This shortcut sourdough bread tastes like regular sourdough bread but doesn’t need a traditional sourdough starter or yeast. The bread loaf is crusty on the outside and soft, chewy and tangy on the inside. It is just 2 ingredients and easier to make than traditional sourdough.
This is not classic sourdough bread but it tastes very similar to sourdough bread without all the work. There is no need to feed your starter or keep it alive for days or weeks, which can be quite intimidating.
Ingredients
- Self-rising flour
- Plain Kefir
Self-rising flour: This bread uses self-rising flour which is flour that is already premixed with baking powder and salt. The bread relies on the baking powder to rise since there is no yeast.
Plain Kefir: I used low fat plain kefir to make this bread. Kefir is a very popular probiotic drink. It is a fermented milk that is made from kefir grains. The consistency is like a thin yogurt and it has a tangy flavor like yogurt. Kefir is the key to this bread tasting like sourdough. Similar to a sourdough starter, this bread uses a fermented ingredient, which gives the bread a tangy flavor like sourdough.
How to Make Easy Sourdough Bread
- The flour and kefir are mixed together in a large mixing bowl until a dough forms. The dough is then covered with plastic wrap and placed into the fridge for several hours until ready.
- When your dough is almost ready, add a dutch oven to your oven and preheat your oven with the dutch oven inside. Roll your dough into a ball. When the oven is ready, place your dough into the hot dutch oven and keep it covered. Let the bread bake for about 30 minutes with the lid closed. Using a dutch oven is key to the bread rising properly and developing it’s crusty exterior.
- Remove the lid and continue to bake until the bread is fully cooked and browned on the surface. Let bread cool fully before slicing and serving.
Bread Texture and Taste
This bread has a very crusty exterior and a soft and chewy interior. The interior of the bread does not have as many large holes as you’ll see with traditional sourdough bread but the texture and taste is still very similar to sourdough bread.
More Easy Bread Recipes
2 Ingredient Sourdough Bread
Ingredients
- 4 cups (519 g) self-rising flour see note before starting
- 2 cups (16 fl oz/473 ml) lowfat plain kefir
Instructions
- In a large glass mixing bowl, combine the flour and kefir. Mix well with a spatula until a shaggy dough forms. The dough will be sticky and wet.
- Tightly cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place it into the fridge. Let the dough rest and proof for 4-6 hours (up to 12 hours). The longer the dough rests, the better the flavor will be but the dough will also be wetter and harder to work with if rested too long.
- About 30 minutes before baking, preheat your oven to 450°F (232°C). Place a large Dutch oven (4.3 quarts or bigger) with its lid on in the oven while it preheats. This is important. The dutch oven needs to preheat before adding the bread.
- After the dough has rested, wet your hands with some water. Grab one side of the dough, stretch it upward, and then fold it over the center of the dough. Repeat this process from all eight sides of the dough.
- Lightly flour a work surface with self-rising flour. Carefully turn the dough out onto the floured surface, seam side down. Use a bench scraper or lightly floured hands to rotate and drag the dough towards yourself on the floured surface, until you form a round, taut ball.
- Place the shaped dough, seam side down, onto a piece of parchment paper.
- Remove the preheated Dutch oven from the oven. Remove the lid and carefully transfer the parchment paper with the dough into the hot Dutch oven.
- Put the lid back on and place it back into the oven to bake covered for 30 minutes.
- After 30 minutes, remove the lid and continue baking the bread for another 15-20 minutes or until the bread is browned on the surface and sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom.
- Let bread cool fully before cutting and serving.
Notes
- Self-rising flour: There are 2 main kinds of self-rising flour sold in the US. One that is a lower protein flour (2 grams per 1/4 cup serving) and one that has a regular amount of protein or the same protein amount that is in all purpose flour (3 grams per 1/4 cup). Brands like King Arthur Flour and White Lily make the low protein flour. Brands like Gold Medal and Amazon Fresh contain a regular protein amount. The amount of protein affects how much liquid is absorbed.
We don't recommend using a low protein self-rising flour to make this bread. You want the flour to be higher in protein for a better bread texture and color. We did test it with low protein self-rising flour and didn't like the results. If you only have a self-rising flour with low protein, I recommend you make the homemade self-rising flour below for this recipe. - The self-rising flour brands we made this bread with successfully are Gold Medal and Amazon Fresh.
- Homemade self-rising flour: Combine 4 cups of all purpose flour, 2 tbsp baking powder and 1 tsp salt. Whisk to evenly combine.
- I used Lifeway plain low-fat kefir.
- The bread needs to be baked in a Dutch oven in order for it to rise properly and develop it's crusty exterior.
Nutrition
The nutrition information provided are only estimates based on an online nutritional calculator. I am not a certified nutritionist. Please consult a professional nutritionist or doctor for accurate information and any dietary restrictions and concerns you may have.
