How to Make Sourdough Bread
- For Beginners
To make Sourdough Bread you need:
1) To Know How to Begin / The Tools You Need
2) To Have an active Sourdough Starter
3) To Know How to Maintain that Starter
3) To Know How to Bake with that Starter ie. Bake Sourdough Bread!
All of which are found in this blog 🙂
For Support in Baking Sourdough Bread join our Private Facebook Group.
Before You Begin:
- Stay Calm. You learn by doing, so do not fear messing up. Welcome it so you can learn from it.
- Write out the recipe in your own writing on a big piece of paper. Or print THIS out. This will help you remember it and be able to reference it easily when you need it. Pin it to the side of your fridge, or on the inside of a cupboard to reference when you bake.
- Find a rhythm that works for you. I always begin by proofing my starter in afternoon, and begin the process of baking about 1 1/2 hours before bed. That way I can complete the process when I wake up in the morning, store in fridge and the take it out in time to bake for dinner
- Starter care is where most people go wrong. Make sure you re-proof your starter every time before you bake.
- Less is more. Let the bread do the work. You gently guide it through these steps, but don’t over work anything.
- The tools you need: 1) a proofing bowl ( a bowl with a kitchen towel/linen) 2) a baking pot with a lid such as a dutch oven 3) measuring cups/spoons or scale 4) A scoring knife (regular kitchen knife could work) 5) parchment paper 6) mason jar + lid for starter 7) Elastic band to measure starters growth 8) Extra towel 9) Scraper for the sticky dough. I bought this kit. This dutch oven is great. But its not necessary. A pot with a lid will do.
How to Make the Starter:
- If you already have a starter, fabulous! You can move onto the next step.
- If you need a sourdough starter because you do not have one, you can make one.
The Process
On day one, mix one cup (100 g) of flour and one cup (100g) filtered water. Stir vigorously, making sure to scrape down the sides and incorporate everything. Place a clean tea towel over the bowl and set aside. Allow it to sit for 24 hours.
On day two, discard half of the mixture (leaving about 1/2 cup or 50 g) and repeat the process. Add one cup flour (100 g), one cup water (100g), stir vigorously, and cover.
Why do you have to remove half the mixture? By day four, you would have sourdough starter overflowing from your bowl. Also, removing half ensures that the right amount of flour and water is feeding the growing colony of beneficial yeast. If you weren’t discarding half, the cup of flour wouldn’t be enough to feed them on days three and four. Basically, you would end up with a lot of extra starter by the end of the process, and none of it would be mature. (NOTE: When discarding starter, keep it for pizza dough or flat bread)
- Repeat the day two instructions for days three, four, and five.
- On days six and seven, do the same but feed it every 12 hours, instead of every 24.
By day seven, there should be enough beneficial bacteria and yeast present to bake sourdough bread and other fermented sourdough goodies, like pancakes and english muffins.
You will know it’s working if it bubbles, and doubles in size.
This process is found on the website The Clever Carrot. I added a few helpful notes and measurements.
Important Notes
- Be patient. My starter took 21 days before it started to poof!! But once it did, it has been perfect ever since 🙂 So be patient. Keep adding the flour and water every day until it doubles in size!
- When you stir the flour and water together, and then discard some starter, use the same cutlery / spoons and wash them right away so the dough doesn’t harden on those utensils.
- Also, every time you discard your sourdough, don’t throw it out!! Use it to make pizza dough! Or make Za’atar! Which is a flat bread done on the stove top with salt and spices! I always use the starter that I dis-guard, not throw it out.
How to Maintain Your Starter (& Keep it alive):
Every time before you bake you must proof/feed the starter culture.
How to Proof/Feed Your Starter:
- Discard sourdough starter leaving only 1 cup of starter (about 100 to 150g)
- Add 1/2 cup flour (50g) and 1/2 cup water (50ml) to that starter
- Mix it all together with a fork or chopstick, and then leave on the counter with the lid on (and a towel for warmth in the winter)
- Mark the level with an elastic band after feeding so you can observe it’s behavior.
- Within 3 to 6 hours it will double in size (it might take longer, it might not always double.)
- Look for the bubbles. The bubbles tell you its alive and happy and ready to bake with!
