Rustic Sourdough Bread Recipe

“A relatively easy spelt sourdough bread that pairs like a charm with any dip or spread!”
Zmira Ben Shoham
Original Recipe Author
Maybe you have a starter jar sitting in your fridge. Or maybe you’ve never made a culture from scratch in your life.
Either way, this rustic sourdough bread recipe will help you make a shockingly good loaf that you’ll eat down to the crumbs in minutes.
So grab a bag of spelt flour and your favorite baking apron, and let’s get to it!


Why this Rustic Sourdough Bread Recipe is A MUST-try:
Frequently Asked Questions:
Rustic Sourdough Bread Recipe
What if my oven doesn’t have a bread-baking program?
Don’t worry. Just put a pan of water on the shelf right under the bread and bake for around 35 minutes. This workaround will provide enough steam to keep the crust nice and crispy.
I don’t have enough sourdough starter. What should I do?
You can always expand the starter to three or even eight times its original volume. However, you’ll need to do it over two feedings, so plan ahead before the bake day.

Ingredients
- 2 lbs. 100% whole spelt flour (1 kg)
- 12½ oz. sourdough starter (360 g)
- 1 tsp. pink salt
- 2½ cups water
Instructions
Making the Bread
Here’s how to make the bread if you already have a starter ready:
- Mix all the ingredients to form a dough and keep folding it over itself.
- Let the dough rise three times (over 20-minute intervals) between folding sessions.
- Shape the dough to your liking.
- Let it rise again for an hour.
- Preheat the oven to 430°F (220°C) on a bread-baking setting and bake until the crust hardens.
Making the Sourdough Starter
- If you don’t have a sourdough starter ready, you’ll want to start making it around 6 days in advance.
Here’s what you’ll need to do:
Day 1:
- Mix 2 oz. (60 g or ¼ cup) of water with 2 oz. (60 g or ½ cup) of whole grain flour in a medium-sized bowl.
- Scrape the sides while mixing to get every last bit!
- Cover the starter container with a lid or plastic wrap.
Day 2:
- You might see some spots and signs that the bacteria is activated. But even if you can’t, you’ll want to feed the dough.
- Basically, you need to discard a portion and replace it with fresh water and flour, so the process for day 2 is as follows:
- Mix the 4 oz. (120 g) starter.
- Discard half the amount, so you’re left with 2 oz.
- Add 2 oz. water and 2 oz. flour to the remaining half, creating a 6 oz. (180 g) starter.
- Mix well and cover again.
- Note that if it’s super hot in your house, the smell might be too strong at this point. In this case, we’d recommend storing the starter in the fridge (after day 2).
- You can do a second feeding in the evening, let the dough warm up the next morning, and feed it again.
Day 3:
- By now, you should see bubbles in the container.
- This time, you’ll discard 4 oz. Next, add 2 oz. water and 2 oz. flour to feed the dough and restore its weight to 6 oz.
- That said, our sourdough starter was made in the winter, so it took a while to react. If your house is warm, the process will be much faster, and you can refresh it twice daily starting from day 3.
Days 4–6:
- Continue the same feeding pattern as day 3 (removing 4 oz. from the old dough and refreshing with 2 oz. flour and 2 oz. water).
Bake Day:
- When it’s time to bake the bread, take out the sourdough starter portion needed for the recipe.
- Then, feed the starter to restore its weight, cover the jar, and put it back in the fridge until you need it again.
Tips
- The starter reactions are highly dependent on the temperature and flour type, so you have to keep an eye on the progress (smells and bubbling) and adjust the feeding accordingly.
- If your starter gets too runny and sour, reduce the water portion while feeding or use a bit of whole-grain flour. You can do both if it’s extremely watery.
- Try scoring your bread before baking to control the cracking pattern and have fun decorating it!
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Oh, and we almost forgot!
This Rustic Sourdough Bread Recipe is a part of our Sides Series. Click NOW for more fun ideas you don’t wanna miss!
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