Favorite Sourdough Bread Recipes

Sourdough gets its name from the acids that build up in the culture during fermentation. This type of bread isn’t necessarily sour tasting. When mixed with other ingredients to form the dough, the sourdough flavor is tempered by the other flavors it brings out.

Before commercial yeast was invented at the end of the nineteenth century, all bread was raised with “wild yeast” captured and cultivated in a simple mixture of flour and water. This sourdough mixture was used for at least two thousand years to make bread.

 

Sourdough Starter Recipes

Sourdough starters, also known as “wild yeast”, are used instead of commercial yeast in sourdough breads.  We have a variety of sourdough starter recipes, including methods that use grapes or apples to start the wild yeast activity, to using einkorn flour, rye flour, spelt, and whole wheat flour to create and maintain your own starters. Find a starter recipe

Sourdough Bread Recipes

Here are 28 of my favorite sourdough bread recipes, along with recipes for sourdough buns, rolls, crackers, flatbreads, and other baked goods, such as pancakes, cinnamon rolls and biscuits, made with sourdough or sourdough discard.

I’ve made other breads over the years using sourdough so if you are looking for something different, type “sourdough” or “sourdough rye” in the search bar at the top and you’ll be presented with other options. 

 

Classic Sourdough Bread

The process of making this classic sourdough bread takes anywhere from 10 to 22 hours from start to finish depending on how long you let the sponge and the dough work, but it is definitely worth the time and effort involved. You just have to plan ahead to fit it in your schedule. Learn more

 

Making Classic Sourdough in a La Cloche

This is the third part in my series on drying and restarting a sourdough starter. The first part was learning how to dry a sourdough starter. The second part focused on reactivating a dried starter. This post focuses on baking classic sourdough bread in a cloche using the reactivated starter.

I decided to test my reactivated starter by making a classic sourdough bread. I had a specific purpose in mind for this bread, and it needed to be round, so I opted to make it in my La Cloche.

 

Easy No-Knead Sourdough Bread in a Pot

I needed some stale bread for a couple of dishes so this gave me an excuse to make more bread. Not that I need an excuse.

I chose this easy no-knead sourdough bread. It takes a couple of days to make from start-to-finish, but doesn’t require much hands on time. Most of the time is spent proofing the culture and the dough. Learn more

 

Sourdough Bread Machine Bread

This post focuses on making sourdough bread in a bread machine using an active sourdough starter as well as flour, water, salt, and a little yeast.  I used the starter I created from a recipe from Boudin Bakery in San Francisco, but you can use any sourdough starter for this bread. Learn more

 

Slow Fermented Light Wheat Olive Oil Rosemary Loaves

These slow fermented light wheat olive oil loaves are infused with a hint of rosemary and utilize an overnight levain to ferment the dough.  In this post, I detail how I converted an olive oil bread made with yeast to one made completely with sourdough. Learn more

 

Sourdough Einkorn Toasted Oats Bread

Sourdough Einkorn Toasted Oats Bread is a delightfully lean, yet soft bread.  The toasted oats give it a slightly nutty taste as does the inclusion of whole grain einkorn.  Learn more

 

Sourdough Savory Danish Crown

This Sourdough Savory Danish Crown is leavened with wild yeast and filled with onions and cheese. This butter-rich ring of bread reminds me of a big croissant filled with onions.  Learn more

 

Multigrain Sourdough Sandwich Loaf

This Multigrain Sourdough Sandwich Bread, made with 30% home-milled spelt flour, a mix-grain soaker of ten different grains and seeds, and topped with rolled oats, is a grain-lovers delight.  Learn more

 

Dutch Oven Sourdough Sweet Potato Crunch Bread

This Dutch Oven Sourdough Sweet Potato Crunch Bread is my latest creation for Fall and Holiday dinner tables.  It has the traditional ingredients found in Sweet Potato Crunch, a favorite Holiday dish, but also features flavors and textures you’ll only experience in the bread form.  It has become my “go to” bread this Fall. Learn more

 

