Making Sourdough Bread at Home: A Beginner's Guide

Sourdough bread is one of the most satisfying skills you can learn. It teaches patience, gives you control over what goes into your bread, and produces loaves with flavor that no store-bought bread can match.

The starter—the living culture of wild yeast and bacteria—becomes a family heirloom you can pass down. Your sourdough starter can live for years if you care for it properly.

This guide covers everything you need to know: how to start and maintain your starter, the simple bread formula, and the basic steps that make sourdough work. No fancy equipment. No complicated schedules. Just bread.

What Is Sourdough?

Sourdough uses wild yeast and lactic acid bacteria instead of commercial yeast. The starter creates a tangy flavor and a chewy crumb. The acids also make the bread easier to digest and help it stay fresh longer.

What sourdough gives you:

• Complex, layered flavor
• Longer shelf life without preservatives
• Better digestibility for some people
• A living culture you maintain at home
• Control over ingredients: flour, water, and salt

You don't need a special kitchen, expensive equipment, or perfect conditions. You need flour, water, salt, patience, and a willingness to learn from the process.

Your Starter: The Living Culture

A sourdough starter is a mixture of flour and water that captures wild yeast and bacteria from the air. Over time, it becomes active and reliable enough to leaven bread.

How to Start a Starter

Day 1: Mix 50 grams flour (all-purpose or bread flour) with 50 grams warm water in a clean jar. Stir well. Cover loosely and let sit at room temperature for 24 hours.

Day 2: Stir your starter. You might see a few bubbles, or nothing at all. This is normal. Discard half of the starter. Feed with 50 grams flour and 50 grams water. Stir, cover, and let sit for 24 hours.

Days 3-7: Continue the same pattern daily:

• Discard half the starter
• Feed with equal parts flour and water (50g each for now)
• Stir well
• Let sit at room temperature

By day 5 or 6, you should see consistent bubbles and a pleasant, slightly tangy smell. The starter will double in volume within 4-8 hours after feeding.

When Your Starter Is Ready

Your starter is ready for baking when:

• It reliably doubles in size within 4-8 hours after feeding
• It has a bubbly, aerated appearance throughout
• It smells pleasant and slightly tangy, not like vomit or rot
• A spoonful floats in water (the 'float test')

This process takes 5-14 days depending on temperature and conditions. Warm kitchens speed it up; cold kitchens slow it down.

Feeding Your Starter

Once established, feed your starter regularly:

Daily feeding: If you bake daily, keep your starter at room temperature and feed it once a day.

Room temperature schedule:

• Morning: Feed the starter
• Evening: When it peaks and starts to fall, feed again (or bake with it)

Weekly feeding: If you bake weekly, store your starter in the refrigerator. Feed it once a week:

• Take out the starter
• Feed it (equal parts flour and water by weight)
• Let it sit at room temperature for 2-4 hours
• Return it to the refrigerator

Before baking with a refrigerated starter:

• Take it out 12-24 hours before you plan to bake
• Feed it once or twice to wake it up
• Use it when it's bubbly and active

Maintaining Your Starter

Keep it clean: Use clean jars and utensils. Wipe down the jar rim to prevent mold buildup.

Watch for hooch: A dark liquid on top is alcohol from fermentation. It's harmless—stir it in or pour it off, then feed the starter.

Prevent mold: If you see pink, orange, or black mold, discard the starter and start fresh. This is rare with proper care.

Long-term storage: If you'll be away for weeks, freeze your starter in small portions, or give it to a friend. Or simply feed it once a week and keep it in the fridge.

The Basic Sourdough Formula

Flour: 500 grams (bread flour gives the best structure, but all-purpose works) Water: 350-400 grams (70-80% hydration; more water = more open crumb but harder to handle) Starter: 100 grams active, bubbly starter Salt: 10 grams (2% of flour weight)

This makes one loaf. You can scale it up or down, but keep the ratios the same.

Flour choice:

• Bread flour: Higher protein = better structure and oven spring
• All-purpose: Works well, especially in combination with bread flour
• Whole wheat: Adds flavor and nutrition but requires more water and produces denser bread
• Rye: Very flavorful but sticky and dense; use only as a small percentage (10-20%)

For beginners, use bread flour or all-purpose flour. Keep it simple.

The Baking Process

Equipment You Need

You don't need special equipment:

• Digital scale: Accurate measurements matter
• Large bowl: For mixing and bulk fermentation
• Dutch oven: Cast iron pot with lid. Creates steam for oven spring
• Bench scraper: Helps with handling sticky dough
• Lame or razor blade: For scoring (optional; you can cut with a knife)
• Cloth or couche: To support the shaped dough

If you don't have a Dutch oven, you can bake on a baking sheet. It won't have as much oven spring, but it will still work.

Step 1: Autolyse (Optional but Recommended)

Mix flour and water. Let rest for 30-60 minutes before adding starter and salt.

