Beginners Course to Making Sourdough Bread from Scratch

Explore starter and levain definitions, including feeding, refreshing, discard, doubling, and hooch, to keep an active sourdough ferment for bread.

Learn how to feed and maintain your fridge starter, manage discard and the discard container, and keep your culture balanced with a 40 g water and 40 g flour feed.

Learn how sourdough starter peaks and falls, and why active, bubbly levain is essential. Discover when to mix dough and how to refresh a fallen starter.

Plan ahead by feeding your main sourdough starter and letting it double before taking levain to bake a loaf, since starter must rise after feeding.

Observe hooch in a sourdough starter and learn to identify gray liquid, remove it, and refeed the starter until it becomes active and refreshed.

Learn how to bake two loaves at different hydration levels using a doubled levain, then observe the gluten network and bubbles pulling away from the bowl.

Learn to make a 65% hydration sourdough loaf by combining 325 g water, 10 g salt, 100 g levain, and 500 g flour, then mix to develop a gluten network.

Demonstrates the stretch and fold method to strengthen a 65% hydration sourdough dough, with timed rests and three sets, culminating in readiness for bulk fermentation.

Strengthen high hydration sourdough with coil folds using 75% hydration dough, lifting from the middle and folding, rotating the bowl, and repeating to boost the bulk fermentation stage.

Mix the starter, levain, flour, water, and salt to begin bulk fermentation, then watch the dough rise to about 1.75–2 times its size, adjusting for temperature and climate.

Learn the shaping process for sourdough, from pre-shape resting to final shaping of a boule or batard, using baskets to hold form and cold proof to develop flavor.

Cold proofing in the fridge for 12 to 24 hours develops more flavor and a bit more rise in sourdough bread, and makes scoring easier.

Opt for a shorter bulk fermentation when planning an overnight or extended cold proof, trusting the fridge rise; without cold proof, let bulk fermentation double to prevent gumminess.

Learn sourdough scoring and baking definitions, from main score and expansion score to oven spring, belly, and crumb open or closed, plus gear like Dutch ovens, bread mats, and steam.

Compare crumb at 65% vs 80% hydration in sourdough bread to show how lower hydration yields denser, stiffer crumb with big bubbles, while higher hydration results in an open crumb.

Learn a beginner-friendly boule scoring design using an axe or knife to create quad designs, followed by a main X cut before baking.

Create a boule loaf with a side score and a main score across the other side, add wheat stalk details, and address air bubbles during cold proofing for a bake.

Learn batard scoring design 1 for a batard-shaped loaf, with angled cross cuts along its length and a central vertical score, plus leaves or straight lines, bake.

Explore a batard scoring design for a loaf, using a butter knife or string to draw guidelines and add lines, then execute a central, shallow main score to reveal bubbles.

Master sourdough focaccia by mixing water, salt, starter, olive oil, and flour into an 80% hydration dough, fold, rise, oil a pan, top with sun-dried tomatoes and rosemary, bake.

Learn to make sourdough bagels from levain, with honey, herbs, optional cheese, hands-on kneading, overnight rise, boiled in sugar water, and baked for a crunchy, chewy finish.

Combine melted milk, butter, and sugar with sourdough starter, mix in flour, perform three stretch-and-folds, rise, shape into 12 buns, bake, and brush with butter.

Learn to make sourdough cinnamon buns from scratch using a sweet levain, milk-based dough, cinnamon butter filling, and a maple-butter syrup, with a long 9–12 hour rise.