Same Day Sourdough
Have you ever been craving sourdough but crunched for time? Same-day sourdough is here to fill that need! It’s tender, delicious, and although mild, still tastes and feels like sourdough.
There’s a place in my heart for the long sourdough process. I truly enjoy the slow pace, repeating familiar steps, and experiencing the transformation of a simple mix of flour and water into something incredible.
But life happens and sometimes you just don’t have the time or patience to wait days for a beautiful loaf. That’s why I’m sharing this easy recipe with you. It’s a quicker version of the classic sourdough process that allows you to enjoy freshly baked bread in just a few hours.
You’re not completely off the hook though, you will need a little foreplanning when it comes to this recipe!
This same day sourdough recipe is dedicated to happenings.
Jump to:
Tips
- If you’re overwhelmed with all things sourdough, I can help you! I have guides on everything from making a 24 hour sourdough starter, to picking the best jar for your starter, to tips on feeding your sourdough starter, to storing your starter, to cold proving sourdough in the fridge, to using up discard, and more.
- Don’t have a proofing basket? I have a guide on banneton alternatives!
- Using the Brod + Taylor proofing box has revolutionized my sourdough baking. With the proofing box, not only do I get more consistent bakes, but I can easily speed up the entire sourdough baking process by creating a favorable microclimate.
- I’ve included times in the directions within the body of the post and a baker’s schedule to help give you an example of how I work this recipe into my day. You can shuffle the times as they work for you!
- Don’t forget to feed your starter the night before!
2 Critical Components For Same-Day Sourdough Bread
Starting and baking fresh sourdough bread within a dozen hours can seem like an impossible task but it’s totally doable with these 2 key things:
1: Active Starter
This recipe relies on a strong, mature sourdough starter. While most of my sourdough bread recipes rely on feeding your starter first thing in the morning and beginning the process a few hours later, this recipe absolutely needs you to feed your starter the night before you plan on making sourdough.
The reason for this is that you need an active sourdough starter at the time you begin the mixing process. By feeding the sourdough the night before you’re ready to bake with it, you’re allowing the yeasts to activate overnight and speed up the baking process.
If your home is particularly warm or your sourdough tends to activate quickly we can slow down the activation phase of the sourdough starter by feeding it with cold water. It’s not enough of a hindrance to stop the activation completely but only slow it down so that the starter is ready in the morning when we are!
2: Proper Environment
In order to master same-day sourdough you need to master the environment.
In my guide to cold proofing sourdough in the fridge, I explain that we can slow the activity of the yeast and microbes in sourdough by reducing the temperature. Inversely, we can flip this on its head and speed up the activity of our microbes by making sure they are in a warm environment when we mix, shape, and proof our sourdough.
There are a few ways to create a favorable microclimate for your dough:
- Use a Brod + Taylor Proofing Box.
- Use the proof setting on your oven or microwave.
- In a warm spot near the heat register.
Key Ingredients
Sourdough Starter: For this recipe, you want to use a fed and active sourdough starter. Your starter should have been fed the night before, approximately 8 hours before beginning and have at least doubled in size. This recipe is based on a sourdough starter with 100% hydration (equal amounts of flour and water by weight, not volume.)
Bread Flour: Use a high protein unbleached flour for best results. This could be all-purpose flour or bread flour.
Salt: I use hand-ground kosher salt, but any fine ground salt will do. The salt in this sourdough recipe is responsible for adding taste and enhancing the aromas and flavor present in the dough itself. Salt also helps to tighten the gluten structure and strengthen the dough – making it easier to create and hold air bubbles.
How To Make Same Day Sourdough Bread:
Make The Dough (8 am):
- In a large mixing bowl, combine 330g warm water with 150g of active sourdough starter until mostly combined. I like to use a Danish dough whisk, but a wooden whisk, silicone spatula, or even your hands will work.
- Add 500g bread flour and 10g salt to the bowl and mix until a shaggy dough forms. Knead the dough with your hands until all the shaggy bits are incorporated.
