This recipe for sourdough oat bread is hearty, wholesome, and delicious with a fantastic crust, a spongey interior, and the best sourdough flavor. If you’ve been looking for a sourdough oatmeal bread recipe, I think this one is going to be just what you need. 

If you’ve never made any sourdough recipes before, I hope that you’ll find this delicious bread recipe (and all of my notes for the creation of it) incredibly satisfying and helpful. I’ll dive right in, trying to answer any questions you may have right off the bat.

For those who have made sourdough bread before, feel free to jump right down to the recipe and get into making it! This recipe is made and coated with raw oats (instead of cooked oats). 

In this post:

1. What is sourdough bread?
2. Why is some sourdough more sour than others?
3. Where to get a good starter?
4. Sourdough starter terms (active, dormant, and discard)
5. How to make sourdough oat bread
6. Tips for making great sourdough loaves
7. Can you use a stand mixer for this recipe?
8. You will need
9. Sourdough oat bread recipe
10. If you like this recipe, you may also like

What is sourdough bread?

Sourdough is a type of bread made with an active sourdough starter culture vs traditional yeast. To make an active starter culture, you can check out this tutorial; it’s really super simple (just takes a bit of patience)!

The gist of it is, sourdough bread is made with the wild yeast contained in your starter, and it is allowed to rise through the process of fermentation, creating and releasing natural gasses or “air pockets” into the dough. It is an old-world style of making bread, using just flour and water to first create the fermented starter culture, and then adding salt to that list of ingredients to make the most delicious bread with an incredible, unmatched depth of flavor (and a great texture). 

It has some great health benefits as well (source), but we’ll save that conversation for another day.

Why is some sourdough more sour than others?

Your sourdough bread will have a more tart or “sour” flavor when it has been fermented for a long period of time. The longer you let the dough ferment, the more sour the bread.

The only thing to be careful of when you’re making sourdough is that the longer you ferment your dough, the more the dough actually begins to break down; in other words, it won’t hold its shape any longer, and the dough won’t rise as well. 

To long-ferment your bread, I recommend going with a longer slow (cold) ferment time. Allowing your bread to rise in the fridge will slow the fermentation process down, but it also does provide a great environment for that natural yeast to work its magic.

I tend to make my breads with a “long-enough” fermentation period to get some good yeast action and a good depth of flavor, but not long enough to make them truly sour tasting. That said, a recipe like this oatmeal sourdough bread isn’t going to be super sour; rather, it’s a perfect mix of salty and sweet, with the earth flavors of oats and whole wheat flour mixed in.

Where to get a good sourdough starter

You can make your own following this tutorial; or, if you know someone who has an active starter already, you can ask to have a little bit of theirs! It only takes the tiniest bit to get you started, and I’m guessing your sourdough-baking friend won’t mind sharing.

If those are not an option for you, you can also offer to buy a little bit from a local bakery that makes fermented breads, or purchase a sourdough starter kit so that you can make your own at home a little faster.

Sourdough starter terms

You’ve maybe heard people refer to starter as being active, dormant, or even “discard.” If you aren’t sure what those terms mean, I hope this explains it for you.

Active starter

Active starter is what we call a starter that has been “fed” with flour and water, and it has risen to become bubbly, “active,” and ready to use for baking.  

Dormant starter

Dormant starter is a starter that has an active culture in it, but it’s been placed in the fridge (or freeze dried) so that it doesn’t need to be continuously fed to stay alive. You cannot bake with a dormant starter, but if you feed it and give it some time (about 8-12 hours), a healthy dormant starter will become active again, ready to use for any sourdough recipe.

Sourdough discard

Discard is the name we give to excess sourdough starter that we don’t need. Some people choose to actually discard it, since having too much starter can get out of hand quickly! However, I never recommend throwing away your excess starter; rather, set it aside in the fridge, and pull it out to make any number of delicious things as you need it.

For a few recommendations, you can check out my sourdough crêpe recipe or mock sourdough bread as a way to use up sourdough discard and avoid any waste.

How to make sourdough oat bread

This recipe is incredibly straightforward, and I hope it quickly becomes a favorite in your home! Here’s the basic outline of how it’s done. For all of the exact amounts and more detailed instructions, however, make sure you scroll down to check out the recipe card.

(Also, side note – there are more step-by-step pictures just past the recipe card!)

Make a starter

Before you can make sourdough bread, you have to have a starter. If you don’t have one of your own already, you can check out the tips I gave a little earlier in this post, or visit my tutorial here to make your own from scratch.

Mix up the bread dough

Once you have an active, healthy starter, you can make bread. Simply place all of your dough ingredients into a large bowl and stir it or mix it with your hand loosely until everything has been moistened by the water. Cover this shaggy dough, and allow it to rest for 30 minutes.

Stretch and fold

Once the dough has been resting, you can perform your first “Stretch and fold.” This is exactly what it sounds like – You pretty much just grab some of the dough, stretch it up high, and fold it back on itself a few times to build structure and strength into your dough. This process is performed a few times, and then the dough gets to rest again, at room temperature, for 20-30 minutes.

