Name: Whole Wheat Sourdough Bread
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 60 min
Ingredients: 100 g whole wheat sourdough starter (or levain); 500 g King Arthur 100% whole wheat flour; 375 g water (divided (room temperature, about 68°F)); 10 g salt

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Four Ingredients, Free Willy 2, and a Loaf Jason Looks Forward To Every Week

This whole wheat sourdough bread is the loaf I bake about once a week so Jason has a wholesome whole grain option for his Mediterranean diet — and somehow, in the process, I ended up with a sourdough starter named Free Willy 2 and a Sunday rhythm I would not trade. Four ingredients. One hundred percent whole grain. Crusty exterior, tender crumb, and just enough tang to taste like real sourdough. If you have been intimidated by whole wheat sourdough, this is the recipe that will change your mind.

🫒 This recipe is part of The Terrace, my Mediterranean diet hub — where I keep all my Mediterranean-friendly recipes, pantry staples, and the story behind why we eat this way.

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Watch me make this whole wheat sourdough bread from start to finish — or scroll down for the full printable recipe card.

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Stephanie Longstreth

Whole Wheat Sourdough Bread

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Whole wheat sourdough bread — a simple 4-ingredient 100% whole grain loaf with a beautiful crusty exterior and tender, nutty crumb. The whole wheat sourdough bread I bake every week for Jason's Mediterranean diet.

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Prep Time 15

Cook Time 45

Total Time 1

Servings: 14 Slices

Course: Bread

Cuisine: American

Calories: 128

Ingredients Method Nutrition Video Notes

Ingredients

100 g whole wheat sourdough starter or levain
500 g King Arthur 100% whole wheat flour
375 g water divided (room temperature, about 68°F)
10 g salt

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Method
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Two nights before: Make the levain. Take 1 to 2 tablespoons of starter from the fridge and place in a bowl. Mix with 50 grams of room temperature water and 50 grams of flour (sifted bread flour, whole grain, spelt, or a combo — the only rule is a 1:1 flour-to-water ratio). Cover the bowl with a plate and leave on the counter to ferment overnight, about 8 to 12 hours.
One day before: Combine the levain with 350 grams of the water in a large bowl. Add the flour to the water mixture and, using your hands or a Danish dough whisk, mix to combine until shaggy.
Cover the dough with a tea towel and let it rest at room temperature for 40 minutes.
After the 40-minute rest, add the salt and the remaining 25 grams of water. Mix well until combined, then cover with the tea towel and let the mixture sit for 30 minutes.
Do the first fold: Get your hands damp and reach under the dough on the opposite side of the bowl from you. Pull the dough up and over toward you. Repeat so each side folds in toward the center — think of it as wrapping a package. Scoop your hands under the ball of dough and flip it over completely. This is one fold.
Complete 6 more folds total, one every 30 minutes, for 3 hours total.
Shaping: Turn the dough out of the bowl and let it rest on the counter for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare your banneton by dusting it with flour, or line a medium mixing bowl with a clean tea towel and dust liberally with flour (a 50-50 wheat flour and rice flour combo is great for dusting).
Shape your dough, building as much surface tension as possible without tearing the outside. Once shaped, place the loaf into the lined and floured banneton or bowl, seam side up. Gently flour the top of the dough before covering with the edges of the tea towel. Set in the fridge overnight.
Baking day: Place your Dutch oven in the oven and preheat to 500°F (or as hot as your oven will go, no higher than 500°F). After the oven hits temperature, let the Dutch oven continue to preheat for another 30 minutes.
Once the Dutch oven is fully preheated, take the dough out of the fridge. Gently invert it onto a piece of parchment paper large enough to lift the bread into and out of the Dutch oven. Score the bread with a sharp knife or bread lame.
Using oven mitts, carefully remove the Dutch oven from the oven, take off the lid, and lift the dough into the pot using the parchment paper.
Place the lid back on the Dutch oven, return it to the oven, and reduce the heat to 450°F. Bake covered for 25 minutes. Carefully remove the lid (be careful of steam) and bake another 20 minutes uncovered.
Remove the pot from the oven and lift the loaf out using the edges of the parchment paper. Let cool completely on a wire rack before slicing.