- Cover the bowl and set aside for 45 – 60 minutes.
Stretch And Fold (9-11 am):
- Uncover the bowl and using damp hands, grab the dough and gently pull it until the flap is long enough to fold over itself, then fold the flap, rotate the bowl 90 degrees, and repeat 4 times.
- Recover the bowl, and set it aside for 30 minutes, then repeat the stretch and fold process at least 3 more times over the next 2 hours. The intervals can be as short as 15 minutes, or as long as 60 minutes, but it should be completed at least 4 times. You’ll notice after the second stretch and fold how much the dough has softened and begun to look like actual bread dough!
Bulk Ferment (11 am-1 pm):
- Complete one final stretch and fold, then cover the bowl and set aside for 2 hours to bulk ferment. I like to use a reusable shower cap for covering my bowls, the patterns are fun, funky, and bright, but they also work amazingly well, are lined with plastic to help keep the moisture in the dough, and are reusable for ages. There are plastic bowl covers available, too. It is important to keep the dough bowl in a warm place to encourage the microbes to work quickly!
Shape (1 – 1:15 pm):
- Observe your dough, at this point, the dough should have risen in the bowl, and have a smooth surface with visible bubbles. If the dough is domed in the bowl it is ready to work with, if the dough is flat it may need more time in the bulk ferment.
- Lightly flour the work surface and use a bowl scraper to turn the dough out onto the floured surface. Try to get the smooth top part face down so that the sticky underside is on top facing you, this will make shaping the dough easier.
- Fold the edges into the middle, alternating sides as though lacing the dough together. Then starting from the top, fold the dough into thirds as you would a letter, but pull the bottom all the way around to flip the dough so the seam is facing downward. Stop there if making a batard, or tuck the long ends underneath to create a boule.
- Dust the top of your boule or batard with rice flour, then use a bench scraper to pick up the dough, flip the dough, and place it upside down, or seam side up, into a banneton to prove.
Prove (1:15 – 3 pm):
- Cover the banneton either using a damp kitchen towel or a shower cap. During the proving period, the dough will rise and become puffy in the banneton, but it should be watched – as over-proofing can cause the dough to bake up flat. This process will take a different amount of time based on the ambient temperature in your kitchen.
To test the dough: gently poke it and observe how the dough reacts. If the dough feels tight and dense and looks like it hasn’t relaxed in the basket, it is likely under proofed. Underproofed dough will resist your poking and spring back almost immediately. If the dough feels airy but still elastic and looks relaxed in the basket, it is properly proofed. Properly proofed dough will be easily poked, and the indent will slowly fill back in but may not even totally recover. Overproofed dough feels sticky and lacks elasticity, it will likely look slack in the basket and your indentation won’t rebound.
Pre-heat Oven (3 pm):
- Place your dutch oven, cloche, or desired baking dish and its lid in the oven and preheat to 450f. If you don’t have a dutch oven, I do have a recommendation on how to bake sourdough bread without a dutch oven.
- Meanwhile, place the banneton in the freezer. Although this seems counterintuitive, the 30 minutes in the freezer won’t adversely affect your dough, it will just make it easier to remove from the banneton, score, and transfer to the dutch oven.
Bake (3:45 pm):
- Once the oven is preheated, remove the dough from the freezer and invert the banneton onto a piece of parchment paper.
- Use a lame, sharp knife, or clean razor blade to score the dough, I usually like to make one deep curved slash, but you can get as fancy as you like!
- Carefully remove the dutch oven from the oven, and using the parchment paper as a sling, transfer the sourdough loaf from the counter into the dutch oven.
- Bake the dough at 450f covered for 20 minutes and uncovered at 450f for 25-30 minutes, or until the loaf is cooked through and the crust is golden brown. You can test the doneness of the loaf with an instant-read thermometer. Bread is cooked once it reaches 205 – 210 degrees Fahrenheit internal temperature.
