Sourdough Without the Stress
You do not need a spreadsheet, a thermometer or perfect timing to bake good bread at home. A relaxed approach to sourdough that fits around a normal week.
2 min read
Somewhere along the way, sourdough picked up a reputation for being difficult. Scroll through enough bread forums and you will find hydration charts, temperature logs and people weighing their flour to a tenth of a gram. It is all fascinating, and almost none of it is necessary to make a loaf you will be proud of.
I baked bread professionally for six years. At home, I bake with a much looser routine, and the results are just as good.
Feed your starter when it suits you
A healthy starter is more forgiving than people think. Keep it in the fridge between bakes, and take it out the evening before you want to make dough. Feed it equal weights of flour and water, leave it on the counter overnight, and it will be bubbly and ready by morning.
If you forget it for two weeks, it will look sad and smell sharp. Feed it twice over a day and it will recover. Starters are hard to kill.
A simple weekend schedule
Friday evening: feed the starter and leave it out overnight.
Saturday morning: mix 500g strong white flour, 350g water, 100g active starter and 10g salt. Rest for an hour.
Saturday, through the day: every hour or so, give the dough a few stretches and folds in the bowl. Four rounds is plenty.
Saturday evening: shape the dough into a round, place it in a floured bowl, cover it and put it in the fridge.
Sunday morning: bake straight from the fridge in a covered pot preheated to around 250°C, 20 minutes with the lid on and 20 to 25 with it off.
Bread is patient. It waits for you far more often than you have to wait for it.
What actually matters
Three things make the biggest difference. Use a covered pot, because trapped steam gives you that blistered, crackling crust. Bake darker than you think you should, because colour is flavour. And let the loaf cool for at least an hour before cutting, because the inside is still setting as it cools.
Everything else, from the exact flour to the precise hour you fold the dough, is something you learn by baking. Your first loaf will be good. Your tenth will be better. Neither needs to be stressful.
