your sourdough might not be warm enough during the overnight rise.
- Find a warm place (ideally 75º- 80º F) like a cool oven with the light on, a warm window, or above the refrigerator or dryer to set the bread for 2 hours. Then continue with the recipe.
- Use a 9" round Silpat silicone sheet, as I do. I place it in the bottom of my Staub cast-iron Dutch oven.
- Dutch ovens that are darker in color tend to brown the bottom of the bread more.
Nutrition
Serving: 1slice | Calories: 155kcal | Carbohydrates: 31g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 241mg | Potassium: 42mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Calcium: 7mg | Iron: 1mg