Cool:
- Remove baked bread from the dutch oven and transfer it to a wire mesh cooling rack to cool completely before slicing. I like to leave it for at least 2 hours before slicing, as slicing too soon can affect the crumb and texture of your loaf.
- Check out my guide on storing sourdough bread to ensure it stays fresh for days, or learn how to freeze sourdough bread for a rainy day.
Our Favorite
Sourdough Recipes
Batch + Storage
Batch:
This same day sourdough recipe bakes a nice-sized loaf of bread. This is the perfect amount for our family of 4 to serve with at least 2 meals.
Storage:
If you’ve got leftover sourdough, you’ve got serious willpower! There are a couple of ways to store sourdough bread to help prolong its quality after cutting.
Your boule can be kept cut side down on a cutting board for up to 12 hours before the crust becomes too crisp. This is our go-to. I recommend transferring it to a bread bag after 16-18 hours though.
Your sourdough loaf can also be frozen. To freeze sourdough bread, cool the loaf to room temperature, then tightly wrap it in plastic wrap, slide it into a bread bag, seal it up, and stick it in the freezer for 1-2 months. To use after freezing, remove the loaf from the freezer, unwrap, and allow it to come to room temperature (1 -2 hours) before slicing and enjoying.
Does One Day Sourdough Still Taste Good?
Yes, the bread is still delicious!
Is it as sour as regular sourdough? No. But that’s because we have spent the entire day encouraging the microbes to rise first and develop flavor second. The complexity and tang won’t be there, but that’s not to say that the bread won’t be good.
This bread is an excellent, milder version of sourdough.
More Great Sourdough Recipes:
Baker’s Schedule
Here is a sample of a baking schedule, though you can and likely will need to adjust based on your own ambient temperatures etc.
8 am: Mix dough
9 am: Stretch and fold every 30 minutes
11 am: Set aside to bulk ferment
1 pm: Shape the loaf
3 pm: Preheat oven
3:30 pm: Bake loaf
Recommended Equipment
Brod + Taylor folding proofing box: As mentioned above, this proofing box has revolutionized my sourdough baking, and really reinvigorated my love of the dough. As an added bonus, it folds up in a nice compact little package when it’s not in use.
Cast iron dutch oven: Much of the success of this bread depends on having a heavy cast iron dutch oven, as it traps in steam and boosts the oven spring of your sourdough.
The blue one in these photos is a 6-quart oval dutch oven that I find perfect for baking batards. As an added bonus, due to the shape, I can fit this dutch oven and a round one in the oven to bake double the volume! If you don’t have a dutch oven, I have a guide on how to cook sourdough without a dutch oven.
Scale: It’s really hard to make sourdough without a scale. Sorry, but them’s the facts! bread baking and bread dough are a bit of a science. A good kitchen scale will treat you well over a huge range of recipes, not just sourdough. Think of homemade bacon!
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Same Day Sourdough Bread Recipe
Ingredients
- 330 g water warm
- 150 g sourdough starter active
- 500 g bread flour
- 10 g sea salt fine
Instructions
Make the dough:
- In a large bowl, combine 330g warm water with 150g of active sourdough starter until mostly combined.
- Add 500g bread flour and 10g salt to the bowl and mix until a shaggy dough forms. Knead the dough with your hands until all the shaggy bits are incorporated.
- Cover the bowl and set aside for 45 – 60 minutes.
Stretch and fold:
- Uncover the bowl and using damp hands, grab the dough and gently pull it until the flap is long enough to fold over itself, then fold the flap, rotate the bowl 90 degrees, and repeat 4 times.
- Recover the bowl, and set it aside for 30 minutes, then repeat the stretch and fold process at least 3 more times over the next 2 hours.
Bulk ferment:
- Complete one final stretch and fold, then cover the bowl and set aside for 2 hours to bulk ferment. It is important to keep the dough bowl somewhere warm to encourage the microbes to work quickly!
