Baking sourdough bread from scratch may sound overwhelming - the starters, the fermenting, the timing, the weighing - it’s definitely not a throw and go type of bread.

BUT, once you get the hang of what you’re working with, this is one of the easiest processes towards self sufficiency.

I’ll be covering everything you need in order to get started making the perfect loaf of sourdough bread.

SUPPLIES

The first thing you'll need is a sourdough starter. This is the fermented flour and water that you’ll be using to make each loaf of bread.

You can purchase a sourdough starter from a local source if you know of one, or you can purchase one online from a source like Etsy. I have seen several sourdough girls on Instagram that sell their starters. When you purchase a sourdough starter online, you’ll likely have to rehydrate it. This is an easy process and each individual seller will give you instructions.

OR, if you’re like me and want to see the journey from start to finish, you can make your own starter. This is an easy process but will take you about 2 weeks to develop a strong, mature starter that is ready to bake with.

I followed this recipe to get my starter growing - Simple Sourdough Starter.

She makes it so easy to get your starter going and leaves little room for misunderstanding or confusion!

I use a blend of King Arthur’s organic unbleached all purpose flour and their whole wheat flour. I found this combo makes my starter stronger than just using the all purpose flour.

You’ll want a glass jar to get your starter going strong in. I use these 32 oz wide mouth mason jars that I got on Amazon. I like having a pack of 4 so I can get a new jar per feeding and be more accurate with my measurements. But you can definitely get away with using one or two jars for your starter.

These jars are also nice because when you take the orange gasket off, they close enough to let just enough air in to get your sourdough starter fermenting. This eliminates the need for cheesecloth or plastic wrap. I wanted the most minimalistic approach possible.

The only other thing I needed to purchase is a kitchen scale. A lot of people have these on hand already. I am not that person as I am barely starting to domesticate myself hahaha!

These are the only supplies to get your starter set up. EASY PEASY! Once you’re ready to start baking, you’ll just need some parchment paper (preferably unbleached) and a dutch oven.

I didn’t have one so I purchase this one from Amazon and it’s been really good to me!

This is the recipe I use to make a basic loaf of bread - No-Knead Sourdough Bread.

Again, easy to follow and eliminates the extra fluff. I like to keep it simple!

My Feeding System

Since my sourdough starter is mature, I keep it in the fridge most of the time. When I’m ready to use it I just take it out, feed it, wait for its peak and then get my fermentation started.

When I was first starting, I had to feed my starter every 12 hours. I live in a warm weather environment, which makes my starter hungrier faster.

I give my starter a blend of all purpose and whole wheat flour. This is my feeding ratio :

60 grams water : 45 grams all purpose : 15 grams whole wheat

I notice the blend of flour gives my starter the extra boost it was lacking when I was using all purpose only. Your weather, environment and even sea level may change the results so you’ll have to find the perfect blend for your starter.

Fun Things You Don’t Need

I’ve used this minimally. I made a pumpkin loaf - Pumpkin Sourdough Bread Recipe and used this to make the indentations. I plan on using it for future designs but for now I’m just enjoying expanding my recipes over my shapes - haha.

This tool has been useful! You’ll need a sharp knife to make some steam indentations (not sure the actual name, but that’s what I’m going with). This little tool makes it easy to make your slits and allow steam to vent out of your bread while baking. My kitchen knives were just not cutting it anymore so I decided to make the $10 investment and make my life a little easier.