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Want to make sourdough bread but not sure where to start? You are in the right place. We've gathered our sourdough resources to create a guide that takes you from beginner to master baker. Start by making (or buying!) a sourdough starter, learn how to feed and maintain it, and then start baking with our classic recipes. Don't know what tools you really need? Not sure what to do with all that removal? We've got you covered there too. Let's start baking.
Photography by Danielle Sykes; food styling by Liz Neily
If you want to make your own sourdough starter from scratch…
Recipe: Sourdough starter
To make your own sourdough starter, you only need three things: flour, water and time. You'll start by combining equal parts flour and water. Allow that mixture to rest at room temperature, and then regularly toss a portion of it and brush it with more flour and water. As the mixture sits for several days, it will begin to cultivate a thriving community of microorganisms (which is what makes your bread rise) and slowly become bubbly and energetic.
You'll keep a regular schedule of refreshing (or “feeding”) the starter twice a day, every 12 hours, until it doubles in size within six to eight hours. This can take anywhere from five to 14 days, depending on the conditions. (So if you're not seeing much activity, just be patient! And feel free to call our Baker's hotline for troubleshooting and tips.) Once the engine has reached this point, you can start baking with it or continue to store it until it's ready to use. (See “How to Store Sourdough Starter” below.)
If you want to buy your starter…
Store: Classic Fresh Sourdough Starter
View: How to feed your new sourdough starter
Instead of taking days to make a starter from scratch, you can mail it. Our fresh sourdough starter is a mature, ready-to-use culture. You'll just need to dust it with flour and water (in other words, “feed it”) until it's bubbly and doubled in size within six to eight hours. Then, it's ready to bake, or store and keep until you want to use it. (See “How to Store Sourdough Starter” below.)
Photography by Mark Weinberg; food styling by Liz Neily
Wait, did someone give you some of their starter?
Blog: To feed the starter you got from a friend…
If someone gives you some of their starter, the best thing to do is feed it right away. Combine equal parts (by weight) starter, flour and water and let stand at room temperature. Assess how active it is: Did it double in volume within six to eight hours? If so, it's ready to be stored and stored for future use, or baked now.
Didn't the engine volume double? Feed him again. Continue these maintenance feedings every 12 hours at room temperature until the motor doubles in size in six to eight hours. Then take the bake or save it according to your maintenance plan.
How to save sourdough starter
Recipe: Feeding and maintaining your sourdough starter
Generally, there are two routines you can choose to feed your sourdough starter:
- Twice a day at room temperature: If you're a regular sourdough baker, the best way to have a baked starter when you need it is to keep your starter on the counter at room temperature and feed it twice a day, about every 12 hours.
- Once a week in the fridge: If you're a more regular sourdough baker, it's easier to keep the starter in the fridge and feed it once a week. (We recommend leaving it on the counter for a few hours after feeding to start fermentation before returning it to the fridge.) Then, a day or two before you want to bake, give it a few meals at room temperature before using it for to bake
To feed sourdough starter, simply discard some of the existing starter, then replace with flour and water. Basically, you are giving the starter microorganisms food (in the form of flour) to keep them happy and healthy. Once fed, the motor will become active and bubbling again, doubling in volume before exhausting and starting to sink again.
Photography by Danielle Sykes; food styling by Liz Neily
Ready to bake? Get started with these beginner-friendly recipes
Note: In these recipes, “baked sourdough starter” refers to starter that has been fed and then doubled in size and is showing signs of just starting to sag under its own weight. The time will be different depending on the start of your dough and the conditions, but in general, this happens approximately eight hours after feeding. Look more: Baked Sourdough Starter: Here's what it means.
Sourdough bread without dough: This low-tech recipe relies entirely on starting sourdough for the yeast. With an active, bubbly starter, a little patience and minimal effort, you'll have a stunning, delicious loaf – all made without stirring.
Pain de Campagne (Country Bread): If you're looking for a little more of a challenge, try this recipe. Using a sourdough starter, minimal kneading, long fermentation, and baking in a hot Dutch oven are some of the techniques that make this naturally leavened, oven-quality bread simple to make at home.
Rustic bread with dough: Because this recipe includes commercial yeast as well as starter, you are guaranteed a good, strong growth – even if your starter isn't good enough. If you're new to sourdough baking and want an extra shot of success, this bread is a great choice.
The tools you need for baking sourdough
Store: Sourbough Savvy Collection
Stairs: A scale makes starting sourdough — and baking with it — easier, less messy, and more accurate. If you only invest in one piece of kitchen equipment for baking sourdough, this should be it.
Sour kick: This glass plate takes the guesswork out of caring for your motorcycle. Its clear sides make it easy to see your engine's activity, and side markings let you gauge how much it's lifted at a glance. The stainless hood, meanwhile, keeps the engine cool but is still loose enough to let the gases escape.
Beat the dough: The unique shape of this whisk makes it great for mixing starter dough and bread, and it's also easy to clean.
Bowl scraper: There is no better tool to ease sticky bread dough out of the bowl; this scraper is also strong enough to cleanly separate dough and remove dried dough from your counter.
The lame: You can score the bread dough with a sharp knife, but for the cleanest result (which translates into better bread) you need one of these thin, super sharp blades.
Criminal offense form: Although not strictly necessary, a brotform it makes your baking easier and your bread better. It provides a consistent shape and size for your bread dough to rise, and most importantly, it allows you to turn the baked bread dough onto the baking surface without sticking or tearing.
Dutch oven:This versatile workhorse is a great way to achieve crusty, artisan-style bread at home with little effort. Baking bread in a pot with a lid traps moisture as steam, which contributes to better growth and a large crust.
Baking stone:If you're ready to take your bread baking up a notch, invest in a baking stone. The heavy stone absorbs the heat of the oven, then transfers it to your bread dough, baking a perfectly crisp, golden crust and resulting in plenty of oven spring for wonderful heights in your bread.
Food photography and styling by Liz Neily
What to do with all that sourdough toss?
Collection: Recipe for throwing sourdough
Tossing is an inevitable part of sourdough baking. When you feed the starter, you must remove some of the existing motor to make room for the flour and water you are adding – otherwise, your motor will grow indefinitely. The string you remove is called a discard and you can throw it in the trash or trash. But many bakers like to use it in their baking, and the good news is that you can use it to make many baked goods, from pancake THE pizza THE banana bread THE chocolate chip cookies. See the collection above for a complete list.
And if you want to create fewer removals overall, consider retention A smaller sourdough starter.
The next steps in your sourdough journey
Feeling confident in your starter? Have you mastered a few basic breads and want to try some new recipes? Here are your next steps:
Cover picture (Rustic bread with dough) by Rick Holbrook; food styling by Kaitlin Wayne.
