Basic Sourdough Bread

I don't have a bread machine so adapted this to the conventional oven. first rise until doubled, second rise for about 45 min. baked in 400degree oven for 20-25 minutes. I've used this recipe twice now and love the flavor and texture of the bread; used a raw potato starter. thanks so much for this recipe

I have used the recipe 5 fimes, and it has been great each time. I recently obtained a starter from a friend and wanted to give sourdough a try. After making it once "by hand", I tried this machine recipe. This recipe worked better and was obviously much easier! I find bread flour works very nicely. Every bread machine is different; this recipe works very well for me.

Excellent recipe. I made it manually and since my starter is not very liquid, I had to add water. This was a very nice dough that was easy to work with. I agree with reviewer DSRTBLND43 that the sourness of your starter has a lot to do with the sourness of the bread. My fairly new starter has still not achieved the tang I want, but this recipe is the recipe I will keep using for my sourdough bread. Nice crust, good chewiness, moist inside, and very good flavor. Thank you Kathy!

So I missed the 90s Bread Revolution and just bought my first one. This was my first non-box recipe and I just happen to have a 3 year old sourdough colony in my fridge. The bread was AWESOME!!! The one comment I have is that I needed to add more water, probably closer to 1/2 a cup. You can always check on the dough during the first knead cycle and add more if necessary, which is what I did, to make it look like dough. If it's crumbly it needs water!

it need 2-6more Tablespoons of water &1-2 tsp of oil or melted butter ,the dough got a little to dry ,it was great bread,taste,texture was the best,better then store bought fresh from a bakery

It would have been really good for persons who do not have a bread machine to know the order in which the ingredients are to be infused and the process by which the bread can be made by hand.

This is the best tasting and stays moist to the end and so very easy to make I really eat more bread then I ever used to. It is really so very good. Thank you for the recipe. Marie20002

This recipe is the best one that I have tried in my ABM. I make a loaf nearly every day now, & we use it for grilled cheese & tomato sandwiches, french toast & for eating plain. Good texture & flavor.

I found this recipe a bit too dificult. Perhaps it was just me, but after carefully following the directions, I ended up with a half-cooked extremely strong tasting loaf. I made the bread three different times with the same result.

Great! Forgot to add the yeast and it came out light and fluffy. Will redo with the yeast next time. It wasn't real sour. Because of the yeast probably. Thanks Kathy.

Great recipe! I added 1/3 cup water to mine and it formed a very nice dough. I think it depends upon how thick a person's starter is and mine is fairly thick. I am using the Alaska sourdough starter.

Great Recipe. I like a soft crust so as soon as I pulled it out of the oven I took the bread out of the and rubbed butter over the top and sides. It keeps the crust from getting hard and adds a wonderful butter flavor to the bread.

This recdipe works very well in the bread machine. I really like the texture - crusty but soft inside, not dry. The sourdough taste is up to the baker. The longer you leave your starter out to ferment, the tangier the taste. I let mine ferment 48 hours. The result was a mild taste with a very yeasty aroma. Good sandwich bread. I always use unbleached bread flour. I had to add 2 tbs more water to the recipe so that the dough was not too stiff. The result was a satiny smooth elastic dough. Definately worth 5 stars.

I had wanted to bake this by hand but I got a bread maker given to me and tried it. I made it just like recipe listed and my sister even came along and unplugged the bread maker and when I found out I had to let it cycle completely through, well to make a long story short 6 hours later my bread was finished it had not risen as much as it did in the first cycle, but for having to be cycled 2 complete times in a bread machine and then cooked 6 hours later it is a GREAT bread and it turned out WONDERFUL. I loved the flavor and texture. This is very forgiving dough. And I will be baking this one for a long time. AAAA++++

I do have a bread machine but this recipe did not work in it. With bread machines you add all the ingredients at the same time. When making handmade bread, you begin with the wet ingredients and add the dry slowly as needed. I made two loaves. The first one, I added everything at once (thinking it would work in my machine). But once I realized there was too much volume for the container, I took it out to knead it, and there was way too much flour so I had to add more liquid, which is not the way you make bread. It was a hard lump and difficult to knead. I made a second loaf because I had lots of starter, so I did it the proper way and it was a lovely dough by only using about 2 cups of flour. I let it raise til doubled, punched down and let it rest for 15 minutes before making into a loaf with slices across the top. Let it double again and baked at 400 for 35 minutes and brush with butter upon cooling. both loaves turned out great!

I have a great starter I got on this site a couple years back and have not really been ecstatic about other recipes/results I have tried. This one was too easy to pass up w/o at least giving it a shot. I read some of the reviews and threw in an extra couple of tablespoons of water (just in case). This rose beautifully and baked to perfection in my machine (which is an older, inherited model). The hardest part of this recipe was carrying up the bread machine from the garage! I may try to remove the dough after prep next time and bake in a pan just for a prettier loaf....but this was a great recipe and I am happy.