This gives the flour time to hydrate fully, making the dough easier to work with and improving the final texture.

Step 2: Mix the Dough

Add starter and salt to the autolyzed mixture. Mix by hand until everything is incorporated and no dry flour remains. This takes 2-3 minutes.

The dough will look shaggy and rough. That's normal.

Step 3: Bulk Fermentation

Let the dough rest in the bowl for 3-5 hours at room temperature (70°F / 21°C).

Stretch and folds: Every 30 minutes for the first 2 hours, do a set of stretch and folds:

• Wet your hand, reach into the bowl, grab one side of the dough, and stretch it up
• Fold it over the center
• Rotate the bowl 90 degrees and repeat four times
• Rest for 30 minutes, then do another set if you're in the first 2 hours

This builds gluten structure without kneading. It makes the dough easier to shape and improves the crumb.

What to watch for:

• The dough should roughly double in size
• It should look puffy and airy
• You should see bubbles through the sides
• It should jiggly and dynamic when you shake the bowl

If the dough hasn't risen enough after 5 hours, it just needs more time. Don't move on until it's ready.

Step 4: Shape the Loaf

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Gently shape it into a round or oval:

For a round (boule):

• Fold the edges into the center like a envelope
• Flip the dough over so the seam side is down
• Use the edge of the counter to create surface tension by moving your hands in a circle under the dough
• Flip the dough over so the smooth side is up

For an oval (batard):

• Pat the dough into a rectangle
• Fold the sides into the center
• Fold the top to the bottom
• Roll it up like a sleeping bag
• Pinch the ends shut

Place the shaped dough seam-side up in a well-floured banneton or bowl lined with cloth. The flour prevents sticking and gives a nice pattern on the crust.

Cover and let rest for the final proof.

Step 5: Final Proof

Let the shaped dough rest for 2-4 hours at room temperature, or overnight in the refrigerator.

Room temperature proof: 2-4 hours. The dough should look puffy and jiggle when you shake the container.

Cold proof (fridge): Overnight (6-12 hours). This slows fermentation and develops flavor. Take the dough out 1-2 hours before baking to warm up.

Testing readiness: Gently press the dough with a finger. If it slowly springs back and leaves an indentation, it's ready. If it springs back immediately, it needs more time. If it doesn't spring back at all, it's over-proofed.

Step 6: Preheat the Oven

At least 45 minutes before baking, preheat your oven to 450°F (230°C) with the Dutch oven inside.

The Dutch oven should be bone-hot. This creates the steam needed for oven spring.

Step 7: Score the Dough

When the oven is hot and the dough is ready, flip the dough out of the banneton onto a piece of parchment paper.

Use a lame or razor blade to make a quick, confident cut across the top of the loaf. The cut should be about 1/4 inch deep and at a slight angle.

This is called 'scoring.' It controls where the bread expands in the oven. Without it, the bread will crack unpredictably.

The cut should open up like a mouth when the bread bakes. That opening is called the 'ear.'

Step 8: Bake the Bread

Using the parchment paper, slide the dough into the hot Dutch oven. Cover with the lid.

Bake covered for 20 minutes: This traps steam and creates oven spring.

Remove the lid and bake for 25-30 minutes more: This allows the crust to brown and crisp.

The bread is done when:

• The crust is deep golden brown
• The internal temperature reaches 205-210°F (96-99°C)
• The loaf sounds hollow when you tap the bottom

Step 9: Cool Before Slicing

Let the bread cool on a wire rack for at least 30 minutes before slicing.

Cutting too early releases steam and makes the crumb gummy. Wait. It's worth it.

Troubleshooting Common Problems

Dense, Flat Loaf

Cause: Starter wasn't active enough, or dough was under-proofed. Fix: Make sure your starter reliably doubles after feeding. Extend proofing time.

Bread Spreads Out Instead of Rising

Cause: Weak gluten structure or too much hydration. Fix: Do more stretch and folds. Reduce water slightly.

Crust Doesn't Brown

Cause: Oven not hot enough, or baking time too short. Fix: Bake longer uncovered. Make sure the Dutch oven is fully preheated.

Gummy Crumb

Cause: Cut into the bread too soon, or dough was under-proofed. Fix: Let the bread cool completely. Ensure proper proofing.

Sour Smell

Cause: Starter was over-fermented, or proofed too long. Fix: Use your starter at peak activity. Shorten proofing time.

Too Much Acidity

Cause: Starter fed too often, or proofed too long. Fix: Feed the starter less frequently. Bake sooner after the final proof.

The Real Secret: Practice

Sourdough bread isn't difficult. It just takes practice. Your first loaf might be dense or weird-shaped. Your second might be better. Your tenth will be good.

The starter becomes part of your routine. You feed it when you feed yourself. You learn its rhythm. You understand when it's hungry and when it's tired.

Bread is simple: flour, water, salt, and time. The rest is just technique. Start with one loaf. Learn the process. Build from there.

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— C. Steward 🍞