How to Bake Sourdough Without Parchment Paper

Skip the parchment paper and bake sourdough naturally. Try these easy, non-toxic methods for a crisp crust and effortless release.

For years I baked my sourdough loaves on parchment paper in the Dutch oven. I just thought it was the only way to bake it without the loaf sticking in the Dutch oven. However, recently I realized that even though I was using unbleached parchment paper, it might not be the best or healthiest way to bake bread.

I started researching and came up with a completely natural, and delicious, alternative. In this post, I’ll share my new favorite parchment paper alternative, plus other potential options with their benefits and drawbacks.

Why Bake Sourdough Without Parchment Paper

Over the years, I’ve realized several drawbacks of using parchment paper for baking my sourdough loaves. However, I just thought it was the only practical option – other than a silicone baking mat.

But when I got to thinking about it, I realized that bakers were making sourdough bread long before they had the convenience of parchment paper. So, how did they prevent their loaves from sticking? This got me thinking that there had to be other options besides parchment paper or the popular silicone baking mats. And how healthy is silicone anyway?

But what’s wrong with parchment paper? First off, if you’re baking sourdough bread daily, or even a couple times a week, you will go through quite a bit of parchment paper. Second, some types of parchment paper stick. Really bad. And third, if you’re using the nice parchment that doesn’t stick to the bottom of the loaf, it’s most likely coated with silicone.

This is probably not much of an issue when baking at lower temperatures, but oftentimes silicone is not recommended for higher temperatures (450-500 degrees), which is common for baking the traditional crusty sourdough boule. Not to mention, some parchment papers will be very weak after baking and tear easily as you lift the bread out of the pan. I’ve had a loaf or two end up on the floor this way.

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My Favorite Way to Bake Sourdough Without Parchment Paper

So what should you use to prevent your sourdough loaf from sticking while baking? I’ve tried out a couple alternatives, and my favorite is organic old-fashioned oats.

Oats do a great job of preventing the loaf from sticking in the Dutch oven, they’re widely available and pretty cheap, and they give the bottom crust a toasty oat flavor. Delicious. And even if you don’t like a little extra oat flavor on your sourdough, it’s easy to trim off when you slice the bread.

How to Use Oats to Bake Sourdough Bread

If you’re used to using parchment paper to bake sourdough bread, the process will be slightly different when using oats. Here’s how to do it.

Preheat Dutch oven with lid. I start by preheating the entire Dutch oven in the oven, just as I normally would. The temperature I normally use is 450 degrees.

Gather oats, sourdough boules, and bread lame. Have all your supplies ready to go. Grab your bag of oats, have your sourdough boules uncovered and ready to turn out, and your bread lame nearby and ready to score the loaf. I try to do the next few steps as quickly as possible so as not to cool off the Dutch oven that I just preheated.

Remove Dutch oven and add oats. Grab a handful of oats and sprinkle in bottom of Dutch oven – just enough to evenly cover the bottom.

Turn sourdough boule out directly into Dutch oven. Flip the sourdough out of the banneton and into the Dutch oven, being careful not to touch the hot edges of the Dutch oven.

Score loaf in the pan, quickly and carefully. You’ll want to have a bread lame with a long handle for this.

Cover Dutch oven with the lid and place in the oven to bake. Bake bread as you normally would. When it’s done baking, let it cool off in the Dutch oven longer than you might if it was on parchment. You’ll have to lift the loaf out by hand, and sourdough holds the heat for a bit.

Other Options to Prevent Sticking When Baking Sourdough Bread

Old-fashioned oats are my favorite way to bake sourdough without parchment paper. I love the wholesome oat flavor they add to the bread and I also don’t mind the smell of toasted oats as I’m baking bread. However, there are a few other options you could try as well.

Coarse cornmeal. Coarse grind cornmeal is another popular choice for baking sourdough bread. It adds a hearty crispness to the bottom of the bread and has a neutral flavor. I like to change it up and use coarse cornmeal, but I find it is less widely available in stores compared to oats, and it tends to smoke quite a bit more in the oven than oats do for me.

Seed mixtures. Raw seeds can be a great option to prevent sourdough from sticking to the bottom of the pan while baking. Experiment with different blends of seeds to find your favorite.

Wheat bran. Wheat bran, which is the outer layer of the wheat berry, is another potential option that could be used in place of parchment paper. It has a flaky texture and nutty flavor, which could be a great addition to any sourdough boule. I have yet to try it, but I’m excited to experiment with this one.

When it comes to baking sourdough without parchment paper, you have quite a few options. The naturally nonstick food options are by far my preferred choice, as silicone bread mats can vary in quality and could potentially be unsafe to use at high temperatures.

When you’re choosing a food base for baking sourdough, make sure that it is an edible dry ingredient and has a neutral or desirable flavor. Something like dried beans, rice or pasta would probably work, except that they aren’t really edible unless boiled! Also, in order to be a nonstick barrier, it will need to be something coarse in texture, nothing too fine that the bread might absorb and end up sticking to the pan.

Oats, raw nuts and seeds, and coarse grind cornmeal are all great options for baking sourdough without parchment paper. If you find anything else that works well for you, I’d love for you to let me know in the comments below!