A Simple Sourdough Breadmaking Process and Favorite Recipes Roundup

Is making sourdough bread only for the most devoted homesteaders and people on lockdown during a pandemic? I used to think so. 

Sourdough long held appeal to me with its simple ingredients and fermentation process promising easier digestion. But I was intimidated and thought sourdough was too high maintenance to be part of my own life.

That limiting belief was dispelled last winter during a girl’s weekend under the guise of a sourdough bread making workshop. My mom had been turning out crusty artisan loaves for months and invited me and a friend to partake in the process. 

We baked. We laughed. We traded garden seeds. Come Sunday, a jar of sourdough starter sat shotgun in my car. Like an unprepared new pet owner, I stopped on the way home to stock up on flour and other supplies.

A year later, my sourdough starter lives! It’s served as a base for homemade bread, crackers, cookies, tortillas, pasta, cornbread, and more. 

I’m nowhere near an expert, but I can confidently say that it’s possible to incorporate sourdough into an on-the-go life. I hope this breakdown and resources are helpful if you, too, are skeptical or simply overwhelmed with how to get started.

Sourdough bread recipe

There are many different methods for making sourdough. My mom taught us a version shared by Sylvia Fountaine, a professional chef, former restaurant owner and caterer, and mastermind behind the blog Feasting at Home. 

Sylvia’s beginner’s guide to sourdough bread breaks down everything you need to get started with sourdough including ingredients, tools, a baking schedule, and step-by-step instructions with helpful videos. She provides so much more guidance than I ever could, including a recipe for simple sourdough starter that my mom followed to create the starter we now use. 

I think the reason her process works so well for me is because it’s simple (once you understand it all!) and forgiving. There’s no kneading and very little hands-on time. Often I let it overproof or use whole wheat bread flour or can just tell the dough doesn’t feel quite right, but the baked loaf is always edible — though maybe not picture perfect!

Key takeaway: Reference the Feasting at Home sourdough recipe and you will be in good hands.

My sourdough system

Even with my mom’s guidance and Sylvia’s comprehensive resources, it took time for me to make sense of it all. Before you dive in, it may help to see an overview of the basic tasks and timeline:

• Plan ahead: Find a window of time when you’ll be in the same location for two to three days. You don’t have to be home 24/7, but plan to devote some time to breadmaking activity each morning and evening. This example is based on starting the process in evening.

• Feed the starter: Remove your inactive/“dormant” sourdough starter from the fridge. Feed the starter and leave it on the counter all night to reach peak and then begin to fall. Put the jar of discard in the fridge to use within two-ish weeks. (See below for discard recipes.)
  
  Hands-on time: ~5 minutes
  Wait time: ~12 hours

• Feed the starter again (optional): Sometimes an inactive starter doesn’t rise to its fullest potential on the first feeding. Unless I’m pressed for time, I like to do a second feeding in the morning and let it sit on the counter all day.
  
  Hands-on time: ~5 minutes
  Wait time: ~12 hours

• Make the bread dough: Prepare the bread dough and leave it on the counter to proof (rest and rise) all day or all night, depending on whether you did a second feeding. You’ll be left with more discard as well as your active starter that can both go in the fridge. I keep a rubber band on the jar of my active starter to tell them apart.
  
  Hands-on time: ~5 minutes
  Wait time: ~12 hours

• Shape and bake the bread: In the morning, complete the final steps before baking (stretch, shape, rise, score, etc.) and then bake in a pre-heated Dutch oven according to the recipe instructions.
  
  Hands-on time: ~10 minutes
  Wait time: ~90 minutes

• Cool, slice, and freeze: Allow the bread to cool before slicing. I like to freeze it in an airtight container and pull slices out individually as desired. This creates a longer shelf life and avoids the temptation of eating all the fresh bread at once!

• Repeat as often as desired: I typically only bake bread once or twice a month. You can double the recipe and get two loaves for just a little more time and effort.

• BONUS: Make use of the discard! Keep reading for ideas.

Favorite sourdough discard recipes

What do you do with all that sourdough starter discard? The internet is filled with ideas to put discard to use. I’ve tried many and have found these to be my go-to sourdough discard recipes. Like bread, I store these goodies in the freezer since there aren’t preservatives to keep them shelf stable.

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Sourdough crackers: I love recipes that are simple and versatile. Sourdough crackers only require discard, flour, butter or olive oil, and any desired flavorings such as salt, garlic powder, fresh or dried herbs, and sesame seeds. Just mix the ingredients together, refrigerate, roll, slice, score, and bake.

• Sourdough crackers recipe | Source: Feasting at Home

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Sourdough tortillas: It doesn’t get any simpler than discard plus flour, salt, butter, and water. The best part is how thin you can roll the tortillas — something I could never achieve in my pre-sourdough baking days. Sometimes I include garlic powder and use olive oil instead of butter.

• Sourdough flour tortillas recipe | Source: Alexandra’s Kitchen

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Sourdough English muffins: Sylvia saves the day again with an English muffins recipe that we also use as burger buns. It’s a little more complex using starter, honey, milk, baking soda, flour, salt, and cornmeal, and requires an overnight rise and cooking only a few at a time over a cast iron skillet, but it’s worth it. These often end up as a Sunday “project” while I’m doing other things around the house.

• Sourdough English muffins recipe | Source: Feasting at Home

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Sourdough granola: Last but not least, my dear, addictive friend: granola. This is another one I tend to adapt based on my favorite flavors and what we have on hand. It’s just nice to have a recipe to reference the ratio of dry to wet ingredients. I typically use sourdough discard, rolled oats, maple syrup or honey, peanut butter, cinnamon, salt, vanilla, and any nuts and seeds we have.

Chunky sourdough granola recipe | Source: Baking Sense

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Final thoughts

How does the saying go… “Whether you think you can or think you can’t, you’re right.” Henry Ford’s wise words can apply to so many aspects of our lives — or at least mine.

Beyond overcoming a limiting belief, the best part about this process was learning something new with people near and dear to my heart. My mom’s baking will always taste better than mine. My friend, Kim, has become a sourdough master in her own right. Hopefully “Kim’s Bakery” will open for business just as soon as we can think of a better name!

Whether you think you can or think you can’t, you’re right.

Henry Ford

Are there beliefs or “truths” preventing you from pursuing your goals or dreams? Or simply have a favorite sourdough recipe or tip to share? I’d love to hear from you in the comments below.