How to Make Overnight Whole meal Sourdough Bread

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This easy Overnight Whole meal Sourdough Bread can be made overnight or even in one day! It’s a mix and prove affair, with no kneading, no stretching, and no overnight cold ferment. The addition of whole meal flour adds a sponginess and nutty flavour that makes this loaf absolutely sublime.

Can Sourdough Bread sit at room temperature the whole night?

Unlike normal Sourdough bread, these overnight loaves can! My recipes for Overnight Sourdough Bread are designed to sit at room temperature for many hours without over-proving (more on over-proved dough later).

Because these loaves use sourdough discard instead of active, bubbly starter, they do take a longer time to prove – but they also don’t require a cold ferment. That’s why you can keep them on the counter overnight, while traditional sourdough loaves are a bit more temperamental.

All Bread generally proves faster in warmer temperatures. If you are making this bread in the summertime, I would recommend making it at night and leaving it during the cooler night time hours to prove. Try not to make it during the hottest hours of the day, unless you will be around to keep an eye on it.

This overnight bread recipe can be made in one day, however in warmer months you will need to check the bread after 4 hours as it could be ready by then to bake.

How to prevent an over-proved Sourdough loaf

With any sourdough loaf, one of the biggest pressure points is making sure the dough does not over-prove.

An over-proved dough will become sticky and it will tear very easily. Shaping it will be really difficult, and it will not rise very well in the oven. The final texture will be gummy and you may have to use it for bread crumbs instead of toast!

To prevent an over-proved dough, the key is to pay attention to the time of year and the temperature of your kitchen. The temperature will dictate how long you leave your dough for the bulk fermentation stage.

In cooler months, you could safely leave your dough in a hot water cupboard for 6-7 hours (leaving it on the counter may be too cool a temperature to activate the gluten). During warmer months, you will be able to leave it on the counter, and it may take even less time to prove.

You will need to keep a closer eye on your dough if you live in a warm place or during a warmer time of year. If you live in a warm climate, I would not recommend making it on a day where you will be away from home for longer than 4 hours.

If you are not at home during the day

My best tip for people who are not at home during the day is to make, stretch, ferment and shape their bread on a free Saturday. This way, you can keep an eye on the dough and make sure it does not sit long enough to over prove. Once it has doubled in size, you can then move on to shaping.

Unlike traditional sourdough bread, this overnight or same day loaf is a really good sourdough recipe for working people. This is because you can simply mix the dough and leave it for 7 hours or more. No need to hover, no need to stretch and fold, and the bulk fermentation time is much longer than with traditional sourdough.

Simply mix the dough before you leave for work, leave it in a cool-ish place while you are gone. Then you can shape and bake once you get home (be sure to leave sufficient time to heat your dutch oven). You can find my recipe for all white overnight sourdough here.

How to know when your sourdough has proved sufficiently

You will only know if your bread has over-proved once you get to the shaping phase.

The rule of thumb is to let the dough double in size. This will generally require a bulk fermentation time of 6 hours, but as I said, that could be longer in the cooler months (up to 10 hours) or shorter (4 hours) in the warmer months.

To test if it is ready, press the dough with your finger. The dough will bounce back when you do so. When shaping, a perfectly proved loaf will stretch almost without breaking, and it will almost jiggle like jelly once shaped.

Don’t feel disheartened if your dough has over-proved. This is a learning process and I have learned a lot about what a good dough looks and feels like because of my many failed attempts!

This overnight sourdough bread will require a longer time because it is made with discard, not active starter. A minimum of 7 hours should be sufficient.

How to make Easy Overnight Whole Meal Sourdough Bread

The night before:

1. Mix starter, salt and warm water.
2. Add flour and mix until it becomes a cohesive dough.
3. Cover with a tea-towel or plastic wrap and leave for 8 hrs or overnight on your bench.

The next morning:

Shape

1. Turn the dough out onto the bench.  Stretch it out as far as it will go without tearing (almost as if you were making a pizza base). 
2. Fold the corners into the centre, creating a ball.  Turn it over to hide the seam. 
3. Using your hands, cup the dough and scrape it towards you across the bench, pulling the surface of the dough taut.  Turn the dough 90 degrees, and repeat.  Do this until you are happy with the tautness of the surface.

Prove

1. Line a shallow bowl or proving basket with a floured tea-towel then carefully transfer the dough, crust side down, into it.
2. Leave for 1 hour in a warm place to rise. Be careful not to over-prove at this point, as it affects how it rises in the oven.
3. While the dough is proving, preheat the oven to its highest setting and put in the casserole dish (or Dutch Oven) to heat up.

Bake

1. Place a sheet of baking paper over the proving basket, turn the whole thing over and whip back the tea-towel. You should find a lightly floured dough, crust-side up.
2. Score the dough. I have found that with a round loaf, just a single cross in the middle produces the best risen crust.
3. Holding the sides of the baking paper, transfer the dough to the heated Dutch oven (it will be HOT, so be careful!)
4. Pop the lid on and bung it in the oven. Turn the temperature down to 200*C and bake 45 mins.

Easy Overnight Whole Meal Sourdough Bread Tips:

1. This Easy Whole Meal Sourdough Loaf can be made in one day. If you start the dough early enough, you can have it baked by dinner. The dough needs a minimum time of 7 hours to prove. That means if you wake up and start it at 7am, you could be eating it for dinner at 5pm!
2. Having a piping hot Dutch Oven makes a huge difference to the baked loaf. Heat your Dutch oven at your hottest oven temperature for an hour prior to cooking. You could turn the oven on just after you have shaped the loaf.