Crusty Sourdough Bread- Proof In the Instant Pot!

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Is there anything better than a crusty loaf of sourdough bread? Don't wait hours and hours for the bread to be ready, cut the time in half by using your Instant Pot! You can have fresh, crusty Sourdough Bread ready to eat in only a few hours!

An overhead view of the Instant Pot Sourdough bread sliced on a cutting board

I'm combining two of my favorite things in this recipe, the Instant Pot and Sourdough. I love making sourdough bread just as much as the next person, but most of the recipes you find take 12-24 hours from start to finish! That's a long time! There are recipes, like same day sourdough bread, that take a little less time, but it's still almost a full day!

I'm sure the die hard sourdough bakers will not be happy with me saying this but, cut that time in half by using your Instant Pot! It's the perfect place to proof your dough. We are still baking the dough in the oven, but the proofing process is completely done in the Instant Pot!

When starting your sourdough journey, there are a few essential tools for baking sourdough and some terms in that sourdough glossary that will be helpful in making this recipe.

Jump to:

What Is Sourdough Bread?
How It Works
Why You'll Love This Recipe
Ingredients You'll Need
Equipment You Need
Let's Make Sourdough Bread in the Instant Pot!
Different Types of Flour
Tips and Tricks
How To Serve Instant Pot Sourdough Bread
Frequently Asked Questions
Other Recipes You'll Love
📖 Recipe

An overhead view of a loaf of Instant Pot Sourdough Bread

What Is Sourdough Bread?

Sourdough bread is a bread made from natural yeast, flour, water, and salt. There is no commercial yeast, only naturally occurring yeast from the environment. Sourdough bread requires a "starter" to rise the bread. A starter is filled with good bacteria and natural yeast that gives the bread that traditional sour taste.

How It Works

The "Yogurt" setting on the Instant Pot creates the perfect place for the dough to rise. The yeast needs a warm, moist place to rise and the "Yogurt" setting does just that.

If your Instant Pot does not have the "Yogurt" Setting, you won't be able to use this method. You would have to let the dough rise on the counter for 8-10 hours, until it is doubled in size.

The Instant Pot is regularly on Amazon, so keep an eye out if you are in the market for one with the "Yogurt" setting.

Why You'll Love This Recipe

It significantly cuts down on the proofing time! We are all busy these days, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't be able to have fresh bread whenever we want!
Sourdough bread is so good! If you are new to sourdough bread, be sure to check out this how to keep a sourdough starter post on how to keep your sourdough starter happy. Once you have a happy starter, you can have fresh bread whenever you want!
It's very easy to make! You would think that a loaf of sourdough bread would be difficult to make, but it's really not. Once you get the hang of the process, you'll be making fresh bread all the time!

The bread is cut in half with a bowl of butter

Ingredients You'll Need

Sourdough starter- Your starter needs to be active and bubbly. If you plan to make this bread in the morning, the night before you should feed it and make sure it has doubled in size. You can make your own sourdough starter from scratch, buy one, or get one from a sourdough friend.
Flour- Bread flour is recommended, but if you have all purpose flour that would work well too. If you aren't sure whether to use bread flour or all purpose flour, check out this bread flour vs all purpose flour post.
Salt- Salt feeds the natural yeast in sourdough. That will make the bread rise in the Instant Pot.
Water- for hydration in the bread.

Equipment You Need

Let's Make Sourdough Bread in the Instant Pot!

Add the water and starter to a bowl. Mix well with a fork. Top the water and starter with flour and salt. Mix everything well until a shaggy dough forms. It might get a little tough to mix with a fork, so don't be afraid to use your hands. Cover the bowl with a damp kitchen towel and allow the dough to rest for 1 hour.

The sourdough starter is floating in a bowl of water — Test the starter

All the ingredients for the instant pot sourdough bread are in a bowl — Test the starter

After the dough has rested for one hour, work it into a smooth ball for 15-20 seconds. Line the Instant Pot with parchment paper and spray the parchment paper with cooking spray. You can also put the dough directly into the Instant Pot without the parchment paper, but make sure to spray it so the dough does not stick. Seal the Instant Pot and turn on the "Yogurt" setting for 4 hours.

The dough has rested for one hour and is ready to go in the Instant Pot — The dough is ready for the Instant Pot

The Sourdough bread is in the instant Pot — The dough is ready for the Instant Pot

After the four hours are up, unseal the Instant Pot and turn the dough out onto a floured surface. How to shape a sourdough boule is an important step to ensuring the bread has the perfect oven spring during the baking process.

Fold the top third of the dough down towards the middle of the dough, and fold the bottom third of the dough up towards the middle of the dough. Flip the dough over and shape it again. Move the dough in a circular motion to tighten the dough. Place it seam side up in a kitchen towel lined bowl. Cover with a damp towel and place it in the refrigerator for 1 hour, or up to overnight. While the dough sits in the refrigerator, preheat the oven to 500 degrees.

The sourdough bread dough has risen for 4 hours in the Instant Pot — The dough has doubled in size

The dough is on a black counter ready to be folded and tightened — The dough has doubled in size

After the dough has set for one hour in the refrigerator, turn the dough onto parchment paper. Place the dough and parchment paper in a Dutch oven. Score the top of the bread with a sharp knife or a razor blade. This will give the dough room to rise as it bakes.

Lower the oven to 450 degrees and place the covered Dutch oven into the oven. Bake for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, remove the cover from the Dutch oven and bake for 35 minutes more. Allow the bread to cool before slicing.

