How to make the best stovetop sourdough starter bread

This fluffy soft one-skillet stovetop sourdough starter bread is another ultimate easy bread recipe you must try! It is simple and delicious with a few ingredients, and it is ready in 20 minutes whenever you wish for fresh bread. There is no need to knead, roll, or proof; mix it, pour it, and cook it!

Everyone loves to munch on freshly baked bread every single day and loves to find a simple recipe to get there. So, here I share my best easy sourdough starter bread recipe to inspire you to make fresh, easy bread every day.

I have another ultimate easy beloved sourdough starter tortillas recipe for you to try!

And I love the idea that you can make this sourdough starter bread without an oven if you wish, right in the comfort of your stovetop.

So, go to the kitchen and grab your bubbly sourdough starter, baking soda, oil, and salt and surprise your family with the smell of freshly baked bread even during those busy morning weekdays. Because guess what?! It is that simple! Just pour the sourdough starter bread mixture into a hot cast iron skillet on low flame, then take a 10-minute break, shower, or do whatever needs to be done in the morning. Then, come back, flip it over, and take another 10-minute break; come back, it is ready, easy breezy!!

If you wonder what in the world sourdough starter is, I have included a simple instructions section on how to make your sourdough starter from scratch and how to maintain it below in this post. When you try sourdough starter bread for yourself, you will never look back!

Find more simple delicious nutritious sourdough starter recipes:

• Sourdough starter mini pizzas
• Sourdough starter breakfast casserole
• Easy sourdough starter tortillas
• Crispy moist salmon patties

Jump to:

• Sourdough starter from scratch
• Maintain sourdough starter
• Why sourdough starter bread
• Tips
• How to serve it
• Substitutes
• Ingredients
• Instructions
• Notes
• Pin it for later
• Recipe

Sourdough starter from scratch

You colonize wild yeast and lactic acid bacteria from your environment. No package yeast anymore. Yay! You may use any variety of wheat flour.

1. Mix one cup of wheat flour with one cup of filtered water in a glass bowl.
2. Cover it with a kitchen towel.
3. Leave it aside to ferment for 24 hours.
4. After 24 hours, discard half of the mixer.
5. Then, add to the remaining half of the mixture one cup of wheat flour and one cup of filtered water. Incorporate everything well.
6. Cover it with a kitchen towel and leave it to ferment for 24 hours. Then discard the half.
7. Repeat step 5 and step 6 for four continuous days.
8. On day six and seven, repeat the process every 12 hours.
9. On day seven, depending on the temperature in your kitchen, you might have a bubbly starter to work. If not!
10. Continue and repeat the 12 hours process for 3 more days until you achieve a bubbly sourdough starter.
11. The fermentation timing depends significantly on the temperature of your house. The warmer the environment, the faster it ferments.
12. It takes time for the sourdough starter to get strong over time. Be patient and do not give up. You will be surprised at how simple it is and will get the hang of it!
13. Replace wheat flour with various wheat flour, rye flour, barley flour, and einkorn flour if you like.
14. You will significantly taste the flavor differences in your recipes using sourdough starter compared to only using package yeast!

Maintain sourdough starter

1. Use bubbly sourdough starter as much as you need, but leave some to feed it with wheat flour + water. For example, for my family of 4, I only need one cup of bubbly sourdough starter every time. So, I use one cup of sourdough starter and leave ½ cup of sourdough starter. Then I feed the ½ cup sourdough starter with one cup of wheat flour and one cup of water. Next, I let it ferment at room temperature until nice and bubbly and double in size. Then, I transfer it to the fridge and use it the next day or any day I need. However, if a sourdough starter sits in the refrigerator for a week or longer, you need first to feed it with flour+ water and let it ferment before using it in any sourdough starter recipes.
2. If you do not want to use a sourdough starter every day, you can always slow down the fermentation process by putting the fed sourdough starter in the fridge and taking a break if you wish. However, If a sourdough starter sits in the refrigerator for a week or longer, you need first to feed it with flour+ water and let it ferment before using it in any sourdough starter recipes!
3. Sourdough starter is a living culture and needs food (water+ flour) to work properly. However, It can survive 3 weeks in the fridge without any feeding.
4. Sourdough starter ferments faster in a warmer environment than in a cooler environment. So, My kitchen is cooler during the winter season, so it takes more time to ferment than the warmer summer season.

Why sourdough starter bread

Sourdough starter bread takes longer to ferment. Therefore, this long fermentation process makes it easy for the body to absorb the bread’s nutrients, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants.

