Sourdough Bread Recipes

This is the bread that started everything for me. I baked this loaf every week for farmers markets, sometimes plain, sometimes loaded with herbs, cheese, or olives. It's the recipe that taught me how one dough can become a dozen different loaves. If you're just getting started or you want a reliable base to build on, this is it.

Soft breadsticks wrapped in ragged dough bandages with googly olive eyes, served with a marinara 'blood' dip. One easy dough, two spooky builds, and a kitchen full of kids who think they're just playing.

The loaf that started it all. A simple, forgiving base dough that becomes plain white, herb, garlic, olive, or cheddar bread from the same mix. Yeasted for same-day baking, sourdough for deeper flavor and better keeping.

Soft homemade pita that puffs into a full pocket on a hot skillet or grill. Yeasted and sourdough paths, no oven needed. A summer bread that teaches rise.

Step-by-step 7-day guide to creating a sourdough starter from scratch. No special equipment, no purchased cultures. Just flour, water, and patience.

This is the recipe I wish someone had handed me when I was starting out. It's forgiving, it works, and it'll give you a beautiful loaf without requiring you to master a dozen techniques at once. We're keeping things simple here because your first win matters more than perfection.

Apple fritter focaccia with cinnamon apples, crisp olive-oil edges, pecans, and a brown-butter maple cider glaze.

Baba Wielkanocna is the Polish Easter cake — a tall, egg-rich enriched bread baked in a Bundt pan and finished with a bright lemon glaze.

Artisan buckwheat sourdough blending 15% buckwheat with bread flour for a nutty, earthy loaf with stunning gray crumb. Dutch oven baked.

A home baker's take on Colomba Pasquale — the Italian Easter dove bread. Orange-scented enriched dough with candied peel and a crunchy almond glaze.

Classic country sourdough using a levain at 20% of total flour. The result is open crumb, crackling crust, pleasant tang, and complex flavor that only wild fermentation provides.

Soft yeasted cranberry orange loaf with fresh berries, zest, and juice in the dough. Includes a full sourdough version and an optional orange glaze.

A holiday cranberry walnut sourdough with an overnight cold proof. Tangy, chewy, and a good fit for Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Real Danish rye bread without the sourdough fuss. This dense, seeded loaf uses instant-yeast and a long, slow rise to develop serious flavor. Perfect…

Toasted sesame seeds, poppy seeds, and everything bagel seasoning are folded into the dough and pressed onto the crust for flavor in every bite. Uses your active starter directly—no levain build required. Cold retard overnight for convenience and deeper complexity.

A whole wheat and seeded upgrade to Henry's classic Foolproof Sourdough. Overnight fermentolyse, 79% hydration, flax and sesame seeds for flavor and crunch.

Fresh-milled einkorn sourdough with optional spelt blend. Built for whole grain einkorn from local farmers and fresh-milled flour, with traditional dough conditioners for structure and shelf life.

A big fresh-milled sourdough miche with a stiff overnight levain, wheat and rye, and a deep golden crust. Weigh it, fold it, bake it in a Dutch oven.

Soft, enriched sourdough knots brushed with toasted garlic butter, folded with sharp cheddar and fresh basil. Built on a fully sourdough levain at 17% inoculation. Same-day or overnight bake.

An open-crumb gluten-free sourdough boule with real tang and a crackling crust, baked in a Dutch oven using a rice flour starter.

These aren't your average cinnamon rolls. Using the tangzhong method (a Japanese technique that creates incredibly soft, long-lasting bread), these beauties stay tender for days. The overnight cold-proof develops deep flavor while making your morning routine easier. When Ryan called asking for cinnamon rolls for his track teammates, I knew these had to be perfect. By the end of the day, half the track and field team was in his dorm and all those rolls were gone.

Two-loaf country sourdough at 72% hydration with 90/10 bread and whole wheat, fermentolyse method, and an overnight cold retard for deep flavor.

A forgiving sourdough loaf built on fermentolyse, coil folds, and a cold proof. Great results without mastering a dozen techniques at once.

A 20% whole wheat sourdough with ground flaxseed and black and white sesame seeds. More flavor, more nutrition, same process.

Henry's Paska — soft, buttery, lightly sweet Easter bread with citrus zest in every slice. Sourdough and yeasted versions both included.

Whole wheat sandwich loaf with seven seeds, apple juice concentrate, and an overnight poolish. Inspired by the best seeded bread on the shelf.

This naturally leavened babka combines the subtle tang of sourdough with swirls of dark chocolate. Uses your active sourdough starter directly with no levain build required. Overnight cold retard for convenience and deeper flavor complexity.

This jalapeño cheddar sourdough combines the complex tang of naturally leavened bread with the irresistible combination of sharp cheddar and pickled jalapeños. The long fermentation develops deep flavor while the cheese creates pockets of gooey goodness throughout. Perfect for sandwiches, toast, or eating warm straight from the oven.

"Henry, is king cake really bread?" I get this question every Carnival season. The answer is yes, absolutely. King cake is an enriched-dough, same…

Convert a 100% hydration sourdough starter into a stiff Italian lievito madre in 3-4 weeks. Full refresh schedule, bagnetto, and panettone readiness tests.

Naturally leavened marble rye with a light and dark sourdough built from the same base. Two-day process with cold proof overnight for deeper flavor.

Sourdough marbled bread using an enriched base dough at 17% inoculation. Same lamination technique as the yeasted version with a richer, more complex flavor.

Overnight sourdough English muffins with deep flavor, signature nooks and crannies, and a schedule that fits real life. Mix at night, cook in the morning.

Crispy crust, soft open crumb. Bread flour and wholemeal with a quiet poppy seed crunch. 80% hydration, same-day bake.

