Easy Same Day Sourdough Bread Recipe - Crave The Good (2024)

Have you ever been craving sourdough but crunched for time? Same-day sourdough is here to fill that need! It’s tender, delicious, and although mild, still tastes and feels like sourdough.

There’s a place in my heart for the long sourdough process. I truly enjoy the slow pace, repeating familiar steps, and experiencing the transformation of a simple mix of flour and water into something incredible.

But life happens and sometimes you just don’t have the time or patience to wait days for a beautiful loaf. That’s why I’m sharing this easy recipe with you. It’s a quicker version of the classic sourdough process that allows you to enjoy freshly baked bread in just a few hours.

You’re not completely off the hook though, you will need a little foreplanning when it comes to this recipe!

This same day sourdough recipe is dedicated to happenings.

Tips + Tricks

No. 1 –>If you’re overwhelmed with all things sourdough, I can help you! I have guides on everything from making a24 HOUR SOURDOUGH STARTER, toPICKING THE BEST STARTER JAR, toFEEDING SOURDOUGH STARTER, toSTORING SOURDOUGH STARTER, toPROOFING IN THE FRIDGE, toFREEZING SOURDOUGH BREAD, toUSING UP DISCARD, and more.

No. 2 –> Don’t have a banneton basket? I have a guide on bannetons and banneton alternatives!

No. 3 –>Using theBROD + TAYLOR PROOFING BOXhas revolutionized mySOURDOUGH BAKING. With the proofing box, not only do I get more consistent bakes, but I can easily speed up the entire sourdough baking process by creating a favorable microclimate.

No. 4 –> Don’t forget to feed your starter the night before!

No. 5 –> I’ve included times in the directions within the body of the post and a baker’s schedule to help give you an example of how I work this recipe into my day. You can shuffle the times as they work for you!

2 Critical Components For Same-Day Sourdough Bread

Starting and baking fresh sourdough bread within a dozen hours can seem like an impossible task but it’s totally doable with these 2 key things:

1: Active Starter

This recipe relies on a strong, mature sourdough starter. While most of my sourdough bread recipes rely on feeding your starter first thing in the morning and beginning the process a few hours later, this recipe absolutely needs you to feed your starter the night before you plan on making sourdough.

The reason for this is that you need an active sourdough starter at the time you begin the mixing process. By feeding the sourdough the night before you’re ready to bake with it, you’re allowing the yeasts to activate overnight and speed up the baking process.

If your home is particularly warm or your sourdough tends to activate quickly we can slow down the activation phase of the sourdough starter by feeding it with cold water. It’s not enough of a hindrance to stop the activation completely but only slow it down so that the starter is ready in the morning when we are!

2: Proper Environment

In order to master same-day sourdough you need to master the environment.

In my Proofing Sourdough Starter In The Fridge article, I explain that we can slow the activity of the yeast and microbes in sourdough by reducing the temperature. Inversely, we can flip this on its head and speed up the activity of our microbes by making sure they are in a warm environment when we mix, shape, and proof our sourdough.

There are a few ways to create a favorable microclimate for your dough:

1. Use a Brod + Taylor Proofing Box.
2. Use the proof setting on your oven or microwave.
3. In a warm spot near the heat register.

Does One Day Sourdough Still Taste Good?

Yes, the bread is still delicious!

Is it as sour as regular sourdough? No. But that’s because we have spent the entire day encouraging the microbes to rise first and develop flavor second. The complexity and tang won’t be there, but that’s not to say that the bread won’t be good.

This bread is an excellent, milder version of sourdough.

Key Ingredients

Sourdough Starter: For this recipe, you want to use a fed andACTIVE SOURDOUGH STARTER. Your starter should have been fed the night before, approximately 8 hours before beginning and have at least doubled in size. This recipe is based on a sourdough starter with 100% hydration (equal amounts of flour and waterby weight,not volume.)

Bread Flour: Use a high protein unbleached flour for best results. This could be all-purpose flour or bread flour.

Salt:I use hand-ground kosher salt, but any fine ground salt will do. The salt in this sourdough recipe is responsible for adding taste and enhancing the aromas and flavor present in the dough itself. Salt also helps to tighten the gluten structure and strengthen the dough – making it easier to create and hold air bubbles.

How To Make Same Day Sourdough Bread:

Make the dough (8 am):

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine 330g warm water with 150g of active sourdough starter until mostly combined. I like to use a Danish dough whisk, but anything will work.
2. Add 500g bread flour and 10g salt to the bowl and mix until a shaggy dough forms. Knead the dough with your hands until all the shaggy bits are incorporated.
3. Cover the bowl and set aside for 45 – 60 minutes.

Stretch and fold (9-11 am):

1. Uncover the bowl and using damp hands, grab the dough and gently pull it until the flap is long enough to fold over itself, then fold the flap, rotate the bowl 90 degrees, and repeat 4 times.
2. Recover the bowl, and set it aside for 30 minutes, then repeat the stretch and fold process at least 3 more times over the next 2 hours. The intervals can be as short as 15 minutes, or as long as 60 minutes, but it should be completed at least 4 times. You’ll notice after the second stretch and fold how much the dough has softened and begun to look like actual bread dough!

Bulk ferment (11 am-1 pm):

1. Complete one final stretch and fold, then cover the bowl and set aside for 2 hours to bulk ferment. I like to use a reusable shower cap for covering my bowls, the patterns are fun, funky, and bright, but they also work amazingly well, are lined with plastic to help keep the moisture in the dough, and are reusable for ages. It is important to keep the dough bowl somewhere warm to encourage the microbes to work quickly!

