No-Fail Sourdough Guide
I was raised in Alaska by a mom who treasured her sourdough and spoke the word with quite reverence. It was fed, cared for, and loved like a pet. As a child, I couldn’t stand the tang of sourdough in my mouth. I mean, sourdough. It’s right there in the name. Gross.
Now as an adult, I love it. I wrote this sourdough guide encourage those of you who are new to sourdough. Sourdough is healthy, delicious, and rich with history.
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What is Sourdough?
Sourdough is one of the oldest forms of grain fermentation and was used to bake bread long before commercial yeast came into the picture. I was raised in Alaska and there, sourdough is practically revered. People love to share their starter, talk about their sourdough, and swap their favorite recipes. In fact, in Alaska, a Sourdough is someone who has lived in Alaska for a long time and survived the harsh weather. So much history and culture surround sourdough. Pioneers and cowboys alike survived on sourdough bread. Recipes and the history of their particular starter have been passed down for generations.
Why Use Sourdough?
The fermentation process of sourdough makes it easier to digest. Over the last few years, the popularity of eating fermented foods has grown as we learn more about the many benefits. It is the preferred bread for many diabetics because the fermentation process uses up the sugars and sourdough bread prevents the spikes in blood sugar that regular bread causes. Some people who are sensitive to gluten can even eat sourdough due to fermentation.
If you are on the fence about whether or not to try sourdough, be sure and read my post 5 Reasons You Should Always Keep Sourdough On-hand.
Worried That You Killed Your Sourgdough?
King Arthur Baking has a GREAT post on all the ways you can and can’t kill your sourdough. It tells you what colors are okay (black and gray are okay) orange is not okay. You may want to bookmark that post for future reference.
The Magic Science of Sourdough
The magic (okay, technically science) of sourdough is in the wild yeast that is created with just some flour, water, and sugar. And POOF the wild yeast appears over the course of a few days. Making your own starter is simple. It takes a little bit of time and patience but it is well worth the effort you put into it. In my post, Culinary Reactions, I talked about the boys learning about the science of bread baking. So when my mom asked me to make a video of her baking her sourdough bread (she’s had many requests over the years) I brought along the boys so they could learn.
Discovering the Science Secrets of Sourdough
Baking Bread with Sourdough Cindy
A couple of weeks ago the boys and I went over to my parents’ house where my mom taught Hezekiah and Tucker how to make sourdough bread. She sent each of the boys home with their own sourdough starter which they have been caring for.
Sourdough French Bread
This sourdough bread uses both sourdough starter and yeast.
Ingredients
- 1 package dry yeast
- 1.5 cups warm water 110 degrees F
- 5-5.5 cups all purpose flour
- 1 cup sourdough starter
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 2 tablespoons butter melted
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon cornmeal
Instructions
In large mixing bowl, add yeast to warm water. Blend in 2 cups of flour and the sourdough starter, sugar, butter, and salt.
Combine 1 cup of flour with baking soda then add to dough in mixing bowl. Add enough remaining flour to make stiff dough.
Move dough to floured surface and knead for 5-8 minutes or until dough is smooth. Place in greased bowl, turning one to grease top of dough. Cover with damp cloth and let rise in warm spot for 1.5-2 hours or until doubled in size.
Punch risen dough and let rest for 10 minutes. Divide dough in two and shape two long loaves. Grease cookie sheet and sprinkle with cornmeal. Place dough on pan and let rise for 1 hour, or until doubled. Brush top of loaves with water. With sharp knife, cut diagonal lines in bread. Bake at 375 degrees for 30-35 minutes.
Place baked bread on cooling rack and let cool competely before slicing.
Now that I’ve got you excited and ready to start our own sourdough adventure, check out these resources below. Please leave your questions and requests in the comments.
Sourdough Starter Guide & Printable
First, download my free printable How to Make Sourdough Starter
Your starter will stay out on the counter at room temperature unless you will be gone and unable to take care of it. My Daily Sourdough Bread has an excellent post on how to preserve your sourdough while you’re gone.
Great Sourdough Cookbooks
Beginner Sourdough Starter Recipe by The Clever Carrot. You can start your adventure today with this blog post.
Understanding the 3 Basic Types of Bread – Comparing Quick Bread, Yeast Bread, and Sourdough from Attainable Sustainable.
Sourdough Cookery This is my mom’s favorite sourdough cookbook and the one that has the recipe she made in the video.
The Sourdough Cookbook This a fun cookbook that is full of great information and recipes.
Sourdough: More Than a Bread This article by NPR talks about the history and importance of sourdough, along with the nutritional benefits.
Culinary Reactions I reviewed this amazing book here.
My Amazon Storefront has a list of some of our favorite resources. Remember, sourdough can be very simple, but if you are interested in goodies, this page is for you.
More Sourdough Recipes
Basic Sourdough Bread from A Farmgirl’s Kitchen
Super Seedy Sourdough Bread from Vegan on Board
Super Easy Sourdough Focaccia Recipe from Dish N the Kitchen
Oats and Seeds Sourdough Country Loaf from This Old Gal
Easy One-Bowl Sourdough Banana Bread from Attainable Sustainable
Sourdough Cinnamon Raisin Swirl Bread from Itsy Bitsy Kitchen
Sourdough English Muffins by Beyond the Chicken Coop
The Complete Guide to Sourdough Equipment
Okay, confession….you don’t really need these items to make sourdough bread. But you know what? They are all beautiful, and fun, and will make your bread making even more enjoyable! Add them to your Amazon cart or wishlist and maybe, just maybe, someone will notice and order them for you 😉
- Half Gallon Wide Mouth Mason Jars
- 9-inch Bread Proofing Basket
- Sourdough by Sarah Owens
- Cheesecloth
- 6-Piece Bamboo Utensils
- Linen Bread Bags
- Enameled Cast Iron Covered Dutch Oven
This page will be updated on a regular basis, so be sure and bookmark it or pin it on Pinterest!