Naturally purple sourdough made with purple sweet potato puree or powder. Soft, moist crumb with a nutty sweetness and stunning color throughout.

Authentic French sourdough baguettes with a crisp, shattering crust and open, chewy crumb. Perfect for sandwiches or with butter.

Crusty, tangy sourdough bread bowls that can handle the heartiest chowders and thickest bisques. The exterior develops a gorgeous golden crust while the…

Sourdough breadsticks with overnight cold retard and herb garlic butter Parmesan finish.

Chewy, flavorful sourdough hoagie rolls shaped and scored like baguettes. A cold overnight bulk makes next-morning shaping easy and the flavor complex.

Spiced, fruit-studded hot cross buns made with 100% sourdough. A sweet levain controls the sour, tangzhong keeps them soft, and the flour paste cross goes on before baking.

A classic Italian ciabatta built on an active sourdough levain. High hydration, minimal handling, and an open honeycomb crumb that's worth every extra hour of fermentation.

Sourdough monkey bread built on a levain with an overnight cold retard. Cinnamon sugar, brown sugar caramel, and a tang that balances the sweetness.

Sourdough multigrain sandwich bread with a seven grain soaker, honey, milk, and an overnight cold proof in the pans. Two 9 by 5 loaves.

Everything you love about Neapolitan pizza, powered by your sourdough starter. The 72-hour cold ferment develops incredible flavor and makes the dough easier to digest.

These authentic New York style bagels deliver that unmistakable chew, shiny crust, and deep malt flavor, all powered by your sourdough starter instead of commercial yeast. The overnight cold retard develops incredible flavor while fitting into a real schedule. Once you make these at home, you'll never look at store-bought bagels the same way.

Sourdough pita bread leavened entirely with a ripe levain. The long ferment builds flavor and pocket-popping strength. Eight soft, puffy pitas from one dough.

Once you taste sourdough pizza, there's no going back. The slow overnight fermentation develops flavors that commercial yeast can't touch, while the natural…

A sourdough boule taken through a baking soda bath before baking, finished with butter and Maldon salt. Inspired by Candi Brown-McGriff.

Honey-sweet sourdough challah braided into a round loaf. Naturally leavened, cold-retarded overnight, finished with black and white sesame.

A soft, naturally leavened honey-apple challah shaped into a four-strand round crown, with detailed fermentation cues, braiding instructions and a warm honey finish.

A pull-apart sourdough star bread with a spanakopita-inspired spinach and feta filling. Overnight levain for deeper flavor.

A naturally leavened lean Italian sandwich loaf built on a levain with honey, olive oil, and milk. Soft, sliceable, and made for everyday lunches.

Soft sourdough multigrain sandwich bread with a scald of ground cereal, honey, and milk. Mild, pillowy crumb, no grit. One 9 by 5 loaf.

These sourdough soft pretzels use active sourdough starter as the sole leavening. No commercial yeast. The overnight rise develops a complex, tangy flavor that regular pretzels can't touch, while the baking soda bath still gives you that chewy, dark, glossy crust.

A tangy overnight sourdough focaccia you decorate like a garden. Real starter, big bubbles, and the prettiest way to show off summer produce.

Soft sourdough Tiger Bread with the crackly Dutch Crunch crust. Naturally leavened dough, same rice-flour topping. Bake it as a loaf or rolls.

The sourdough take on my pumpkin-shaped savory bread. Real pumpkin purée, whole milk, butter, and fresh rosemary, raised with an active levain instead of commercial yeast. Tie it with oiled twine and you get eight clean pumpkin segments, a golden egg-washed crust, and a soft, tender crumb with just a whisper of tang. Put a cinnamon-stick stem on top and it's the centerpiece of the table.

A sourdough bánh mì roll with a paper-thin crackling crust and a light, tearable crumb. Rice flour and a shallow single slash do the work.

A golden country sourdough built on whole spelt and whole khorasan, with enough bread flour for dependable structure and a tender, buttery crumb.

Naturally leavened pillowy loaf using the Japanese tangzhong technique—perfect for sandwiches, toast, or eating warm with jam.

A faithful adaptation of Chad Robertson's original Tartine country bread, with dual measurements, troubleshooting, and step-by-step guidance for the home baker.

Tsoureki is the traditional Greek Easter braid — enriched with eggs and butter, scented with mahlab and mastic, braided golden and beautiful.

Fresh-milled whole-grain spelt bread built with aroma dough, sourdough, and salted Kochstück for a soft, moist, sliceable crumb.

Soft pretzel dough shaped into broomsticks with fringed bristles, dipped in a proper baking soda bath, and baked deep golden. A community favorite from Donna May, rebuilt on our classic pretzel formula so it tastes like a pretzel, not just a shaped breadstick.

All the pillowy softness of traditional milk bread, naturally leavened with sourdough starter. Subtle tang, incredible tenderness, and it stays fresh for days.

Traditional panettone leavened only with lievito madre: three refreshes, two doughs, scarpatura, and the 12-hour hang. The summit of home baking, mapped.

A naturally leavened milk-bread accordion loaf. Soft enriched crumb, thick cinnamon filling, and layers that pull apart like pages.

Naturally leavened peach cobbler cinnamon rolls with a tangzhong crumb, roasted peaches, brown butter streusel, and buttermilk glaze. Real fruit, no extract.

A flaky, buttery sourdough croissant loaf made with grated frozen butter and a long cold proof for real tang. The slow-build version of the viral trend.

Real laminated sourdough croissants with a honeycomb crumb and gentle tang. The same butter block and three folds as the classic, powered by a levain.

The same orange-scented, butter-brushed loaf crowned with dough bones, raised with a stiff levain instead of commercial yeast. Mild, not sour, with a softer crumb that stays fresh longer. Build the levain the night before and bake the next afternoon.