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Homemade Sourdough bread sliced exposing airy interior of loaf. One slice cut and slathered with butter. A KitchenAid Artisan Mini 3.5 qt Stand Mixer with glass bowl in the background.

Stand Mixer Sourdough Bread

Use your Stand Mixer to make delicious sourdough! It's a more accessible and streamlined process! This recipe makes a 1.5 pound boule shaped loaf. Sourdough bread is known for its tangy flavor, chewy texture, and crisp, crackly crust. It is a naturally leavened bread, which in its purest form, uses a starter of wild yeast and good bacteria rather than commercial yeast. Beginners: Don't panic that the recipe/instructions seem long, once you make it a couple times you won't even need the recipe. Make sure to check out my detailed YouTube video that goes through the whole process step-by-step. Linked in Article
https://youtu.be/zZgulH5HwtI?si=_DwkgWYzDzeBuYRp
Tina Verrelli - epicuricloud.com
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Course: Bread
Cuisine: American
Keyword: easier sourdough, mid hydration sourdough, sourdough boule, stand mixer sourdough
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Hands Off Time Needed: 2 days 10 hours
Servings: 8

Equipment

  • stand mixer I have been using my KitchenAid Artisan 3.5qt Mini Stand Mixer
  • flex edge or flat beater and dough hook
  • scrapers, plastic and bench scraper
  • digital kitchen scale
  • straight sided container for bulk fermentation
  • rubber bands and/or masking tape
  • cast iron dutch oven
  • really protective oven/mitts/gloves
  • long thin spatula
  • rounded container for cold fermentation - banneton basket or mixing bowl/colander lined with kitchen towel
  • lame or kitchen scissors for slashing your dough before baking
  • parchment paper
  • baking sheet
  • probe thermometer the kind where you leave a probe in the food and have a cable that connects to a monitor out side the oven.

Ingredients

  • 100 grams active sourdough starter
  • 275 grams water
  • 450 grams bread flour, I use King Arthur plus extra for shaping
  • 10 grams salt
  • rice flour - used for proofing basket

Instructions 

Mix: (Takes about 5 min.)

  • Place stand mixer bowl on digital scale, set to grams and tare to zero. Measure 275 grams water. (room temperature water if possible). Tare to zero again and measure 100 grams of active sourdough starter. Use your flat or flex edge beater to mix water and starter together.
  • Remove your mixer bowl and place back on digital scale. Tare to zero and add 450 grams bread flour and 10 grams salt. Put bowl back on stand mixer and mix with flat or flex edge beater until combined into a shaggy mass.

Autolyse: (30 min. hands-off time)

  • Set timer for 30 min. to allow dough to rest, relax and absorb the water.

Knead: (10 min. hands-off time)

  • Switch from flat/flex edge beater to dough hook. Knead on speed 2 for 10 minutes.

2 Sets Stretch & Fold: (5 min. active time, 30 min. hands-off time)

  • Scrape dough out of bowl - either onto counter or in shallow container you plan to bulk ferment in. If dough is very sticky, use dampened hands and scraper.
  • Scrape under the edge of the dough on one side.
    Showing process of stretching and folding sourdough. Aqua colored scraper and two hands scraping under sourdough. in square plastic container
  • Use hand and scraper to stretch dough upwards.
    Showing the stretching portion of a sourdough stretch and fold. 2 hands stretching sourdough in a square plastic container.
  • Fold the stretched part over the dough mound.
    Sourdough Stretch and Fold Process. Two hands showing the folding part of the process with a mound of dough in a square plastic container.
  • Repeat the process on all sides of the dough mound. I usually perform 6 stretch and folds.
  • -Allow dough to rest 30 minutes - loosely covered
  • Repeat the same stretch and fold process. (6 more stretch and folds going around the dough mound.
  • If dough is not already in straight sided bulk fermentation container, place it there now. Cover container loosely with lid or a kitchen towel. Find place to bulk ferment that keeps a constant temperature around 72 - 80 degrees F.

Bulk Fermentation or Rising: (4-8 hours hands-off time)

  • Find place to bulk ferment that keeps a constant temperature around 72 - 80 degrees F. See notes below for suggestions.
  • Mark the level of the dough in the container with a rubber band, tape etc. So later you can tell when it has doubled in size.
  • Allow to bulk ferment (rise) for 4-8 hours. Time will depend upon warmth of space, dough temperature etc. Mine usually takes 5-6 hours to double in size and get all jiggly & bubbly.
    Showing the end of bulk fermentation of sourdough. Dough in tall plastic container with aqua colored tape marking where the dough started. Dough is risen to double past the tape and full of air bubbles

Preform: (2 min. active time, 15 min. hands-off time)

  • You will know your dough has bulk fermented long enough when it is doubled in size, is not too sticky when you touch the top of it, jiggly when gently shaken and full of bubbles.
  • Use scaper to turn dough out onto clean counter. Use dough scraper to scrape under edge of dough to do about 4-6 stretch and folds. Use dough scraper to turn entire dough mound over - seam side down onto counter.
  • Allow to rest 15 minutes.

