Sourdough Basics

Making sourdough bread at home might seem like a daunting task, but I promise you, it’s one of the most rewarding experiences you can have in the kitchen. The magic of sourdough lies in its simplicity—flour, water, salt, and time come together to create a loaf that’s rich in flavor and texture. Today, I’ll walk you through the basics of sourdough, from getting started with your own starter to crafting delicious, customized loaves. Along the way, I’ll point you to some unique recipes, like sun-dried tomato, cheese, and jalapeño, and even a cherry compote variation that will make your bread truly stand out.

Essential Tools for Sourdough Baking

Before we dive into the process, let’s talk about the tools you’ll need to make your sourdough journey smoother. For creating your starter, all you need is a clean jar (preferably glass), a kitchen scale for precise measurements, and a spoon or spatula for mixing. A rubber band around the jar can help you track the starter’s growth.
When it comes to baking the bread itself, having a few key items will make all the difference:

• Mixing Bowl: A large, sturdy bowl for mixing and fermenting your dough.
• Spatula: A flexible tool for scraping and mixing the dough.
• Dough Scraper: Useful for handling the sticky dough and for shaping.
• Banneton Basket: This helps the dough maintain its shape during the final rise.
• Dutch Oven: A heavy-lidded pot that creates the perfect environment for baking sourdough, trapping steam for a beautiful crust.
• Lame or Sharp Knife: For scoring the dough before baking, which allows it to expand properly in the oven.

Sourdough Terms You Should Know

As you start making sourdough bread, it’s helpful to familiarize yourself with some key terms:

• Starter: The heart of sourdough baking, a starter is a mixture of flour and water that has fermented naturally with wild yeast and bacteria. This is what gives sourdough its distinctive flavor and rising power. A healthy, bubbly starter is essential for making good sourdough bread.
• Feed: Feeding your starter involves mixing in fresh flour and water to keep the yeast and bacteria active and thriving. Typically, a starter is fed daily or every time before baking.
• Discard: When you feed your starter, you usually remove a portion of it first. This portion is called the “discard.” While it might seem wasteful, discard can be used in other recipes, like pancakes, waffles, or crackers, so nothing goes to waste.
• Hydration: Hydration refers to the ratio of water to flour in your dough or starter. It’s usually expressed as a percentage. For example, a dough with 75% hydration means there are 75 grams of water for every 100 grams of flour.
• Autolyse: A resting period where flour and water are mixed and left to sit before adding the starter and salt. This step helps to develop the gluten and improve the dough’s texture.
• Bulk Fermentation: The first long rise after mixing your dough. During this time, the dough ferments, develops flavor, and begins to rise. Bulk fermentation can take anywhere from 4 to 12 hours depending on temperature and dough hydration.
• Stretch and Fold: A technique used during bulk fermentation to develop the dough’s strength and structure without kneading. This involves gently stretching and folding the dough over itself several times.
• Proofing: The final rise of the dough after shaping and before baking. Proofing allows the dough to rise and develop its final shape.
• Scoring: The process of slashing the dough with a sharp blade just before baking. Scoring allows the bread to expand in a controlled way during baking and also adds decorative patterns to the crust.

What is the Best Flour for Sourdough Bread?

Choosing the right flour is crucial for making great sourdough bread, as it directly affects the dough’s texture, flavor, and fermentation. Bread flour is often the best choice for beginners because of its high protein content, which promotes strong gluten development and results in a chewy, well-risen loaf. All-purpose flour is another solid option, offering a slightly lighter texture while still producing good results. For more complex flavors and added nutrition, whole grain flours like whole wheat or rye are excellent choices. They bring a robust, earthy flavor and can enhance the activity of your sourdough starter due to their higher nutrient content. A blend of bread flour with a small percentage of whole grain flour often yields a well-balanced loaf, combining strength with rich flavor. Experimenting with different flours can help you discover the perfect combination for your ideal sourdough bread.

Getting Started with Sourdough

Before you start baking, you need a healthy, active sourdough starter. A starter is essentially a mixture of flour and water that has been fermented with wild yeast and bacteria. This is what gives sourdough its distinctive tang and helps the bread rise naturally. If you don’t have a starter yet, here’s a simple way to make one.

