If you are frustrated or overwhelmed by sourdough, or just in a sourdough rut, you’ve found the right guide.
A good guide is the key to understanding what sourdough is, how to care for a sourdough starter, how to bake sourdough, and eventually replace all your baked favorites with sourdough!
Step 1
The most important part of learning about sourdough is learning about what a sourdough starter actually is and how it works.
Many people tend to gloss over this part and get stuck or frustrated later in their sourdough journey.
See this post to learn more: What is a sourdough starter?
Step 2
This is a daunting but fun step! Get or make a sourdough starter.
You can get a sourdough starter from an online shop, friend, community group, or a local bakery.
Or you can make a sourdough starter from scratch in 7 days!
Get my free guide here: How to Make a Sourdough Starter Free Guide
Step 3
Check your kitchen to see if you need any necessary tools or ingredients.
But don’t get carried away with loading an amazon cart or feeling discouraged by all the tools you may see online.
You can start with very basic tools like a mixing bowl, loaf pan, collander, kitchen towel, serrated bread knife, 2 jars, and some spoons.
All-purpose flour is my choice for feeding my starter, but bread flour is ideal for making bread as its name suggests!
A good whole wheat flour adds additional flavor, fiber, and texture.
And don’t forget some salt!
See these posts for more help:
Step 4
The process of making sourdough bread is very similar to making bread with conventional yeast:
- Activate yeast
- Mix dough
- Bulk Ferment (aka first rise)
- Shaping Process
- Proof (aka second rise or final rise)
- Bake
- Cool
Sourdough bread baking just takes longer.
A course is very helpful if you are just getting started, like my Intro. to Sourdough course that walks through each step with video tutorials.
But you can also dive in with my step by step posts below.
See these posts for more help:
Step 5
Plan sourdough baking into your life and routine.
Getting the feel for the timing takes practice and helpful tools like my free timing sheet.
You also need to get a rhythm that works for you and your household because your sourdough starter needs regular care and your baking will improve with practice.
See these posts for more help:
Step 6
As I said above, your skills will improve with regular practice.
Don’t give up.
If you are stuck, you can try keeping a baker’s journal to track your bakes and look for trends or successes.
You can also take a class or get a consultation with a guide.
See these posts for more help:
Step 7
Share the journey with others!
Connect with bakers online or friends and family in person.
Breaking bread and sharing bread is a past time that is thousands of years old.
Carry on the tradition!
Sourdough Essentials
What is a sourdough starter?
How to make a sourdough starter from scratch
What is sourdough discard?
How to bake sourdough bread step by step with videos, photos, and recipe
Get help from Jenny
More sourdough help
Sourdough Recipes
I live in Orange County and am interested in a live intro class on Sour Dough
Hi Michele!
I have my signature Once-a-Week No Knead Sourdough class coming up in August and there is a virtual option: https://gutcheck.eventcalendarapp.com/u/27238/229542
If you are on my email list, you will get notified about live events.
I hope I get to teach you soon!
If sourdough starter is ready to use in 12+ hours when it’s active, why does it say everywhere that you have to feed for 7+ days? (I am a newbie to all of this)
Hi Claudia, Welcome to the world of sourdough! You are probably sorting through a lot of info and different posts can cause more confusion. An established sourdough starter, one that has been created and is being used consistently, will be active 6-12 hours after it is refreshed.
The part about a sourdough starter ready in 7 days is likely referring to creating a new sourdough starter from scratch so it needs to grow its own wild yeast and lactic acid bacteria. This takes 7-10 days because you are starting with water and flour to encourage this microbe growth.
So starting a sourdough starter from scratch is very different than refreshing an established one.
I hope that’s helpful!
Have you considered making adapted books/recipes for students with special needs? I’m a SPED teacher and I have a student that would LOVE to follow visual recipes for sourdough baking.
Hi Stephanie, That’s a great idea! Right now I’m exploring options for expanding what I can offer remotely. I’ve been exploring creating resources for teaching homeschool kids, but adapting for students with special needs is a great idea. Most of the curriculum I used when I taught SPED was made by me since there’s unfortunately not a lot out there. Thank you for reaching out! I hope you’re having a great school year!