Sourdough baking
Raise a starter from flour and water in about a week, then bake a crusty loaf in a covered pot. The ingredients cost almost nothing; patience does the work.
What it is like
A sourdough starter is flour and water left to ferment until wild yeasts and lactic bacteria take hold. Fed regularly, it becomes strong enough to raise a loaf on its own, which is why sourdough bread needs nothing but flour, water and salt.
The method is mostly waiting. A new starter takes about a week of feeding, and a loaf spreads over a day: mixing, a few folds, shaping, a long rise and a hot bake in a covered pot that keeps steam around the dough. The cost is tiny once the scale and the pot are bought; the real investment is the routine.
The starter is the part people worry about and the part that matters least once it is going. Kept on the counter it is fed once or twice a day; kept in the fridge it can wait a week between feeds. What really decides a loaf is fermentation: how warm the dough is and how long it rises. The same recipe can be ready in four hours in a warm summer kitchen and need eight in winter, which is why bakers learn to watch the dough - its volume, its bubbles, how it jiggles - rather than trust the clock alone.
A typical bake is spread out but not demanding: mix in the morning, a few sets of stretch and folds over the next hours, shape in the afternoon, a long cold rise in the fridge overnight, bake the next morning. Hands-on time is small; the planning around it is the real skill.
Sourdough is cheap to keep going. Flour, water and salt are almost the whole running cost, and the equipment is mostly kitchen basics. The expensive part, if any, is the pot - and any heavy lidded pot that can take oven heat will do.
- A session
- A few minutes to feed the starter; a loaf is about 20 minutes of hands-on work spread over a day or two.
- A week
- One or two bakes a week is a common rhythm; a starter kept in the fridge needs feeding about once a week.
- Season
- All year; warm kitchens ferment faster, cold ones slower.
Indoors · Solo, For two, With kids
Kinds and styles
The classic round or oval boule with a crisp, blistered crust and big irregular holes, baked in a covered pot. What most people mean by sourdough today.
Sourdough baked in a loaf pan, often with a little fat or milk, for an even, soft crumb that slices thin.
Breads with whole wheat, spelt or a lot of rye: denser, more flavor, and a stickier dough; rye in particular behaves very differently from wheat.
Pancakes, crackers, waffles and flatbreads made from the starter you would otherwise throw away at feeding time.
Cinnamon rolls, brioche and soft rolls raised with starter, with butter, eggs and sugar in the dough; slower and softer than yeasted versions.
Long-fermented sourdough dough stretched thin for pizza or pressed into a pan with olive oil for focaccia.
Is it for you?
You will probably love it if
- You like routines: a few minutes of feeding most days
- You enjoy timing things around a day - mix in the morning, bake the next
- Bread you made yourself is reward enough for a slow process
Maybe not, if
- You want bread tonight; a starter takes about a week and a loaf most of a day
- Daily feeding of anything sounds like a chore
- Your kitchen has no room for a jar on the counter and a hot pot in the oven
What to buy first
- 01Digital kitchen scaleSourdough is measured in grams; cups are too rough for a starterFind it on Amazon$27
- 02Wide-mouth quart jarRoom for the starter to double, and a wide mouth to stir and scrapeFind it on Amazon$6
- 03Bread flour, 5 lbEnough for the starter's first week and a couple of loavesFind it on Amazon$6
- 04Cast iron combo cooker, 3.2 quartA preheated, covered pot traps steam for a crisp crust; any lidded Dutch oven you own does the same jobFind it on Amazon$67
- 05Bench scraperLifts, divides and shapes sticky dough without tearing itFind it on Amazon$8
- 06Bread lameA razor on a handle to score the loaf so it opens where you chooseFind it on Amazon$12
- Everything you need to beginAbout $12 a month after that$126
Typical US prices for entry-level gear, rounded. Last checked October 2026. How we get the numbers
The Amazon links open a search for that type of item, not a product chosen for us, and the prices in the list are our typical figures, or the listing of the shop a line names, not Amazon's price for any listing. If you buy through one we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you; as an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
What to buy next
- 01Banneton proofing basketHolds the shape of the loaf in its final rise and leaves the classic flour ringsFind it on Amazon After a few loaves
- 02Instant-read thermometerDough temperature predicts fermentation speed; a loaf's center temperature shows it is baked throughFind it on Amazon Checking dough and loaves
- 03Bread knifeA long serrated blade slices a crusty loaf without crushing itFind it on Amazon The first good loaf
- 04Loaf panFor sourdough sandwich loaves that slice evenlyFind it on Amazon Sandwich bread
- 05Whole wheat or rye flourA little whole grain flour livens up a starter and adds flavor to loavesFind it on Amazon Feeding and flavor
- 06Dried sourdough starterCultures for Health's packets wake up over 3 to 7 days of feedings; the steps are in the questions belowFind it on Amazon If a homemade starter won't take
- 07Fresh sourdough starterKing Arthur ships an active starter that has never been dried; feed it within 24 hours of arrivalFind it on Amazon Skipping the starter-making week
No prices here on purpose: these are later buys, and what to spend depends on how far the hobby has taken you. The Amazon links work like the ones above: a search for the type of item, and a possible commission for us at no extra cost to you.