100% Whole Grain Sourdough Spelt Oatmeal Bread

This 100% Whole Grain Sourdough Spelt Oatmeal Bread, made with a “wild yeast’ starter and whole grain spelt, is based on my family’s favorite oatmeal bread recipe. The original recipe is made with all white flour and baked in a bread machine. My sons still love the original oatmeal bread, but I like to mix things up. So each year or so, I make a new version of this bread using a different technique or grain. Learn more

 

Sourdough Rosemary KAMUT Emmer Loaves with Leftover Roasted Vegetables

Did you know you could make delicious bread using leftover vegetables?  Well you can, and this bread is the proof.  These Sourdough Rosemary KAMUT Emmer Loaves are made with leftover roasted vegetables.  The idea for these loaves came about as I was enjoying some roasted vegetables one evening and thinking about the next bread I was going to create…  Learn more

 

Sourdough Spelt Ka’ak Bread

This Sourdough Spelt Ka’ak Bread is my rendition of a Lebanese Bread which is shaped like a purse, sprinkled with Sesame Seeds and sold on the streets of Beirut.

I decided to make Ka’ak using sourdough and a mixture of all-purpose and whole grain spelt. This version turned out crispy and light on the outside and soft and airy on the inside. Learn more

 

Sweet Potato Einkorn Sourdough Stout Bread

This Sweet Potato Einkorn Sourdough Stout Bread is moist and flavorful and benefits from a double-ferment as well as a cold retard in the refrigerator overnight.

This bread mashup is what happens when you take mashed sweet potatoes, stout, sourdough, a little rye, rolled oats and einkorn flour, mix it together, and bake it in a Dutch oven combo baker. Learn more

 

Einkorn Pumpkin Stout Sourdough with Seeds

This Einkorn Pumpkin Stout Sourdough with Seeds is a remake of an old favorite which was introduced as the BOM (bread of the month) for the Artisan Bread Bakers group.  The original was made with bread flour, rye, pumpkin puree and stout.  This updated loaf is made with all-purpose Einkorn flour, rye, pumpkin puree, stout and toasted pumpkin seeds for added appeal.  Learn more

 

Rustic Sourdough Cinnamon Raisin Struan

This Rustic Sourdough Cinnamon Raisin Struan is made with cooked brown rice, coarse cornmeal, rolled oats, oat bran and a mix of raisins and cranberries.

To give it an over-the-top flavor, the dough is rolled out, brushed with melted butter and sprinkled with cinnamon sugar. And for the finishing touches, the top of the loaf is brushed with melted butter and sprinkled with cinnamon sugar.  Needless to say, these loaves pack a powerful punch of sweetness! Learn more

 

Sourdough Oatmeal Bread and Power of Persuasion

This Sourdough Oatmeal Bread represents the convergence of two personas; project manager and bread baker, and came to fruition due to a simple, yet profound request from my youngest son.

When my son requested Oatmeal Bread, in his mind, he was referring to the family’s favorite bread machine oatmeal bread made with all white flour.  I decided to grant his request, but instead of making a yeast bread in the bread machine, I converted our favorite oatmeal bread recipe to sourdough and made it by hand. Learn more

 

Braided Sourdough Spinach Loaves

These Braided Sourdough Spinach Loaves have a beautiful green hue due to the inclusion of pureed spinach and matcha green tea powder.  The dough is sprinkled with flakes of spinach and when the loaves are baked, the crust darkens, but the crumb retains its lovely green hue.  Learn more

 

Sourdough Sweet Potato Bread

This Sourdough Sweet Potato Bread is a unique mashup of sweet potato, red lentil flour, bread flour and a hint of cinnamon. The ingredients blend well to create a slightly sweet and moist loaf with good keeping quality due to the potatoes and sourdough. Learn more

 

Sourdough Sprouted Wheat Loaves

These Sourdough Sprouted Wheat Loaves, made with 60 percent sprouted red fife flour, are chewy and nutty due to the inclusion of roasted sunflower seeds.

