Easy no-knead sourdough bread that can be made using einkorn or any flour! The perfect crusty bread to go with soup or just on its own.
This einkorn sourdough bread is easier than you might think. It's almost completely hands-off once you have your sourdough starter, and is easier to digest than regular bread!
UPDATED: This was one of the first sourdough recipes I created about 5 years ago. Having crafted it now for many years, I am sharing the new and improved version with you!
My love of sourdough started with my sourdough crackers, and moved on to sourdough bread... I've even been making sourdough cookies!!
While it can be a little tricky to get the timing right with sourdough bread, once you have it down you'll never want any other kind!
Plus, is there anything more gorgeous than a big beautiful loaf of artisan sourdough bread right out of the oven?
Einkorn Sourdough Bread
This einkorn sourdough bread is easier than you might think. It's almost completely hands-off once you have your sourdough starter, and is easier to digest than regular bread!
Just like with the sourdough crackers, you want to make sure that you have your sourdough starter aged at least 7 days.
Step 1:
Take 2 tablespoons of 100% hydration starter, mix with 1/2 cup of warm water to loosen the paste. Then add in 1 cup of einkorn flour. Mix until well combined and leave out on on the counter over night (at least 12 hours), covered with plastic wrap and then a dish towel.
The towel serves to protect the starter from the light, which can cause it to change colors... which you would then have to scrap off!
Step 2:
Once you have the sponge ready to go, mix the contents of the sponge with 1 and 1/4 cups of warm water until loosened.
Next, add 5 cups of einkorn flour and 1 teaspoon of salt. Mix well either by hand or with an electric mixer. If using a mixer, mix on low for 5-10 minutes.
This extended mixing time helps activate the gluten in the einkorn, which is much lower than other wheat.
Place dough into a buttered bowl, cover with plastic wrap and a towel, let rise for 6-10 hours or until size has doubled.
Step 3:
Remove dough from bowl, form into the shape loaf you want, and place it for second rise in whatever dish you will bake in. I like to bake this on a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
Cover with just a towel this time. Let rise for 2 hours.
Step 4:
Pre-heat oven to 425°. Slash top of bread in whatever pattern you choose, 1/4" deep, with a sharp knife. Butter top of dough, if desired.
Bake at 425° for 40 minutes, rotating bread 180 degrees halfway through baking. For a softer loaf, bake for 10 minutes at 425° and 40 minutes at 375°.
Step 5:
Wait about an hour before cutting the loaf. This allows the crumb to set, which is especially important with einkorn flour.
RELATED: Sourdough Pancakes
Einkorn No-Knead Sourdough Bread
Ingredients
Sponge
- 2 tbsp Sourdough Starter, active
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 cup flour (we use einkorn)
No-Knead Sourdough Bread
- Sponge
- 1 1/4 cup water
- 5 cups flour (we use einkorn)
- 1 tsp salt
Instructions
Make Sponge:
- Mix starter and water to loosen. Add flour and mix until well combined. Leave out on on the counter over night (at least 12 hours), covered with plastic wrap and then a dish towel.
Making Bread Dough
- Mix sponge and 1 1/4 cup of water in the bowl of an electric mixer until smooth.
- Next, add 5 cups of flour and 1 teaspoon of salt. Mix well either by hand or with an electric mixer. If using a mixer, mix on low for 5-10 minutes.
- Place dough into a buttered bowl, cover with plastic wrap and a towel, let rise for 6-10 hours or until size has doubled.
- Remove dough from bowl, form into the shape loaf you want, and place it for second rise in whatever dish you will bake in. Cover with just a towel this time. Let rise for 2 hours.
- Pre-heat oven to 425°. Slash top of bread in whatever pattern you choose, 1/4″ deep, with a sharp knife.
- Bake at 425° for 40 minutes, rotating bread 180 degrees halfway through baking. For a softer loaf, bake for 10 minutes at 425° and 40 minutes at 375°.
- Allow to cool for 1 hour before slicing.
Thank you for your quick response. I guess I’m just a little confused, since the title of the recipe is no knead sourdough, but you do need to need for 15 minutes. I am very new to baking, so 15 minutes might be an extremely short period of time relatively speaking, so it’s kind of like not kneading. ??
Great question! It’s a no knead recipe because it uses a mixer, instead of requiring kneading by hand. The dough does need to be worked in order to activate the gluten, but it can be done in a mixer instead. Sorry for the confusion!
Got it. I don’t have a mixer so we’ll see how it turns out.
Hello again. I just formed the dough and will bake in 2 hours. The directions don’t mention to cover the bread when baking, so I wanted to ask if that’s accurate. Thank you for your comments and
responsiveness! I love the way that the einkorn dough felt. It’s my first time with this flour.
Oh fabulous!! I’m so glad you are being able to work this recipe! You are correct, I don’t cover this bread while baking. If baking in a dutch oven, that would be different, but this recipe I just bake on a baking sheet. Enjoy!!
Hello, would you consider revising your recipe to include the ingredient weights? I am finding much better results when measuring my flour, etc in grams. I noticed that some of your other recipes already have this modification. Thanks for the wonderful recipes!!
Hey there! I am definitely in the process up doing those updates, and inside the sourdough course, all the recipes have weights as well. But for this one, you can use 600g as the flour weight, and then add more flour if it’s too wet. I use between 600-650g for this recipe, depending on the day (humidity and temperature have a drastic effect on the amount of flour needed!). I hope that helps!
Can I use freshly milled einkorn for this recipe?
Hi there! Here is an excerpt from my Troubleshooting Einkorn post that will help!
Using Freshly Milled Einkorn Instead Of All-Purpose
The einkorn recipes on my site use the standard convention for flour, which is that “flour” in a recipe refers to all-purpose flour unless otherwise specified. I have not tested all my recipes with whole wheat, but typically, you can use 113g of store-bought einkorn whole wheat flour for every 1 cup (120g) of white flour called for in the recipe.
For freshly ground einkorn, use the same weight as called for in the recipe, NOT volume, and reduce the liquid by 10%. If the recipe doesn’t list a weight yet, you can assume 135g per cup of all-purpose einkorn flour.
You can also try this freshly milled einkorn honey wheat loaf recipe, it’s a reader favorite!