Sourdough Bread, Easy Everyday Loaf

This is my favorite sandwich bread. It is super easy, makes a great PB&J, and the perfect toast! I generally start it at night, (takes about 10-15 minutes) before I go to bed and finish it in the morning when I get up. 

First step is to add all of your ingredients into a bowl. You can easily mix this by hand or use a mixer. I love my Kitchen Aid for this, it's the perfect size!

 I use my dough hook, making sure that there is enough liquid to pick up and mix in, all the flour at the bottom of the bowl. Once I am confidant that I have enough liquid, I will get my glass, porcelain, or plastic bowl ready by drizzling a couple of tablespoons of oil into it.

By the time I am done with prepping my bowl, my dough is looking a bit like the above pic. This is a low maintenance dough...no kneading! 

At this point I pull it out of the mixing bowl and form a ball. I will put the smooth side down into the bowl, flip it, then cover it with plastic wrap, a lid, damp towel, or beeswax wrap. Whatever I have that will keep it moist enough to avoid a crusty dry surface.

Time to go to sleep!! 

When I wake up in the morning, this is often the magic that I get to witness!! Look at the size of that dough now! Sometimes, on really warm days, it will even spill over the sides and make a mess. 

Its a really good idea to keep the bowl on a cookie sheet 

for easy clean up.

So now remove the plastic but set it aside, oil side up. Divide the dough in half, shape your dough into 2 loaves and place into prepared pans. I like to line them with parchment paper and spray them with oil.

Put your plastic wrap over the 2 loaf pans, oily side down. I like to set them off to the side on the counter where there is no drafts or direct sunlight, and not a lot of commotion. 

In about 2 hours or so, this is where your loaf should be at. See how it's touching the tops of the sides of the pan? At this point, you want to preheat your oven to 375° and bake them for 30 minutes. When you pull them out of the oven, spread some butter on the top with a brush or paper towel.

You want to immediately remove them from your pans, and cover them with a towel, or cloth and let them cool. This will soften the crust up so it's not so crispy. If you want a crispier crust, do not put a towel over them, let them air dry.  

Please make sure your bread is at least to body temp, before you cut. The gluten goes through a process called starch retro-gradation. It gives the starches a chance to reform their structure. Whole grains, its really important to let them cool completely.

And that is it! It takes so little effort, it's easy to fit into my schedule. I make this at least once a week, sometimes more. 

Bread:

Makes 2 loaves

Roughly 16 slices of bread.

Bake at 350° for 35 minutes

5 cups flour

1/4 c. Sugar, honey, maple syrup, or any true sweetener

1 cup fed starter

2 cup water

2 teaspoon salt

Mix all ingredients until dough ball forms. (Does not have to be kneaded like normal bread dough.)

Pull dough out and into a well greased or buttered glass or plastic bowl. I usually shape into a ball.

Cover with plastic wrap and sit on the counter overnight for 8-10 hours.

In the morning, pull the dough out, shape it, and place into greased baking dish. (Bread pan, pyrex bowl, square pan, round pan, dutch oven, etc. Whatever you like to bake your bread in.)

Let rise until doubled in size. (usually takes a couple of hours)

Bake in oven at 375° for 30 minutes.

Butter tops of loaves and cover with a towel.

*Dont forget to feed your starter. You wont need to discard at this point, you have already done that making bread.

If you have a question or a comment, please feel free to drop it down below!

 Good luck and enjoy the journey!