Shape:
- Observe your dough, at this point, the dough should have risen in the bowl, and have a smooth surface with visible bubbles. If the dough is domed in the bowl it is ready to work with, if the dough is flat it may need more time in the bulk ferment.
- Lightly flour the work surface and use a bowl scraper to turn the dough out onto the floured surface. Try to get the smooth top face down so that the sticky underside is on top facing you, this will make shaping the dough easier.
- Fold the edges into the middle, alternating sides as though lacing the dough together. Then starting from the top, fold the dough into thirds as you would a letter, but pull the bottom all the way around to flip the dough so the seam is facing downward. Stop there if making a batard, or tuck the long ends underneath to create a boule.
- Dust the top of your boule or batard with rice flour, then use a bench scraper to pick up the dough, flip the dough, and place it upside down, or seam side up, into a banneton to prove.
Prove:
- Cover the banneton either using a damp kitchen towel or a shower cap. During the proving period, the dough will rise and become puffy in the banneton, but it should be watched – as over-proofing can cause the dough to bake up flat. This process will take a different amount of time based on the ambient temperature.
- To test the dough, gently poke it and observe how the dough reacts. If the dough feels tight and dense and looks like it hasn't relaxed in the basket, it is likely under proofed. Underproofed dough will resist your poking and spring back almost immediately. If the dough feels airy but still elastic and looks relaxed in the basket, it is properly proofed. Properly proofed dough will be easily poked, and the indent will slowly fill back in but may not even totally recover. Overproofed dough feels sticky and lacks elasticity, it will likely look slack in the basket and your indentation won't rebound.
Pre-heat oven:
- Place your dutch oven, cloche, or desired baking dish in the oven and preheat to 450f.
- Meanwhile, place the banneton in the freezer.
Bake:
- Once the oven is preheated, remove the dough from the freezer and invert the banneton onto a sheet of parchment paper.
- Use a lame, sharp knife, or clean razor blade to score the dough.
- Carefully remove the dutch oven from the oven, and using the parchment paper as a sling, transfer the sourdough loaf from the counter into the dutch oven.
- Bake the dough at 450f covered for 20 minutes and uncovered at 450f for 25-30 minutes, or until the loaf is cooked through. You can test the doneness of the loaf with an instant-read thermometer. Bread is cooked once it reaches 205 – 210 degrees Fahrenheit internal temperature.
Cool:
- Remove baked bread from the dutch oven and transfer it to a wire mesh cooling rack to cool completely before slicing. I like to leave it for at least 2 hours before slicing, as slicing too soon can affect the crumb and texture of your loaf.
Notes
Active Sourdough Starter
This recipe relies on an active sourdough starter, so it's important to feed your starter the night before you intend on baking this bread.baker's schedule
8 am: Make the dough 9 am: Stretch and fold 11 am: Bulk ferment 1 pm: Shape and prove 3 pm: Preheat oven 3:30 pm: Bake loafBatch:
This recipe bakes a nice-sized loaf of sourdough bread. This is the perfect amount for our family of 4 to serve with at least 2 meals.Storage:
If you've got leftover sourdough, you've got serious willpower! There are a couple of ways to STORE SOURDOUGH BREAD to help prolong its quality after cutting. Your boule can be kept cut side down on a cutting board for up to 12 hours before the crust becomes too crisp. This is our go-to. I recommend transferring it to a bread bag after 16-18 hours though. Your sourdough loaf can also be frozen. To FREEZE SOURDOUGH, cool the loaf to room temperature, then tightly wrap it in plastic wrap, slide it into a bread bag, seal it up, and stick it in the freezer for 1-2 months. To use after freezing, remove the loaf from the freezer, unwrap, and allow it to come to room temperature (1 -2 hours) before slicing and enjoying.Recommended Equipment + Ingredients
Nutrition
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After baking several “bricks” with other recipes, I had my first success with sourdough using this recipe! So good, thank you!
