Rosemary Sourdough Bread
Rosemary Sourdough Bread straight from the oven served with butter is one of the best things ever. This simple no-knead sourdough bread recipe is simple to follow and only requires a few ingredients and a little patience. Homemade sourdough bread has a tender and fluffy middle and a crusty exterior studded with fragrant dried rosemary. Follow these step-by-step instructions for the best sourdough bread loaf made from your own kitchen!
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Why This Recipe is So Good
It’s delicious – The crust is crisp and crunchy with a lovely rosemary flavor. The interior is tender, with lots of holes and a hint of sourdough flavor.
This rosemary sourdough bread recipe is beginner-friendly. I have provided ingredients in cups and in grams, so whether or not you have a kitchen scale, you can make this recipe. Most sourdough recipes are in grams, which can make making sourdough a little daunting, but baking bread really isn’t that deep. Even if it’s not precise your bread will turn out amazing.
No knead recipe. Instead of kneading we will be stretching and folding the dough a couple of times. This helps to strengthen the dough and give it structure without having to knead for 5 – 10 minutes by hand. You don’t need any special equipment either. And we aren’t stretching and folding for hours, just 2 rounds of stretch and folds and we’re done!
This sourdough bread recipe makes 1 loaf, it can be easily doubled to make 2 if desired.
Recipe Ingredients
Sourdough starter – An active and bubbly sourdough starter that has been fed within the last 4 – 12 hours. You know your starter is active, then a dollop of the starter floats in a cup of room temperature water.
Flour – Regular all-purpose flour or bread flour. You could also use half whole wheat and half white flour.
Salt – Sea salt or Celtic salt.
Water – Filtered water or bottled water.
Rosemary – I used dried rosemary. If using fresh, rinse well, then roughly chop.
How to Make Rosemary Sourdough Bread
All ingredients, measurements, and instructions are in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Make the dough: In a large bowl, add sourdough starter, water, salt, and flour. Stir everything together using your hands or a spoon. The dough should be wet and shaggy; add a little bit more water if needed. Cover the dough with a piece of plastic wrap and a clean kitchen towel. Allow to rest in a warm environment for 30 minutes.
Stretch and fold: Grab the edge of the dough, gently shake it as you pull the dough up, then fold the dough over itself towards the center. Quarter-turn the bowl, then repeat, until all the corners have been stretched and folded and you have a smooth ball of dough. Cover the bowl then allow the dough to rest for another 30 minutes, then complete a second round of stretch and folds. After the last round, allow the dough to rest for 4 – 6 hours undisturbed in a warm environment.
Shape bread dough: Lightly flour your counter, then turn the dough onto it. Fold the corners of the dough to the middle in order to form a ball, then turn the dough over so the ends are on the bottom. Use the sides of your hands to turn the dough in a circle until you have a smooth and tight ball of dough. Lightly brush the top of the dough with water, then sprinkle with dried rosemary. Generously flour a banneton basket lined with a linen liner or a towel-lined large mixing bowl. Place the dough rosemary-side down, pinch the ends of the dough together, then sprinkle with flour. Cover the basket with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel to make sure the dough doesn’t dry out in the refrigerator.
Refrigerate: Refrigerate dough overnight for 8 – 12 hours.
Bake: Preheat your oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Place a cast iron Dutch Oven with its lid inside the oven and allow it to heat for at least 15 – 20 minutes. Remove the dough from the fridge, then transfer it to a large piece of parchment paper. Make sure it’s big enough to have wings so you can lift the dough into the Dutch Oven easily. Score the top of the dough with a razor, bread lame or sharp knife in any pattern you like or simply a line down the middle. Scoring helps release the steam as the bread bakes. Transfer the bread to the hot Dutch oven, cover it with the lid, then bake for 30 minutes, remove the lid, and bake for another 20 – 25 minutes or until golden brown.
Cooling and serving: Wrap the baked sourdough loaf in a clean kitchen towel and allow it to cool for at least 30 – 45 minutes before slicing and serving.
Tips and Tricks
- Sourdough starter – You can make a sourdough starter from scratch or buy a dried sourdough starter. There’s no shame in not making a sourdough starter from scratch, it can involve a lot of trial and error trying to figure out how to make it work in your home. This dried sourdough starter works for me every time!
- Baker’s timeline – Since the bread will rest in the fridge overnight, start making the dough about 5 – 6 hours before you are ready to go to bed. It’s then baked straight from the fridge the next morning. The dough can be made ahead of time for up to 2 days, so it’s okay to bake the bread the following afternoon or even the following morning.
- Use a banneton bread-proofing basket – Place the liner inside the basket then flour that instead of the actual basket. You can use a regular mixing bowl lined with a kitchen towel, but even with generously dusting it with flour, the dough still sticks to the towel a lot, and that doesn’t happen when using the banneton basket.
- Baking the sourdough – For this recipe, I was looking for a lighter-colored loaf. It is not too dark, and the bread is baked at a lower temperature than many sourdough bread recipes, which is usually 450 – 500 degrees Fahrenheit. Bake at a higher temperature if you prefer a darker loaf of sourdough bread.
Frequently Asked Questions —
Not necessarily. An active starter is helpful because you know that it’s alive and your bread will rise. And another benefit is that an active starter will rise much quicker than a less active one. However, if your starter has been fed within the last 12 hours and it’s not at its “peak bubbliness,” it’s still fine to use. Your bread might take longer to rise, but if you have a strong starter it will be fine.
