Sourdough is ancient, slow, delicious magic — but to beginners, it can feel like joining a secret society that speaks in bubbles and hydration percentages.
Don’t worry. This guide will walk you through everything you need to start your sourdough journey with confidence, joy, and minimal screaming.
Let’s break it down simply, gently, and with the right amount of feral energy.
What Is Sourdough?
Sourdough is bread that’s risen using wild yeast and bacteria instead of packaged yeast.
Your starter is a tiny ecosystem — flour, water, microbes, and time — that becomes the rising force in all your bakes.
It’s alive.
It’s dramatic.
And it will absolutely teach you patience whether you want it to or not.
Step 1: Making (or Getting) a Starter
You have two options:
- Make your own starter
Combine:
50 g flour
50 g water
Stir.
Leave on the counter.
Feed every 24 hours by discarding half and adding another 50 g water + 50 g flour.
Repeat 5–10 days.
Signs your starter is alive include:
bubbles
rising and falling
smelling tangy, fruity, or gently funky
trying to escape its jar (eventually)
- Adopt one from a friend
This is ideal.
It’s like adopting a mature cat instead of a newborn kitten — much less chaos.
Step 2: Feeding Your Starter
Think of feeding as giving your starter a snack.
Standard feeding ratio:
1:1:1 (starter : flour : water)
Example:
20 g starter
20 g flour
20 g water
Feed daily while kept on the counter, or once a week in the fridge.
Your starter is ready to bake when:
it doubles in 4–6 hours
it’s bubbly and airy
it smells tangy, not weird
Step 3: Your First Sourdough Loaf
Once your starter is active, you can make dough with:
flour
water
salt
time
That’s it.
The rest is technique (which you learn by doing).
Typical process:
- Mix dough
- Rest (autolyse)
- Add salt + do stretch-and-folds
- Bulk ferment
- Shape
- Refrigerate overnight
- Bake hot in a Dutch oven
Your first loaf won’t be perfect.
Your 10th loaf won’t be perfect either.
That’s the charm.
Things I Wish Someone Told Me
⭐ 1. Temperature is EVERYTHING.
Warm kitchen = fast fermentation.
Cold kitchen = slow fermentation.
Your dough doesn’t follow the clock — it follows the temperature.
⭐ 2. Wet your hands while working with dough.
Sticky dough stops sticking when your hands are damp.
Magic.
⭐ 3. Dough needs rest as much as it needs kneading.
If it’s resisting shaping, let it nap.
You can’t fight dough and win.
⭐ 4. The fridge is your friend.
Cold fermentation builds flavor and makes shaping easier.
Refrigerate dough overnight whenever possible.
⭐ 5. Don’t judge by looks.
Ugly dough makes gorgeous bread.
Lumpy dough smooths out eventually.
Weird smells are usually normal.
⭐ 6. Keep notes.
Every loaf teaches you something:
room temp
hydration
flour used
rise times
⭐ 7. A strong starter = strong bread.
If your starter is sluggish, the loaf will be too.
Feed it well before baking.
⭐ 8. Don’t panic over small mistakes.
Underproofed, overproofed, ugly, flat — it’s ALL edible.. Usually.
⭐ 9. Practice makes instinct.
You’ll eventually feel when dough is ready.
No instructions needed — it becomes second nature.
Tools to Help
Here are tools beginners benefit from, without going overboard.
Must-Haves
These make a huge difference:
✔️ Digital Kitchen Scale
Absolutely essential.
Sourdough is a science — grams matter.
“Cups” are chaos.
✔️ Large Mixing Bowl
Preferably glass
✔️ Clean Kitchen Towels or Plastic Shower Caps
For covering your dough.
✔️ A Jar With a Loose Lid
For your starter.
✔️ Dutch Oven or Heavy Covered Pot
This traps steam and gives you that crust.
✔️ Bench Scraper
Useful for shaping, cleaning, and pretending you’re on a baking show.
Nice-To-Have (Upgrade Later)
Not required, but they make life easier:
☆ Banneton (Proofing Basket)
Helps shape and pattern your loaf.
☆ Lame or Sharp Razor
For scoring clean lines.
☆ Dough Whisk
Helps with initial mixing.
☆ Instant-Read Thermometer
Tells you when the loaf is done (95–97°C / 205–208°F inside).
☆ Silicone Dough Mat or Baker’s Board
Never fight a sticky countertop again.
Completely Optional but Extremely Fun
For the chaotic bakers:
Flour duster
Because “accidentally covering your entire kitchen” isn’t the only way.
Sourdough jar doodles
Name your starter. Give it a personality.
Is it Jane dough? Is it Yeasty Boys? You decide.
Bread stencils
Put a raccoon on your loaf. Live your truth.
Learning sourdough is less like learning a recipe and more like forming a relationship.
You feed it, it feeds you.
You learn each other’s moods.
You make mistakes, laugh, bake again, and grow together.
Soon your kitchen will smell like warm crust, tangy dough, and tiny victories.
And that first slice of homemade sourdough?
It’s the moment everything clicks.
Welcome to the world of living bread.
You’re going to thrive here.
The Wild Crumb 
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