The stretch and fold process is repeated several more times, always letting the dough rest in between. Each time, the dough should become more soft and smooth. Cover the top of the dough with a damp tea towel between each stretch and fold.

Bulk fermentation (letting the bread rise)

Once the dough has been stretched and folded and its texture is nice and smooth, it can bulk ferment (begin its first rise). This process is exactly how sounds as well; you’ll place your dough into a lightly greased bowl, keep it covered with a damp tea towel (or plastic wrap) until the dough has doubled (or nearly doubled) in bulk. This process of letting the dough rise should take about 3-5 hours. (Make sure to use a large mixing bowl to allow the dough room to expand.)

You can allow your dough to rest at room temperature, or if you are making bread in a very cold environment, find a warm place to let the dough rise (cold temperatures will make this process take much longer). 

Shape your loaves

After the bulk ferment, you can shape your loaves. I sometimes like to do a “Pre-shape,” which basically means that you roughly shape the loaves, let them rest, and then shape them again, officially, later. (The pre-shape is not necessary, it just helps to build a little extra strength into the dough, making the loaves a little bit taller and more rounded.)

Once the pre-shape has rested (if you decide to perform it at all), you can shape your loaves and coat them in rolled oats. (Check out my recipe below for detailed instructions.) 

The shaped, oat covered loaves are turned upside down into a lightly floured tea towel in a banneton basket or small bowl.

Cold ferment

For the second rise, you’ll want your bread to go through a long, cold ferment. For this step, you should cover the bread, and place it in the fridge overnight. In the cold temperatures, the bread will slowly rise and ferment for the next 8-16 hours.

Bake

After you’ve finished the cold ferment (ideally about 12 hours), you can bake your bread on a piece of parchment paper in a covered baking dish (like a dutch oven) in a preheated oven. The heat, combined with the trapped steam created by a covered dish, will allow your bread to burst open and have that gorgeous oven spring we all want our sourdough breads to have.

To make sure you bread bursts open the way you want, score the top of the loaf with a sharp knife or razor blade where you want it to open up. For a homemade bread like this oat bread recipe, I suggest one or two slashes across the top of your loaf (since scoring patterns on oat-covered loaves can be tricky).

Tips for making great sourdough bread loaves

There are a few things to keep in mind when making sourdough bread recipes. In order to achieve the best success, here are a few key things I can point out to hopefully help you stay on track.

Make sure your starter is active

To make sure my starter is active, I like to feed it the night before I want to mix up my dough. 

Feed your starter with a 1:1:1 ratio by weight of flour, starter, and water. You can use any typical bread flour (all purpose flour, bread flour, whole wheat flour, or rye flour); however, for best results, I recommend using unbleached white flour, whole wheat flour, or rye flour.

For this recipe in particular (for the sake of flavor), I would recommend using whole wheat flour to feed your starter.

An active starter will have doubled or tripled its volume, and should look very bubbly. You can test to see if its ready by dropping a little bit into a glass of water; if the starter floats, it should be good and active, ready for baking.

Bake by weight

When it comes to sourdough, I find baking by weight so much better and more accurate than using measuring cups. The reason for this is that it’s just much more precise – a cup of flour can range anywhere from 100-170g, which is a massive margin for error.

To keep your dough’s texture and ratios spot-on, I would recommend investing in a baking scale (if you don’t have one already). This will eliminate a lot of guess work if something does go wrong, but of course – it also may help something from going wrong in the first place!

Dealing with humid or dry temperatures

Temperature and humidity definitely has an affect on sourdough bread. I have found that in hot, humid weather, my dough tends to be softer and more wet. If you find your dough extra sticky and wet, you can try adding 50g (about 1/4 cup) extra flour to the dough to give it a little bit more structure.

In dry temperatures, this recipe should be perfect; although, you may find that you can’t “stir the flour in” as well to soften it. If this is the case, just use your hand to gently massage the wet and dry ingredients together, until the flour has been incorporated. If the dough still seems dry, try adding 1-2 Tbsp (30ml) of water to soften it up a little bit. You don’t want any dry bits of flour left in there.

Do not over-ferment

While the fridge can be forgiving, allowing your dough to ferment too long at room temperature can nearly kill it. If you have accidentally over-fermented your dough, you can try frying baseball sized pieces in a lightly greased pan (to make fried bread). Or, go ahead and try baking it to see what happens. I can’t guarantee the result, however! 

The main concern with over-fermenting is that your bread will deflate, lose its structure, and possibly become very sour (depending on how long it’s been sitting out). 

Bake your bread with steam

Making your bread in a covered dish is one of the easiest ways to create steam in your oven to give your sourdough its best chance at rising and getting that gorgeous burst-open “Oven spring.”

You can also set a pan of boiling water on the bottom rack of the oven while the bread bakes on a cookie sheet for decent results (although I’ll be honest, I like using my dutch oven much better)! 

Can you use a stand mixer for this recipe?

Of course! With a dough hook, sourdough bread can easily be made in a stand mixer. That said, I honestly think it’s easier not to for this recipe! Just throw the ingredients into a bowl, bring them all together, and then perform the stretch and fold process (as directed) for incredible results with minimal effort.