After trying to make decent sourdough bread for 2 years I came across this recipe. It is the only one I use now and is perfect every time. Also changed from a vertical loaf machine to a horizontal loaf machine - much better. I haven't changed a thing!!

this is absolutely the best....I used the dough cycle of my Sunbeam bread machine, then divided the dough for rolls. I let the rolls rise on the stove while dinner was cooking in the oven. took out the dinner and let the rolls cook in the oven at 375 degrees until browned, forgot to time the rolls. everyone loved them...now I am going to try the loaves.

this bread is so yummy, i will keep making it, i have to add a little extra water but thats no problem, im making some for my friend missy who is coming to see me today

Very good. Quite moist, very soft bread. Mine turned out a little crusty and my starter is still young so not very flavorful but this is a good easy recipe I can continue using as my starter gets better! Thanks!

this bread was much to dense and heavy... there are other sour dough recipes on here that are much better

Excellent Texture! High Riser.

It is very good bread with a softer crust even when set on a medium/dark setting. I added a tablespoon of honey for sour/sweet flavoring to it. I followed the recipe exact but added a teaspoon of water during the first kneading cycle in the machine. It smells delicious too!

I did not like this bread very much. Just so-so. It was way too much for my bread machine. It oozed over the sides of the pan and hit the top window of the machine. I also found it to be dry even after adding some water to the dough during the kneading cycle. I much prefer the recipe called plain and simple sourdough bread. Moist, doughy and yummy! (Not to mention the right size for a bread machine!)

After 4 days my new starter looked and smelled ready for testing. So I made this bread according to the recipe, well my bread turned out lovely. It was not the strong flavour I was expecting but I know it is because I am using a new starter. The only thing is my bread is a brown colour , it looks like wheat bread. Isn't sour dough bread suppose to be white. I used white flour. Does anyone know why this has happened? All in all a good simple recipe.

This is the lightest, most wonderful bread that I have ever had the joy of making. All of my extended family are begging me to bake them a loaf to take home. The all love it. I have a small bread machine and this loaf was just too large for it. Because of location, I have to add around 1 1/2 cups flour more than the recipe calls for. I made the dough in the bread machine and baked it in a french loaf pan. Rave reviews. Thank you so much for taking the time to share your recipe with us.

An amazing recipe. Great flavor and density. Will definitely make again!

I dont know what my deal is with bread, this came out tasting very strong and the bread was dense. I have had sourdough bread many times and I followed the directions to the T...... I am dumb founded

This is a great bread machine recipe. I have baked it in the pan and also let the machine do the mixing and shaped it into a loaf. It tastes great every time.

Have given up on this recipe; believe it has too much flour

Nice sourdough taste. I too used more water. Also only used one tsp. yeast, and that was plenty. I don't have a bread machine and this made about 1 1/2 loaves for me (using a bread pan).

No bread machine, No problem. This makes a GREAT loaf of bread & super easy to make. I don't have a bread machine so I made this recipe the old fashioned way. Mixed all ingredients in my stand mixer with the bread hook. Covered & Let rise until doubled in size, ( about an hour). removed from mixer bowl . On lightly floured surface kneaded for several minuets. Placed in oiled & floured bread pan. Let rise again for about 45 minutes. Bake in preheated, 400deg oven for about 25 Minuets. remove from oven and place on cooling rack. It's that easy folks.

I don't have a bread machine, so I made this by a mixer with a dough hook. I kneaded it for 10 minutes. I proofed my yeast, but my dough did not rise even after 3 1/2 hours in a warm place. I wonder if there is something in my starter that prevents rising as this has happened to me before. The starter does bubble and I mix the water that comes out every few days. The starter is about 2 months old. I left it out for 7 days before putting it in the fridge. In any case, my bread from this recipe was flat.

My kids and i are absolutely in love with it! The outside was crispy crunchy and the inside very moist.

At the onset of baking, the loaf fell slightly. I will decrease the yeast to 1 1/2 t. next time to see if this helps since I seldom use more than 1 1/2 t. yeast on any bread machine recipe. The loaf had a good flavor and was much more like "regular" white bread than sourdough.

Great recipe and easy to follow. I had never made sourdough bread and it turned out really well. I used my machine just to make the dough and then I used my oven so I could shape it the way I wanted it. It was really sticky and gooey but I just added more flour when I was shaping it, but I think most sourdoughs are gooey like that. Wonderful recipe and I will use this one often!

I don't have a bread machine and this recipe worked great! Let it double for first rise about 2 hours; shaped and let rise about an hour then baked at 400 for 20 minutes ! Awesome

I used locally stone ground whole wheat flour ( Sonora, soft white, for any of you bread nerds ). It worked just fine, two tablespoons of vital gluten made it fail safe.

Maybe my starter is too thick but in order for a dough ball to form in my bread machine I had to add a lot more water than 1/3 cup, maybe as much as an extra cup. The final result is good though. The dough has to be loose and elastic enough for it to rise otherwise one would end up with a door stop brick.

i have tried this recipe many times and i love the way the sour taste comes through each time. very simple to make even without the bread machine. I always come here for the tried and true recipes

I added water to this recipe like quite a few of the reviewers suggested and I really wish I hadn't. I followed the recipe to a T except the addition of about a tablespoon of water. Since I wanted a loaf like French bread I used the dough setting and then rolled it out. I had to add a bunch of flour just to unstick it to everything! Next time I will leave well enough alone.

