Recipe: Perfect Lazy Sourdough

Lazy Sourdough. And in an earlier recipe, Whole Grain Sourdough Rustic Country Loaf, I detailed a specific process that I was using at that time for a basic country loaf. This recipe, Slow, Lazy Sourdough Bread, is the further evolution of the rustic country loaf. Both of those earlier posts include mention of how I manage and bake with my sourdough starter.

Don't forget to refeed your starter. But the problem I see is that the methods commonly used for home baking require that you quit your job and not sleep the night through. A finished loaf without parchment, just for the photo! You can cook Lazy Sourdough using 4 ingredients and 7 steps. Here is how you cook that.

Ingredients of Lazy Sourdough

1. Prepare 800 g of flour.
2. Prepare 460 ml of water.
3. It's 10 g of salt.
4. Prepare 320 g of sourdough starter.

I know so many people have been making sourdough starter these days, unable to buy yeast. I've been keeping a sourdough starter in my fridge for several years now, making bread every week or so. Mix together the flour and the salt in a large bowl. Add the sourdough to the water and mix well (here's a hint: your sourdough is good if it mostly floats on the top).

Lazy Sourdough instructions

1. Throw it in your mixer.
2. Don't forget to refeed your starter.
3. Mix until elastic. Should be around 10 minutes continuous mixing: scrape the dough off the hook if it climbs..
4. Put a towel over it and let it proof for 3 hours.
5. Give it a couple quick spins in the mixer, then split it in half and put it on two bowls (banneton if you have it). Then lightly dust with flour and put a towel over each..
6. Let it proof for at least 3 hours before baking, or put it in the fridge to proof over night..
7. Transfer to a cookie sheet or pizza pan, score the bread with a knife, and cook at 450F/230C for 30 minutes. Add a pan of water in the oven to add steam and help it rise..

It's sluggish and a little sleepy. Again, there are a million and a half resources and recipes on the internet for how to bake with sourdough. But this is the lazy girl's way to use my sourdough starter: This is a homestead-version of sourdough bread, which is a non-fussy technique that will not require complicated measurements or instructions. This recipe is perfect for people (like me) who like a simple, hearty loaf that doesn't require tons of effort and time. Sourdough bread feels like the ultimate in homestead baking.