A Quick and Dirty Sourdough Guide for Beginners

What is Sourdough and Why Is Everyone So Obsessed?

Sourdough is a naturally leavened bread, which means it doesn’t rely on store-bought yeast. Instead, it’s made with a “starter”, a mixture of flour and water which proliferates wild yeasts and bacteria that work together to make your dough rise.  Bread made with a sourdough starter is tangy, chewy, and full of flavor. Some claim it is easier on your digestive system because the natural fermentation process breaks down gluten, reduces phytic acid, and lowers fermentable carbohydrates (FODMAPs) that can cause bloating. Experts say it also promotes gut health by supporting beneficial bacteria and making nutrients more bioavailable.

But for whatever reason, thousands of people on the internet and social media have overcomplicated it. But with these forthcoming tips you will see that sourdough is not as intimidating as it seems.

Here is everything I wish I knew about sourdough before starting my sourdough journey:

1. You Do NOT Need to Make Your Starter From Scratch

Dumb old me thought I did. In fact, I spent ONE WHOLE YEAR making and killing sourdough starters before I had one that consistently leavened my loaves, because as it turns out, just because your sourdough doubles in the jar, doesn’t mean it has enough power to leaven bread. If you want to begin baking immediately you can:

1. BUY ONE! That is what I did after my home-grown starter that I nurtured for months spilled down the back of my refrigerator the night before my cookbook photo shoot. (Yes, I cried.) At that point I was in the flow of baking and not about to start from the beginning. I recalled Alexandra Stafford mentioning this starter in one of her blog posts and decided to give it a try. This starter comes with instructions for reconstituting it from dry to bring it “online”.
2. Put it in the group chat and see if anyone you know will share (all you need is a few tablespoons from someone else- if they don’t allow you to have some that’s a red flag that they are an unnecessary gate keeper.)

2. You Don’t Need All the Gear (But Here’s What Actually Matters)

3. The One High Ticket Purchase That Prevented Me From Quitting My Sourdough Journey

As I mentioned earlier, it took me a whole year to “bring my homemade starter online”, which means getting it active and ready for baking. The reason? Sourdough starters thrive in a stable environment, and even very small temperature fluctuations can disrupt the delicate balance of wild yeast and bacteria that power fermentation. Maintaining a steady temperature minimizes that. But because I live in Miami and keep my apt. at 75 degrees during the day and 68 at night, my young homemade starters did not really thrive. I read that people kept their starters in the oven with the pilot light on, but that made my starter overheat. So after much heartache and research, I purchased a Sourdough Home. It was a game changer and eliminated so much guesswork. When I plan to bake, I take my starter out of the oven, feed it, and let it hang out in the home at 78 until I am ready to use it. No drama, and perfect bread every time.

4. You Only Need One Great Recipe (Not 50)

There are hundreds of thousands of sourdough recipes out there, from all walks of life. There are two that I use reliably and one I developed myself over 2 years. They are:

• Alexandra Stafford’s Iconic Homemade Sourdough Bread, Step by Step could be your one and only recipe for life.
• King Arthur Flour’s Pain de Campagne is sounds too good to be true recipe, because it doesn’t require you to feed your starter.
• My Very Own Sourdough Pocket Pita Recipe!

Here are A few more additional resources I found very helpful. Baker Bettie has many Youtube videos that explain the basics of sourdough making and gives great product recommendations. Also Tim Chin’s Sourdough Starter Recipe and companion articles were indispensable as I started my sourdough journey.

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So to quickly recap:

1. You do not need to make your sourdough starter from scratch. You can get some from a friend or buy one.
2. You don’t need ALL the gear, but it helps to have some.
3. Consider getting a sourdough home if you want to make baking even easier on yourself and take the guesswork out of “bringing your starter online”.
4. Get one great recipe and marry it.

Hope this helps! Feel free to ask me any questions in the comments or send me a DM on Instagram. And welcome to the cult!