Bread Machine Sourdough Bread
Bread machine sourdough bread doesn’t have to be complicated! This version uses your discard for flavor and instant yeast for a dependable rise, and you get a soft, tender loaf of sourdough sandwich bread in just a few hours. Add everything to the pan, press start, and walk away!
Craving The Recipe Details?
What it is: A soft sourdough discard loaf with a golden crust, made simple with the help of your bread machine.
Why you'll love it: Fresh bread made with sourdough discard for flavor and instant yeast for reliable rise, so it can be mixed, proofed, and baked with no kneading in 3 ½ hours!
How to make it: Combine discard with water, sugar, oil, salt, flour, and instant yeast, pour it into your bread machine, and let the machine do the work.
Kevy called me from work while I was reorganizing the fridge. Heavy sigh!
Usually, that’s a him job, because it doesn’t really bug me. But at this point, I’ve got various sourdough starters, discards, and somewhere-in-betweens happening in there and I have run out of room.
He was razzing me about my ferment-y buddies taking up all the fridge space and I thought to myself: I gotta deal with this and I really don’t need to eat more sourdough brownies!
This sourdough bread machine recipe is dedicated to using discard!
Jump to:
Key Ingredients
Sourdough Discard: This recipe is pretty flexible when it comes to starter discard. Use the stuff you’ve been saving in the fridge for a week or use the leftover’s from this morning’s feeding. Just make sure your starter is 100% hydration, meaning the starter is fed with equal weights of flour and water. Use room temperature discard and stir down any bubbles before measuring.
Yeast: Because sometimes you just want instant gratification when it comes to sourdough goodies, this includes instant yeast. You’ll be enjoying freshly baked sourdough bread machine bread in mere hours with this recipe!
If you don’t have instant yeast or bread machine yeast
Use active dry yeast. Increase the amount to 2 teaspoons of active dry yeast and bloom it in the warm water until bubbly before adding to the bread pan.
Read More: Bread machine yeast substitutes
How To Make Bread Machine Sourdough Bread
This recipe makes a 2 lb loaf – please ensure that your bread maker has a 2 lb loaf capacity before starting.
Add Ingredients To Bread Pan:
- Combine the liquid ingredients: 1 cup sourdough discard (stirred down), 3/4 cup warm water, 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, 1 ½ teaspoon granulated sugar, and 1 ½ teaspoon coarse kosher salt in the baking pan of your bread machine.
- Layer the dry ingredients as follows; 3 cups bread flour followed by 1 ½ teaspoons instant or bread machine yeast. Either sprinkle the yeast on top of the flour, where it's not touching the water or create a well in the flour, then add the yeast there.
Bake:
- Place the baking pan into the bread machine. Select Basic, Light Crust, and 2 lb Loaf options. If your machine does not have all these settings, simply select the Basic or White setting.
- Allow the bread machine to bake.
This is the hard part! Walk away! You'll be tempted to check on your bread and then start panicking cause the texture looks weird, the dough looks too wet, or the corners still have dry flour. Don't worry, I did all the peeking for you through the process.
During first knead: (about 10 minutes into the cycle) Some dry flour may remain around the edges while the wet looking dough comes together.
- I like to remove the mixing paddle after the last punch down.
After the final punch down: (about 1 hour and 30 minutes into the cycle) The dough still looks soft and slightly wet but is holding together.
- Fully proofed dough prior to baking.
After the final proof: (about 2 hours and 15 minutes into the cycle) The dough looks softer and wetter than a typical bread dough but it’s light and airy, full of visible bubbles under the surface, has expanded noticeably.
Cool:
- Remove the bread pan from the bread machine. Overturn the baked loaf onto a wire mesh cooling rack.
Don’t leave the loaf in the machine after it finishes
Remove it as soon as the cycle ends. The keep warm function can continue heating the loaf and leave you with a drier crust and crumb.
- Brush the top of the loaf with butter.
- Allow the bread to cool completely (if possible, I know it's hard!) before cutting.
Expert Tips
- Measure it right. Flour is very difficult to measure consistently when using cups, so to get the most accurate amount, stir the flour well in your bag or container, spoon it into your measuring cup and level it off with the back of a knife. Alternatively, just use the weights provided in the recipe card.
- Set your expectations. This is a “quick” sourdough bread maker recipe because it uses discard and instant yeast. It doesn’t have the same amount of tang as an overnight fermented sourdough loaf, but it’s damn delicious either way!
