There is something extraordinary about making bread at home. Give it a go and there’ll be no regrets

Sourdough is increasing in popularity, more and more people talk about it and have it

It’s the independent, high street bakeries making and selling it. You can even find it in some supermarkets

But most importantly more and more people choose to make it at home, and this is amazing

Making your own sourdough bread at home comes with so many benefits, and it’s so easy to get hooked

1. it’s REAL bread, no additives, no sugar
2. 100% control over what goes into it
3. choosing your favourite flour and tweaking flavour to your liking
4. increased digestibility and lower glycemic index
5. cheaper than a sourdough loaf you can buy in your local bakery
6. the sourdough bread making process is a therapeutic one (especially once you get it going)
7. we can have our small contribution to reducing the amount of plastic that goes to waste
8. nothing quite compares to a freshly baked loaf

There might be many other reasons, but I will let you discover those on the go

First of all, you need a sourdough starter. This is the culture of wild yeast and bacteria that will make your bread rise. There are two ways to go about it

The easy way. Ask a local bakery to give you some or just buy one, you might find some options on the internet. Ask me if you’re based in the UK

Getting an established starter takes off the pressure of making it work and the frustration of failure. This way you can get straight into making bread

Or you can make your own sourdough starter from scratch. You just need 2 simple ingredients, flour and water. And a loooot of patience 🙂

Making a sourdough starter from scratch is possibly the most challenging aspect of sourdough baking. But also the most rewarding. If you’re up for the challenge, get some bread or rye flour, a scale, and a jar with lid and you’re ready to go!

There is no full proof recipe that guarantees success, as each sourdough starter will develop in its own way & time. It can take anything from as little as 4-5 days to more than 2 weeks, depending mainly on the flour you use and the ambient temperature. Here you can find instructions on how to make yours

Now that you’ve got a starter, the exciting bit begins. Making your own sourdough bread.

For your first loaves, you might want to keep it simple. You want to get it going and make decent bread, full of flavour. Focus on this, you can improve on the go.

A straight forward recipe & schedule, alongside a good explanation of each of the steps in the process is what will set you up for success.

To hold your hand through the process, I have written the Sourdough Explained ebook. In the 60 pages I cover the essentials of sourdough baking

– Step-by-step instructions on creating a sourdough starter and advice on how to best maintain it

– The bread making process explained step by step, with clear timings indicated

– 70 most frequently asked questions

– a template for you to use to take notes of your bakes

– links to videos showing the different techniques used for bread making

– my sourdough starter maintenance routine

You might wonder which tools & accessories do you need to get ready. Here is a list of the must haves.

• A kitchen scale (a great addition to any kitchen regardless)
• A jar ideally with lid (for your starter)
• A bowl or sieve and a kitchen towel (for the dough proofing). A banneton is ideal, but you might not want to spend a lot of money upfront
• A scraper, your life saver for dough handling. Now this is a MUST
• A blade for scoring (you can also use a serrated knife)

There are some items which you might have in your kitchen already, and could be useful to bread making

• If you have a small silicone spatula, use that to stir the starter. If not, just use a spoon – totally fine
• A dutch oven / iron cast pan / pyrex or clay dish, with a lid. If large enough, you can use these for baking
• A baking stone/steel (useful in case you do not own a dish with lid for baking

Here is a full list of homebaker’s tools, both MUST HAVES and NICE TO HAVE, alongside some suggestions too.

Should you want to learn more or need some help to figure things out

Looking for something else, get in touch and will take it from there 🙂