In an effort to be transparent, here’s something you should know before reading on…

The first loaf of bread I made was inedible. I was so excited to try this 100% whole wheat loaf (I didn’t have all-purpose flour and I really didn’t understand the difference) that I cut into it almost immediately after it came out of the oven. It was dense, gummy, and salty.

Don’t just take my word for it…

Yea. Unfortunately, it ended up where it belonged.

To me, the craziest thing about that photo is that it was taken less than a year ago. After facing my disappointment, I started making decent simple loaves. To my surprise, they were really fun to make. As soon as I had time, I took the leap and tried sourdough. I was shocked when my first loaf was edible! Mission accomplished.

I learn more about sourdough every week, but I wanted to share some of my best tips that will (hopefully) save you some energy if you’re just starting out on your sourdough journey.

What I learned…

Sourdough starter is strong.

Once you’ve made or been given a good starter, it’s pretty hard to kill it. It may lose strength over time, but take care of it (by feeding it every week) and you’ll have a great starter. I’ve also gone several weeks without feeding my starter, and it always survived. So don’t worry yourself too much about this! ALSO – you only need a drop of sourdough starter to maintain it, so feel free to use up all you have. What’s left in the jar is a perfect amount to feed.

Discard is worth keeping.

I’ve started keeping a separate jar of discard to make sure I always have some on hand. Here’s a few sourdough discard recipes that are my current favorite:

• This pizza crust
• The flatbread recipe here (I also love the sweet bread recipe she includes in the video)
• This sourdough skillet
• And I’m still looking for a discard cookie recipe…

Folding ingredients in is easy and forgiving

You can do it at almost any stage in the process – and the result is always fun. I tend to not add enough of whatever I’m folding in, so my advice to you is to be generous as you fold whatever in.

You can prep the dough ahead of time and keep it in the fridge

You don’t have to make the dough the day before wanting it if you bulk prepare loaves! I leave mine portioned in the fridge, covered by a produce plastic bag (see below). This saves me time and energy – and the bread is always good! (I wouldn’t leave it in the fridge for more than 5 days.)

Sourdough loaves are inexpensive to make

Using organic ingredients, each loaf costs me roughly $1 – $2. This was probably the biggest motivation for me to learn how to make it myself. As someone who works from home, I have the flexibility to spend the time needed to learn how to make sourdough. Now, I can make it after work in the evenings and prep it before work begins the following morning.

And finally…

The right way to make sourdough

In my opinion, there is no “right” way to do it. Beyond a few firm principles, sourdough can work with you (it’s worked with people for a LONG time). I typically use this simple recipe from Feasting at Home and I highly recommend it. Sometimes in an effort to get a perfect loaf, I think we can overcomplicate the process… and it doesn’t need to be this way! DON’T let sourdough intimidate you!

Let me know what I missed or if you have any questions. I wish you the best of times as you make sourdough!