I got the idea for these loaves from the sourdough artisan bread rolls we made for the BOM challenge for the Artisan Bread Bakers FB group. I adapted the formula to utilize a 60/40 ratio of sprouted wheat flour to all-purpose flour and added some roasted sunflower seeds to the mix. Instead of shaping them into small batards (for rolls), I shaped them into three loaves.  Learn more

 

Sourdough Semolina Einkorn Bread

This Sourdough Semolina Einkorn Bread is made with a sourdough levain, semolina flour and Einkorn flour and baked in a ceramic Dutch Oven. The flavor is rich and nutty due to the inclusion of Einkorn as well as sesame seeds which are sprinkled throughout the dough.  The semolina acts as the centerpiece for this loaf, imbuing the loaf with a creamy color and slightly grainy texture which lends itself well for toasting or enjoying warm with butter. Learn more

 

Cranberry Sourdough Rye with Walnuts and Pecans

These Cranberry Sourdough Rye Loaves, dotted with cranberries, walnuts and pecans and wrapped in love, are crusty on the outside and chewy on the inside. The flavor is exceptional, especially when you allow the dough to retard in the refrigerator overnight. The result is a lovely not too dense sourdough bread that you would be proud to serve on your table or give as a housewarming gift. Learn more

 

Sourdough Spelt Rosemary Loaf

This Sourdough Spelt Rosemary Loaf is my recreation of a sourdough bread I bought from one of the vendors at the Maine Artisan Bread Festival.  When I attended the Artisan Bread Fair in Maine several years ago, I bought a Sourdough Rosemary Loaf from Borealis Bread.  My son and I enjoyed it so much I decided to recreate the experience.  Learn more

 

Sourdough Spelt Stollen

This Sourdough Spelt Stollen is made with a spelt sourdough starter and home milled whole grain spelt flour that has been sifted twice.  This bread can be folded and formed into a crescent shape or simply shaped into a log. Since I’ve made the crescent shape before, I opted for the log shape this time. In addition, I used dried cranberries instead of candied fruit and added fresh orange zest to boost the flavor. Learn more

 

Pain au Romarin – Sourdough Rosemary Bread

Pain au Romarin is affectionately known as Sourdough Rosemary Bread.  For those of you who enjoy the beautiful, fragrant and delicious herb from the Mediterranean, I invite you to bake this bread and bask in the heavenly scent drifting through the air. You’ll thank me later. Learn more

 

Sourdough Asiago Rosemary Spelt Bread

This Sourdough Asiago Rosemary Spelt Bread is infused with flavor due to the fresh rosemary, but also includes cracked black pepper and Asiago cheese. I super charged it further by making it with sourdough instead of dried yeast.  The dough is filled with cheese and herbs on the inside and sprinkled with more cheese on the outside. This gives it a crispy and cheesy crust and a fluffy crumb.  It tastes great plain or used as a sponge for dipping in olive oil. Learn more

 

Classic Sourdough Bread for all Seasons and Flours

This Classic Sourdough Bread for all Seasons and Flours can be made with different types of flours, and baked as a soft crust sourdough sandwich loaf in a loaf pan, or freeform, to please picky kids or adults.  If you prefer a chewy crust, just bake it freeform on the baking stone at a higher temperature and reduce the bake time. Learn more

 

 

Cheesy Sourdough Brioche Babka

This buttery and cheesy sourdough surprise, also known as Cheesy Sourdough Brioche Babka, is made with a buttery and sticky dough that makes a great tasting loaf whether you call it babka or brioche. Learn more

 

 

Sourdough Irish Soda Bread

 

Traditional soda bread is made with flour, baking soda, salt, and buttermilk. This one is leavened with sourdough instead of baking soda, although you can use a bit of soda to mute the sourdough tang if desired.   I changed things up even more by substituting all-purpose spelt for the regular all-purpose flour and added in some whole grain spelt flour for good measure.

Soda breads generally don’t have very good keeping quality so you need to enjoy them right away. Adding sourdough to the bread extends the shelf life.  This version lasted for several days before going stale. Learn more

 

 

Buns / Rolls

Mini Sourdough Oatmeal Blueberry Egg Bagels and Loaf

These Mini Sourdough Oatmeal Blueberry Egg Bagels are chewy on the outside with a hit of tanginess due to the sourdough.  Learn more

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sources:
Leader, Daniel. Local Breads. 2007 W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.
Reinhart, Peter. The Bread Baker’s Apprentice. 2001 Ten Speed Press.