From flour and water to a first loaf, step by step
Sourdough is bread raised by a starter of wild yeast and bacteria instead of bought yeast. This guide goes from raising the starter to mixing, folding, shaping and baking a loaf, with the choices at each step. Amounts and times are King Arthur Baking's tested recipes; go by the dough as well as the clock.
Warning: Before you start The pot and its lid are preheated to around 450°F; use thick oven mitts and lower the dough in on parchment rather than by hand. Discard a starter that grows fuzzy mold or turns pink or orange.
Mix 50 g whole wheat flour with 50 g cool water in the jar, cover loosely and leave at about 70°F for 24 hours.
Keep 50 g of the mixture, discard the rest, and feed it 50 g water and 50 g all-purpose flour.
Feed twice a day, about 12 hours apart, the same way: keep 50 g, add 50 g water and 50 g flour.
The starter is ready when it at least doubles in volume within about 6 to 8 hours of feeding, is full of bubbles and smells pleasantly tangy. If not, keep feeding for a day or two more.
Follow a tested naturally leavened recipe. King Arthur's bakes in a preheated covered pot at 450°F for 20 minutes, then uncovered for another 10 to 15 minutes.
Is the starter ready?
The same jar three times: just fed, and six to eight hours later.
- A Just fed Band round the jar at the level of the starter. Step 1 →
- B Doubled: ready At least 2x in 6-8 hours Full of bubbles, rivulets on top, pleasantly tangy. Step 2 →
- C Not doubled yet Keep feeding a day or two more before baking. Step 2 →
Steps 1-3The starter
- Step 1 of 10 · The starter
Start the starter
Mix 50 g whole wheat flour with 50 g cool water in a wide jar, cover loosely and leave at about 70°F (21°C) for 24 hours. From day 2, keep 50 g, discard the rest and feed it 50 g water and 50 g all-purpose flour; from day 3, feed twice a day about 12 hours apart. Weigh everything: cups are too rough for a starter.
- Step 2 of 10 · The starter
Know when it is ready
King Arthur's signs: the starter at least doubles in volume within about 6-8 hours of feeding, is full of bubbles, with fine bubble rivulets on top, and smells pleasantly tangy, not overpowering. If not, keep feeding a day or two more.
Goes wrong: Using the starter too early. One that has not yet doubled reliably will not raise a loaf.
- Step 3 of 10 · The starter
Choose how to keep it
Once it doubles reliably, move it to a maintenance routine (King Arthur).
Most people: in the fridge, fed weekly (weekly or rarer baking).
Start here In the fridge, fed weeklyBest forWeekly or rarer baking
Less discard and less work.
At room temperature, fed dailyBest forFrequent bakers
Always ready, more flour used.
Goes wrong: Throwing away all the discard. It makes pancakes, crackers, pizza crust and waffles.
Steps 4-7The dough
- Step 4 of 10 · The dough
Mix the dough
King Arthur's naturally leavened loaf: 454 g ripe starter, 600 g bread or all-purpose flour, 85 g whole wheat flour and 397 g room-temperature water, mixed until it comes together; rest 20 minutes covered (the autolyse), then add 15 g salt and knead until smooth but still soft and tacky.
- Step 5 of 10 · The dough
Rise and fold
Let the dough rise covered for an hour, then fold it like a letter, turn it 90 degrees and fold again, and give it another hour.
Goes wrong: Under-fermented dough. Dense, gummy bread with a few big holes near the top usually means the rise was cut short; go by the dough's rise, not only the clock.
- Step 6 of 10 · The dough
Divide and pre-shape
Halve the dough, round each piece gently and rest them 20 minutes covered.
- Step 7 of 10 · The dough
Shape and proof
Shape tight rounds or ovals and set them seam side up in floured baskets or cloth-lined bowls. Proof covered at room temperature about 2 to 2½ hours, until light and airy.