I have found in the past that using a mixer for my sourdough only helps to bring the dough together, but it does very little for building structure into the dough (which the stretch and fold method does very well). 

You will need:

• Ingredients (see recipe card)
• Mixing bowl
• Measuring cups and spoons OR a kitchen scale
• Stirring spoon
• Bench scraper
• 2 round or oval banneton baskets or 2, 7″ bowls with tea towels
• Plastic wrap (optional)
• Parchment paper
• Scoring tool (or a sharp knife)
• Dutch oven (or baking sheets and a pan with sides to create steam in the oven)

Note: This sourdough kit includes many of the supplies listed above.

Simple Fermented Sourdough Oat Bread

Without further ado, here’s the recipe: scroll down for some step-by-step photos!

Print

Simple Sourdough Oat Bread

This simple sourdough oat bread is super easy to make, completely beautiful, and incredibly delicious!

Course bread, Breakfast, Dinner, lunch

Cuisine American, Canadian

Keyword oat bread, oatmeal bread, sourdough bread

Prep Time 45 minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes

Resting time 12 hours

Servings 2 loaves

Author Naomi

Ingredients

• 4 c. (550g) white all-purpose flour
• 2/3 c. (100g) whole wheat flour
• 1-1/2 c. (100g) oats
• 1 T (15ml) salt
• 2-⅓ c. (575g) water
• 1-1/4 c. (200g) active sourdough starter
• 1 c. (62g) rolled oats, to coat the outside of the loaves

Instructions

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, whole wheat flour, oats, water, salt, and starter. Stir/mix until a soft, shaggy dough forms (make sure all of the dry flour gets incorporated into the dough). Cover with a damp tea towel and allow this to rest 20-30 minutes.

2. Stick your hand under the dough, grab a handful, and pull it up as high as you can without breaking it. Fold the stretched dough down over the top of the whole amount. Repeat this process from different sides of the dough 4-5 times, or until the dough isn’t “loose” anymore and it begins to feel stronger, or “taut”. Cover, and allow this to rest 30 minutes.
3. Repeat the stretch and fold process, folding 3-4 times, or until the dough begins to feel stronger (harder to stretch) again. Cover, and allow to rest another 30 minutes.
4. Repeat the stretch and fold process one final time, again folding 3-4 times, or until the dough feels taut and smooth. Cover, and allow to rest 3-6 hours or until the dough is doubled or nearly doubled in bulk.

For the pre-shape (optional):

1. Turn the dough out onto a clean, unfloured work surface. Divide it into 2 equal portions, and stretch one piece of the dough out into a square. Pull the corners of the the square into the centre, and then repeat “stretching and folding” the edges into the centre (from each corner, about 3-4 more times) until the dough comes together into a smooth ball. Turn upside down, and repeat with the other section of dough. Cover, and allow these to rest 30 minutes.
2. If you choose to skip the pre-shape, you can place your shaped loaves smooth-side down into flour-dusted banneton baskets or bowls at this point.

Shape the dough:

1. Pull each pre-shaped loaf into a square again, and stretch and fold the corners into the centre again. Roll the dough into a loaf shape, and pat the outside with a clean paper towel dipped in water, to make the surface of the dough sticky. Pour the oats for the coating (1 cup) onto a large plate, and roll the sticky dough in oats to cover it. Place the loaf oat-side down into a lightly floured banneton basket or bowl* lined with a tea towel. Repeat with the second loaf.

2. Cover with a bit of plastic wrap (optional). Fold the towel over top, and place the loaves immediately into the refrigerator. Allow to rest in the fridge until the next morning.

Bake the bread:

1. The next morning, place a dutch oven into a cold oven, and preheat to 425 degrees F. Set the timer for 15 minutes.
2. Uncover the bread and remove the plastic wrap. Turn out onto a sheet of parchment paper, and score with a sharp knife or razor blade (one or two slashes is good for this recipe).
3. Once the dutch oven has been in the oven heating for 15 minutes, take it from the oven, remove the lid, and lift the bread into the hot dutch oven by the parchment paper sheet. Cover, and return to the oven for 35 minutes.
4. Remove the lid from the dutch oven, and allow the bread to bake 10 minutes more, just to brown it. Repeat with the second loaf, or save it for the next day to bake it fresh. Cool fresh bread on a wire rack. For best results, cool the bread completely before slicing into it.

Recipe Notes

*To use a bowl instead of a basket, the perfect size for these loaves is a bowl that measures about 7 inches across the top and about 4 inches deep.

If you like this recipe, you may also like:

• Easy No-Knead White Sourdough Bread
• Sundried Tomato and Cheese Sourdough Bread
• Easy No-Knead Sourdough Raisin Bread
• Easy French Bread

And that, my friends, is all I have for today! If you like this recipe, feel free to tag me in your photos on Instagram @naomicakesofficial. I think it’s so much fun to see that my recipes are being enjoyed, and I always appreciate when people take the time to give me a shout-out!

Happy baking!

Naomi

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