How to Make a Sourdough Starter

Ingredients:

• 50 grams of plain flour (white bread flour or whole grain wheat flour are also great choices)
• 50 grams of filtered water

Instructions:

1. In a clean jar, mix 50 grams of flour with 50 grams of filtered water until no dry bits remain.
2. Cover the jar loosely with a lid or a cloth to allow airflow, and leave it at room temperature.
3. Every 24 hours, discard half of the mixture and feed the starter with another 50 grams of flour and 50 grams of filtered water.
4. Repeat this process daily for about 5-7 days, or until your starter becomes bubbly, doubles in size, and has a pleasant, slightly tangy aroma.

Once your starter is active and ready, you can move on to making your sourdough bread. If you’d like a more detailed, step-by-step guide on creating a starter from scratch, be sure to check out my complete sourdough starter recipe that walks you through each day of the process.

Basic Sourdough Recipe

This is my go-to sourdough recipe, simple yet reliable. Whether you’re a seasoned baker or a beginner, this will be your foundation for delicious loaves.

Ingredients

• 113 grams sourdough starter
• 340 grams water
• 567 grams flour
• 20 grams salt

Instructions

1. Make the Dough

In a large mixing bowl, combine the sourdough starter, water, and salt. Mix with a spatula until the dough starts to come together. When it becomes stiff, use your hands to incorporate all the flour. The dough will be sticky and shaggy, but that’s what you’re looking for! Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a damp tea towel and let it rest for 30-40 minutes.

2. Stretch and Folds

To develop the dough’s structure, you’ll do three sets of stretches and folds. Here’s how:
Grasp the edge of the dough, lift it upwards, and fold it back into the center.
Rotate the bowl a quarter turn and repeat this process one to two more times.
This completes one round of stretch and fold. Do this twice more, spacing the rounds 30 minutes to an hour apart.

3. Bulk Fermentation

Cover the dough with plastic wrap or a very damp towel and let it bulk ferment in a warm spot until it doubles in size. Depending on the temperature of your kitchen, this could take anywhere from 4 to 12 hours. You’ll know it’s ready when you see bubbles on the surface.

4. Shaping

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, being careful not to knock out too much air. Gently deflate the dough and shape it into a rectangle. Fold the right side into the center, then the left side over the right, like closing a book. Roll the dough up tightly from one end, tuck the ends under, and flip it seam-side down.

Place the shaped dough in a floured banneton basket, cover it with a tea towel, and let it rise for 1-2 hours, or overnight in the fridge.

5. Baking

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured piece of parchment paper and score the top about 1/4 to 1/21 inch deep. Place into a cold Dutch oven and place the lid on top. Place into the center of a cold oven and set the temperature to 250°C and bake for 40 minutes. Now turn the oven temperature down to 200°C. Remove the lid and continue to bake for a further 15 minutes uncovered. Remove your sourdough bread from the oven, and cool on a wire rack for at least an hour before slicing.

Exploring Sourdough Baking Techniques

Baking sourdough bread can be done in various ways, each offering unique results. My personal favorite method is using a Dutch oven. The heavy, lidded pot traps steam during the initial baking phase, creating the perfect environment for a crispy, golden crust while keeping the interior moist and chewy. This method is incredibly reliable and produces bakery-quality loaves right in your kitchen. If you don’t have a Dutch oven, you can also bake sourdough on a preheated pizza stone or baking steel, which helps achieve a similar crusty exterior, though you’ll need to add steam manually by placing a pan of water in the oven or spritzing the dough with water. Another option is to bake directly on a sheet pan, though this might result in a slightly softer crust. No matter which method you choose, understanding your oven and experimenting with different techniques can lead to the perfect sourdough loaf that suits your taste.

Recipe Variations

Once you’ve mastered the basic recipe, you can start experimenting with different flavors. Here are some of my favorite variations:

1. Sun-Dried Tomato Sourdough

Add chopped sun-dried tomatoes to the dough during the first stretch and fold. The tomatoes add a burst of flavor and a beautiful color to the crumb.

2. Cheese and Jalapeño Sourdough

For a spicy, cheesy twist, incorporate shredded cheese and sliced jalapeños into the dough. This bread is perfect for sandwiches or just enjoying with a bit of butter.