This recipe is ok. I have made it three times now and each time the bread is consistently high-rising and soft. However, I suggest that when using this recipe to stick around for the beginning of the first mixing cycle so you can add more water as needed. I've found that I have added at least double the amount of water stated on the recipe in order for my bread to mix properly. It should end up just slightly sticky and soft. I make it in a 3lb machine, and the second time pushed against the lid. The bread is fairly decent in the end. It is a simple recipe for a fast bread in the breadmachine.

Super easy..I have 17 year old starter...plus used the dough setting..needed to add a little more water...tablespoon at a time during mixing..6 or 7...

This bread is the best I've made with my starter. YUMMY>

This recipe is excellent. I was in a bind and didn't have a machine mix in the box but did have the sourdough starter. This recipe was EASY EASY EASY and it was DELICIOUS

This was a really good tasting bread!! Even though it fell slightly, I am still giving it 4 stars because I didn't have machine bread yeast so that may be the problem. I will retry with it and rerate at that time if need be. In the meantime, the crust was "crusty" and the inside was real moist and tasty!! I think your sourdough starter has alot to do with the "sourness" of the bread. I used Sourdough Starter by Esther Nelson and it was really good!! Will definitely use again!!

The dough never came together in the bread machine: it was incredibly clumpy and simply unusable. I ended up throwing it out.There was no way to bake it.

This recipe is fairly good. It is delightfully simple, but the result was more like white bread than sourdough. I found the original recipe too yeasty in flavor. I wasn't sure if it was my starter or the recipe, so I diluted my starter with an extra cup of milk and an extra 1/4 cup sugar and let it stand overnight, until it had that nice sour aroma. Then I substituted bread flour for the all purpose flour and used only 1 teaspoon of yeast. I also used two tablespoons of sugar and about 1-1/2 teaspoons of salt, unstead of the amounts called for in the recipe. The resulting bread was mellower and less yeasty, but not as sour as I would like.

I will be using this recipe to make sour dough bread because it is VERY similar to the one my Mama used. I have made lots of bread--French bread, braided bread, Italian bread, Sour Dough bread, plain white bread, biscuits from scratch, pie crusts etc. So, let me tell you. The amount of water in a bread recipe will vary depending on the weather where you are making them. It has to do with the humidity level. So be prepared to either add a little more or a little less water or flour for your dough to be workable.

Quite tasty. Wonderful crust. I followed the advice of another reviewer and finished by baking in oven. Could not wait until it cooled to taste it.

Great simple sourdough recipe! Not for the purist as this still uses regular yeast but makes a great loaf very easily!

I'm curious if this is for a single loaf bread machine size or a double loaf size.

Recently got a great sourdough starter recipe from Kent Rollins cookbook and decided to make this bread with it, last night. I only used the dough setting on my bread machine as I've recently discovered, baking the bread in the oven give the bread such a better consistency. This was the best bread I have EVER made and I make a loaf a day for the motel we run in Utah. Thanks for the great recipe!!

It was a little dry. I made it I. My bread maker so maybe that was an issue. I will try it again and do it the traditional way.

I like that this recipe doesn't call for bread flour. Smells and tastes wonderful.

INCREDIBLE! I use Becky Richardson's starter and the whole family loves this bread! The crust is amazing and the bread spongy without being too dense. I'd give more than 5 stars if I could.

My starter is only 2 weeks old so the sour taste in my bread isnt very distinct yet, but this is a great bread, wonderful for sandwiches, very light and fluffy, nice crumb inside. Very high riser, I was afraid it might spill over in my bread machine but it did perfectly! (I did have to add about a cup of extra water to the dough to get it to the right consistency.

This is my first attempt at sourdough bread. It's a nice recipe, but definitely too dry. I had to add water and sourdough starter. Next time I'll put in two cups of starter and 1/2 cup of water and see how that cones out. If not for the fact that the ingredient quantities don't quite work, it would be really good

I really loved this recipe! I've used other sourdough bread recipes and this one rose beautifully and tasted delicious. I did read some of the reviews that said the dough seemed to be a little dry so I added 1/3 more water and 1 tablespoon more oil (basically doubling the liquids). I also added two tablespoons of butter in small bits around the edge of the pan before adding the yeast. I brushed butter on the warm crust after baking and removing from the bread machine. My favorite part is slicing it while it's hot and sharing a fresh, buttered slice with my hubby. ??

I used a eight day old starter, 1 tsp bread machine yeast, 3 tbs more water than called for in recipe I let my bread machine do the work, then put dough in loaf pan let it raise til doubled in size and baked in oven 350 deg for 35 min, it made a very very good loaf of sourdough bread nice chewy crust . This will be my go to sourdough recipe.