They have an excellent unique tangy smell and flavor.

Wild yeast and lactic acid bacteria in sourdough bread are very beneficial. They make sourdough bread easier to digest and absorb nutrients. Sourdough bread has less gluten and phytate -antinutrient substance in grains like wheat. Wild yeast fermentation produces carbon dioxide. Carbon Dioxide makes bread light and bubbly. Lactic acid bacteria neutralize phytate. You can read more about the benefit of sourdough bread.

Tips

1. Make sure your sourdough starter is fed and bubbly before making sourdough starter bread, feed it a day or night before, and let it ferment at room temperature until bubbly and double in size.
2. Use a cast-iron skillet for cooking the bread. It is like a miniature oven and holds heat well.
3. Make sure your baking soda is fresh and not dated.
4. Optional. Add your favorite seeds; pumpkin, sesame, chia, sunflowers, flax seeds or add your favorite herbs such as thyme, rosemary, oregano, parsley, or chives.
5. Optional. Add your favorite spices, garlic powder, onion powder, ginger, or cumin.
6. For a crispier result, cook the bread uncovered. Otherwise, cover it loose to let the steam out.
7. This is a one-skillet sourdough starter bread. However, you can easily use a spoon to pour the sourdough mixture into the skillet to make a small sandwich bread like English muffins and cook them in multiple batches.
8. You could brush the top of the sourdough starter bread with egg yolk for a more golden crust appearance.
9. You can easily bake this sourdough starter bread in the oven at 500 °F uncovered for about 10 minutes or until golden brown on top.

How to serve it

Serve it as an easy healthy side dish with your favorite egg recipe for breakfast or a side dish for lunch or dinner.

I served it with mashed soft-boiled eggs and some sauteed broccoli for breakfast. And here is how to have a perfect soft-boiled egg and the easy, quick way to peel it.

1. First, cover the egg in a pot with cold water, bring it to boil on the stovetop—no need to put the lid on.
2. Then, immediately when water starts boiling, turn off the stove and let the egg sit in hot water for 5 minutes.
3. After 5 minutes, rinse the egg with cold tap water for a few seconds until cool enough to touch.
4. Then, take a serrated knife and cut the egg in the middle. First, tap the knife into the egg to get a good grip and then move the knife up and down.
5. Next, take a spoon, and scoop the inside egg out of the shell. It only takes a few seconds to peel a soft-boiled egg.
6. Then, mash the egg and add olive oil, salt, and pepper.
7. And make an egg sandwich with the freshly baked sourdough starter bread.

Substitutes

• Instead of stovetop, you can bake the sourdough starter bread in the oven at 500 °F uncovered for about 10 minutes or until golden brown.
• Substitute one cup of sourdough starter with a half cup of the sourdough starter if you wish to have a thinner flatbread. Adjust for cooking time.
• Substitute oil with buttermilk, yogurt, butter, and coconut oil.
• Substitute ¼ teaspoon of baking soda with ¾ teaspoon of baking powder.
• Add a teaspoon of honey to the sourdough mixture for a slightly sweet taste.
• Add your favorite seeds, herbs, or spices to the middle of the bread before pouring the rest of the sourdough mixture into the skillet. Or you could sprinkle them on top of the bread.

Ingredients

You will need:

• One cup bubbly sourdough starter
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ tablespoon oil
• Salt to taste
• Sesame seeds to garnish, optional

Instructions

1. Turn the stovetop to low and let the cast-iron skillet heat well.
2. In a bowl, mix one cup of sourdough starter with ½ tablespoon oil and ¼ teaspoon of baking soda
3. Next, add salt as needed and mix them all.
4. Mix them all well with a hand or spoon.
5. Grease the cast-iron skillet with oil.
6. Pour the mixture into the hot skillet and even it with a spoon. You will hear a nice sizzling sound!
7. Let each side of the bread cook on low flame for about 10 minutes or until golden brown on each side.
8. Put the lid on for the entire 20 minutes of cooking. Let the lid open slightly for a crispy bread crust so steam can escape. I use a plate as a lid.
9. Let it cool and ENJOY!

Notes

• I used an 8-inch cast-iron skillet to cook the sourdough starter bread. It turns out as a flatbread.
• If you are using deeper cookware, adjust for cooking time.

What did you substitute? How did your family and kids like it? Let me know in the comment below your favorite combination.

Find more simple delicious nutritious sourdough starter recipes:

• Sourdough starter mini pizzas
• Sourdough starter breakfast casserole
• Easy sourdough starter tortillas
• Crispy moist salmon patties

Pin it for later

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