Most people: round (boule) (a covered pot).
Start here Round (boule)Best forA covered pot
Fits a Dutch oven.
Oval (bâtard)Best forSandwich slices
Longer slices, an oval pot or a stone.
Steps 8-10Baking
- Step 8 of 10 · Baking
Preheat and score
Warning: CAUTION The pot and lid are around 450°F: use thick oven mitts and lower the dough in on its parchment, never by hand.
Heat the oven to 450°F (230°C). Turn each loaf onto parchment and slash the top with a razor or lame, so it opens where you choose.
- Step 9 of 10 · Baking
Bake with steam
Steam keeps the crust soft long enough for the loaf to rise in the oven.
Most people: covered pot (home ovens).
Start here Covered potBest forHome ovens
Preheat the empty pot about 30 minutes; bake covered 20 minutes, then uncovered 10-15 minutes.
Stone and steam panBest forTwo loaves at once
Pour a cup of boiling water into a preheated cast iron pan below; bake 35-40 minutes until crusty and golden.
- Step 10 of 10 · Baking
Cool before slicing
Cool the loaves on a rack before cutting: the crumb is still setting.
Goes wrong: Cutting too soon. Slicing hot bread makes the crumb gummy.
In shortIf it goes wrong
- Using the starter too early.
- Step 2 · Know when it is ready
- Throwing away all the discard.
- Step 3 · Choose how to keep it
- Under-fermented dough.
- Step 5 · Rise and fold
- Cutting too soon.
- Step 10 · Cool before slicing
How you get better
- Week 1A starter that doubles
Daily feeding until the starter reliably at least doubles within about 6 to 8 hours of a feed.
- Weeks 2 to 3First loaves
A tested beginner recipe followed exactly; the goal is a loaf that rises and bakes through, not big holes.
- Month 1 to 2Reading the dough
Judging fermentation by the dough's volume, bubbles and feel instead of only the clock; shaping tighter loaves.
- Months 2 to 4Changing flour and hydration
Adding whole grains, raising water a little at a time, and using baker's percentages to adapt recipes.
- After thatYour own bread
Rye, enriched doughs, pizza and a house loaf adjusted to your kitchen, flour and schedule.
- Feeding and keeping a starter
- Weighing in grams
- Baker's percentages
- Mixing and autolyse
- Stretch and folds
- Reading the dough's rise
- Pre-shaping and shaping
- Cold proofing
- Scoring
- Baking with steam
- Judging doneness
- Adjusting for temperature
Small things that help
- Weigh everything in grams, including water; cups vary too much for sourdough.
- Put a rubber band on the starter jar at the level after feeding, so you can see how far it has risen.
- Temperature changes everything: in a cold kitchen, fermentation can take hours longer than the recipe says.
- Keep notes on each bake - flour, water, times, room temperature - and change one thing at a time.
- Let the loaf cool for at least an hour before slicing; the inside is still setting.
- Use rice flour to dust a banneton; dough sticks to it less than to wheat flour.
Beginner mistakes
- 01Using the starter too earlyA starter that has not yet doubled reliably will not raise a loaf. Wait for consistent rises after feeding.
- 02Under-fermented doughDense, gummy loaves with a few big holes near the top usually mean the bulk rise was cut short. Go by the dough's rise, not only the clock.
- 03Cutting too soonSlicing hot bread makes the crumb gummy. Cool it first.
- 04Changing many things at onceNew flour, more water and a new schedule together make it impossible to tell what helped. Change one thing per bake.
One recipe in baker's percentages
King Arthur's naturally leavened sourdough (two loaves), with the starter's own flour and water counted in. The baker's percentages calculator turns any recipe into these numbers.
| Ingredient | Grams | Baker's % |
|---|---|---|
| Flour, all-purpose and whole wheat | 685 | - |
| Starter (half flour, half water) | 454 | - |
| Total flour, counting the starter's | 912 | 100% |
| Total water, counting the starter's | 624 | 68% |
| Salt | 15 | 1.6% |
Why people quit
- 01A starter that will not riseA cold kitchen slows a starter down for days. A warmer spot, around 70 to 75°F, and patience usually fix it.
- 02Dense first loavesBaking before the starter is fully active gives a heavy loaf. Wait until it doubles reliably after feeding.
- 03Feeding fatigueDaily feeding wears people out. A mature starter can live in the fridge between bakes and be fed about once a week.
