Sourdough beer bread is a fun and easy homemade bread recipe that combines the tang of sourdough bread with the tang of your favorite beer for a delightfully flavorful bread.

slices of sourdough bread with glass of beer behind

This is one of my favorite sourdough bread recipes to make. It’s easy and flavorful, and it’s a simple recipe that you can turn to again and again.

In this recipe we use almost as much liquid as we do flour, which means that its has a pretty good hydration rate and is a very easy to work with dough.

This recipe is perfect for beginner sourdough bakers and bakers who want to just make a good loaf of sourdough bread without all the fuss.

Other flavorful sourdough bread recipes:

side view of loaf of bread showing the "ear" of the bread

Table of Contents hide

1) Ingredients Needed

2) Equipment Needed

3) Baker’s Schedule

4) How to make sourdough beer bread

5) Sourdough Beer Bread

Ingredients Needed

You only need a few pantry staples to make this sourdough beer bread

Bread Flour – You need a good quality flour with an extra protein content. I suggest bread flour, but you can use all purpose, too. Just know that you might have to do more stretch and folds to build up the strength of the dough.
Beer – We are replacing the water in this recipe with a beer. Go ahead and use one that you like – I recommend using a pale ale, wheat beer, or something similar. You will want it to be about room temperature.
Sourdough starter – We are using a 100% hydration starter that has been fed and is active. Read how to make a sourdough starter if you don’t have one, and brush up on how to feed a sourdough starter to ensure yours is fully active before using.
Salt – Salt helps add extra flavor, helps to regulate the yeast activity, and helps to strengthen the gluten development. Don’t skimp or skip it!

loaf of bread next to slices of sourdough next to glass of beer

Equipment Needed

Here are the tools you need to make this recipe:

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Food Scale (affiliate link)
Large Mixing Bowl
Kitchen towel
Plastic wrap
Banneton Proofing Basket (affiliate link)
Large Dutch Oven (affiliate link)
Bread Lame (affiliate link)’
Wire cooling rack

*For other tools you need for sourdough baking, check out Sourdough Bread Tools.

loaf of sourdough bread next to slices of bread with knife and glass of beer behind

Baker’s Schedule

Understanding how making this loaf of bread fit into your schedule is a big part of actually MAKING it! I like to work backwards from when I want them to be done to see when I need to start feeding my starter.

Here is the timeline for baking this bread:

Mixing the dough – 30 minutes
Bulk Fermentation with stretch and folds – 2 hours minutes
Shaping – 10 minutes
Final Proofing – 1.5 hours, or until doubled
Baking – 45 minutes

*Remember the timing of this recipe depends on the temperature and humidity of your house. If your house is warm and humid, your dough will proof much faster. If your house is cold, your dough will take much longer to proof. Watch the dough, not the clock!

loaf of sourdough beer bread on marble counter

How to make sourdough beer bread

This recipe is very simple to make! Here is a brief overview of the recipe to give you an idea of how it works. For the full set of directions and measurements, please make sure you scroll down to the recipe card below!

Mix the dough

In a large bowl, combine together the flour, beer, and active sourdough starter and mix until just barely combined.
Allow to sit for 20 minutes undisturbed.
Add in the salt and gently knead to mix all the ingredients in.

Bulk ferment with stretch and fold

Let the dough rise for 20 and knead again very briefly.
Let the dough rise for 20 minutes and knead again very briefly.
Let the dough rest for 20 minutes and then knead again very briefly.
Let the dough rest for 20 minutes and then knead again. You should have done this 4 times.
Allow the dough to rest for 20 minutes.

Shaping

Shape the dough into a ball and
Place the dough (with seam side up) into a well floured banneton type container.

*Recipe Note: If the dough feels really soft and sticky, oil your hands and counter with a little vegetable oil to help you easily shape them without using flour.

Final Proofing

Let the dough rise until almost doubled, about 1.5 hours.

*Recipe Note: You can skip the last rest period and instead place your dough container straight into the fridge (don’t forget to cover it so it doesn’t dry out), for an overnight cold fermentation to really bulk up the sourdough flavor.

Baking

Preheat your oven to 450F with a large dutch oven (affiliate link) and lid inside to heat up as well.
Score the bread and quickly and carefully place in the hot dutch oven and cover with the lid.
Bake for 30 minutes.
Remove the lid, reduce the oven temperature to 425 and bake for an additional 10 or 15 minutes until golden brown.
Carefully transfer the bread to a wire rack and cool completely before slicing.

How do I get a softer crust? To get a crust that is not so thick and hard, keep the lid on your dutch oven for another 10 minutes. Then remove the lid and allow the crust to develop a lighter brown color.

freshly baked sourdough loaf in dutch oven

New to sourdough? Read my Ultimate Guide to Sourdough for Beginners to answer all the questions you have!

How to serve this to your family

What can you use sourdough beer bread for?

Use it to create awesome sandwiches
Serve it beside homemade tomato soup
Turn it into grilled cheese sandwiches
Make an awesome breakfast strata with it
Serve it beside homemade chili.
Serve it beside breakfast with eggs!

How to store sourdough bread

This bread stores best at room temperature in a bread bag, or wrapped in a kitchen towel. You can also store the bread, sliced side down, on a wooden cutting board. Do not store in the fridge, the bread will become hard.

slices of sourdough bread next to beer glass

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