Easy High Altitude Sourdough Bread

This high altitude sourdough bread is everything you want in a homemade loaf: flavorful, tender, and incredibly easy to make. The lower hydration dough creates a more manageable texture while still delivering that classic sourdough taste and structure.

At 900 grams, it’s the ideal loaf size for weeknight dinners, sandwiches, or toast—big enough to enjoy all week, yet perfectly proportioned for consistent results at high altitude.

Try these other HIGH ALTITUDE SOURDOUGH RECIPES…soft & fluffy SOURDOUGH DINNER ROLLS, perfectly moist SOURDOUGH CINNAMON ROLLS, easy SOURDOUGH SANDWICH BREAD, and high hydration SOURDOUGH ARTISAN BREAD.

This High Altitude Sourdough Bread recipe is made at 8,000 ft elevation. No need to make adjustments for other altitudes.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe:

1. EASY, LOW HYDRATION DOUGH – The dough is less sticky and much easier to mix, shape, and score, making it perfect for stress-free sourdough baking.
2. GREAT TEXTURE AND FLAVOR – Enjoy a soft, flavorful crumb with a golden crust and classic sourdough tang.
3. VERSATILE & RELIABLE – Perfect for toast, sandwiches, or serving alongside meals, and easy to repeat week after week.
4. INCLUDES TIMELINE – A step-by-step baking schedule is provided so you know exactly when to mix, fold, shape, and bake, taking all the guesswork out of sourdough.
5. BEGINNER FRIENDLY – No complicated techniques or advanced equipment required, just simple steps and confidence-building results.

Recommended Tools:

You don’t need fancy or expensive tools to make sourdough breads. Sourdough has been made for centuries with the simplest equipment.

• LARGE MIXING BOWL or ELECTRIC STAND MIXER with dough hook
• DIGITAL SCALE – this provides the most accurate measurements
• PROOFING CONTAINER – a 9″ bowl with a tea towel or a banneton basket
• BAKING SHEET
• SHARP KNIFE or RAZOR BLADE (bread lame)
• PARCHMENT PAPER
• COVER FOR PROOFING CONTAINER – a damp tea towel, shower cap, or plastic wrap
• BAKING DISH or CAST IRON SKILLET – for steam if using a baking sheet. Do NOT use a glass baking dish.

Ingredients:

• ACTIVE STARTER – An active sourdough starter is a mixture of flour and water that’s alive with wild yeast and bacteria, bubbling with activity and ready to leaven bread
• BREAD FLOUR – Bread flour is often the best choice for sourdough bread because it has a higher protein content (at least 12%) than all-purpose flour. The extra protein develops into more gluten, which gives the dough better structure and elasticity
• WARM WATER – the water should be around 100-110° F. NOTE: if you have treated tap water filtered water would be beneficial to use, otherwise your water can weaken or kill off the natural yeast in the starter
• KOSHER SALT – kosher salt has a slightly milder and more pure taste compared to table salt
• OPTIONAL: RICE FLOUR – to flour the banneton basket. Rice flour doesn’t absorb water as well, which helps to prevent the dough from sticking

TIP: the most accurate way to measure flour is by weighing it. If you plan on measuring the flour never scoop it up, always spoon it into the measuring cup and level it off

How To Make Sourdough Bread:

1. MIX STARTER & WATER – mix in a large bowl until the water is creamy without chunks
2. ADD FLOUR & SALT– initially the dough will be dry just keep mixing. The dough will eventually become wet and shaggy
3. REST FOR 45 MINUTES – cover with a moist towel, plastic wrap, or lid
4. COIL FOLD & REST X4 – grab the center of the dough and pull up, allowing the edges to fall underneath, repeat another 2-3 times. Rotate the bowl 90 degrees and do 3-4 more coil folds. Rest for 30 minutes after each time.
5. BULK FERMENT – cover the dough and let sit at room temperature. The amount of time needed for this will be different for each kitchen & day.
6. PRE-SHAPE & REST – dump the bread dough onto a clean work surface. Using a bench scraper or your hands pre-shape the dough. Gently push the edge of the dough in and away from you then rotate pushing the dough in and toward you to create a ball and tension in the dough. Continue this rotating motion until the dough is smooth on top and you create a tight ball. Rest the dough on the counter for 20 minutes.
7. SHAPE – lightly flour the banneton basket or tea towel in a bowl with Rice Flour or Bread Flour. In one quick motion scoop up the bread dough with a bench scraper or your hands. Flip the dough over (the smooth surface on the bottom in the palm of your hands) and fold the dough in half. Place the dough smooth side down into the floured basket. Pinch the seam of the dough together creating additional tension to the bottom.
8. PLACE IN FRIDGE – cover the dough with a moist tea towel or shower cap. Place it fridge for a minimum of 12 hours or up to 72 hours.
9. PREHEAT OVEN – preheat the oven to 450° F. Add the empty baking sheet while preheating the oven.
10. PREPARE STEAM – when open baking on a baking sheet steam needs to be added to the oven. Place a 9×13 baking dish (NOT glass) or cast iron skillet to the lowest rack of the oven. Prepare boiling water.
11. FLOUR & SCORE – gently dump the dough onto parchment paper. Lightly flour the top of the dough. Cut one simple, deep cut across the dough. Add additional cuts if you want to be creative.
12. BAKE – add the dough to the baking sheet by using the parchment paper. Pour the boiling water into the heated 9×13 pan and immediately close the oven door. 20 minutes after baking remove the water and bake an additional 15-20 minutes at 425° F.
13. COOL & ENJOY! – I know its hard but allow the bread to cool completely before cutting into it.

Find the full ingredients list and directions in the recipe box below.

Sourdough Timeline:

• 7 PM FEED STARTER – feed the starter 1 : 7.5 : 7.5 = 10g Starter : 75g Water : 75g Bread Flour
• 8 AM MIX INGREDIENTS – mix all ingredients and rest 45 minutes
• 8:45 AM COIL FOLD – coil fold, cover, and rest 30 minutes
• 9:15 AM COIL FOLD – coil fold, cover, and rest 30 minutes
• 9:45 AM COIL FOLD – coil fold, cover, and rest 30 minutes
• 10:15 AM COIL FOLD – coil fold, cover, and bulk ferment
• AROUND 5PM – (time dependent on dough and temperature) pre shape dough, rest 20 minutes, shape, and put into fridge
• 10 AM BAKE

Other High Altitude Recipes:

If you make this delicious easy High Altitude Sourdough Bread recipe please rate this recipe and leave a comment below about how it turned out. If you have any questions, post them below and I would love to help you out.