Words you will meet
- Starter
- A culture of flour and water with wild yeast and bacteria that raises the bread; also called a mother or levain culture.
- Levain
- A portion of starter built up for one bake; often used loosely for the starter itself.
- Discard
- The part of the starter removed before feeding, so the jar does not overflow.
- Hydration
- Water as a percentage of flour weight; higher hydration means a wetter, stickier dough.
- Autolyse
- Resting flour and water before adding salt and starter, to let the flour absorb water.
- Bulk fermentation
- The first, long rise of the whole dough before shaping.
- Stretch and fold
- Lifting one side of the dough and folding it over, repeated around the bowl, to build strength without kneading.
- Banneton
- A proofing basket that holds the shaped loaf during its final rise.
- Scoring
- Cutting the top of the loaf just before baking so it opens where you choose.
- Oven spring
- The last burst of rise in the first minutes of baking.
Questions people ask
How long does it take to make a starter?
About a week of feeding in King Arthur's method, sometimes a day or two longer in a cool kitchen, until it doubles within 6 to 8 hours of a feed.
Do I have to feed it every day forever?
No. Once it is strong, a starter can live in the fridge between bakes and be fed about once a week.
Can I make sourdough without a Dutch oven?
Yes. A baking stone or sheet with a tray of boiling water in the oven for steam works; King Arthur's recipe gives times for both.
Why is my bread dense?
Most often an inactive starter or a bulk rise cut short; a cold kitchen is the usual hidden cause.
Is sourdough bread hard to make?
The steps are simple; the skill is timing and reading the dough. Following one recipe several times teaches more than trying many.
How do you revive a dried sourdough starter?
For a bought packet, Cultures for Health has you stir it into 1 Tbsp each of flour and room-temperature water in a quart jar, cover it with a coffee filter and keep it at 70-80°F (21-27°C) for 12 to 24 hours, then feed it larger amounts every 12 to 24 hours: 2 Tbsp, 1/4 cup, then 1/2 cup each of flour and water. For home-dried chips, King Arthur soaks 1 ounce (28 g) of chips in 1/4 cup of lukewarm water for about 3 hours, stirs in 1 ounce of flour and keeps it warm, about 85°F (29°C), for 24 hours until bubbles form.
How many days until a dried starter is ready?
After those first feedings, Cultures for Health has you discard down to 1/2 cup and feed 1/2 cup each of flour and water every 12 to 24 hours for 3 to 7 days, until it is like pancake batter and bubbles within a few hours of a feed. King Arthur's revived chips, kept in an oven with only the light on (85-90°F, 29-32°C), were tripling within 4 hours of a feed after a little over two days; a cooler room takes longer.
How do you use it once it is active?
Cultures for Health: build up the amount your recipe needs by feeding without discarding, bake with it 4 hours after the last feed, and keep back at least 1/4 cup to maintain. King Arthur: discard all but 4 ounces (113 g), feed 4 ounces each of lukewarm water and flour, and bake once it is bubbly.
Can you buy a sourdough starter?
Yes. Cultures for Health sells dehydrated starters in packets (San Francisco style, whole wheat, rye and gluten-free), and King Arthur sells a fresh starter that has never been dried and asks you to feed it within 24 hours of arrival. Neither is required: flour and water make a starter in about a week.
Where to go next
- 01Oyster mushroomsAnother kitchen project run by living organisms and patience. $20 to start
- 02MicrogreensA tray on the windowsill to eat alongside the bread. $33 to start
How it compares
| Sourdough baking | Oyster mushrooms | Microgreens | Candle making | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Start cost | $126 | $20 | $33 | $75 |
| Each month | $12 | $10 | $8 | $10 |
| Space | A kitchen counter | A kitchen counter | A windowsill | A kitchen counter |
| Noise | Quiet | Quiet | Quiet | Quiet |
| First result | About 1 week | 2 to 3 weeks | 8 to 12 days | 1 afternoon |
| Mess | Flour | A little spore dust | Soil and water | Wax |
Where to learn more
- 01King Arthur Baking - sourdough guides and recipesA US flour company with tested starter and bread recipes, step photos and troubleshooting.
Sources: Wikipedia, Sourdough (history) · King Arthur Baking, sourdough starter recipe · King Arthur Baking, naturally leavened sourdough bread · Cultures for Health, sourdough starter instructions (PDF) · King Arthur Baking, putting your sourdough starter on hold (drying and reviving) · King Arthur Baking, Classic Fresh Sourdough Starter
Researched and written by the Fjords Team.