Getting Started with Sourdough Bread

A friend told me about a bread made from nothing but flour and water, raised by wild fermentation. That was all it took — sourdough took hold of me. What draws me to it is how little it asks for. Flour and water. That is genuinely all. Watching a dough swell on its own, and pulling a proper, fragrant campagne out of the oven, is a particular kind of happiness that is hard to put into words.

This guide walks through the whole thing in order, from raising a sourdough starter to the small variations you can play with once you are comfortable. It is written for anyone thinking of baking bread at home, anyone who has started with sourdough and found it not quite working, and anyone who simply wants to bake more kinds of bread.

If something is not going to plan and you are not sure what to change — or if you have baked something you are pleased with — I would genuinely like to hear about it.

Step 1. Raise a sourdough starter

Before you can bake sourdough, you need a leaven. A starter is a very simple thing: mix flour and water, and in five to seven days you have one. Once it is alive, you keep it going with more flour and water, and it will raise as many loaves as you care to bake.

How to start a sourdough starter with rye and whole wheat

Step 2. Bake your first loaf

Once the starter is rising well, it is time to bake. Sourdough needs very little kneading. Mix the ingredients, then wait, slowly, while the dough rises. Flour, water and leaven, multiplied by time — that is the whole method, and it produces a genuine campagne. The recipe below takes you from mixing to baking, with video for each step.

How to bake a basic sourdough loaf

Step 3. Try different loaves

Bake a few times and you start to notice how much changes with the flour, or the temperature of the room. The rise and the flavour can be completely different. Try bread flour on its own, then blend in whole wheat or rye; nuts and bacon are worth folding in too. It is all worth trying. Every sourdough recipe I have written is collected below.

All recipes: sourdough bread

Step 4. Experiment with scoring

Those cuts across the top of a crusty loaf are called scoring, or a coupe. Once baking becomes familiar, you start wanting to play with them. Here are the small things that help the surface open cleanly, along with the loaves I have baked along the way.

How to score sourdough bread

Step 5. Try different tools

A new tool on the bench makes the next bake something to look forward to. Enjoy the equipment the way you enjoy the loaves. Here is what I actually use, in case it is useful.

Tools and ingredients I recommend