Different Types of Flour

The best type of flour to use for bread is bread flour. Bread flour has a higher protein content, and high protein means more gluten in your bread loaf.

If you don't have bread flour handy, all purpose flour can be substituted. You won't build up as much gluten as you would with bread flour, but the difference won't be very noticeable.

Whole wheat flour can be used in sourdough bread as well, but you don't want to use all whole wheat flour. That can turn the bread very tough and it would not have a great flavor. I like to use 50% bread flour and 50% whole wheat flour.

A close up of the sliced Sourdough Bread

Tips and Tricks

Make sure the parchment paper in the Instant Pot is sprayed with cooking spray. If the dough sticks to the parchment paper, don't panic! Gently remove the dough from the parchment paper a little at a time.
To check if your starter is ready to bake with, place a tablespoon of starter into water. If the starter floats, it is ready to bake with. If it sinks, feed it again and make the bread the next day.
When making bread, it is most important to weigh out the ingredients. That is the best way to get the most accurate measurements.
To check if the bread is cooked completely, carefully tap on the bottom of the bread. It should sound hollow when you tap it.
Make leftover bread into a Blueberry French Toast Casserole!

How To Serve Instant Pot Sourdough Bread

Sourdough bread is perfect sliced fresh and eaten but add some of these Instant Pot jams and you are taking your bread to a whole new level! I have a whole post about what to serve with sourdough bread too!

My other favorite way to serve this bread is with a nice, hot bowl of soup. Dunk the bread into the soup and get every last drop of soup out! These soups are perfect to serve with sourdough bread.

Two halves of the sourdough bread are on top of one another

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does sourdough bread last?

Once the loaf cools, place it in a Ziploc bag and it will stay fresh on the counter for 2 days.

Can I freeze sourdough bread?

Yes! Wrap a cooled loaf in plastic wrap and then place it in a Ziploc bag. Make note of the date you are placing it in the freezer. The bread can be frozen for 3-4 months, but to be honest, I've eaten bread out of the freezer that was there for much longer! As long as it's wrapped in plastic wrap and in a Ziploc bag it will stay good for a long time.

Why do I need to refrigerate the dough?

After the dough comes out of the Instant Pot, it's important to refrigerate it for at least one hour. This will set the structure of the inside of the bread. You can keep the dough in the refrigerator overnight if you want to make the dough ahead of time and then bake it off in the morning.

Other Recipes You'll Love

Did you love this Sourdough Bread in the Instant Pot? I'd so appreciate it if you would give this recipe a 5 star review! That will help other hungry readers find my recipes!

And don't forget to tag me on Instagram or Facebook and share this recipe on Pinterest! Thanks for sharing this journey with me and enjoy these delicious recipes!

More Sourdough Recipes

📖 Recipe

Crusty Sourdough Bread- Proofing Dough in the Instant Pot!

Is there anything better than a crusty loaf of sourdough bread? Don't wait hours and hours for the bread to be ready, cut the time in half by using your Instant Pot!

4.64 from 11 votes

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Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 4

Cook Time: 1

Total Time: 5

Servings: servings

Calories: 236kcal

Author: Lynn Polito

Equipment

▢
Instant Pot

Ingredients

▢ 500 g Bread Flour
▢ 375 g Water
▢ 90 g Starter Active and Bubbly
▢ 10 g Salt

Instructions

Whisk together the water and starter in a large bowl.
Add the flour and salt. Mix all the ingredients together until they form a rough dough. Cover the bowl with a damp kitchen towel and set it on the counter for 1 hour to rest.
When the dough has rested for one hour, work the dough into a smooth ball for 15-20 seconds by folding the dough onto itself.
Line the Instant Pot with parchment paper. Spray the parchment paper with cooking spray to make it easier to get the dough off the paper. Add the dough to the Instant Pot and seal the lid. Set the Instant Pot to "YOGURT" for 4 hours.
Once the dough has risen for 4 hours, open the Instant Pot and place the dough on a lightly floured surface. If the dough sticks to the parchment paper, gently remove the dough with a bench scraper or a spatula. Fold the dough to tighten the internal structure. To do this, take the top third of the dough and fold it to the middle, take the bottom third and fold it to the middle. Fold the sides to the middle and flip the dough over.
Line a bowl with a kitchen towel and sprinkle the kitchen towel with flour. Add the dough to the bowl, seam side up, smooth side down. Cover the bowl with a damp kitchen towel and place the bowl in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
Preheat the oven to 500 degrees. After 1 hour, take the bowl out of the refrigerator and remove the damp kitchen towel. Place a piece of parchment paper over the bowl and flip the dough onto the parchment paper. Score the dough with a sharp knife.
Add the dough and parchment paper to a Dutch oven and place the lid on the Dutch oven. Lower the heat in the oven to 450 degrees. Bake the bread for 20 minutes.
After 20 minutes, carefully remove the lid from the Dutch oven and bake for another 35 minutes. When the dough is done, remove it from the oven and allow the bread to cool before slicing.

Notes

Check the dough after 3 hours and see if it has doubled in size. If you have a very active starter, the dough may be ready after 3 hours.
Make sure your starter is active and bubbly.
If you do not have bread flour, all purpose flour can be used instead.
To check if the bread is cooked completely, carefully tap on the bottom of the bread. It should sound hollow when you tap it.

The provided nutrition information is an estimate. The accuracy is not guaranteed.

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Comments

4.64 from 11 votes (2 ratings without comment)