How to make crusty sourdough in the bread machine 

Have you been dying to try those beautiful perfect loafs of sourdough bread that people just can’t get seem to get enough of? Would if I told you I can show you how to make that ever so popular crusty sourdough bread in the bread machine? Yep, you read that right! Let’s get started. 

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What is sourdough?

For this easy recipe, you will need an active sourdough starter. A active sourdough starter takes 7 days to be ready to bake with, but can last for years if maintained. Find out how to make your own sourdough starter here. 

I did not grow up on sourdough bread, so it was surprise to me when I saw just how many people go crazy over sourdough flavor. Discard crackers?! Pancakes?! Man, this sourdough thing does it all! Those big bubbles, and all those beautifully styled post of traditional sourdough bread laying on a cutting board lured me right in.’In my sourdough era!‘ all the moms shared on TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook. I thought to myself, I‘ve got to try this! I already make lots of bread, how hard can it be? 

There was only one problem.

I knew nothing about an active starter, bubbly sourdough, or lactic acid bacteria (wait, what’s that?!). I had only made bread recipes with instant yeast, a loaf pan or a bread maker. Wait, I’m supposed to feed this thing? Everyday? How many times do I have to fold the dough?  ‘Oh man’ I thought to myself. I better find an easy recipe if I’m going to have any time left in my day to actually enjoy this bread. 

Naturally, I dove right in! “In my sourdough era’ I said to myself as a I mixed flour and water everyday for 7 days straight. Where’s my bubbles? What is that smell?! I was expecting a mild sourdough taste but no one mentioned a sour smell, hmm. Welp friends, I had failed at making my first sourdough starter. When I was ready to dive back in, a good friend gifted me an active sourdough starter that I only had to keep try to keep alive. And this time around, it was so beautiful. Overflowing out of my big ole’ mason jar, doing it’s thing. 

​Once I figured out how to work with the sourdough, it was on my list to figure out a sourdough recipe to use with my bread machine. Most sourdough recipes take 2+ days. This sourdough bread machine recipe can be done in 1 day (8-9 hours) if you already have an active starter, and start the dough early in the morning. It also does not use any commercial yeast. Although to achieve the strongest sourdough flavor, you’d want to let the dough sit in the fridge (cold ferment) for up to 24 hours. But if you are like me and lack patience, with a little planning, you can have sourdough bread on the table by dinner time. 

Ingredients

With only 4 ingredients, the ingredient list is very simple. 

• 1/2 cup sourdough starter (120 grams)
• 3/4 cup of water (180 grams)
• 3 cups of bread flour (or all purpose flour) (360 grams)
• 1 tsp of salt 

How to make crusty sourdough bread in the bread machine 

There are two ways to make this sourdough bread machine recipe. One is baking the sourdough directly in your bread machine. Most newer bread machines even have the ‘sourdough’ setting now. If you don’t care about the shape and just want sourdough sandwich bread, you can use the ‘sourdough’,  or ‘artisan’ cycle on your bread machine to bake your sourdough loaf. 

If you’d like your sourdough to look pretty and have that crusty top, The other (and probably the best) way to make this sourdough bread is to make the dough in your bread machine, then bake the sourdough loaf in your oven using a dutch oven. Using the dutch oven to bake the sourdough loaf will give you the satisfaction of shaping, scoring and baking your sourdough bread. Which is the fun part of the process! Have you seen the sourdough pumpkin loafs? So neat. 

How to make your crusty sourdough loaf using the bread machine and dutch oven

Using the dough setting on your bread maker, add the ingredients in the order listed above then let the machine completely run through the dough cycle. When it is finished, the sourdough will be completely kneaded (no stretch and folds, yay!) but it will need more time to rise since unlike yeast, sourdough slowly rises. 

Let the dough do a second rise for an additional two hours by leaving it in the bread machine. If you have one, you can use the rise setting on your machine or you can let the dough slow rise in the fridge overnight, covered with a tea towel for more distinct sourdough flavor.

Once the dough has risen, place the dough onto a lightly floured surface and shape into a large smooth ball. 

Line the dutch oven with parchment paper and place your shape dough inside. 

Cover the dough with the dutch oven lid and let rise 4 hours or until it is twice in volume. This is the hardest part, you are so close! Keep going! 

Preheat your oven to 450. Dust your dough with flour, then score the dough with a sharp knife, razor blade or lame. This is where you can have fun with scoring designs, if you’d like. 

Immeditely turn the oven down to 400 then place the dutch oven with the lid on in the oven to bake for 25 minutes. 

Next, remove the dutch oven lid and bake for another 20 minutes. This is when your sourdough will get that golden brown crust.

Allow the bread to cool completely before you slice. Ps..don’t forget to snap a picture #sourdoughera 

How to make your sourdough loaf using the bread machine only  

To make sourdough in your bread machine, you will need to use the ‘knead’ setting on your machine and run it twice. 

Next, allow the dough to sit in the bread machine for about 6 hours, or until the dough nearly rises to the top of the bread pan.

After the dough has risen for several hours, select the ‘baking’ function on your bread machine and select the option for dark crust. This makes the bake time about 1 hour.

Allow to cool then slice and enjoy! 

Baking schedule 

Here is a baking schedule I would follow if I wanted same day sourdough bread using the bread machine and dutch oven option. 

8am: Start the dough in the bread machine. 

9:30am: Take the dough out and allow to rise. 

1:30pm: Bake your sourdough in the dutch oven for the time listed above or below in this recipe card. 

1:55pm: take the bread out of the oven, then bake for the second time without the dutch oven lid. 

2:20pm: Take the sourdough bread out of the oven and allow to cool for 1 hour. 

3/4pm: slice and serve! 

If you want sourdough bread with more of that sour flavor, Cold ferment your dough by sticking it in the fridge to rise for up to 24 hours ( this would happen on step 2 in the baking schedule)

Should I preheat the Dutch oven for sourdough bread?

I do not preheat my dutch oven. If you prefer you can preheat it, however, it is not really required.

What kind of bread machine do I need make crusty sourdough bread? 

All you really need is a basic bread machine. It could be the one grandma dusted off and gifted to you, or even found at the thrift store. My first bread machine came from the thrift store and still works to this day. 

Although, I have now upgraded to this newer bread machine with all the fancy settings. Simply because our kitchen is very small, and I lack counter space. As often as I use my bread machine, it is hard to tote from one room to the kitchen so often. The newer bread machines are made much smaller and more compact to fit perfectly on your counter top. Plus, they have a classic aesthetics that’s timeless and goes with the rest of my small kitchen appliance. Win! 

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