Basic Wheat Sourdough (Grundrezept Weizen) — Beginner's Recipe

A forgiving, basic wheat-and-rye sourdough recipe for beginners. Step-by-step schedule, troubleshooting and practical tips to get a tasty loaf.

What to Expect

With this recipe you will bake an edible, flavorful loaf using a straightforward schedule. It prioritizes predictability and taste over ambitious techniques, so it's ideal for your early loaves [1].

What you'll learn:

  • ✓ How a basic sourdough dough behaves during bulk fermentation and proof
  • ✓ How to judge readiness by feel and simple tests
  • ✓ A reproducible habit you can adapt to more advanced recipes

💭 Your first few loaves will teach more than any single perfect bake. Expect good flavor; appearance and oven spring will improve quickly with practice [1][2].

What You Need

Must have:

Active sourdough starter

Bubbly and rising predictably (doubles in 4–8 hours after feeding) in a starter jar

⚠️ Create a starter first → more

Kitchen scale

Accurate to the gram

⚠️ Must buy – no reliable baking without a scale

Dutch oven

Oven-safe to 480°F / 250°C

Alternative: Baking sheet with water pan also works

Nice to have:

Why this recipe is forgiving:

65% hydration

Keeps dough manageable for beginners and reduces risk of sticky handling issues [1].

Small addition of rye

Rye improves flavor and keeps crumb moist without raising hydration sensitivity [2].

Overnight cold ferment

Retards fermentation so timing is flexible and it's harder to overproof at room temperature [1].

Loaf-pan option

Provides structure if shaping skills are still developing

Ingredients

For: 1 bread (about 1.75 lbs / 800g)

Bread flour 350g
Medium rye flour 100g
Water 290g
Active sourdough starter 100g
Salt 9g

Step by Step

Mix in the evening → Short bulk fermentation with one fold → Cold retard overnight → Shape and bake next day

1

Mix dough (Evening, 10 min)

9:00 PM

Weigh all ingredients on your kitchen scale into a large mixing bowl. Stir until no dry flour remains; dough will be slightly tacky but cohesive.

✓ Even, slightly sticky dough
💡 No intensive kneading needed — proper gluten development will occur during folds and rest [1].
2

Autolyse / Short rest (30 min)

9:00–9:30 PM

Cover bowl and let rest to hydrate flour, which aids gluten formation and flavor extraction [1].

✓ Dough surface looks smoother and feels more extensible
3

Add salt and fold (2 min)

9:30 PM

Sprinkle salt over dough, incorporate quickly, then perform 4 folds: wet hand, lift and fold each side toward center, rotating bowl.

✓ Dough develops slight tension and is more cohesive
💡 Folding is gentler than kneading and preserves gas; it's a key beginner-friendly technique [2]
→ Stretch and Fold technique
4

Bulk ferment and one more fold

9:30–10:00 PM

Leave dough at room temperature for ~30 minutes, perform one more set of folds if dough relaxed, then cover for fridge retard.

✓ Slight volume increase; dough holds gentle bubbles
5

Into the refrigerator

10:00 PM

Cover bowl (lid, plastic wrap) and place in refrigerator for 12–20 hours. Cold fermentation strengthens flavor while slowing fermentation for flexible timing [1].

✓ Dough is covered and chilled
6

Next day: Shape

Afternoon/Evening

Turn cold dough onto lightly floured surface using a dough scraper. Shape into a taut round or place directly into a greased loaf pan.

✓ Taut surface with some gas retention
💡 Beginners can skip elaborate shaping by using a loaf pan; it yields reliable form [2].
7

Second proof (1–2 hours)

Place shaped loaf seam-up in a floured proofing basket or pan, cover and proof at room temperature until slightly puffy. Use the poke test: poke gently — it should spring back slowly [1].

✓ Loaf is visibly larger and slightly jiggly
8

Preheat oven

Preheat oven with Dutch oven inside to 480°F/250°C for at least 30 minutes. Steam and high initial heat support oven spring and crust development [1].

💡 No Dutch oven? Preheat a baking sheet and place a pan of boiling water on the bottom rack to create steam.
9

Bake

Carefully transfer loaf into the hot Dutch oven (use oven mitts). Cover and bake 30 minutes, then remove lid and bake an additional 20–25 minutes at 425°F/220°C until deeply browned.

✓ Crust is dark brown and the loaf sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom — internal temperature ~205–210°F (96–99°C) [2].
10

Cool (IMPORTANT!)

Transfer loaf to a rack and cool for at least 1 hour (preferably 2). Cooling finishes gelatinization of starches; slicing too early produces a gummy crumb [1][2].

⚠️ Do not slice while warm — the crumb will be gummy and underdeveloped.

What If It Doesn't Work?

If your first loaf isn't perfect, these common issues and fixes will help you iterate faster [1][2]:

Bread is too flat

Likely: Starter lacked strength or the dough was over-proofed

Fix: Use a more active starter (feed and wait until peak) and shorten proof times; perform a float test for starter vigor

→ More info

Gummy or underbaked crumb

Likely: Insufficient bake time or sliced too early

Fix: Bake longer by 10–15 minutes and cool the loaf fully (1–2 hours) before slicing

→ More info

Overly sour flavor

Likely: Very long fermentation or too much starter

Fix: Shorten ferment time or reduce starter percentage and keep ferment cooler

→ More info

Poor oven spring / closed crumb

Likely: Insufficient scoring, over-proofing, or weak gluten

Fix: Score confidently (about 1/2 inch deep), avoid over-proofing and ensure adequate gluten development during folds [2]

💪 Remember: many "failures" still produce delicious bread. Keep notes, adjust one variable at a time, and you'll improve quickly [1].

What now?

That worked!
→ Try higher hydration or a longer autolyse to develop a more open crumb
I want rye bread
→ Try a mixed rye loaf to explore different flavors
I want to shape better
→ Practice shaping techniques to improve oven spring and appearance
I want to understand what's happening
→ Read the fundamentals of sourdough fermentation and dough science

Sources

  1. [1]
    The Perfect Loaf – The Perfect Loaf – Link
  2. [2]
    Plötzblog – Plötzblog – Link