Hi there, fellow sourdough lover!

When I was first given a sourdough starter from a friend I was very intimidated. I feared killing my starter, didn’t want to mess up my bread, and didn’t know what half of the “bread terms” meant. Needless to say, I messed up a couple of times, gave up, and allowed my starter to die and called it quits. Pitiful, I know. But let me first start by saying…it’s okay to mess up. Your first loaf may not be perfect. You will learn as you go and continue to improve if you stick with it. In this post I am going to share a simple sourdough recipe and video tutorial to break down the process for you. I will also share some helpful tips that I wish I had known when first starting out. Tips that would have specifically helped me to avoid wasting time and wasting dough I “thought” was ruined.

Skip to video tutorial.

I first gave sourdough a try while living in Maui after a friend shared some starter with me. Fast forward a few months, we moved back to Missouri where we are from and I decided to give it another try after strolling through a local farmers market. I saw there was a need for a homemade sourdough booth and I wanted to be the one to fill that void. I was determined to master the art of bread making and sell my bread at the local market. With that said, here is the recipe I have been using for over two and a half years and my customers always return for more. So I would say it has proven itself to be successful!

A Few Helpful Tips When Starting Out:

-Sourdough starter is much more resilient than you think! If you don’t want to feed it daily, simply keep it in the fridge and take it out the day before you want to make dough with it and feed it at least twice every 12 hours to get it bubbly and rising again. (Tip: colder temperatures slow down the fermentation process, warmer temperatures speed it up.)

-If you think you messed up your dough, don’t throw it out. Bake it anyway. When it’s too sticky and won’t take shape, throw it in a 9×13 baking dish lined with olive oil and let it spread out in the pan and bake it into a focaccia loaf instead.

-If the dough seems dense and has not risen much, try placing it inside your oven (while off) to create a warmer environment for rising.

-When scoring the dough before baking, cut deeper slits along the bottom to prevent your design from bursting open at the top.

Simple Sourdough Recipe:

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 cups active leaven (fed sourdough starter) (260 grams)
• 2 1/2 cups water (570 grams)
• 5-5 1/2 cups organic all-purpose flour (600-700 or so grams)
• 1 tbsp high quality salt (15 grams)

Instructions:

1. Add your water to a bowl, then add the active leaven and mix well.
2. Add flour to the bowl and fully incorporate. Use hands to scrape any flour off the sides of your bowl and mix it in well. It should be sticky, but not too wet. Add a little extra flour in if need be to make the dough more firm. (See video tutorial for the texture you’re looking for.)
3. Let sit for 20-30 minutes before adding in the salt.
4. Sprinkle the salt over the top of the dough, wet your hands, and begin mixing it into the dough first by poking the salt in with your fingers. Take the sides of the dough and pull up and over a few times to mix the dough and salt together well.
5. Let sit, covered, for one hour. I cover my bowl with a plate to retain moisture.
6. Stretch and fold the dough to let in oxygen. This allows for optimal fermentation. Grab one side of the dough, pull up and stretch, and fold over. Do this four times. Cover the bowl and let sit for 30 minutes.
7. Do at least 3 total stretch and folds, allowing 30 minutes between each one.
8. After third stretch and fold, cover bowl and place in the fridge until the following morning. This can be anywhere from 8-12 hours.
9. Take bowl out of the fridge, and let it sit on your counter for approximately one hour.
10. Scrape the dough onto your counter, divide in two.
11. Laminate and shape each loaf. (See video for what this looks like.)
12. Allow loaves to sit on the counter for ten minutes or so before shaping them once more to build tension.
13. Place them into a proofing or banneton basket dusted with flour. Cover, and place back in fridge for anywhere from 1-8 hours.(The longer the dough sits. the more it ferments breaking down the gluten.)
14. Once your ready to bake, turn your oven on 450 and place dutch ovens inside as it heats up.
15. Remove proofing baskets from fridge, and flip dough onto parchment paper.
16. Lightly dust the top with flour and score a design using a sharp razor blade.
17. Carefully place each loaf into a hot dutch oven, and bake for 25 minutes with the lid on at 450 and 25 minutes with the lid off at 425.
18. Remove from oven and let rest for one hour. If you can wait. 😉 Enjoy!

Simple Sourdough Video Tutorial:

The video tutorial walks you through the instructions of how to make the dough and prepare it for baking. You will want to feed your starter the morning of the day BEFORE you wish to bake your bread. Once fed, it will begin to rise. Once almost doubled in size (usually takes 4-6 hours depending on temperature), you will mix the dough and that is where this video will start off.

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