Bread

Start-to-Finish Sourdough in a Bread Maker recipe

Name: Start-to-Finish Sourdough in a Bread Maker
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 5 h
Total time: 5 h 10 min
Yield: 8
Ingredients: 400g strong bread flour (I use 250g white, 250g wholemeal); 10g salt (about 1 tbsp); 270ml water; 80g sourdough starter; 400g strong bread flour (I use 250g white, 250g wholemeal); 10g salt (about 1 tbsp); 10g sugar (about 1 tbsp); 10ml oil (about 1 tbsp, I use olive); 260ml water; 80g sourdough starter; 400g strong bread flour (I use 250g white, 250g wholemeal); 10g salt (about 1 tbsp); 10g sugar (about 1 tbsp); 10ml oil (about 1 tbsp, I use olive); 260ml water; 80g sourdough starter; ½ tsp dried yeast (I use Allinson's Easy Bake Yeast)

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Sourdough, made from start to finish, in a bread maker. I’ve tried three different recipes, including one with yeast.

Prep10m
Cook5h
Total5h 10m

bread-maker fibre sourdough

Three sourdough loaves made in a bread maker (no oven)

Before you send me to sourdough jail, I’d like to make the case for using store-bought yeast, in addition to sourdough starter: it gives a great rise and all you do is weigh your ingredients and push a button. You can leave it out but I struggle to get a nice rise without it.

The different methods (photo, bottom to top):

Four ingredients: flour, water, salt and starter. Use a basic dough programme, leave the dough to rise, then bake. The rise time will depend on the temperature of the room. It’s easy to over-ferment with this method, which results in a sunken loaf.
Six ingredients: as before but add sugar and oil. Sugar gives the yeast (that naturally occurs in the sourdough starter) immediate food, which helps the rise. Oil softens the crust and crumb.
Seven ingredients: add store-bought yeast, use a loaf programme (whole wheat) and let the bread maker take care of everything. This loaf has the best rise.

All three loaves have a chewy crust and taste lovely. The crumb is slightly more open when using the dough programme, due to the longer rise period, but it’s not an open crumb.

I still prefer making the dough in the bread maker, shaping it myself, proving overnight in the fridge then baking in my Dutch oven the next morning. It’s more involved but the end result isn’t a mile off a bakery loaf.

These start-to-finish loaves lack the typical sourdough tang because of the shorter proof, but if you’re pushed for time, they’re ideal. I didn’t anticipate adding store-bought yeast but after a slew of sunken (but tasty) loaves, I relented. And, as someone pointed out on my last sourdough video, bread makers are designed for yeasted loaves, so it doesn’t feel like a huge stretch.

Notes

Be mindful of your bread pan

This recipe proves the dough in your bread maker’s pan. I’ve read that sourdough can wear down non-stick coatings over time. It doesn’t always happen, but bread pans are expensive to replace. If you’re at all concerned, I've got another recipe where the dough can prove in a bowl instead, but it's not a full bread maker recipe.

If your finished loaf refuses to come out of the bread pan, let it sit for 5-10 minutes. Avoid inserting any implements (even soft plastic) as the non-stick coating can scratch. I learned this the hard way with my old pan. My new pan (YR-2540) generally releases loaves easily, but for the odd stubborn one, the 5-10 minute wait works well.

Sourdough starter

The recipe assumes that you have a mature sourdough starter. If you don’t, definitely use method 3 to ensure a good rise. I use Allinson’s Easy Bake Yeast.

My starter is fairly active but I feed it twice before baking loaves 1 and 2. One feed is enough for loaf 3 as the extra yeast will help the rise.

Freshness

I find that traditional sourdough stays fresh for around 2 days. These loaves definitely need to be toasted on day 2. I tend to slice on day 1 and store in the freezer to get around this.

Panasonic programme info:

Sourdough starter setting: 24 hrs, roughly 25-30°C (77-86°F). I turn this setting off after 2-4 hours, depending on my room temperature.

Rise-only setting: 10 mins-2 hrs, roughly 28-32°C (82-90°F).

Basic Dough steps:

Rest: 30-50 mins
Knead: 15-30 mins
Rise: 1 hr 10 mins-1 hr 30 mins
Total: 2 hrs 20 mins

Whole Wheat steps:

Rest: 1 hr-1 hr 40 mins
Knead: 15-25 mins (includes a period of rise)
Rise: 2 hr 10 mins-2 hr 50 mins
Bake: 50 mins
Total: 5 hrs

Recipe

Start-to-Finish Sourdough in a Bread Maker

Prep10m
Cook5h
Total5h 10m

Makes: 1 loaf

Ingredients

4-ingredient loaf

400g strong bread flour (I use 250g white, 250g wholemeal)
10g salt (about 1 tbsp)
270ml water
80g sourdough starter

6-ingredient loaf

400g strong bread flour (I use 250g white, 250g wholemeal)
10g salt (about 1 tbsp)
10g sugar (about 1 tbsp)
10ml oil (about 1 tbsp, I use olive)
260ml water
80g sourdough starter

7-ingredient loaf

400g strong bread flour (I use 250g white, 250g wholemeal)
10g salt (about 1 tbsp)
10g sugar (about 1 tbsp)
10ml oil (about 1 tbsp, I use olive)
260ml water
80g sourdough starter
½ tsp dried yeast (I use Allinson's Easy Bake Yeast)

Method

4-ingredient loaf

Add 400g of strong bread flour (I use 250g white and 150g wholemeal), 10g of salt, 270ml of water and 80g of sourdough starter to the loaf pan, then place into the bread maker. Select a Basic Dough programme. My machine takes 2 hours and 20 minutes (see notes for the steps).
Once the programme has finished, allow the dough to rise until just over halfway up the pan. Any higher and the dough may collapse while baking. The rise time is dependent on room temperature. If it’s warm, you can turn the machine off. Otherwise use a rise-only setting or Panasonic’s 24 hour sourdough starter setting (see notes for temperatures).
Bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes then transfer the loaf to a rack.

6-ingredient loaf

Add 400g of strong bread flour (I use 250g white and 150g wholemeal), 10g of salt, 10g of sugar, 10ml of oil (I use olive), 260ml of water and 80g of sourdough starter to the loaf pan, then place into the bread maker. Select a Basic Dough programme (2 hours and 20 minutes - see notes for the steps).
Once the programme has finished, allow the dough to rise until just over halfway up the pan. The rise time is dependent on room temperature. If it’s warm, you can turn the machine off. Otherwise use a rise-only setting or Panasonic’s 24 hour sourdough starter setting (see notes for temperatures).
Bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes then transfer the loaf to a rack.

7-ingredient loaf

Add 400g of strong bread flour (I use 250g white and 150g wholemeal), 10g of salt, 10g of sugar, 10ml of oil (I use olive), 260ml of water and 80g of sourdough starter to the loaf pan, then place into the bread maker. Add ½ teaspoon of yeast to the yeast dispenser (or add it to the bread pan if your machine doesn’t have a dispenser).
Select a Whole wheat programme or similar (5 hours on my machine - see notes for a breakdown of the steps).
Once the programme has finished, transfer the loaf to a rack.