My Everyday Easy Sourdough

There’s a quiet kind of joy in baking sourdough. It’s slow, grounding, and a little bit magical — just flour, water, and salt transforming into something golden and alive. Every loaf feels like a small accomplishment, and no two are ever exactly the same.

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Recipes using Sourdough Starter or "discard):

Easy Sourdough Crackers
Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookies

SCORED & READY TO BAKE

This is the recipe I keep coming back to. It’s simple, forgiving, and perfect for a cozy weekend bake. I use Italian non-GMO unbleached flour for its soft, nutty flavor and reliable structure. The hydration sits right around that sweet spot — 243 grams of water to 356 grams of flour — giving a dough that’s easy to handle yet still produces an open, tender crumb. A teaspoon of sea salt ties everything together.

Easy Everyday Sourdough


What You’ll Need

• 356 g Italian non-GMO unbleached flour. (Like Caputo chef's flour)
• 243 g room-temperature water
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 90 g active, bubbly sourdough starter (see babysitting of starter below)

How I Make It

1. Mix and Rest
In a large bowl, stir the water, salt and starter together until the starter dissolves. Add the flour and mix until no dry bits remain — I usually use a spurdle (a wooden spatula) initially and then will use my hands to finish bringing the dough together. Cover it with a towel and let it rest for about 30-45 minutes. This short rest (called an autolyse) helps the gluten start forming naturally.

2. Bulk Fermentation
Cover and let it rise at room temperature for about 4 to 6 hours. During the first couple of hours, do a set of stretch-and-folds every 30–45 minutes. I lift one edge of the dough and fold it over itself, turning the bowl each time until all 4 sides have been stretched. It’s a small ritual that strengthens the dough and builds structure (plus it's very soothing ;-).

3. Shape
Once the dough looks puffy and nearly doubled, gently turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Shape it into a round or oval — whatever fits your baking vessel. Place it seam-side up in a floured banneton or a bowl lined with a towel.

4. Cold Proof
Cover and refrigerate overnight (8–12 hours). I love this part because the dough rests while I do, and the long, cool fermentation gives the bread deeper flavor and a more complex crust.  I typically make the dough in the earlier part of the day so it can be tucked away in the fridge while I'm tucked away in bed, then bake first thing the next morning,

5. Bake
Dutch Oven Method - Preheat your oven to 450°F with your Dutch oven inside. Once it’s hot, carefully transfer your dough onto parchment, score the top however you please (you simply need an air vent, so nothing fancy required), and lower it into the pot (use oven mitts to prevent burning your hands & arms...believe me, I know). Cover and bake for 25 minutes, then uncover and bake another 15-20 minutes until it’s a deep, burnished brown.

Without a Dutch Oven - Preheat your oven to 445°F.  Add a small pan of water to the bottom of the stove to create moisture.  Your loaf can be in a regular loaf pan or placed onto a cookie sheet. But I do use parchment no matter what.  Score the top however you please and bake for 45 minutes.


6. Cool & Slice
This is the hardest part — waiting! Turn out onto a cooling rack & slide the parchment out from underneath.  Let it cool for at least an hour before cutting in. The crust crackles as it cools, and the aroma fills the kitchen in the best way possible.

Tip - If your bread is baking too dark on the bottom, try placing a pizza stone or baking stone on the bottom rack and bake as usual.  The pizza stone will help absorb some of that heat so your loaves can. bake in a more even heat. 


Every loaf tells its own story — the temperature of the room, the strength of your starter, the way your hands shaped it. But this method, with its simple ratios and gentle pace, has never let me down.
Serve it warm with butter, dunked into soup, or toasted with jam the next morning. However you enjoy it, it’s a little reminder that good things take time — and sometimes, all you need is flour, water, and a bit of patience.






Step-by-Step: The Scrape-Down Method
a/k/a No Waste Method of Babysitting your starter

I find my starter will kep unattended in my fridge for up to 2 weeks, so I can travel and still come back to active, healthy starter.

TIps - If a grey watery liquid settles over the top after you've left it sitting, simply stir that in or discard the liquid.  That's simply your starter letting you know it's hungry & needs to be fed.
If the liquid is pink, then your starter should be tossed and and you'd need to grow another one.

1. Stir and Scrape
Before feeding, give your starter a gentle stir to loosen it up, then scrape down the sides of the jar (Use a wide jar like a Weck jar) with a spatula (never metal) so all the starter is gathered towards the bottom. This keeps the sides clean and prevents crusty bits from forming.

2. Discard (if needed)
If your jar is getting full or the starter is very active, discard about half (or just enough to leave around 30–50 grams in the jar). You can save the discard for pancakes, crackers (see my easy recipe for Sourdough Discard Crackers), or cookies (like my Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookies).

3. Feed
Add equal parts flour and water by weight to what’s left in the jar. For example, if you have 50 g of starter, feed it 50 g flour and 50 g water. Add water FIRST and mix until smooth.

4. Scrape Down Again
After feeding, use your spatula to neatly scrape down the sides once more so the jar is clean and your starter sits in a smooth mound at the bottom. This helps you easily see how much it rises and keeps your jar tidy.

5. Cover & Rest
Loosely cover the jar with a lid or cloth and let it sit at room temperature until it’s bubbly and doubled in size before putting a lid on it & keeping it in the fridge.

6. For Occasional Bakers
If you bake just once or twice a week, feed your starter using the scrape-down method, let it get active for a few hours, then store it in the fridge. Before your next bake, take it out, let it come to room temperature, use some, feed it again, and watch it come back to life.




Your starter doesn’t need to be fussy to stay strong — just a little attention and consistency. Whether yours is named or not (mine is!), treat it like a living part of your kitchen family. A quick scrape-down, a regular feeding, and it’ll reward you with beautiful, bubbly energy for every loaf you bake.