One of the things we are always trying to do is make the things we make easier. I mean, what good is making everything from scratch if it becomes a massive pain in the backside meaning you never want to actually make it?!?!?

For the last year or so, I have been trying to perfect a no knead (or more accurately, no stretch and fold) version of our sourdough bread. We have made no knead bread a number of times, but not necessarily intentionally. We’ve just forgotten bread on the side and its been ok the next morning. Except it wasn’t always reliably so. Sometimes it would overproof and be a sloppy mess in the morning or it wouldn’t develop enough to hold its shape.

After relentless testing (helped along with copious amounts of butter and cheese) I feel like we have finally got a workable technique. I use the term “technique” intentionally here because I think you will need to adjust it for your life and climate. The recipe is actually pretty much the same as my normal everyday sourdough recipe, just with a shade more flour. The difference here is that for a great loaf, you need to be a bit more mindful of the starter being nice and active and recently fed. That is going to help the structure of the bread that you lose by not stretching and folding. I have been leaving it out on the counter, but I bet you could make it one evening and stick it in the fridge and shape and bake it the next for excellent results.

Need a starter? Here’s the method we use. Or you can buy a starter or kit below -