Easy Overnight Sourdough Bread

This simple recipe for overnight sourdough bread is a great way to begin baking with your sourdough starter. In a few steps, you can make delicious, artisan-quality bread at home with only flour, salt, water, and of course, your starter.

Two years ago when I began baking with sourdough, I couldn’t wait to make a loaf of homemade bread. I eagerly counted the days until my new sourdough starter would be ready for baking. Once my starter grew strong enough, I grabbed my mixing bowl and set to work.

Using a recipe from Feasting at Home, I baked my first loaf of sourdough bread in our Dutch Oven. Although it turned out a bit flat since it was my first attempt, I was amazed that I could create bread with only flour, salt, and water. After a few more tries, my sourdough grew stronger, and as a result, my bread rose higher and developed a wonderful flavor. I absolutely love this recipe, and it has never failed me yet!

Since then, overnight sourdough bread has become a family tradition in our household. Nearly every Sunday morning, I wake up to bake a loaf of fresh, homemade bread to eat with dinner in the evening. And while this bread is good enough to eat plain, we love dipping it in soup, spreading it with butter, or using it for avocado toast. However you choose to eat it, this simple sourdough bread is sure to become one of your new favorite recipes!

What is the Secret to Sourdough Bread?

To make sourdough bread, bakers use a mixture of flour and water to develop a sourdough starter. This starter nourishes colonies of bacteria and yeast which come from the air, flour, and water.

Lactic acid bacteria gives the starter a unique sour flavor while also protecting the microcosm from harmful bacteria. The wild yeast catabolize the sugars in flour which produces carbon dioxide and ethanol, causing the bread to rise.

As the starter matures, it’s flavor grows stronger, and because every kitchen hosts slightly different strains of bacteria, each starter is unique.

Is Sourdough Bread Healthier than other Breads?

Sourdough starter breaks down the effectively breaks down gluten in flour, which makes it easier for our bodies to digest. In fact, people with gluten-sensitivities often find that sourdough bread doesn’t bother their stomachs the way traditional bread does.

Furthermore, because the bacteria in sourdough starter breaks down the sugars in flour, sourdough bread has a lower glycemic index. This means that it doesn’t cause a spike in blood sugar the way regular bread does. Overall, sourdough bread is a healthier choice for your digestive system.

How do I know if my Sourdough Starter is ready to use?

To make sure your starter is ready to use, drop a small pinch of sourdough starter into a glass of water. If it floats, your starter is ready for baking! If not, keep feeding it and try again in the next few days.

Tips for making Overnight Sourdough Bread

• To give your bread a stronger sourdough flavor, use your starter several days after feeding. For example, I generally feed my starter on Sundays and bake this bread with it on Saturdays.
• Proofing times will vary depending on the season. Due to the heat, your bread won’t take as long to rise during the summer as during the winter. To make sure it has proofed properly, poke the dough with your index finger. If it springs back, your dough is ready.
• The dough will seem a bit wet and hard to manipulate, but this is ok! The high hydration level will give your sourdough bread more holes and a springier texture.

Tools you will need:

• Dutch Oven
• Mixing Bowl
• Parchment Paper
• Food Scale

Ingredients you will need:

• 520 grams flour
• 1 7/8 cups water
• 90 grams sourdough starter
• 12 grams salt

Overnight Sourdough Bread Schedule:

• 8pm: Mix your dough. Fold it once at 8:15 and then again at 8:30. Cover it and let rise overnight.
• 7am: Fold your dough and place in a bowl in the fridge.
• 11am: Preheat your oven to 500 degrees Fahrenheit with the Dutch Oven inside.
• 12pm: Bake your bread with the lid on for 25 minutes. Then reduce the temperature to 450 degrees Fahrenheit, remove the lid, and bake for 12-14 minutes more.
• Let cool for 1 hour, if you can wait that long, and then enjoy! Doing this makes it easier to cut your bread.

How to make Overnight Sourdough Bread

At 8pm the night before you want your bread, measure out 520 grams of flour, 12 grams of salt, and 90 grams of sourdough starter into a bowl. Pour in 1 7/8 cups of water, and use your hands to mix the dough together. It will not be smooth, and likely will seem very wet. This is OK!

Cover the bowl with a towel and let it sit for 15 minutes. After this, perform a series of folds. Basically, you want to take a corner of the dough and fold it over the rest of the dough. Rotate the bowl and do it again. I usually do this about 15 times, until the dough doesn’t stretch as easily. Wet your hands slightly so the dough doesn’t stick to them.

Cover the bowl with a towel and let it sit for another 15 minutes. Repeat the folds like you did in step 2. Then cover the bowl again and let it sit out overnight to rise.

At 7am the next morning, your bread will have risen and should be ready to fold. It may have air bubbles on the top of the dough. This is great! They will ensure that your bread has holes in it when it comes out of the oven. Prepare another bowl to hold your bread in by lining a mixing bowl with parchment paper and sprinkling flour over the bottom.

To fold your bread, wet your hands and loosen the dough from the edges of the bowl. Gently use both hands to lift up the middle of the dough. Tuck the ends underneath of the rest of the dough. Give your bowl a quarter turn and repeat. Do this one more time. Next, carefully lift the middle of the dough and move the dough to the bowl lined with parchment paper. Make sure to tuck the ends underneath. Sprinkle the top with flour and put your dough in the fridge for 5 hours.

When you’ve folded your dough, it should look like this:

At 11am, preheat your oven to 500 degrees Fahrenheit. I like to use the Convection setting on my oven. Place your Dutch Oven in the oven while it is preheating.

At 12pm, take your dough out of the fridge. Use a knife to score it however you like. I usually do a long slash down the center with a few smaller slashes on each side. Use the parchment paper to transfer your dough to the Dutch Oven.

Bake for 25 minutes with the lid on. Next, remove the lid, and change the temperature to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. Bake for another 12-14 minutes.

Take out of the oven and once it’s cool enough to touch, set it on a rack to cool. Try to wait 1 hour before eating it!

Did you enjoy this recipe?

Check out other sourdough recipes from the Kitchen Counter here! Let me know in the comments section how your bread turned out!