Lazy Sourdough Bread

I am calling this a lazy sourdough bread recipe because it only takes around 3 hours from beginning to end and uses a kitchen aid mixer rather than hand kneading. It includes a sourdough starter but it’s optional. The results should be just as good without it. You can also hand knead if you don’t have a KitchenAid mixer.

All you need is 5 ingredients that you most likely have on hand anyway. Having a good audiobook in your ears doesn’t hurt either. Keep in mind that this doesn’t have much of a sourdough taste and doesn’t have the benefits of sourdough since it’s not long fermented. I promise you though, it is absolutely delicious. It reminds me more of a fresh French loaf than a sourdough loaf and I’m not sad about it.

You don’t need to worry about babysitting this dough or stretching and folding it as long as you have a KitchenAid. If you don’t have one then some manual labor is required, unfortunately (it’s worth it though, I promise).

Okay so let’s talk about what you need to do to get this delicious bread in your mouth.

Lazy Sourdough Bread

Serving Size:

12-14 slices

Time:

2.5 hours

Difficulty:

Easy

Ingredients

• 500 grams of bread flour
• 350 grams water
• 100 grams sourdough starter
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp honey

Directions

1. Use a kitchen scale to measure out and mix together the sourdough starter, water, and honey in a large bowl (your KitchenAid bowl is perfect if you’re using one).
2. Sprinkle 2 1/2 tsp quick-rise yeast over the water and let sit and bloom for 1 minute.
3. One yeast blooms gently stir to incorporate yeast with water mixture.
4. Next, add 500 grams of bread flour (all-purpose will work in a pinch) and use a fork or dough whisk to incorporate until the dough is shaggy.
5. Let rest for 5-10 minutes.
6. Attach a dough hook to your KitchenAid and knead on medium speed for 10 minutes. If you don’t have one then you can knead by hand for the same amount of time until the dough forms into a smooth ball and is no longer sticky. (If the dough remains sticky you can sprinkle in a bit more flour until you get the desired result.)
7. Place dough into a lightly oiled bowl (I love these glass bowls) and cover with plastic wrap or a damp towel.
8. Let rise in a warm place until the dough has doubled. This should only take 1-1.5 hours if your house is 70 + degrees. I like to proof it in the oven with the light on but DO NOT TURN THE OVEN ON!
9. Once the dough has doubled dump it out onto a lightly floured surface and gently stretch into a rectangle.
10. Complete a series of book folds in both directions and then use tension to tighten the dough into an oval by pulling it towards you while tucking it in. You may need to pinch the seam to seal it.
11. Once the dough is formed into a tight oval you should see bubbles on the surface.
12. Cover with a damp kitchen towel or plastic wrap and let rest for 20-30 minutes.
13. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees with a pizza stone or cast iron skillet inside while the dough rests.
14. Once the dough has rested and the oven is preheated place the shaped loaf onto the pizza stone, cast iron skillet, or bread pan (if that’s all you have). You can even try a heavy-duty baking sheet if that’s all you have. Just be sure to watch the bottom as it bakes so that it doesn’t burn.
15. Make three diagonal slices across the top of the bread with a sharp knife or razor blade (or an actual bread lame).
16. Bake for 25 minutes on a rack in the middle of the oven. The dough should be golden brown and crisp on the outside when done.
17. Place on a cooling rack and let cool for 1 hour before slicing. Or slice after 10 minutes if you can’t help yourself.

When making this, you can use a bubbly starter or discard since you aren’t relying on the starter for the rise. You can also just omit the sourdough part if you don’t have one. If you want the sourdough benefits and flavor you will want to place it in a bread pan or other oval or square container overnight in the fridge once shaped to get that true sourdough flavor. From there you will just take it out and bake it per the original instructions. I honestly haven’t done this but I am 98% sure it will turn out just as good.

Check out my Instagram reel for some visual guidance.

The loaf will have a crisp exterior but will be light and fluffy inside. You can slice it all at once and keep it in a cake display case or plastic Ziploc bag. Keep in mind that you’ll want to watch for moisture if you live in a humid area and that the outside won’t start crisp if you place it in a container or bag. Another way to store it if you want to keep that crisp outside layer is to only slice what you need as you need it and then store it with the sliced surface flat on the counter or a cutting board.

Thanks to the sugar from the honey this bread toasts up amazing. I absolutely love it buttered with an over-medium fried egg on top. It would also be great for sandwiches, french toast, avocado toast, or a quick and simple snack with some butter or jam slathered on top. The possibilities are so endless that it’s going to require an entire additional post to cover all of them.

Stay tuned for many more tasty homemade baked goods!