Sourdough baking is certainly an interesting hobby, and interesting hobbies tend to consume my life abruptly and take over my every waking thought. So, when my entire For You page was somehow flooded with sourdough baking videos in December of 2024, I confidently believed I could do the same. In January of 2025, I started to grow my very own sourdough starter.
Sourdough bread is not only delicious, but it’s easy on your body and your gut. The wild yeast and lactic acid bacteria break down any starches or complex carbohydrates beforehand, which makes it gentle on the gut and provides beneficial prebiotics. It also has a lower glycemic index compared to other types of bread!
Sourdough is a science; there are a million steps, scary starters (that are very much alive), and countless videos of failed loaves. It’s not your usual bread recipe, and it requires lots of patience, trial and error, and a mindset that wants to succeed.
I consider myself to be an intermediate sourdough baker with dozens of successful loaves, and I’d like to offer 10 helpful tips to get to your ideal, fluffy, delicious sourdough loaf of your dreams.
1. Don’t Fear It
People are often overwhelmed by the multitude of steps that come with making sourdough. However, like many things in the world, sourdough can smell fear. Not only can it smell fear, but not having confidence when folding, shaping, and baking your dough can lead to decisions that may deplete the quality of your bread. Especially when shaping, commit to the shape!
2. Strengthen Your Starter
One of the easiest ways to get an underproofed, dense, and inedible loaf of bread is by not strengthening your starter enough. A sourdough starter needs to be fed consistently, with an increasing flour and water to starter ratio over time. There are plenty of hacks to determine whether a starter is ready to bake or not, but I would recommend a consistent feed going from a 1:1:1 ratio to a 1:4:4 ratio over time for at least two weeks before a first loaf.
3. Dry Out A Backup
Once you have strengthened your starter enough and it has proved to bake a strong and fluffy loaf, I recommend drying out a backup starter so it’s available to use even after long times. Especially as a college student with no dorm kitchen, it isn’t possible for me to bake with my starter during the semester, which means my starter is at home unattended for months.
To avoid needing to rebuild a brand-new starter, I spread out a couple tablespoons of peaked and bubbly starter onto some parchment paper and let it dry until flaky and easy to break. I then store these flakes and crushed pieces in a jar, where I can easily come home after a long time, rehydrate a few grams, and get to baking! (This is also helpful in case you accidentally kill your starter or run out!)
4. Understand The Science Of Inclusions
After baking a couple of loaves, it’s most likely tempting to start experimenting with different inclusions. However, it’s important to understand the science of the inclusions that you add and what may mess with the fermentation process. For inclusions like cheese, dried fruits, vegetables, and spices, including them during stretch and folds is safe and will make sure the inclusions are very well incorporated. However, some inclusions such as garlic, cinnamon, honey, or oils should be included during lamination, right before the cold proof. This is because adding them during the fermentation process will most likely disrupt the gluten development and can lead to a dense and fallen loaf.
For example, one of my favorite sourdough creators had a failed loaf after putting too much pickle brine in her pickle sourdough loaf, leading to a dense loaf. This is because of the acidity in pickle brine that disrupted the gluten development.
5. Try The Aliquot Method
Bulk fermentation is one of the most difficult steps of sourdough, since there is no set time that determines when bulk fermentation is done; you just have to know. One of the best ways to make bulk fermentation easier is to try the aliquot method. This method puts a small sample of dough into a two-ounce plastic container and tracks the rise of the dough depending on the dough temperature, which can give you a rough estimate of when fermentation is done and your dough is ready to be shaped. This method has saved my loaves various times, so I highly recommend trying it out!
6. Push Bulk Fermentation
Although the aliquot method should help with determining a good time to end bulk fermentation, one tip I have is if you’re doubting whether it’s ready or not, always push it a little further. An underproofed loaf is inedible; an overproofed loaf may not be perfect, but it is still edible and delicious!
7. Let It Cold Proof
While many sourdough bakers might skip this step at times, I think letting a loaf cold proof for a few hours or overnight gives it way more flavor and lets it ferment a tad bit more to give it a more open crumb and oven spring. I usually like to put it in the fridge late at night as soon as bulk fermentation ends and wake up early in the morning to bake.
8. Use Ice When Baking
If I’m ever unsure of whether I’ll get a good oven spring or not, I like to use ice to create a burst of steam to give the loaf some extra rise. Preheating the oven to a high temperature with the Dutch oven inside makes the Dutch oven very hot, and once you place the loaf and a couple of ice cubes in, the steam delays crust formation and helps the loaf expand for a longer time.
9. Master The Expansion Score
Another factor in whether your loaf will have a good rise or not is how you score your sourdough. While I am also a big fan of beautiful scoring designs, an expansion score is crucial. I prefer a six-minute score, where I add my expansion score after six minutes in the oven. Make sure your expansion score is deep, and you may also want to cut into the score at a 45-degree angle to create an ear.
10. Be In A Good Mood
While this last tip may sound crazy, I wholeheartedly believe that making a sourdough loaf in a good mood makes for a better loaf. Be kind to your starter! I swear, it knows when you’re excited to bake.
Overall, baking sourdough is a hobby that’s fun, produces amazing results (delicious bread), and teaches me a lot about trial and error. I hope more people will indulge in baking their own sourdough at home, since there is no greater joy than being able to share bites and experiences with the people that you love.