Effortless Sourdough: Easy Bread Machine Recipe for Busy Women
Jul 11, 2024
Ever since I stumbled upon this bread machine sourdough recipe on Instagram from @farmhouseonboone, my kitchen has never been the same.
For all the amazing women out there who love the wholesome goodness of cooking from scratch but dread the tedious process of traditional sourdough, this recipe is your new best friend. Imagine this: you toss the ingredients into your bread machine, hit a button, and voilà! Fresh, delicious sourdough bread with minimal effort.
This easy recipe is a testament to how we can blend convenience with quality, freeing up precious time to focus on what truly matters—our families, our goals, and our growth. By simplifying the bread-making process, you can always have homemade bread available.
Homemade sourdough isn’t just a treat for the taste buds; it’s an experience that brings the whole family together. As an empty nester and entrepreneur, I know how important it is to maximize our time and resources. This recipe is a small yet powerful way to enrich our lives, nourishing our bodies and souls. The smell of fresh bread baking is good for the soul.
Ingredients:
1 1/4 cup water
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
4 cups bread flour
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2 tablespoon salt
1/2 cup sourdough starter, bubbly and active
Directions:
Add the water and melted butter to the bread machine.
On top of that add the bread flour, sugar and salt.
Lastly, add the sourdough starter.
Use the kneading function on the bread machine.
Mine is set to knead for 25 minutes.
After the first knead cycle finishes, I press the button again and let it knead the dough one more time, for an additional 25 minute cycle.
Next, I just 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. I like to spritz the top with water a few times to make sure the dough doesn't dry out on top.(Optional, but also helps the crust to turn golden in the baking step.)
After the dough has risen for several hours, I go to the baking function and select the option for dark crust. This makes the bake time 1 hour.
Pull the bread out of the bread maker and allow to cool.
Some machines have a program that will knead for 2 cycles and let it rise for about 6 hours and bake for an hour.
NOTES: Although you can make this bread from start to finish without ever touching the dough, you have the option to take out the dough from the bread machine after kneading and remove the paddle. This will keep you from having to pull the kneading paddle out of the finished product. Though you could get away with just one knead cycle, l actually like to do it one more time. This ensures proper gluten formation for soft bread. Spritz the top of dough with water a few times to make sure the dough doesn't dry out on top during rising. This is an optional step, but also helps the crust to turn golden in the baking step..
