Easy White Sourdough Bread Recipe

This is the best homemade white sourdough bread I’ve tried, plus, it’s very easy and pretty foolproof!

Taste and Soul will be “officially” starting up {with a posting schedule of 2 posts per week} when I return from vacation Apr.05

The beginning of this year was when I first started experimenting with sourdough – and the first I tried was 100% rye!

That was a mistake for someone whose family is used to mild flavored breads. The only sourdough I had tried growing up (besides store bought) was made with beer, and that doesn’t have a “real” sourdough taste at all – it’s much more mild, but very good nonetheless!

After my rye experiment, I moved on to 100% white and 100% kamut sourdough breads, and of the two, only the white tasted excellent – the kamut was a complete disaster.

Crumbly, dry, you get the jist. Kamut is a very pesky grain to work with, requiring more attention and dampness than other grains.

Read more: Sugar Cookie Bread Recipe

What Is Sourdough Bread?

Sourdough is the only form of white bread that is actually good for you, since the fermentation process gives it a probiotic boost, and helps break down some of the gluten within.

And you can easily adjust the level of sourness to your taste by adjusting the rising time.

Is White Sourdough Bread Healthy?

This white sourdough is much better than store-bought, but I am working on playing with this recipe to create a really good whole wheat white sourdough bread, which will have an even better nutrition than this white one.

Although the nutritional data will really depending upon how many people you are feeding, and how much everyone likes the sourdough, I will give you the nutritional stats based on 18 slices.

Each slice will have approx. 170 calories, 6% DV fat, 9% DV carbs, 4% DV fiber, and a nice 4 grams of protein.

I use honey instead of sugar in this recipe to keep things on the healthier side, and olive oil rather than the highly processed vegetable oil (the taste difference is minimal).

Olive oil is much better for you, and I recommend using it in this recipe. You could try coconut oil or melted butter instead if you want to be adventurous.

Easy White Sourdough Bread Recipe

I try and only eat white bread this way….well, except for my tortillas when I have fajitas or breakfast tacos. Yum!

Although the recipe in and of itself is extremely simple and easy, what you need for this recipe is TIME, and lots of it.

There are no special instructions for this recipe except for the risings. If you want a milder bread, allow it to rise for 3 hours for the first rising, and 2 hours for the second. If you want it really sour and rustic, then allow it to rise for 6 hours, and then 2-3.

You can, of course, go for a longer time (up to 12 hours) for the first rising, but I do not recommend allowed the second rising to exceed 3 hours. Nearly all breads I have tried have a tendency to deflate if their second rising is too long.

You can either buy some sourdough starter, or make your own. It’s super simple, and here is a link to making your own sourdough starter. And if you care to braid you bread, this site that I found has a good many different braids to try.

Prep Time For White Sourdough Bread Recipe

• 6 hours
• Cook time
• 20 mins
• Total time
• 6 hours 20 mins

The white sourdough bread is wonderfully soft and smell absolutely amazing in the oven! I can’t always wait for it to cool before I dig in!

• Recipe type: Bread
• Serves: 24 servings

Ingredients

• 1 cup hydrated sourdough starter
• ¾ cup warm water
• 3 Tbl honey
• ¼ cup olive oil
• 1 egg + 2 egg yolks
• 1 & ¼ tsp salt
• 3 & ½ – 5 cups white flour
• 1 whole egg beaten with 1 Tbl water for egg wash (used right before placing in oven.)

Instructions

1. Mix together the wet ingredients, then mix in the dry (1 cup flour at a time) until everything is smooth, with either a bowl and large spoon or a mixer with a dough hook….Trust me, the mixer is your best friend here!
2. Knead it in your mixer for a few minutes until it’s smooth and doesn’t stick to the bowl. The dough is going to be more stiff than normal, and will feel slightly stickier than normal bread dough.
3. Put the dough into an oiled bowl, cover with a damp towel, and put in a warm place, such as your oven. {You can place a bowl of steaming water underneath the bowl in the oven if you wish – it will help the rising along. But this is not necessary. I only do this sometimes.}
4. If you want a milder bread, allow it to rise for 3 hours for the first rising. If you want it really sour and rustic, then allow it to rise for 6 hours.
5. Once the first rising is complete, punch dough down and shape into a large round loaf, and place onto a stone or a baking sheet that has been lined with parchment paper.
6. Allow your dough to rise again for 2-3 hours.
7. When you bread has 15 minutes left to rise, preheat your oven to 350. Beat and egg with 1 Tbl water to make an egg wash, and brush your bread with this.
8. Bake for 20-25 minutes. The top will be light brown when it is done, and the internal temp should be around 90 F.
9. Cool and enjoy!
10. Bread stays fresh for 3 days, covered.

Fun Fact: The first time I made this recipe – I forgot the salt. Now that was interesting. But with salted grass-fed butter, it wasn’t bad at all. Oh for my silly mistakes!