Easy Sourdough Herb Bread Recipe
This easy sourdough herb bread is soft, flavorful, and brimming with flavor.
Every bite features tantalizing flavors of rosemary, thyme, oregano, and basil. This lovely savory bread is perfect to feature alongside your favorite Italian dish (in our house, spaghetti and meatballs!).
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Like walking through a garden on a summer morning, this aromatic loaf allows you to bask in the flavors and textures of a healing herbal garden.
The added olive oil gives this bread a soft texture and will stay fresh longer than traditional sourdough loaves.
Let’s dive into this simple sourdough recipe.
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For more sourdough bread recipes try this mouthwatering jalapeno bread or this easy whole wheat sourdough sandwich bread.
Ingredients
This recipe requires just a few fresh ingredients. Make sure to check your garden for the freshest herbs!
60 grams active sourdough starter: feed your sourdough 4-6 hours before making your bread.
350 grams water: I like to use filtered water for all of my sourdough recipes
500 grams of bread flour (all-purpose flour will work as well)
1 teaspoon each of rosemary, basil, oregano, and thyme (or to taste)
8 grams (1 tsp) salt (I love this Celtic sea salt!)
25 grams olive oil
How To Make Easy Sourdough Herb Bread
Feed your sourdough starter 4-6 hours before starting this bread. The starter should be active and bubbly when mixed into the dough.
For the most accurate results, use a scale for this recipe.
Add the filtered water and sourdough starter in a large mixing bowl. Mix well.
Add the flour, herbs, olive oil, and salt to the liquid mixture. Mix until you have a shaggy, rough ball of dough.
Cover the bowl with a wet tea towel or saran wrap, and leave the dough to rest for one hour. This rest time, called the autolyse, allows the flour to soak up the moisture in the liquids, strengthening the gluten in the dough.
(I apologize for the dimly lit photos….I was prepping this dough in the evening. It’s a real life process!).
Stretch And Folds + Bulk Rise
After 45 minutes to an hour, perform the first set of stretches and folds on the dough.
Grab one side of the dough, pull it up and away from the main dough, then fold it back over the ball of dough. Work around each side, repeating until the dough forms a silky and smooth ball. (It does not have to be perfect.)
In intervals of 30 minutes, perform three more sets of stretches and folds, stopping when the dough forms a smooth and elastic ball.
Leave the dough on the counter for its bulk rise. Depending on your home’s temperature, this can take anywhere from 7 to 10 hours.
The dough is finished rising when it has doubled in size, and you can see bubbles forming on the bottom (using a clear container for proofing helps with this!).
The bread featured in these photos took about 9 hours to rise, and my home temperature was 72 degrees.
Shaping The Dough
On a floured surface, shape the dough by folding the four corners of the dough into the center, then gently working it into a ball.
Let the bread rest for ten minutes. Then add tension to the surface of the dough by gently pulling the ball towards you and rotating it to the left.
Set the dough into a floured bowl or banneton, cover it, and put it in the fridge for at least 2 hours (you can leave it for 24 hours if need be).
Baking
Tip: Before baking, freeze the bread for about 30 minutes. This makes scoring so much easier!
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Prepare a piece of parchment paper to line the Dutch oven. Score bread, place in a cold Dutch oven, and bake for 25 minutes.
Remove the Dutch oven lid and bake for an additional 20-25 minutes, or until the top of the bread is nicely golden brown.
Let the bread rest for at least one hour before slicing, then enjoy!
Easy Sourdough Herb Bread
Equipment
- 1 Large Bowl
- 1 Dutch Oven
- 1 Scale for weighing ingredients.
- Parchment paper for lining Dutch oven during bake
- Saran wrap or tea towel for covering bread during the bulk rise
Ingredients
- 60 grams active sourdough starter
- 350 grams water
- 500 grams bread flour
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp rosemary
- 1 tsp sage
- 1 tsp basil
- 1 tsp oregano
Instructions
- Combine water and active sourdough starter in a bowl. Mix well. Add in flour, herbs, olive oil and salt. Mix until dough forms a rough, shaggy ball.
- Cover dough with a damp tea towel or saran wrap and let sit for 45-60 minutes.
- After one hour, perform the first set of stretch and folds by literally pulling one side of the dough up and folding it back down, working your way around the dough. Repeat until a smooth ball is formed. (See photos). Cover and let rest for 30 minutes.
- Repeat three more sets of stretch and folds, spaced thirty minutes apart, covering the dough after each set.
- Let the dough bulk rise for 8-10 hours, or until it has doubled in size. (Time will be dependent on the temperature of your home, go by the look of the dough).
- Shape the dough by folding the four sides in and gently rolling it into a ball. Let the dough rest for 10 minutes.
- Add tension to the surface of the dough by gently pulling the ball towards you and rotating it to the left. Repeat until the skin of the dough looks taught (this is subjective, just do your best!).
- Place the dough in a banneton or floured bowl and set it in the fridge for at least 2 hours, or up to 24 hours.
- Optional: Prior to baking, set dough in freezer for 30 minutes to allow for easier scoring.
- Prepare a piece of parchment paper to line the Dutch oven during the bread bake.
- When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Place the dough on a piece of parchment paper. Score the dough and place in a cold Dutch oven, then place in the hot oven to bake.
- Bake for 25 minutes, then remove the lid and bake for another 25 minutes, or until the top of the bread is golden brown.