I like to add the rosemary on top of the dough before it rests in the fridge before baking. You can mix the rosemary in with the rest of the dough ingredients or while performing the stretch and fold technique.
Looking For More Recipes?
- Honey Whole Wheat Bread Recipe
- Easy Homemade Challah Bread
- Jalapeno Honey Cornbread
- Cast Iron Skillet Cornbread
- Chunky Cauliflower Potato Soup with Mixed Veggies
- Loaded Baked Potato Soup Recipe
- Instant Pot Beef and Barley Vegetable Soup
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Originally posted on August 4, 2021, the blog post was updated with more detailed instructions and images.
Rosemary Sourdough Bread
Equipment
- Banneton Bread Proofing Basket or a large mixing bowl with a kitchen towel
- Bread lame or sharp knife
- Parchment paper
Ingredients
- ½ cup sourdough starter 100 grams, bubbly and active
- 1 ½ cups water 320 grams, distilled or filtered
- 2 ½ teaspoons salt 10 grams
- 3 ½ cups all-purpose flour or bread flour, 570 grams
- 3 teaspoons dried rosemary 3 grams
Instructions
Start with an active sourdough starter
- Feed your sourdough starter 4 – 12 hours before you are ready to make bread. It will be active if a dollop can float in a cup of water.
Make the dough
- In a large mixing bowl, add active sourdough starter, water, flour, and salt. Use a clean hand or a large spoon to mix all the ingredients together into a shaggy dough. The dough will be sticky and wet; add 1-2 tablespoons more water as needed until the dough comes together. Cover the bowl with a piece of plastic wrap and a kitchen towel then place the bowl in a warm environment for 30 minutes.
Stretch and folds
- After 30 minutes, remove the plastic then perform stretch and folds. Scoop up a corner of the dough with your hand, gently shake the dough to stretch it up, don’t let it break then fold the dough over itself to the middle. Quarter-turn the bowl then repeat until all the corners of the dough has been stretched and you have a smooth ball of dough. Flip the dough over so the ends are on the bottom then cover the bowl again. Let the dough sit for another 30 minutes then perform the stretch and fold technique one more time.
- After the second round of stretch and folds, allow the dough to sit covered in a warm environment undisturbed for 4 – 6 hours. The dough will have doubled in size in that time.
Prep bread for overnight refrigeration
- Lightly flour a clean work surface and turn the dough onto it. Fold the ends of the dough over the middle to form a ball, then turn the dough over so the ends are on the bottom. Use the sides of your hands to turn the dough in a circle until you have a smooth and tight ball of dough. Lightly brush the top of the dough with water, then sprinkle with dried rosemary.
- Next, generously flour a banneton basket lined with a linen liner or place a kitchen towel in a large bowl, then sprinkle with flour. Place the bread rosemary-side down into the banneton basket or towel-lined mixing bowl. Dust with flour then cover the bowl using plastic wrap. Use a rubber band to secure the plastic wrap or a clean shower cap. You don’t want the dough to dry out in the refrigerator. The dough will continue to rise as it chills.
- Refrigerate dough overnight or 8 – 12 hours.
The next day and bake
- Preheat your oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit with a Dutch oven and its lid inside for 15 – 20 minutes until its really hot.
- Remove your sourdough from the fridge, then turn it onto a large piece of parchment paper; it should be larger than your dutch oven so you can lower the bread into the hot pot. Use a sharp knife or bread lame to score the top; you can add designs or simply score a line down the middle; it shouldn’t be a deep line at all. Scoring the top will help the bread release steam as it bakes.
- Next, remove the Dutch Oven from the oven, place the dough inside the top with a lid, and immediately return to the oven. Bake with the lid on for 30 minutes. Remove the lid, then bake for another 25 minutes until the top of the sourdough is nicely golden brown.
- Once the bread is baked, remove the bread from the pot and wrap it in a clean kitchen towel. The bread is still baking as it cools, so this step is important. Allow the bread to cool for at least 30 – 45 minutes.
- Slice and serve your Rosemary Sourdough Bread warm with butter or with your favorite soup. Enjoy.
Notes
How To Store/ Make Ahead
Reheat the bread covered in the oven until hot. Freeze whole loaves or slice bread before wrapping it individually in plastic wrap, then store it in a freezer-safe bag for up to 2 months. Reheat from frozen covered in the oven until hot or allow to thaw in the fridge first, then reheat.Tips and Tricks
- Sourdough starter – You can make a sourdough starter from scratch or buy a dried sourdough starter. There’s no shame in not making a sourdough starter from scratch; it can involve a lot of trial and error trying to figure out how to make it work in your home. This dried sourdough starter works for me every time!
- Baker’s timeline – Since the bread will rest in the fridge overnight, start making the dough about 5 – 6 hours before you are ready to go to bed. It’s then baked straight from the fridge the next morning. The dough can be made ahead of time for up to 2 days, so it’s okay to bake the bread the following afternoon or even that next morning.
- Use a banneton bread-proofing basket – Place the liner inside the basket then flour that instead of the actual basket. You can use a regular mixing bowl lined with a kitchen towel, but even with generously dusting it with flour, the dough still sticks to the towel a lot, and that doesn’t happen when using the banneton basket.
- Baking the sourdough – I was looking for a lighter-colored loaf for this recipe. It is not too dark, and the bread is baked at a lower temperature than many sourdough bread recipes, which is usually 450 – 500 degrees Fahrenheit. Bake at a higher temperature if you prefer darker sourdough bread.
