Fresh Rosemary Sourdough Bread Recipe
This Rosemary Sourdough is a simple yet deeply aromatic loaf, designed to elevate your daily bread with just a handful of rosemary. Pairing just as beautifully with a savoury beef stew as it does with a thick layer of salted butter and a drizzle of honey.
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I know I say every loaf is one of my favourites but it’s true, I only share favourite-worthy loaves here! But this loaf really is one of my favourites.
That may be due to its sentimental value. This loaf joined my man and I on a trip across Canada. I swear it was the best bread that ever existed when roadside sandwiches were very much needed and deeply appreciated.
It is perfectly complimentary for all kinds of pairings. In a sandwich, on a charcuterie board, or just with a generous amount of butter.
Why You’ll Love This Rosemary Sourdough
Bronwyn’s Sourdough Notes
This is your loaf! I’m here to share my tips, experience, and what’s worked for me — but sourdough is wonderfully flexible. Whether you’re a seasoned baker or just starting out, feel free to experiment and make this recipe your own. There are a bajillion ways to make a great loaf of sourdough, and my goal is simply to help you find the methods and rhythms that suit you best.
Water: If you can drink it, you can bake with it. I’ve used city, tap, well, and filtered water — all with great results. Don’t overthink it.
Salt: Use whatever fine salt you have. Unrefined salts like Himalayan or Redmond Real Salt support fermentation beautifully, but table salt works fine too.
Sourdough Starter: Start bread with an active, bubbly starter for best results. Learn more about your starter here.
Temperature: Dough rises best around 23–26°C (73–79°F) dough temperature.
Colder = Slower fermentation (6-12 hours)
Warmer = Faster fermentation (3-6 hours)
Adjust with warm or cool water depending on the season.
Flour: I always do a blend of standard all-purpose flour and freshly-milled whole grain flour as my whole wheat flour. Use whatever flour works for you.
Hydration: In summer, I use cooler water and slightly less. In winter, warmer water and a touch more can help balance fermentation speed.
Autolyse: This step involves holding back salt and sourdough starter at the mixing stage. I prefer a simpler variation — I mix in the starter right away but hold back the salt for 30–60 minutes. This short rest gives the dough time to hydrate and relax, especially important when using whole grain flour, which takes longer to absorb moisture.
Sourdough Starter
If you’re here, I’m assuming you have a sourdough starter and generally know how to use it. It is beyond the scope of this post to teach you how to create and maintain a sourdough starter.
If you haven’t made one already, read my post on how to make a sourdough starter from scratch.
Once you have an established sourdough starter and you know how to identify when it’s active or needs a fresh feeding, you’re pretty much good to go. It doesn’t matter much whether its thin, batter-like, or stiff, a healthy starter will make healthy bread.
If you have a sourdough starter but are having trouble understanding it, learn more in my ultimate guide to understanding your sourdough starter.
Freshly Milled Flour
The whole wheat flour in all of my baking recipes is made with freshly milled whole wheat flour. While store-bought whole wheat works just fine in terms of texture and flavour, the nutritional value of freshly milled flour is far superior — it’s full of the natural oils, vitamins, and minerals that are lost once flour sits on a shelf.
If you live in the city, you can often find fresh-milled flour at local bakeries or specialty grocery stores.
If you’re in the country or have access to whole grains, consider milling your own. You can start small with what you already have — a powerful coffee grinder or blender can get you going. A great next step is a KitchenAid grain mill attachment, perfect for small batches.
If you fall in love with fresh milling (like I did), investing in a Harvest NutriMill is absolutely worth it. I use mine almost daily — it’s both beautiful and practical.
When you’re ready to invest, get your Harvest NutriMill using this link and use my code BRONSBREAD20 at checkout for $20 off your order!
Bronwyn’s Sourdough Schedule
night before
morning
late morning
late afternoon
evening
next day
Ingredients
- White flour: Just simple all-purpose is what I use.
- Whole wheat flour: I like a blend of freshly milled grains but whole wheat from the store is fine too.
- Water: Good ol’ drinking water.
- Active Sourdough starter: Essential for a fluffy loaf. If you don’t know when your sourdough starter is active, learn more here.
- Rosemary: Fresh or dried.
- Salt: The best quality salt you have because sourdough bread deserves the best.
Materials
- Medium-Sized Mixing Bowl: A heavy set ceramic mixing bowl would work best.
- Bowl Cover: Anything that covers and seals the bowl and covers your loaf for final proofing. I use these reusable elastic bowl covers.
- Dough Whisk (optional): It is cleaner to get things started with a dough whisk but it’s definitely not necessary. Wooden spoon works great.
