Best Bread Machine Sourdough

If you’ve got a bread machine collecting dust and a sourdough starter begging to be used, this recipe brings them together beautifully.

Seven simple ingredients go straight into the machine: sourdough starter for tang, bread flour for structure, active dry yeast for a reliable rise, and just enough sugar, oil, and salt to round things out.

The key is using the quick setting. A longer cycle lets the dough over-proof, and you end up with a flat, dense loaf instead of a tall, crusty one.

It’s hands-off sourdough for people who love the flavor but don’t want to babysit a loaf all day.

Kitchen Tips

• Use an active, bubbly sourdough starter for the best tang. A sluggish starter will give you bread that tastes more like white sandwich loaf than sourdough.
• Stick to the quick setting on your bread machine. The standard cycle gives the dough too much rise time and the loaf collapses.
• Bread flour matters here. All-purpose won’t give you the same chewy crumb and sturdy crust.
• If your machine isn’t a Hitachi, you may need to experiment with the cycle. Start with the quick or rapid setting and adjust from there.