3. Cherry Compote Sourdough

Swirl homemade cherry compote into the dough for a touch of sweetness. This variation is amazing for breakfast or paired with soft cheeses.

My Morning Sourdough Routine: From Starter to Freshly Baked Bread

Here’s my streamlined sourdough routine for baking in the morning, perfectly adapted to fit into your schedule:
7:00 am: Begin by feeding your sourdough starter so it’s active and ready for baking the following morning.
7:00 pm: In the evening, mix your dough and let it rest at room temperature for about 1 hour.
8:00 pm: Perform the first set of stretch and folds, then cover the bowl and let it rest at room temperature for another 30 minutes.
8:30 pm: Do the second set of stretch and folds.
9:00 pm: Complete the third set of stretch and folds, cover the bowl, and let the dough rest on the counter overnight.
6:00 am: In the morning, shape the dough and transfer it onto parchment paper, then place it into a proofing bowl. Cover and let it rise for 1 hour.
7:00 am: Bake the dough covered in a Dutch oven for 40 minutes, then uncover and bake for an additional 15 minutes until golden and crispy.

The Importance of a Baking Journal

Keeping a baking journal is essential for mastering sourdough bread, especially when you and your loved ones experience different kitchen environments. For example, living in Ireland, I find that my rise times are often longer due to the cooler temperatures and higher humidity compared to my sister in Spain, where the warmer and drier climate accelerates fermentation. By documenting each baking session—note the temperature, fermentation times, starter activity, and flour types—I can tailor my process to Ireland’s unique conditions. Similarly, my sister can adjust her methods for her Spanish climate. A detailed baking journal helps both of us adapt to our respective environments, ensuring consistent and successful sourdough results despite the differences in our kitchens.

Frequently Asked Questions About Sourdough Baking

What is a sourdough starter?

A sourdough starter is a mixture of flour and water that has been fermented with wild yeast and bacteria from the environment. It’s the foundation of sourdough bread, providing the natural leavening and distinctive tangy flavor. A healthy starter is bubbly and has a pleasant sour aroma.

How do I know when my sourdough starter is ready to use?

Your sourdough starter is ready to use when it has doubled in size within 4-6 hours of feeding, has a bubbly and active appearance, and emits a slightly tangy aroma. It should be strong and active, showing signs of vigorous fermentation.

What should I do with the starter discard?

The starter discard is the portion of the starter that you remove before feeding it. Don’t throw it away! You can use it in various recipes like pancakes, waffles, muffins, or crackers. It’s a great way to incorporate the flavors of sourdough into other baked goods.

Why is my sourdough bread dense?

A dense sourdough bread can be caused by several factors: an underactive starter, insufficient fermentation time, or improper dough handling. Ensure your starter is strong and bubbly, allow adequate bulk fermentation and proofing time, and handle the dough gently to maintain its structure.

What is the best way to store sourdough bread?

Store your sourdough bread at room temperature in a paper bag or wrapped in a clean cloth. Avoid plastic bags, as they can make the crust soft. For longer storage, you can freeze the bread. Slice it first for easy thawing.

How do I adjust sourdough recipes for different flours?

Different flours absorb water differently, so you may need to adjust the hydration of your dough when using alternative flours. Whole grain flours generally absorb more water, so you might need to increase the amount of water slightly. Experimenting and observing how the dough behaves will help you achieve the desired consistency.

Why does my sourdough bread have a sour taste?

A sour flavor in sourdough bread comes from the natural fermentation process. If the bread tastes overly sour, it could be due to an overactive starter, too long of a fermentation period, or a high proportion of whole grain flours. Adjusting your fermentation times and starter feeding schedule can help balance the flavor.

Can I use tap water for my sourdough starter and dough?

It’s best to use filtered or bottled water for your sourdough starter and dough, as tap water can contain chlorine or other chemicals that might inhibit yeast and bacterial activity. If you only have tap water, letting it sit out for a few hours before using it can help dissipate some of the chlorine.

Now that you have the basics down, it’s time to get baking! Whether you stick to the classic recipe or try one of the exciting variations, homemade sourdough is a journey worth taking. Each loaf you bake will teach you something new and give you the satisfaction of creating something truly special.

Happy baking! Don’t forget to check out our detailed sourdough starter recipe and explore more of our sourdough bread recipes to keep your baking adventures fresh and delicious.