I mentioned recently that my daughter and I decided to try our hands at making homemade fresh sourdough bread. I promised to report back here and let you know how it was going- I will say- it has been an adventure folks. haha. Oh my goodness, from worrying about if the starter is happy to figuring out measurements to finally baking it. I am currently working on my second loaf- so that should tell you that we are pretty much hooked on it. Sharing a few details below.
Sourdough Bread Starter
The first thing we had to do was to make a sourdough starter. I mean, I am not a technical baker- more like a pinch of this dash of that, wing it and hope it works out kind of baker. But my daughter is quite precise. And it is a good thing. Because with sourdough, it seems to be more about the precision to get it right. We ordered a dry starter to be able to make the starter and mixed it up right away. The starter is a bit of a diva to be honest. It needs attention everyday- remove half and then feed it – every. day. After several days and to a week- it should be a happy starter- and if it is- you can try using it. I’ll link the one we used though I have no idea if there is a better one out there to try.
Side note: The whole remove half of the starter everyday thing. I mean… we were a tad depressed at that after we had been tending to it everyday. We researched and understand why- but even so. It feels like we worked hard to get it to where it was and then just off with your head for half of it everyday. I am now researching recipes for using the tossed out starter- apparently we are not the only ones who feel that way.
Baking Bread
Once we were ready to bake the bread- we jumped in to google a recipe and were surprised to find that it takes DAYS to bake a loaf of sourdough. Not a few hours. Not even a day. But 2 days. We searched recipe after recipe and then had to just admit that our fresh baked sourdough bread with dinner that night dreams would have to wait a couple of days.
Side note: This might not be a thing for most folks but- I am not good at math so anything that involves fractions, measurements or numbers- well…. let’s just say converting every measurement from grams to cups or teaspoons or tablespoons or liquid involved googling it. A bit of a process.
We used this recipe by The Perfect Loaf and we started with making levain which is another bit of sourdough starter. You measure and add water and flour to the starter and then wait- that is it in the bowl above. That took 5 -6 hours. Then we mixed the flour & water and let it autolyse to allow the flour to fully hydrate. Then added the levain to the water flour mix to bulk ferment for a few hours. Then shape. Then wait. Repeat. Then stretch and fold. Again. Again. At this point- it was a blur and we lost track of all the things. By the end of the stretch and fold every 30 minutes several times that day- my daughter said to me ‘ I have seen you too much today ‘ She was joking. (I think. ) 😂
After we were done with all of that- we refrigerated the dough until morning.
Scoring the Bread
We used what is called a lame to score the bread & make a pattern before baking it the morning. We are not fancy – and we had no particular pattern so it was kind of like kindergarten with crayons and just having fun. We kind of felt some of the bread loaves more resembled a cow patty than a lovely sourdough round. 😅 Once we were finished- the bread was ready to bake so we placed it into a Dutch Oven (that had been preheated in the oven) and baked away.
The whole time we were working on the various steps of making the bread, we were laughing, a bit of colorful language happened and a whole lot of goofiness. That is how it goes when working on anything here so I suppose we should have set up a camera and recorded to share our adventures.
Baked Bread Loaves
Here are the beautiful finished baked bread loaves! We were so proud when we pulled them out of the oven- and the first taste was perfection! All that work melted away like the butter and we started thinking about the next round of sourdough baking while wrapping the loaves up.
All in all- after the first round- I enjoy it. I will say, since I am not technical- I need to work on that and I do want to designs to look better (all about that aesthetic) I think we maybe needed to wait for them to rise again a bit longer before using the lame and add flour on the outside as well- but that doesn’t seem to affect taste- it is just a person who loves a thing of beauty thing.
I don’t know if our bread was technically correct but it was good. Here is a snap of the inside- which I know can be a judging thing by the sourdough group I am in on Facebook. Hopefully it is decent- but if not- are there any sourdough pro’s out there who can offer advice on improving it?
Either way- we have been enjoying it toasted, sliced or simply right off the loaf with a drizzle of olive oil- so it is a win and as you can see below- before we could even photograph the loaves- we were slicing pieces off and enjoying. The starter is now going to live in the refrigerator since we are not planning on baking more than once a week-and I am looking at ordering some bread stencils for making the loaves pretty.
Have you made sourdough before? Would love ALL the tips and tricks to make it the best we can!
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Ashley Bergstrom says
Oh my goodness! I think your loaves look wonderful. Sounds like a lot of work, but so glad you and your daughter stuck with it to enjoy eating it. My mom used to make homemade bread growing up, but never sourdough. By your description and pictures, I swear I could taste and smell it!! Wishful thinking! haha Maybe on the next baking, you will film it as it would be wonderful to see it step by step. Now I am hungry….. Thank YOU, COURTNEY, for a lovely post! xx Ashley B.
Teddee Grace says
This brought back memories of my mother and most of the housewives of northwest missouri it seemed getting hooked on sourdough back in the 70s. i was no longer living at home, but received regular updates on ‘herman,’ the name everyone babying their starter was calling it. therefore, they couldn’t leave herman unattended for long, had to go home and feed herman, etc. etc. herman took over their lives…and they all gained huge amounts of weight trying to eat everything they baked with herman. it was hilarious and the ‘movement’ eventually succumbed as people happily dumped herman and kicked it to the curb! your bread is beautiful. enjoy it while you can…or open a bakery!
Courtney says
hahah! That is hilarious! The starter definitely seems to require a lot of babying! We started baking bread at the wrong time for my diet for sure- I am doing low carb as much as possible being a vegetarian so not having too much of the bread – we are planning on bringing it to family dinner each week and giving to the kids. But at least it is homemade sourdough and good for gut health when indulging. 🙂
Suzie says
Courtney, the loaves look wonderful, but where is the recipe?
Courtney says
Hi Susie, I linked the recipe we used under THE PERFECT LOAF 🙂
Kym says
Beautiful job, and even better, the memories! Humidity, room temperature and allowing for the rise play such a significant role. Just have fun and enjoy. Each loaf will get easier. …BTW, that starter makes excellent pancakes!!
Courtney says
My grandmother used to make sourdough pancakes- they were delicious too! I need to find a recipe and try them.
Donna says
I have the perfect book to tecommend!
Artisan Bread jn Five Minutes a Day. Its filled with every bread you might want to bake and i did take little time. Plus, it was fun. The authors are Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois.
Courtney says
Thank you!
Lynn says
Hi Courtney
Your bread looks Great. Sourdough bread is not for the faint of heart. ♥️ ive been making it for about 4 years and i still Don’t have it perfected.
Aussie Jo says
I don’t like sourdough and yes I ahve tried it a small amount is ok but other then that no just no to my likeing.
Barb m. says
Beautiful! Love sourdough Bread and have a coupLe of amazing local bakeries who carry BOTH sliced and boules.
Years ago a dear aunt gave me a starter for Amish friendship bread. It’s a take on sourdough but you share the starter with friends -hence the name. Made delicious bread Unfortunately i no longer Have the recipe.
Loved this post. Thank you!
Patricia says
You should get in Touch with Lisa Bass at farmhouseonboone. She makes sourdough bread continually for her 8 children and husband. Looks simple when she does it.
Linda Shukri says
WOW! I haven’t made sourdough bread yet. Been wanting to, but just the thought of making the starter and needing to do something to it every day without forgetting is too much for me right now. I used to make bread in a bread machine. But I gave the machine away when we moved over 5 years ago as I thought I’d start making bread by scratch, but that hasn’t happened yet either! 🙂
Good for you that it came out delicious!