Form Loaf: (5 min. active time)

  • Sprinkle counter with a little bit of bread or AP flour.
  • Use dough scraper to turn dough onto flour seam side down.
  • Use your fingers to gently, very slightly flatten and stretch dough. (about 10" across)
    hands patting some sourdough dough
  • Use dough scraper to fold the bottom third of dough over. Press gently to adhere together.
    2 hands shaping some sourdough dough on a granite countertop
  • Next, use dough scraper to fold in left and right side of dough, pressing gently to adhere. (it's kind of like swaddling a baby.)
    2 hands shaping some sourdough dough on a granite countertop
  • Now, use dough scraper to fold downwards from the two upper corners, pressing gently to adhere.
  • Now "Stitch" the dough by pulling in and adhering from 2-3 places on each side to make more of a longer, narrower loaf shape.
  • Starting on the far side of the loaf, gently roll dough toward you using thumbs to press/fold dough.
    2 hands shaping some sourdough dough on a granite countertop
  • Now you need to tuck the left and right sides under the roll. Use your hands to cup under loaf while turning in circle to form ball shape and tighten the loaf.
    2 hands shaping some sourdough dough on a granite countertop
  • Use both hands to drag loaf across counter surface to further tighten and create surface tension. Rotate loaf and repeat dragging action.
    2 hands shaping some sourdough dough on a granite countertop
  • Sprinkle cold-proofing basket/container with rice flour. Turn formed loaf, seam side up into basket. Loosely cover with kitchen towelhours.

Cold Fermentation: (12-48 hours hands-off time)

  • Refrigerate dough in basket for 12-48 hours.

Bake: (10 min. active time / 1 hr. 40 min. hands-off time)

  • Place empty dutch oven (with lid) in oven. A baking sheet on the rack below it. Preheat oven - 1 hour at 475 degrees F.
  • While oven is preheating - cut a round of parchment about 10" in diameter - with "handles" on the side. You will use this to help lower/lift bread out of dutch oven.
  • When oven has preheated for an hour. Remove loaf from refrigerator.
  • Turn out of basket onto parchment, carefully with seam side down.
  • Use lame or kitchen scissors to cut a slit across the loaf. Should be about 1/4 inch deep.
  • Using really good oven gloves/mitts, carefully remove hot dutch oven from oven, close oven door, carefully remove hot lid, lower in cold loaf, return lid and place in oven. (I leave the parchment round in the dutch oven)
  • Lower temperature to 450 degrees F. and bake covered for 20 minutes. Carefully remove lid and continue baking 10 minutes. (still at 450). Then, turn down to 425, insert probe thermometer (if you have one) and bake another 10-15 minutes until nicely browned or thermometer temp. reaches 212 degrees F.

Cool: (2 hours hands-off time)

  • Carefully remove dutch oven, and removew loaf to cooling rack. Allow to cool 2-12 hours.

Notes

Beginners: Don't panic that the Stand Mixer Sourdough Bread instructions seem long, once you make it a couple times you won't even need the recipe. Make sure to check out my detailed YouTube video that goes through the whole process step-by-step.
Bulk Fementation:  You'll need a place to bulk ferment or rise your dough that keeps a consistent temperature.  I use the lower shelf of one of my upper kitchen cabinets - the lights in the cabinet make it about 73 degrees F.  You don't want to go much higher than the high 70's.  For me, if the dough gets too warm, it's much harder to shape.  The temperature will affect how quickly your dough rises/bulk ferments.  Some folks put their dough in the oven with just the light on or in the microwave.  I don't recommend using the proof settings on your oven.  I tried that and the dough just turned to goop as it gets closer to 100 degrees.

Nutrition (approx. data estimated via online nutritional calculator.)

Calories: 214kcal (11%) | Carbohydrates: 43g (14%) | Protein: 7g (14%) | Fat: 1g (2%) | Saturated Fat: 0.1g (1%) | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.1g | Sodium: 487mg (21%) | Potassium: 56mg (2%) | Fiber: 1g (4%) | Sugar: 0.2g | Vitamin A: 1IU | Calcium: 10mg (1%) | Iron: 1mg (6%)
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