Picture used with permission from bread_pete
- Once you use up your starter, add more flour and water as mentioned above, and then once proofs you can bake some more or pop in the fridge.
- If you are storing in fridge, make sure to feed it in this way once a week.
- Read this blog as a helpful resource to maintain your starter.
How to Bake the Bread:
Before Baking PROOF your starter. See notes above.
Click Here to watch a quick video on How to Make Sourdough Bread
There are many different ways to make a Sourdough Bread. The recipe I have given you here I encourage that you follow. Its tried and tested and every one who uses it finds it the simplest one they have ever come across. Not only is it simple but its so flavorful, airy and light int he middle and super crusty and hard on the outside. Its the perfect sourdough bread!!
I always handwrite my recipe on one page and use that to reference in my kitchen. I recommend you do the same, or screenshot this image and read it on your phone.
Here is the Sourdough Bread Making Process:
**Personally I ALWAYS start this process in the evening, about 2 hours before I am ready to go to sleep. I then can let it rest overnight and finish it off in the morning before I put it in the fridge for up to 6 hours. The timing always works to have bread fresh and ready for dinner and not interrupt my day to make it.
1) Start by adding 1/4 cup (32g) [proofed] sourdough starter to a bowl and dissolve it in 1 1/2 cups + 1 tbsp (369 ml) of warm water
2) Mix in 4 Cups + 2 tbsp (526g) all-purpose flour
3) Let it rest as a sticky dough ball (no cover) for 1 hour.
4) Add in salt 1 1/2 tsp sea salt with wet hands as you stretch + fold + turn the dough.
5) Cover the dough ball with damp cloth. (I sometimes put plastic wrap over top of the towel to keep it from drying out over night.) And Let rest for 8 to 10 hours.
6) Flour your surface area. Flop out the dough bowl onto counter
7) Fold the dough and stretch and turn
8) Rest the dough ball for 5 to 10 minutes
9) Cup the dough ball with your hands and pull towards you to tighten the shape
10) Scoop the dough (using a scraper if you have one) into a proofing bowl (A bowl with a light, clean tea towel dusted with flour) having the seam side up. Cover the dough with the towel
11) Refrigerate 1-6 hours
12) Preheat oven to 500F
13) Flop out the dough onto parchment paper. Score your bread 1 to 3 times on top of loaf, cutting on a diagonal with a super sharp knife or razor. Use parchment paper to lift the dough into a cast iron pot (or large pot with lid that can go in oven or dutch oven) Put lid on. Bake for 20 minutes
14) Take lid off. Lower temperature to 450F and bake for 30 more minutes. Let rest for 1 hour. Enjoy with fresh butter and dear friends!
** The different colors represent the different times you return to your bread to do something with it.
**If you start this process at night 2 hours before bed, you will have the longest resting time be at night, and then again during the daytime. You will then be ready to bake with it as soon as its done its daytime rest.
**The best thing to do is write out or print or screen shot the steps in baking bread so you can reference it every time you bake, and glance at it through every step in the baking process. At some point you won’t need these notes, but when first learning, it helps a lot!
I wrote out “How to Bake Sourdough Bread” on a piece of paper and I still occasionally reference this paper when I bake. Here is mine.
^^SCREENSHOT THIS FOR REFERENCE^^
Trust yourself, bread making is fun and you will feel so accomplished and happy when you do it 🙂
Let us know how it is going for you or ask any questions to us, in this group
Baking Sourdough Bread Video
This is Ella and I baking bread for you on camera. Hope they are helpful to show you the baking bread process. We have more coming soon! Like us on Facebook, Join our private Group and follow us on Instagram.
More professional videos coming soon.
For now, Enjoy the fun we are having. Join us in the fun and learning
…and bake some sourdough bread with us! 🙂
Resources & Final Thoughts on Baking:
- Get yourself a book called BREAD by J Hamelman
Its enough for a few years of baking. - Be patient and never ignore the science behind it.
- Join some baker’s groups on Facebook, watch videos on youtube and instagram.
- But most importantly: BAKE!
Only through practice and experience will you get better - Watch this Sourdough bread masterclass
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I will continue to share with you insights and inspirations on bread making as well as wholesome home cooking and mind training exercises for more calm, peace and confidence. So be sure to stay connected!