Using the same-day recipe, can I put the dough in the fridge once it goes into the banneton to bake the next day, even though it’s a “same day” recipe?
That would be fine! I would pop it into the fridge as soon as it’s shaped and shorten the bulk ferment by a little bit because I would hate for the dough to overproof in the fridge. 🙂
Hello, I’ve baked this recipe with great success, but was wondering If I wanted to make a jalapeno/ cheddar boule, at what point do I add them in?
Thank you in advance!
I’d add them just before the last stretch and fold. I’d probably remove the dough from the bowl, flatten it slightly, then layer the inclusions on top of the dough then do a modified stretch and fold before resting and the final shape. That gives the dough time to relax around the inclusions and you 2 different times to have hands on the dough and distribute the jalapenos and cheddar!
Best tasting bread that I’ve made. Husband is begging me to make it multiple times per week. I love that it’s easy enough to make that happen! Thank you for sharing.
Love to hear this, Mary! Thank you for sharing <3
Worked perfectly. Thank you. Very tasty.
Awesome! So glad to hear you liked the recipe!
Hi
If I made dough done he first two stages
And I pop it in the fridge overnight
How should I continue if I’ll only be able to take care of the dough the next evening ?
And thank you
Hey Yael, I recommend getting the dough to the banneton before transferring to the fridge, this is known as cold proofing. It can be difficult to finish the shaping process on chilled dough.
This recipe says “no knead” but after mixing it says you have to knead. How much should you knead?
I used the word knead, but you can see in the photo tutorial that I used a Danish dough whisk, so stir would work fine as well, I just didn’t want to say mix with a dough whisk in case it turned anyone off from the recipe because that tool, while handy to have, is not a requirement for sourdough making.
In the beginning when you’re mixing all the ingredients, you’re just mixing them just until the shaggy bits of flour and water are absorbed. After that there is no kneading required, only stretch and fold!
At what temp would you proof in the brod and taylor please?
Hey Victoria, like 85f would be plenty warm 🙂 It’s warmer than regular room temp but not so warm that the fermentation occurs super fast!
Approximately how long does it take to proof after you put it in the banneton?
I leave it in the banneton around 1 hour 45 to 2 hours.
What temperature should the warm water be ( Fahrenheit)? I have a bread proofer and what temperature do you set your proofer for the bulky ferment and second rise? Can I do the bulk ferment in my proofer? Your recipe is great even at my high altitude.
Hey Kathy,
I usually aim for baby bottle warm, you know how you test it on the inside of your wrist? Very much like that. I’d guess like 90-95 degrees Fahrenheit. When I use my proofer, I keep it around 85f, so it’s warmer than room temperature but not so hot that the bread ferments too quickly! And, yup, you can certainly use the proofer for the bulk ferment.
So glad to hear you enjoy the recipe!
I love the recipe and it works at high altitude. Can you tell me the exact temperature of the warm water in Fahrenheit and the exact temperature of the first bulk rise that would be best. I do have a proofer. Can I use my proofer for both rises and if so what temperature. Thank you 😊
Hey Kathy, give 90f water a try and use 85f in your proofer, and yes you can use it for both rises!
This was PERFECT! I’ve only made a few loaves and none of them have been quite right. I was looking for a same day loaf so I could have some bread with my pot roast and this was my biggest rise and best crumb yet. Thank you!
So happy to hear this Lauren!! It’s one of my favorite recipes!
So easy and delicious! I’ve been making sourdough for about 3 1/2 years and I’ve always made a 2 day artisan loaf. I needed a same day recipe and this one did not disappoint! I may make this one instead of the other one I’ve been making due to the ease and the great results. Thank you!
I love this recipe, glad to hear you do too Dana!
This is great, I was really starting to get frustrated not being able to get my sourdough right after about a month and countless tries – it was always a heavy, dense, and gummy loaf (maybe overproofed?). I found your recipe and it worked like a charm! The loaf is perfect and this is my go-to from now on. Thank you for sharing!
