Why bake your own sourdough bread? Because you control ingredients, flavour and crust – and because it's fun. The heart of it is an active sourdough starter. It develops from flour and water; at the beginning that's all it needs.
What is sourdough?
Sourdough is a natural leaven: in a mixture of flour and water wild yeasts and lactic acid bacteria multiply. Quiet fermentation produces flavour, lift and a moist crumb – unlike dough made with commercial yeast alone.
Starting a sourdough starter: ingredients and process
You need
- Flour: rye or wheat flour — both work, and blends are fine.
- Water: ideally filtered or left to stand. Strongly chlorinated tap water can hinder development.
- A clean jar or preserving jar and a spoon/spatula.
Day 1: Start
Mix 100 g flour with 100 ml water in a clean jar until free of lumps. Cover loosely (a cloth or a lid laid on top) and leave at room temperature.
Day 2: Feed
If you see light bubbling and a mildly sour scent, fermentation has begun. Remove and discard about half (approx. 100 g). Add 100 g flour and 100 ml water, mix well and cover loosely.
Days 3–7: Keep going
Feed once daily at the same time as on day 2. Depending on your surroundings it can take 5–7 days for the starter to stabilise. Signs of readiness: bubbles, a pleasant sour aroma and a clear increase in volume (often doubling or tripling after feeding).
Use and storage
Once the starter is active you can bake with it. For occasional baking store it in the refrigerator and feed it about once a week. At room temperature it requires daily feeding.
Note on readiness: Many people use the so‑called “float test” (a small dollop should float in water) as an indicator. It can suggest readiness but is not reliable in every case. Also watch for smell, bubbles and volume development.
Tips for a good start
- Patience pays off: young starters often need a few days to really get going.
- Try different flours: rye, wheat or blends — find the flavour and behaviour that suit you.
- Work cleanly: keep jars and utensils clean, cover loosely but do not seal air‑tight.
- Mind the water quality: filtered or standing tap water can help if the starter is sluggish.
- Quiet spot: ferment in a draft‑free, room‑warm place and avoid direct sunlight.
Baking in a home oven or wood-fired oven
An active sourdough works in both types of oven. In a home oven many bakers use a well‑preheated baking tray or baking stone. You can also achieve a robust crust in a wood‑fired oven — in that case bake after the oven is fully heated and cleared. For larger dough quantities a dough mixer can make preparation noticeably easier. Useful accessories for bread baking include proofing baskets and a preheated baking stone.
Courses: sourdough in practice
Would you prefer hands‑on instruction? In our bread and sourdough courses we demonstrate the steps from creating a starter to baking. You can find current dates and information in our course offerings.