- Check the age. Not all sourdough discards are equal. Fresher sourdough discard will have a much more mild sour flavor than an aged discard that’s been hiding in the back of your fridge for 3 weeks. I prefer to use a discard that’s been fed within the last 7 days.
- Warm up routine. If my discard is straight out of the fridge I use the Whole Wheat setting on my Breville Custom Loaf, which includes a preheat phase that I use to bring cold ingredients to temperature. Bread machine cycles vary, so check your manual to see if yours does too!
- Ready to get started? My easy sourdough starter is ready to work with in 24 hours!
Why This Recipe Works
Sourdough discard brings fermented flavor. Sourdough discard has already gone through fermentation, so even though it isn’t doing the heavy lifting of raising this loaf, it still brings the fermented, slightly tangy flavor you want from sourdough.
Instant yeast makes the rise reliable. A standard bread machine cycle just doesn’t give naturally leavened sourdough enough time to rise consistently. Instant yeast takes over the job of leavening, giving this loaf a dependable rise in about 3 ½ hours while the discard provides the character.
Oil and sugar keep the loaf soft and tender. This recipe is designed for a soft sandwich style loaf, rather than a chewy, crusty artisan bread. The oil helps keep the crumb tender and moist, while a small amount of sugar adds sweetness and supports browning.
Sourdough Bread Machine Recipe FAQs
This sourdough bread machine recipe makes one 2 lb loaf and can’t be doubled in a bread machine due to capacity constraints. Ensure that your bread machine has the capacity for at least 2 lb before starting – I use my Breville Custom Loaf with a 2 ½ lb capacity for this recipe.
Discard that has been in the fridge for a week or even a week and a half works fine. In this recipe, the discard is included for flavor, so the yeast does the rising. The older the discard, the more sour the bread will taste. I prefer discard that was fed within the last 7 days.
If your discard has been hiding in the back of the fridge and shows any signs of fuzzy mold, pink or orange streaks, or smells rotten, throw it away immediately.
This is a “quick” sourdough. Because it uses discard and instant yeast, it doesn’t have as much tang as an overnight fermented loaf. The age of the discard impacts flavor: fresher discard tastes milder, while older discard tastes more sour.
–Dense: Old yeast, cold discard, cold water, or too much flour. Use the scoop and level method if you’re using cups as a measure, or for more consistent results use the weights provided in the recipe.
–Sunken or collapsed: Too much liquid, too much yeast, not enough flour or too high hydration discard. Confirm all ingredients were measured correctly. Use weighed measures for consistent results.
–Gummy: Loaf was cut before completely cooled, too much water, not enough flour. Allow loaf to cool completely before slicing, confirm all ingredients were measured correctly.
– Dry or hard crust: Loaf left in the machine after cycle ended. Remove loaf from machine as soon as the cycle ends.
Store your bread cut side down on a cutting board for up to 12 hours before the crust becomes too crisp. After 12 hours, I recommend transferring it to a bread bag or sealed plastic bag and store it at room temperature. It'll stay fresh for 2-3 days.
Freezing a Whole Loaf:
To freeze, wrap the loaf tightly in plastic wrap, then again in aluminum foil to prevent freezer burn. Freeze for up to 3 months. When you're ready to enjoy it, let the loaf thaw at room temperature for a few hours, no need to unwrap it until it's fully defrosted.
Freezing Slices:
For easy, grab-and-go portions, slice the cooled loaf and lay the slices in a single layer on a baking sheet. Freeze until solid, then transfer to a freezer-safe bag or container. This way, you can pull out just what you need. Toast or let thaw at room temperature and you're good to go!
This recipe was developed to create a soft dough. The biggest variables affecting the dough are the hydration of your discard, how your flour was measured, and if your water was measured using a water measuring cup or a standard measuring cup.
Bake In The Oven
You can also use your bread machine to mix and knead this sourdough discard dough, then finish the loaf in the oven!
- Follow steps 1-3 as you would if baking in the bread machine.
- Place the baking pan into the bread machine and choose the “Dough” cycle.
- Once the dough cycle is complete, turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface, and shape it into a boule or a loaf, then transfer it to a greased 9×5 loaf pan.
- Cover loaf pan with a clean kitchen towel and allow to rise for 45- 60 minutes, or until nearly doubled in size.
- Near the end of the rising, preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Bake your loaf at 350°F. for approximately 40 minutes or until golden brown on top. You can check the doneness with an instant read thermometer - the internal temperature should be 195- 200°F.