- Plastic Bench Scraper: I find this tool very handy for cleaning and scraping the dough out of the bowl. It can also be used for dividing dough and pre-shaping.
- Metal Bench Scraper: I use this tool for dividing dough, pre-shaping, and cleaning the table. Not essential though, as the plastic bench scraper can serve similar purposes, but I like using both.
- Kitchen Scale or Measuring Cups and Spoons: I prefer using a kitchen scale but if measuring cups and spoons is all you have then that’s all you need to get started.
- Banneton Basket: I like a 10″ basket for my artisan loaves.
- Razor Blade, Bread Lame or Sharp Knife: I haven’t found a bread lame I really like so I just use razor blades as is.
- Dutch Oven: For baking your artisan loaf. It is the best vessel for trapping steam and giving your dough a nice strong rise.
- Cooling Rack: For cooling down your loaf.
Rosemary Sourdough FAQ
Step-By-Step Instructions
Mix – Add water + starter to your bowl, mix until dissolved. Add white flour, whole wheat flour and rosemary. Mix until no dry bits. Rest 30–60 min (autolyse).
Add Salt – Add salt with a splash of water, squeeze in until fully integrated and dissolved. Rest 30 minutes.
Strengthen – Perform a series of stretch and folds. Let rest for another 30 minutes.
Strengthen (pt.2) – Perform another series of stretch and folds.
Bulk Ferment – Let the dough rest until doubled in size, jiggles, and has a domed surface. (Warm 4–6 h; cool 8–12 h.)
Shape – Pre-shape into a ball and let it bench rest for 20–30 minutes. Final shape into an oval log shape. Flour your banneton basket and place your loaf in it, seam side up.
Proof Options
Same-day bake: proof at room temp until risen and puffy (45–120 min).
Next-day bake: cover and refrigerate 8–24 hours for enhanced flavour, fermentation & easy scoring.
Score & Bake: Preheat your oven to 500°F with the Dutch Oven inside for an hour (a piping hot Dutch oven produces a better rise).
- Gently remove your loaf from the banneton basket to a large piece of parchment paper by flipping it over so seam side is down. Once preheated, lightly flour the surface of your loaf, spread it around, and score the top.
- Remove the hot Dutch oven from the oven and then carefully place your loaf into the hot Dutch oven, cover, and return to the oven. Bake for 20–25 minutes covered and then drop the temperature to 425°F and bake for another 10-15 minutes uncovered, until dark golden crust is achieved.
Cool – 1 hour minimum before slicing to ensure the crumb has fully set and then enjoy with a generous amount of butter!
How to Store
Once it has cooled down completely: Store cut-side down on cutting board 1–2 days; then cloth or plastic bag 3–4 days. Freeze in plastic for longer storage, sliced or unsliced.
Recipe
Simple Rosemary Sourdough Bread Recipe
Ingredients
- 250g White flour
- 125g Whole wheat flour
- 250g Water
- 150g Active sourdough starter
- 1/4 cup Fresh rosemary 1 tbsp dried
- 2 tsp Salt 10g
Instructions
- Mix – Add water + starter to your bowl, mix until dissolved. Add white flour, whole wheat flour and rosemary. Mix until no dry bits. Rest 30–60 min (autolyse).
- Add Salt – Add salt with a splash of water, squeeze in until fully integrated and dissolved. Rest 30 minutes.
- Strengthen – Perform a series of stretch and folds. Let rest for another 30 minutes.
- Strengthen (pt.2) – Perform another series of stretch and folds.
- Bulk Ferment – Let the dough rest until doubled in size, jiggles, and has a domed surface. (Warm 4–6 h; cool 8–12 h.)
- Shape – Pre-shape into a ball and let it bench rest for 20–30 minutes. Final shape into an oval log shape. Place in your prepared loaf pan, seam side down/floured banneton basket, seam side up.
- Same-day bake: proof at room temp until risen and puffy (45–120 min).Next-day bake: cover and refrigerate 8–24 hours for enhanced flavour, fermentation & easy scoring.
- Score & Bake – Preheat your oven to 500°F with the Dutch Oven inside for an hour (piping hot Dutch oven produces a better rise). Gently remove your loaf from the banneton basket to a large piece of parchment paper by flipping it over so seam side is down. Once preheated, lightly flour the surface of your loaf, spread it around, and score the top. Remove the hot Dutch oven from the oven and then carefully place your loaf into the hot Dutch oven, cover, and return to the oven. Bake for 20–25 minutes covered and then drop the temperature to 425°F and bake for another 10-15 minutes uncovered, until dark golden crust is achieved.
- Cool – 1 hour minimum before slicing to ensure the crumb has fully set and then enjoy with a generous amount of butter!
