I am a total bread baking noob but I love to eat it. Sourdough is my absolute favorite, so I need to give this a try.
I know I will need starter (I was planning on buying some online as I don’t know anyone irl), and I have a Dutch oven. Yes, there are tons of recipes online, but I want your tried-and-true ones, especially if they are suited for altitude.
Or maybe I need to read a book? If so, which one?
Basically, how do I stuff my face with homemade sourdough in the easiest way possible?
Thank you all!
What a beginner needs is not so much a recipe, but the perseverance to practice until you learn proper technique.
Almost everyone makes a few bad loaves before they figure out what works.
That being said, a good basic recipe is this one: https://www.pantrymama.com/how-to-bake-simple-sourdough-bread/
If you want my recipe, it’s linked in some of my recent bread posts, but a bit complicated for a beginner.
You don’t need to buy starter if you can wait a couple weeks to make one. Just need flour, water, jars and patience.
Thank you! The link is awesome, I see she goes in great detail about the process. She gives a timeline of 3 days, is that typical? Is there sourdough that can be made in one day? I can be patient, this is more curiosity than anything.
You need about 2 weeks to breed a new starter from raw flour.
Once you have an active starter, you can bake sourdough start to finish in as little as 6 hours, but that’s working at a warmer temperature, which makes it harder to shape and easier to accidentally overferment.
For my bread, on the afternoon of day 1, I give the starter a big feeding. Before bed on day 1, I mix the dough and leave to proof overnight on the counter, 11-14hrs depending on the temperature. Morning of day 2 I divide and shape the dough, typically into 2 loaves, one of which I bake late morning after proofing an hour on the counter, and the other I put in a banneton in the fridge to bake the next day.
I see, thank you. Two days is definitely doable, so I guess I need to get a starter going. Soon, I will be one of you.
Good luck! Don’t forget to name your starter!
Ok, so I saw that online and thought it was a joke. I really name it? I am excited about that. So it’s like a new pet?
Yeah, it’s like a slimy pet, and most folks name theirs. Mine is named Ecma, which is mnemonic about where I bought the flour.
OK, I’ll have to let it come to me as it grows (ferments? idk what the proper term is… yet).