Im new at this. Can’t wait to try this. Can I double this recipe or should I make seperate batches. Ty
Hey Desiree, I recommend that if you’re new to sourdough try to do two separate batches until you’re more familiar with the process! I find it helps to get used to the process by duplicating the steps and you can really see the difference in the dough. But you can double batch if you like.
This is the best recipe I’ve ever used. It consistently makes perfect loves for me. I will not use another recipe. Thank you!
That is the best thing to hear! So glad you love it!
Love this recipe I just started making sour dough bread this recipe is the best so far.
I make the bread then give to my family
They loved this one it’s a keeper.
My granddaughter keeps asking for Nanas bread.
It rises so nice and I love how it it done in approximately 8 hours
Thankyou for this great recipe
So happy to hear that, Colleen! It kinda makes you feel like you have a super power when your granddaughter calls it Nana’s Bread, right? <3
Hi Ally
Just wanted to share I made your blueberry lemon bread the other day Hugh hit with family I made a blueberry whipped butter to go with it. as well the raisin cinnamon was so good
Next I want to try your jalapeño cheese
Your recipes are awesome I am loving my new hobby
Next I want to make mini loafs from your recipe to have on hand for charcuterie board I am thinking I would probably get six from the recipe
Thankyou again for your wonderful recipes
Hey Colleen, thanks for sharing, hearing that your family loved the recipe makes me so happy!
Oh. My. Goodness. Finally the perfect loaf!! I have been making sourdough for a couple years and this was truly the best loaf I’ve ever made. I’ve tried many overnight recipes, proofed some in the fridge for a day, and other simple one day recipes.. this was perfectly golden, had a great rise, crunchy on the outside and soft and chewy on the inside. Due to my schedule I only stretched twice then it rested for about 3 hours, shaped, and bulk fermented for another 3 hours. Definitely my go- to recipe from now on.
Thank you!!
Ah! So happy to hear this!
To all sourdough bakers- I’ve made decent loafs in the past – but this is the first and only recipe my husband gave a 10/10 ! It was so good to eat- not gummy – many bubbles in the bread but just a little denser than I prefer- although it may have been my fault as I let it proof maybe a bit too long. This will be my new default recipe especially when I want others eating my bread because it truly is sooooo good! I definitely recommend!
Really glad you enjoy the recipe!
BEST RECIPE EVER!!!!!! I’m a newbie and have made several loaves. Aesthetically they come out great, but the inside was always dense and gummy.
I was skeptical of this recipe, but holy cow the bread is so dang FLUFFY!!! So glad I gave it a try and now I can start gifting my bread. Thank you!!
Ah! That is so great to hear Natalie!
I’ve noticed the bread is more dense with the changing of seasons and temperature dropping. Should I extend the bulk fermentation or use warmer water when I make the dough?
Hey Chan, I tend to keep my house within 3 degrees year round – and I don’t bake when it’s super hot! But if you find it’s more dense, you can absolutely tack more time in the bulk ferment, and even a bit more in the final proof. I’d start with like 15 minutes in each and then go from there. You can use warmer water, but just keep it below 80 degrees, sourdough doesn’t tend to like too warm of water I’ve found.
Best recipe ever!! I make this sourdough boule EVERY week for my husband and I! We freeze leftovers sliced in the freezer. So perfect for avocado toast, sandwiches and for dipping in soup! I have not bought bread at the store or farmers market in the 3 months I have been using this recipe
I can’t tell you how much I LOVE to hear comments like this. Thank you for sharing, Jasmine <3 You've made my day!!
I just made this for my first ever loaf!! My starter wasn’t perfectly active and I left it in the fridge overnight cause I got caught up in my day yesterday. Nevertheless it’s delicious!!! Thank you so much for this easy recipe!
Yes! So happy to hear, I really love this recipe – it always impresses!