Nutrition

Calories: 128kcalCarbohydrates: 27gProtein: 5gFat: 1gSaturated Fat: 0.2gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.4gMonounsaturated Fat: 0.1gSodium: 279mgPotassium: 130mgFiber: 4gSugar: 0.1gVitamin A: 3IUCalcium: 13mgIron: 1mg

Video

Notes

If the loaf is too hot to extract safely after baking, let it cool in the Dutch oven — do not risk burning yourself.

This recipe is built around 100% whole wheat flour. King Arthur 100% Whole Wheat Flour is what I use every time. You can use a different brand, but the rise and crumb will not be the same.

Recipe adapted from the Baked Collective.

Weigh every ingredient in grams — sourdough hydration ratios are too precise for volume measurements. Feed your starter the night before so it is bubbly and active when you mix the dough. Use a Danish dough whisk for the initial mix — it breaks the starter into the water in seconds and folds in the flour without gumming up. Stretch and folds are gentle, not aggressive. Damp hands, slow motion, 30 minutes apart. Preheat the Dutch oven for a full 30 minutes at 500°F after the oven hits temperature — this is what gives you oven spring.

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Why This Whole Wheat Sourdough Bread Works

Whole wheat sourdough bread has a reputation for being dense, dry, and disappointing — and honestly, the first time Jason said he wanted a whole wheat option for his Mediterranean diet, I was nervous about whether I could pull off a loaf either of us would actually want to eat. This recipe changed that. I found it on the Baked Collective and tested it through Free Willy 2’s training wheels, and now I bake it on rotation every week. The whole grain is the star — there is no white flour to soften the texture, no sugar, no fat. Just whole wheat flour, water, salt, and a healthy whole wheat starter doing all the work.

The technique is what makes it work. You start by building a levain two nights before, mix the dough the day before with a Danish dough whisk to incorporate the flour into the water without overworking it, and then do a series of six stretch and folds about thirty minutes apart to develop the gluten gently. Whole wheat does not develop gluten the same way bread flour does — it needs that slower, gentler hand. Then it cold proofs overnight in a banneton, and you bake it the next morning in a screaming-hot Lodge Dutch oven . The result is a beautiful crusty exterior, a tender open crumb, and that nutty whole grain flavor that store-bought whole wheat bread cannot touch.

I use King Arthur Whole Wheat Flour for this loaf, every single time. I tried other brands when I was starting out and the rise and crumb were just not the same — King Arthur’s protein content and consistency are what give whole wheat sourdough its structure. If you want to read more about why flour matters so much in sourdough, King Arthur has a full beginner sourdough guide that walks through hydration, gluten development, and flour selection — it is worth bookmarking if you are starting out.

Whole wheat sourdough bread boule cooling on a wire rack with deeply golden crust and dramatic scoring pattern, red kitchen accents in the background

A Few Things That Make Whole Wheat Sourdough Bread Even Easier

Weigh everything in grams. Sourdough recipes are written in grams for a reason — volume measurements are too imprecise for the hydration ratios to land right. My kitchen scale sits on the counter every bake day and is the single most important tool I own for sourdough.
Use a Danish dough whisk for the initial mix. Whole wheat dough is shaggier than white-flour dough and gums up a wooden spoon fast. A Danish dough whisk breaks the starter into the water in seconds and folds the flour in without overworking the gluten — it is my newest sourdough purchase and I will not go back.
Stretch and folds are gentle, not aggressive. Six folds spaced thirty minutes apart for three hours total. Damp hands, reach under the dough, lift, fold over. Whole wheat needs slow gluten development — you cannot rush this part.
Preheat the Dutch oven empty and hot. Get the oven to 500°F with the Lodge Dutch oven inside for a full 30 minutes after it hits temperature. The hot pan is what gives you oven spring and that beautiful crust — a cold Dutch oven gives you a sad, dense loaf.