Shape (1 – 1:15 pm):

1. Observe your dough, at this point, the dough should have risen in the bowl, and have a smooth surface with visible bubbles. If the dough is domed in the bowl it is ready to work with, if the dough is flat it may need more time in the bulk ferment.
2. Lightly flour the work surface and use a bowl scraper to turn the dough out onto the floured surface. Try to get the smooth top part face down so that the sticky underside is on top facing you, this will make shaping the dough easier.
3. Fold the edges into the middle, alternating sides as though lacing the dough together. Then starting from the top, fold the dough into thirds as you would a letter, but pull the bottom all the way around to flip the dough so the seam is facing downward. Stop there if making a batard, or tuck the long ends underneath to create a boule.
4. Dust the top of your boule or batard with rice flour, then use a bench scraper to pick up the dough, flip the dough, and place it upside down, or seam side up, into a banneton to prove. Don’t have a banneton? Check out these banneton alternatives.

Prove (1:15 – 3 pm):

1. Cover the banneton either using a damp kitchen towel or a shower cap. During the proving period, the dough will rise and become puffy in the banneton, but it should be watched – as over-proofing can cause the dough to bake up flat. This process will take a different amount of time based on the ambient temperature.
2. To test the dough, gently poke it and observe how the dough reacts. If the dough feels tight and dense and looks like it hasn’t relaxed in the basket, it is likely under proofed. Underproofed dough will resist your poking and spring back almost immediately. If the dough feels airy but still elastic and looks relaxed in the basket, it is properly proofed. Properly proofed dough will be easily poked, and the indent will slowly fill back in but may not even totally recover. Overproofed dough feels sticky and lacks elasticity, it will likely look slack in the basket and your indentation won’t rebound.

Pre-heat oven (3 pm):

1. Place your dutch oven, cloche, or desired baking dish in the oven and preheat to 450f. If you don’t have a dutch oven, I do have a recommendation on how to bake sourdough bread without a dutch oven.
2. Meanwhile, place the banneton in the freezer. Although this seems counterintuitive, the 30 minutes in the freezer won’t adversely affect your dough, it will just make it easier to remove from the banneton, score, and transfer to the dutch oven.

Bake (3:45 pm):

1. Once the oven is preheated, remove the dough from the freezer and invert the banneton onto a sheet of parchment paper.
2. Use a lame, sharp knife, or clean razor blade to score the dough, I usually like to make one deep curved slash, but you can get as fancy as you like!
3. Carefully remove the dutch oven from the oven, and using the parchment paper as a sling, transfer the sourdough loaf from the counter into the dutch oven.
4. Bake the dough at 450f covered for 20 minutes and uncovered at 450f for 25-30 minutes, or until the loaf is cooked through. You can test the doneness of the loaf with an instant-read thermometer. Bread is cooked once it reaches 205 – 210 degrees Fahrenheit internal temperature.

Cool:

1. Remove baked bread from the dutch oven and transfer it to a wire mesh cooling rack to cool completely before slicing. I like to leave it for at least 2 hours before slicing, as slicing too soon can affect the crumb and texture of your loaf.
2. Check out my guide on storing sourdough bread to ensure it stays fresh for days, or learn how to freeze sourdough bread for a rainy day.

Batch + Storage

Batch:

This recipe bakes a nice-sized loaf of sourdough bread. This is the perfect amount for our family of 4 to serve with at least 2 meals.

Storage:

If you’ve got leftover sourdough, you’ve got serious willpower! There are a couple of ways toSTORE SOURDOUGH BREADto help prolong its quality after cutting.

Your boule can be kept cut side down on a cutting board for up to 12 hours before the crust becomes too crisp. This is our go-to. I recommend transferring it to a bread bag after 16-18 hours though.

Your sourdough loaf can also be frozen. ToFREEZE SOURDOUGH, cool the loaf to room temperature, then tightly wrap it in plastic wrap, slide it into a bread bag, seal it up, and stick it in the freezer for 1-2 months. To use after freezing, remove the loaf from the freezer, unwrap, and allow it to come to room temperature (1 -2 hours) before slicing and enjoying.

More Great Sourdough Recipes:

Baker’s Schedule

8 am: Mix dough

9 am: Stretch and fold every 30 minutes

11 am: Set aside to bulk ferment

1 pm: Shape the loaf

3 pm: Preheat oven

3:30 pm: Bake loaf

Recommended Equipment

Brod + Taylor folding proofing box:As mentioned above, this proofing box has revolutionized my sourdough baking, and really reinvigorated my love of the dough. As an added bonus, it folds up in a nice compact little package when it’s not in use.

Cast iron dutch oven: Much of the success of this bread depends on having a heavy-ass cast iron dutch oven, as it traps in steam and boosts the oven spring of your sourdough.

The blue one in these photos is a 6-quart oval dutch oven that I find perfect for baking batards. As an added bonus, due to the shape, I can fit this dutch oven and a round one in the oven to bake double the volume! If you don’t have a dutch oven, I have a guide on how to cook sourdough without a dutch oven.

Scale:It’s really hard to make sourdough without a scale. Sorry, but them’s the facts! bread baking and bread dough are a bit of a science. AGOOD KITCHEN SCALEwill treat you well over a huge range of recipes, not just sourdough. Think ofHOMEMADE BACON!

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