- Turn baked loaf out onto a wire rack, then using a pastry or basting brush, brush the top with softened butter.
Variations + Substitutions
- Sugar: Swap the granulated sugar for brown sugar for a hint of caramel flavor.
- Whole wheat-ish: Replace up to ½ cup of bread flour for ½ cup whole wheat flour. This adds a little whole grain flavor without making it a whole wheat bread recipe.
- Oil: Swap out the oil for an equal amount of melted tallow or lard. I develop recipes using common ingredients, but I love to use my home-rendered tallow or lard in my bread recipes.
- Cardamom cranberry bread: Add 2 teaspoons cinnamon and 2 teaspoons cardamom with the dry ingredients. At the add-in beep, add 1 cup Craisins to the dough. Full cardamom cranberry bread recipe.
- Everything bagel bread: When the final rise ends and the machine is about to start baking, press pause, open the lid and brush the top of the loaf with egg wash (1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water) and sprinkle generously with everything bagel seasoning. Close the lid and resume the bake cycle. Full everything bagel bread machine recipe.
More Great Sourdough Recipes
If you tried this Bread Machine Sourdough Bread recipe or any other recipe on my blog, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. Thanks for visiting!
📖 Printable Recipe
Bread Machine Sourdough Bread Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup sourdough discard, stirred down, 250g
- ¾ cup warm water, 170g
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, 25g
- 1 ½ teaspoon granulated sugar, 6g
- 1 ½ teaspoon coarse kosher salt, 8g
- 3 cups bread flour , 400g
- 1½ teaspoon instant or bread machine yeast, 6g
Instructions
Bake In Bread Machine:
- Combine the liquid ingredients: 1 cup sourdough discard, ¾ cup warm water, 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, 1 ½ teaspoon granulated sugar, and 1 ½ teaspoon coarse kosher salt in the baking pan of your bread machine.
- Layer the dry ingredients as follows; 3 cups bread flour followed by 1½ teaspoon instant or bread machine yeast. Either sprinkle the yeast on top of the flour, where it's not touching the water or create a well in the flour, then add the yeast there.
- Place the baking pan into the bread machine. Select Basic, Light Crust, and 2 lb Loaf options. If your machine does not have all these settings, simply select the Basic or White setting.
- Optional: remove the mixing paddle after the final punch down.
- Once the bread machine has completed its cycle, remove the bread pan from the bread machine. It's important to get to your machine as soon as possible once it beeps complete to avoid it kicking into keep warm mode, this will dry out your bread and make it less than pleasant.
- Overturn the baked loaf onto a wire mesh cooling rack then using a pastry or basting brush, brush the top with softened butter. Allow the bread to cool completely (if possible, I know it's hard!) before cutting.
Bake In Oven:
- Combine the liquid ingredients: 1 cup sourdough discard, ¾ cup warm water, 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, 1 ½ teaspoons granulated sugar, and 1 ½ teaspoon coarse kosher salt in the baking pan of your bread machine.
- Layer the dry ingredients as follows; 3 cups bread flour followed by 1½ teaspoons instant or bread machine yeast. Either sprinkle the yeast on top of the flour, where it's not touching the water or create a well in the flour, then add the yeast there.
- Place the baking pan into the bread machine and select the dough setting.
- Once the dough cycle is complete, turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface, and shape it into a boule or a loaf, then transfer it to a greased 9×5 loaf pan.
- Cover loaf pan with a clean kitchen towel and allow to rise for 45- 60 minutes, or until nearly doubled in size. Near the end of the rising, preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Bake your loaf at 350°F. for approximately 40 minutes or until golden brown on top. You can check the doneness with an instant read thermometer - the internal temperature should be 195- 200°F.
- Turn baked loaf out onto a wire rack, then using a pastry or basting brush, brush the top with softened butter.
Notes
Expert Tips
- Measure it right. Flour is very difficult to measure consistently when using cups, so to get the most accurate amount, stir the flour well in your bag or container, spoon it into your measuring cup and level it off with the back of a knife. Alternatively, just use the weights provided in the recipe card.
- Set your expectations. This is a “quick” sourdough bread maker recipe because it uses discard and instant yeast. It doesn’t have the same amount of tang as an overnight fermented sourdough loaf, but it’s damn delicious either way!
- Check the age. Not all sourdough discards are equal. Fresher sourdough discard will have a much more mild sour flavor than an aged discard that’s been hiding in the back of your fridge for 3 weeks. I prefer to use a discard that’s been fed within the last 7 days.