Whole Wheat Sourdough Bread FAQ — The Questions I Get Every Time

What temperature and how long do I bake whole wheat sourdough bread?

Preheat the oven to 500°F with the Dutch oven inside for a full 30 minutes after the oven hits temperature. Score the loaf, lower it in on parchment, cover with the lid, and reduce the heat to 450°F. Bake covered for 25 minutes, then carefully remove the lid and bake another 20 minutes uncovered until the crust is deeply golden brown. Total bake time is 45 minutes.

Do I need a whole wheat starter for this recipe?

I use my whole wheat starter Free Willy 2 because feeding her on whole wheat flour gives the final loaf the strongest whole grain flavor. That said, a healthy active starter built on any flour will work — the levain step uses 50 grams of flour and 50 grams of water, and you can use sifted bread flour, whole grain, spelt, or a combo as long as the flour-to-water ratio is one to one. The 100 grams of starter you mix into the dough is the same 100 grams either way.

Can I make this whole wheat sourdough bread with all-purpose or bread flour?

You can, but it stops being whole wheat sourdough. This recipe is built around 100 percent whole grain flour — that is the whole point for Jason and his Mediterranean diet. If you swap in all-purpose or bread flour you will get a softer crumb and a milder flavor, but you will lose the nutty whole grain depth that is the entire reason I bake this loaf. If you want a softer everyday sourdough with white flour, my sourdough sandwich bread is the recipe you want — link in More Sourdough Recipes below.

How do I know when the dough is done bulk fermenting?

After your six stretch and folds spaced thirty minutes apart, the dough should feel relaxed, slightly puffy, and smoother than when you started. Whole wheat does not double in size the way white-flour dough does — look for a 30 to 50 percent rise, visible bubbles around the edges, and a dough that holds a soft shape when you tip the bowl. The total time from first fold to shaping is about 3 hours, plus 20 minutes of bench rest before you shape.

Why does my whole wheat sourdough come out dense?

Three culprits — usually one of them. Your starter was not active enough at mixing time, which means it could not raise a heavy whole grain dough. Or you under-proofed the bulk ferment and the dough did not develop enough air. Or your Dutch oven was not hot enough at bake time and you missed the oven spring window. Feed your starter the night before, give the dough the full bulk ferment, and preheat the Dutch oven for a full 30 minutes at 500°F before you bake. Get those three right and you will get a beautifully open crumb.

Can I bake this same day instead of overnight?

The recipe is designed for an overnight cold proof in the banneton — that long, slow ferment in the fridge is what develops the flavor and makes the dough easier to score and bake the next morning. You can try a same-day proof of 2 to 4 hours at warm room temperature, but the flavor will be milder and the dough trickier to handle when it is warm and slack. I always do the overnight — mix in the morning, fold through the afternoon, shape and chill in the evening, bake first thing the next day.

How do I store whole wheat sourdough once it is baked?

Let the loaf cool completely on a wire rack before you slice it — at least 2 hours. Slicing a warm sourdough trap steam in the crumb and makes it gummy. Once cool, store cut-side down on the cutting board for the first day, then in a paper bag or bread bag for up to 3 days at room temperature. For longer storage, slice the entire loaf and freeze in a zip-top bag — you can pull slices out one at a time and toast straight from frozen. This bread freezes beautifully.

Top-down view of whole wheat sourdough bread boule on a cooling rack, showing the dramatic scoring pattern and deeply golden crust

🛒 Complete Shopping List

Everything you need to make this whole wheat sourdough bread — click any item to shop on Amazon, plus my favorite whole wheat flour direct from King Arthur.