I have a question that you may of went over but i missed it. Do you refrigerate the sourdough starter of always leave on counter
So after the first week you feed your sourdough everyday but so you also remove part of it everyday?
Glenda, you only remove part of it for the first 7-10 days as the natural yeast is growing and fermenting. After that, you just feed it to maintain it, and you begin using it. If you ever have too much, you can dump some out, or better yet, dry it to have on hand.
It is kept at room temperature. Thank you for your question, I went back and clarified that in my post.
How do you dry it?
Drying is simple. Pour some starter onto a sheet of wax paper and use a spatula to spread it thin. Let it dry overnight, then crumble it into a powder and store in an airtight container.
Thank you. So when you’re ready to use it, do you have to mix it with water or just add it in dry form?
Mix it with water a couple of days before you plan to use it, to get it going again.
How would you share part of your starter with someone else?
It is so simple! You literally just pour some of your starter into a container. Then you both feed it as usual.
Do you discard 1/2 the starter on days 4, 5 and 6 as well?
Yes, that is correct!
My question is when you want to make bread you take your starter out of fridge feed it let it sit out overnight then take out what you need for your bread recipie do you then feed the starter again and put back in fridge or just put in fridge without feeding again?
Great question! I actually don’t keep my sourdough in the fridge unless I’m going to be gone for a week or so. I try to feed it everyday, but I do forget sometimes. Sourdough is amazingly resilient. I do try to make sure I feed it the day before I plan to use it.
Hi ,I was wondering if I can half sour dough bread recipes? I don’t want to waste my ingredients until I’m more confident with my sourdough skills. Thanks
Yes, you absolutely can!
Do you always leave the starter covered with just cheese cloth or can you eventually use a lid?
I’m not totally sure…my mom always used a cloth to cover hers, so that’s what I do. I think it needs oxygen to ferment.
help…How do I get to this recioe?
Which recipe? For starter? Or bread?
I have now added the recipe for the bread baked in the video.
After I remove the amount of starter I need to bake with, do I feed the remaining starter?
Kathy, yes that is correct. Once you remove the amount for your recipe, go ahead and feed your starter so you can build up more starter for your next recipe!
Once my starter is ready to make bread, where do I find your recipe for that?
Here is a basic recipe, but it calls for using yeast: https://afarmgirlskitchen.com/sourdough-bread/
I prefer doing overnight sourdough bread which needs no yeast at all. Here is a basic recipe. This post is complicated, but there is a great recipe at the bottom: https://hostessatheart.com/sourdough-bread-recipe/
I was wondering if I could get the recipe for the bread please
The recipe for the bread is in the post.
I was wanting the bread recipe that was used in the video thanks
Once we are in maintenance mode, ie. daily feeding, is it always repeating the day 4 instructions? Dump 1/2 and add 1/2 c flour & 1/4 cup warm water Or can we feed it less than that?
No, you just need to do this in the beginning.
It’s almost a year I’ve kept my starter. It’s now starting to smell of strong alcohol. Is this normal and why is it just happening now? Am I doing something wrong? It seems normal in all other ways.
Usually this just means that there is extra “hooch” on top. Dump out half, add warm water, sugar, and flour…do this for a couple of days in a row and it should go back to normal.
So when I remove half of the starter on days 3-6 or whatever… can I out the 1/2 I took out and feed it as well to be its own starter?
Yes, definitely.
does the type of flour matter? bleached or unbleached?
Either one will work fine. I use unbleached.
After day 7, how much flour and water do you add to continue feeding it? Do you dump out the half and then add the amounts mentioned?
I feed mine about 1/4 cup water, 1/4 cup flour, and 1 teaspoon of sugar. Keep i mind, I don’t actually measure these, I am just feeding it. You only need to dump out half when you are starting the sourdough. Once it is established (after 7-10 days) you no longer need to dump out half. At that point, you build up the volume of sourdough and start using it to bake.
Hi Renee! Thank you. I’m a little confused about the sugar. It doesn’t mention it at all in the diagram. Should I be adding that from the beginning as well?
The sugar is optional. I like to add a little sugar to feed the yeast. My mom doesn’t add sugar to hers.
Thank you for this so much! I’m going to try my second attempt at a sourdough starter! I see where a couple of things I did wrong.
You are welcome and I am so glad I could help.
As a 40+yr bread maker, I was dismayed in March, 2020 when I couldn’t buy yeast. My sourdough starter has been active for over a year! Yeah!
My reaction to the “sourdough community” is gratitude. Everyone has been so helpful and encouraging. And shared so many delicious ways to use the starter and dough. Thank you for your clear explanations, recipe, and answers to comment questions.
This is very useful! I successfully made a sourdough bread from this recipe! Thanks for sharing!
I have a question. How much do I remove each day in order to leave a certain amount of starter left in jar (for ongoing maintenance)??
Gwyn, there is no set amount. I only remove starter if my jar is getting too full.