What You’ll Need

Good sourdough really does come down to just four ingredients, so quality matters more here than in almost any other recipe. Here’s what to grab before you get started, plus a few notes on what to look for.

Ingredients

• Active sourdough starter. It should be bubbly, doubled, and domed, ideally used within a few hours of peak rise. If it sinks when you tap the jar, give it another feed and wait.
• Bread flour. Higher protein content than all-purpose gives you that chewy, structured crumb. King Arthur or Bob’s Red Mill both work beautifully. All-purpose will do in a pinch, but your loaf will be a little flatter.
• Filtered water. Tap water is usually fine, but if yours is heavily chlorinated, let it sit out for 30 minutes first, chlorine can slow your fermentation.
• Fine sea salt. Don’t skip it, salt controls fermentation speed and is essential for flavor. Fine sea salt dissolves evenly into the dough; avoid iodized table salt if you can.
• Rice flour (for dusting). Optional but highly recommended for lining your proofing baskets. It doesn’t absorb into the dough the way regular flour does, so your loaf releases cleanly every time.
• Dutch oven. Not an ingredient, but honestly non-negotiable. A 4–6 qt cast iron Dutch oven creates the steam environment your loaf needs for that signature crackly crust. No substitutes here.

Equipment

A sourdough loaf really only asks for a handful of tools, but the right ones make the difference between a good bake and a frustrating one. These are the exact pieces I reach for every single time I bake. (Some links below are affiliate links, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Full disclosure here.)

Bowl scraper — Sourdough dough is sticky by nature, and this is what gets every last bit out of the bowl cleanly and helps you handle the dough during folds without tearing it.

Danish dough whisk — This looks a little odd the first time you use it, but it’s the best tool for shaggy-mixing a wet sourdough dough without the sticking mess a regular spoon gives you. It also cuts through the starter beautifully when I’m feeding it.

Dutch oven — Mine’s actually a Costco find, and it performs right alongside Dutch ovens two or three times the price. I’ve linked a very similar one here. Baking sourdough inside one is what gives you that professional, bakery-style crust at home, it traps the steam the dough needs in the first part of the bake.

Oven mitts — Non-negotiable here. You’re pulling a screaming-hot cast iron pot out of a 450°F oven, twice, mid-bake. Get a pair that actually protects past your wrist.

Bread scoring blade (lame) — That signature slash across the top of a sourdough loaf isn’t just decoration, it controls exactly where the bread expands in the oven (“oven spring”). A sharp lame gives you a clean cut a butter knife just can’t. If you have a craft kit, an Exacto blade will get you those same lines, or just a sharp knife.

Rice flour — My go-to for dusting the proofing bowl and the top of the loaf before scoring. Unlike regular flour, rice flour doesn’t get absorbed into the dough, so it keeps things from sticking without adding extra moisture.

Small sifter — My go-to for evenly dusting rice flour into the banneton before the dough goes in. A light, even coat gets you a clean release every time, instead of the clumpy patches you get shaking flour straight from the bag.

Parchment paper bread slings — I found these a while back and I’m never going back to regular parchment paper. They fit right into the Dutch oven, and as long as they stay covered during the first part of the bake, they don’t scorch and char the way a cut piece of parchment does. No more fighting with burnt, crumbling paper trying to lift your loaf out.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• That crackly, shattery crust. Baking inside a Dutch oven traps steam around the dough, which is the real secret to bakery-style crust at home.
• A forgiving, high-hydration dough. This sounds intimidating, but it really just means a wetter, stickier dough that bakes up into that open, airy crumb everyone associates with “real” sourdough. No stand mixer required.
• Just 4 ingredients. Starter, flour, water, and salt. No commercial yeast, no shortcuts, no mystery ingredients.
• Both grams and cups included. If you bake seriously, use the scale, hydration accuracy actually matters here. If you don’t own one, the cup measurements will get you a great loaf too.
• Yields 2 loaves. Freeze one, share one, or keep both, no judgment.
• Mostly hands-off. Outside of a few stretch-and-folds, this dough does its own thing while you live your life.

Tips for Success

• Feed your starter the night before. An active, doubled, bubbly starter is the difference between a good rise and a dense, sad loaf. If it doesn’t pass the float test (a spoonful floats in water), give it another hour or two.
• Don’t skip the stretch and folds. They build the structure that gives you that open, airy crumb, kneading alone won’t get you there with a dough this wet.
• Use rice flour, not regular flour, for dusting. It keeps your proofing bowl and blade from sticking without the dough soaking it up the way it would with all-purpose or bread flour.
• Score with confidence. One clean, quick, fairly deep slash works better than several hesitant shallow ones. This is your bread’s “release valve” in the oven.
• Let it cool completely before slicing. I know it’s brutal to wait, but the inside is still finishing cooking as it cools. Cut too early and you’ll lose that soft, custardy crumb.
• Bread flour vs. all-purpose: I use both interchangeably depending on what’s in my pantry. Bread flour gives you noticeably more structure and spring, more bounce-back when you press it, but all-purpose works just fine most of the time.
• Watch your kitchen temperature, not just the clock. My kitchen sits around 75°F, and all the timing in this recipe reflects that. If your kitchen runs cooler, your starter will take longer to double and your dough will need more time to bulk ferment. If it runs warmer, everything will move faster. Go by how the starter and dough actually look (doubled, puffy, jiggly) rather than the hour marks alone.