- Warm up routine. If my discard is straight out of the fridge I use the Whole Wheat setting on my Breville Custom Loaf, which includes a preheat phase that I use to bring cold ingredients to temperature. Bread machine cycles vary, so check your manual to see if yours does too!
- Ready to get started? My easy sourdough starter is ready to work with in 24 hours!
Did you change the amount of oil and yeast from your original recipe – I have been making this for about a year and my recipes says 1 T oil and 1 tsp yeast. It’s really good as is, is there a reason you changed it?
Hey Kathy, great question!
I went back and checked the revision history and I changed the quantities way back in early 2024, so you must have been an early reader to catch the original version!
Both work great but I had gotten a couple of emails about the crust getting too hard like the day after the loaf was baked so I went back to the drawing board, and I found through testing that adding a bit more yeast and doubling the oil helps to keep the crust softer, longer. That said, if you like the original, no sense in changing it up
I followed the directions exactly, but my loaf was a little dry and bland. May try again sometime.
Sorry to hear it wasn’t perfect! You may prefer it with a bit more salt – might be something to try next time!
I usually bake sourdough at 450 degrees. Just making sure the 350 isn’t a typo.
No, its not a typo 🙂 This is a loaf bread versus an artisan bread, so the baking guidelines follow a loaf style bake!
You don’t need to score it before baking in the oven? Is it also okay to bake in a dutch oven? Same temperature and time?
This is not an artisan style bread, it is leavened with yeast and more like a sandwich bread, so it does not require scoring!You can certainly bake it in a dutch oven, but it works great in a loaf pan too
Great recipe! I love that it is so easy to make. I have been stirring in nuts, cheeses and herbs. It consistently turns out crusty on the outside and moist on the inside (I use the dark setting). Thank you so much for this recipe!
I love it! I need to start adding things lol
Oh my life! I’m new to sourdough making and am slowly improving my hand made loaves (they are at least edible). I thought I’d try this in my bread machine and was, I had to admit, a bit sceptical as to whether it would work for me but I’ve have just turned out a gorgeous light sourdough loaf! If I could send a photo I would. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Best news, Sue!! Happy to hear you enjoyed it.
Excellent very very soft!
Does anyone have the ingredients in grams?? I always weigh my ingredients!
Hey Donna, sometimes I do my discard recipes in cups and sometimes in grams. I should try to do them in both…. Next time I make this, I’ll try to update the recipe with grams!
I make this bread at least once a week. We all love it!
So happy to hear this, Jessica!
Hi!
I tried the recipe in my Cuisinart bread machine …not a fan. The crumb was dense and the crust really tough..not crispy.
I followed recipe …wonder what I did wrong?
Sorry to hear you didn’t enjoy it – this recipe consistently gets good reviews for me. Can you tell me a bit about your process? Was your flour high protein? Did you use the scoop and level method to measure the flour? How was the discard, stiff or liquidy?
I’m making this for the first time and want to be sure I understand the directions. You combine/mix ingredients up until the flour, not layer like you often do with bread machines??
Hey Patti, yeah I like to mix the liquid things to before I add to the bread maker. In my recipe testing I found that worked a bit better!
When baking in the oven can you use pan with cover to bake? I have an enameled cast iron loaf pan with a top and wanted to try to bake this recipe in my pan. Thanks for sharing your recipes, I am a newbie to bread making.
What is sourdough discard?
Hey Jeanie, sourdough discard is the portion of your sourdough starter that is unfed. You can read more about it on what to do with sourdough discard, how to store sourdough discard, and in my sourdough starter guide!
The top of mine turned out weird-used french loaf setting and medium crust
Hey Shell… What do you mean by weird? I’ll try to help you diagnose!
Just tried it and it is a very good recipe.
I have lots of bread recipes, never buy a loaf of bread, always through the good stuff in my bread. I use flax seed meal, fax seed pumpkin seeds, everything bagel seasoning.
I always let my Zojirushi bread machines do the kneading.
This is going to be a go to for me. Thank you
Carolyn Sue Hall
I’ve tried several sourdough recipes for the bread machine, and this was the best one by far. Because of the full cup of sourdough, the bread had a wonderful tang. The crumb was just right, and the crust nicely crisp without being overly hard, making it easy to slice. My only challenge was that the dough was a bit wet, but I’ll adjust then on my next loaf, using a bit less water. Thanks for a great recipe!
So happy to hear you enjoy the recipe, Diane!