Sourdough From Scratch: No Shortcuts, No Mysticism

Sourdough has accumulated a layer of mysticism that puts people off. Hydration percentages, autolyse times, crumb structure analysis. Most of it is noise. Here’s what actually matters.

Building the Starter

A starter is flour + water + wild yeast. The wild yeast is already on the flour and in your kitchen air. You are not doing anything magical. You are creating conditions for it to reproduce.

Day 1: 50g whole wheat flour + 50g room temperature water. Mix. Cover loosely. Leave on the counter.

Days 2-7: Each day, discard half. Add 50g flour + 50g water. Stir. By day 4-5 you’ll see bubbles. By day 7 it should be doubling in size within 4-8 hours of feeding. That’s ready.

Room temperature matters. Below 68°F it’s slow. Above 78°F it’s fast and acidic. 72-75°F is ideal.

The Bread

Once your starter is active, the process is: mix, rest, fold, shape, proof, bake.

Levain: 20g starter + 80g flour + 80g water. Let it peak (double in size, domed top). This takes 4-8 hours depending on temperature.

Mix: 450g bread flour + 325g water + 9g salt + all of your levain. Mix until no dry flour remains. Rest 30 minutes.

Folds: Every 30 minutes for 2 hours, do one set of stretch and folds (grab one side, stretch up, fold over, rotate, repeat 4 times). This develops gluten without kneading.

Bulk ferment: Leave covered at room temperature until the dough has grown by 50-75% and feels light and airy. 4-8 hours depending on temperature.

Shape: Turn onto counter, shape into a round, and place seam-side-up in a floured proofing basket or bowl lined with a floured towel.

Cold proof: Cover and refrigerate overnight (8-16 hours).

Bake: Preheat oven to 500°F with a Dutch oven inside. When hot, remove Dutch oven, flip cold dough into it, score the top, cover and bake 20 minutes. Uncover, reduce to 450°F, bake 20-25 more minutes until deep brown.

What Actually Matters

Starter activity. Bulk fermentation timing. Oven temperature.

The rest — exact hydration, flour brand, fold technique — matters for optimization, not for getting a good loaf. Start here, bake a dozen loaves, then start tweaking.