Sourdough Resources & Tips
Sourdough doing something weird? Welcome to the club!
Maybe your starter has liquid on top. Maybe your dough is sticking to absolutely everything. Or maybe your bread came out looking nothing like the beautiful loaf you had pictured.
I’ve been there.
This is where I’ve gathered my practical sourdough tips, common questions and resources to help you figure out what’s happening and get back to baking.
Remember, we’re making bread to EAT. It doesn’t need to win a beauty contest.
- Sourdough Resources & Tips
- Make Your Starter Work for YOU
- Free Starter Maintenance Printable
- When Your Sourdough Has a Mind of Its Own
- Create Backups of Your Starter + Wake It Back Up
- Now Go Make Some Bread!
- Sourdough Techniques: Watch & Learn
- Favorite Sourdough Tools
- Common Sourdough Questions (Real Answers for Everyday Bakers)
- Ready to Make More Than Bread?
Make Your Starter Work for YOU
You don’t need a giant jar of starter or a feeding schedule that takes over your life.
Once your starter is established, find a routine that works with how often you actually bake. Keep a small amount if you’re only baking occasionally, and build it up when you’ve got a big baking day planned.
My maintenance video covers feeding amounts, clean jars, refrigeration and making sourdough fit into everyday life.
Free Starter Maintenance Printable
Need a little help keeping track of your starter? Grab my free printable and keep it handy in your kitchen.
When Your Sourdough Has a Mind of Its Own
Sticky dough? Confused about fermentation? Wondering why your bread didn’t rise the way you expected?
In this video, I answer common sourdough questions and share practical baking tips, including discard, oven spring and why I’m not losing sleep over the perfect crumb.
Create Backups of Your Starter + Wake It Back Up
Create a Sourdough Backup
Learn how to store your starter and make a dehydrated backup to keep on hand.
Wake Up Your Starter
Got dried starter tucked away? Here’s how to rehydrate it and get it bubbling again.
Now Go Make Some Bread!
Got your questions answered? Head back to the beginner lessons or find something delicious to bake.
From “I Can’t Do Sourdough” to “Look What I Made!”
Sourdough Techniques: Watch & Learn
Sometimes you just need to SEE how it’s done!
From handling sticky dough to shaping your loaf, these quick demonstrations will help you get more comfortable working with sourdough. No fancy techniques required.
Pinch and Pull
This is my go-to way to shape rolls, buns and sliders. Once you get the simple pinch-and-pull motion down, you’ll be whipping these suckers out in no time.
Stretch and Fold
Stretch and folds help strengthen your dough and develop the gluten. Watch how the dough changes from shaggy and funky to smoother and stronger as you work with it.
How to Knead Dough
You don’t need a stand mixer to make great dough. See what kneading actually looks like by hand and what you’re looking for as the dough becomes smoother and more elastic.
How To Shape a Sandwich Loaf
Turn that blob of dough into an actual sandwich loaf! I’ll show you my simple folding method before the dough goes into the loaf pan for its final rise.
How to Shape an Artisan Loaf
See how I shape my dough, create surface tension and get it ready for the banneton. It doesn’t have to be perfect — we’re making bread to eat.
Is Your Dough Ready to Bake?
Not sure whether your dough needs more time or is ready for the oven? See how I use a simple poke test, plus what overproofed dough can look like — and what you can still do with it.
How to Score Bread
Your dough is fermented and ready to bake — now what? See how I remove it from the banneton, transfer it to hot cast iron and give it a simple score before baking.
How to Tell When Bread Is Done
Not sure if your loaf has baked long enough? See how I use the quick thump test to listen for that hollow sound right after the bread comes out of the oven.
How to Slice Bread
Sometimes the smallest tricks make homemade bread easier. See why I flip my sandwich loaf onto its side before slicing it.
How to Shape Bagels
See how I turn pieces of sourdough into that classic bagel shape before their final rise. Equal-ish is perfectly good around here.
Favorite Sourdough Tools
- 8×8 Glass pan
- 9×13 Glass pan
- Banneton bowl set
- Bench scraper
- Bread box
- Bread lame
- Cast iron pan
- Circle cookie and biscuit cutters
- Danish dough whisk
- Dough blender & cutter
- Dough hook (stainless steel)
- Dutch oven 3.2 Quart with lid
- Glass bread pan
- Ice cream scooper
- Lids for quart jars
- Measuring cups & spoons (stainless steel)
- Mini muffin liners (unbleached)
- Mixing bowl with lids (stainless steel)
- Parchment paper (unbleached)
- Pizza stone or baking sheets
- Rolling pin
- Salt (Redmond’s real salt)
- Stand mixer
- Stone grain mill
- Whisk
Common Sourdough Questions (Real Answers for Everyday Bakers)
Ready to Make More Than Bread?
You’ve got your starter going. Now let’s put that bad boy to work!
My book, From Starter to Artisan: Sourdough for Everyday Life, is packed with over 45 recipes to help you make sourdough part of your everyday kitchen.
From breakfast to dinner and all those delicious things in between, there’s a whole lot more you can do with a jar of flour and water.
