Sourdough: The Wild Yeast Adventure

It started with pandemic boredom and a bag of flour. Like millions of others, I thought I'd try making sourdough. Unlike millions of others, I became completely obsessed. My kitchen transformed into a flour-dusted laboratory where I learned to read bubble patterns like tea leaves and judge fermentation by smell alone.

Three years later, I maintain a starter named "The Ancient One" (it's actually only three years old, but it acts distinguished), and I've distributed starter offspring to half the neighborhood. The journey from first failed loaf to consistent crusty success taught me patience, observation, and the magic of wild fermentation.

Creating Your Starter

Building a sourdough starter from scratch feels like summoning bread spirits from thin air. You're cultivating wild yeast and beneficial bacteria that exist naturally on grain and in your environment. Each starter develops its own personality based on your flour, water, and kitchen's unique microbiome.

Week One: The Beginning

Day 1: 🌾 50g whole wheat flour (or rye for extra vigor)
💧 50g room temperature water

Mix in a clean jar, cover loosely, and wait. Mark the level with a rubber band — this helps track growth.

Days 2-3: You might see bubbles and growth, then it might smell funky and deflate. This is normal — you're witnessing a microbial succession battle. The good guys will win.

Days 4-7: Begin daily feedings: 🌾 Discard all but 50g of starter
🌾 Add 50g flour (can switch to all-purpose now)
💧 Add 50g water

By day 7, you should see predictable rising and falling, a pleasant yeasty smell, and bubbles throughout.

The Float Test

Drop a spoonful of peaked starter in water. If it floats, it's ready to raise bread. If it sinks, keep feeding. This test isn't foolproof, but it's a good indicator of sufficient gas production.

Sourdough starter maintenance

Starter Maintenance

Daily Feeding (Counter Storage)

If baking frequently, keep your starter on the counter and feed daily:

1:1:1 ratio (starter:flour:water) for maintenance
1:5:5 ratio to reduce acidity and slow fermentation
1:10:10 to really slow things down or prepare for baking

Weekly Feeding (Refrigerator Storage)

For occasional bakers:

Feed your starter
Let it peak (double in size)
Refrigerate
Feed weekly, or before baking

To revive refrigerated starter: Take out, let come to room temperature, discard and feed. May take 2-3 feedings to fully reactivate.

Understanding Your Starter

Signs of a Healthy Starter

Doubles in 4-8 hours after feeding
Passes the float test when peaked
Smells pleasantly sour, yeasty, or like ripe fruit
Shows consistent rise and fall patterns

Troubleshooting

Liquid on top (hooch): Just hungry. Pour off or stir in, then feed.

Mold: Fuzzy growth means start over. Prevent by keeping jar clean and feeding regularly.

No rise: Could be too cold (ideal temp 70-80°F), wrong water (chlorinated?), or needs more time.

Too acidic: Smells like acetone? Feed more frequently or use higher ratios.

Your First Sourdough Loaf

After weeks of starter care, it's time for the main event. This basic recipe is forgiving and teaches fundamental techniques.

Basic Sourdough Bread

🥖 100g active starter (peaked and passes float test)
💧 375g water (room temperature)
🌾 500g bread flour
🧂 10g salt

The Process

1. Autolyse (30 minutes) Mix flour and water until just combined. Cover and rest. This hydrates flour and begins gluten development.

2. Add starter and salt Dimple starter and salt into dough. Mix by folding until well combined. The dough will be sticky — resist adding flour.

3. Bulk fermentation (4-6 hours) Perform "coil folds" every 30 minutes for first 2 hours:

Wet hands
Lift dough from middle, letting ends stretch down
Rotate bowl, repeat 4 times
Watch for 50% size increase and jiggly texture

4. Pre-shape Gently turn onto lightly floured surface. Shape into round using bench scraper. Rest 20-30 minutes.

5. Final shape Shape into boule or batard. Place seam-side up in banneton or bowl lined with floured towel.

6. Final proof

Room temperature: 3-4 hours
Cold retard: 8-48 hours in fridge (develops flavor)

7. Bake

Preheat Dutch oven to 475°F
Score dough with sharp blade
Bake covered 20 minutes
Uncover, reduce to 450°F, bake 20-30 minutes until deep brown

Sourdough shaping techniques

Advanced Techniques

Flour Variations

Whole wheat: Replace up to 30% for nuttier flavor
Rye: Adds complexity but reduces structure
Spelt: Ancient grain with delicate flavor
Kamut: Buttery, golden color

Inclusions

Add during final shaping:

Olives and herbs
Nuts and dried fruit
Seeds (sesame, poppy, fennel)
Cheese and jalapeños
Cinnamon and raisins

Scoring Patterns

Beyond basic slash:

Wheat stalk design
Square pattern for even expansion
Decorative leaves and swirls
Your initials (starter pride!)

The Discard Dilemma

Don't toss that discard! Use it for:

Pancakes: Add to any pancake batter
Crackers: Mix with olive oil, herbs, bake thin
Pizza dough: Adds tang and chew
Banana bread: Replace some flour
Brownies: Surprisingly fudgy addition

Sourdough Rythmns

Successful sourdough baking means finding a rhythm that fits your life:

Weekend Warrior:

Thursday night: Feed starter
Friday night: Mix dough
Saturday morning: Shape and proof
Saturday afternoon: Bake

Night Owl:

Morning: Feed starter
Evening: Mix and bulk ferment
Before bed: Shape and cold retard
Next evening: Straight from fridge to oven

The Sourdough Life

Maintaining a starter changes you. You start checking weather (humidity affects timing), planning around feeding schedules, and boring friends with fermentation facts. Your freezer fills with discard experiments. You critique commercial bread. You name your starter and worry when you travel.

But then you pull a perfect loaf from the oven — crackling crust singing its cooling song, crumb structure like lace, that complex tangy flavor impossible to buy — and it all makes sense. You've harnessed wild yeast, created food from three simple ingredients, and connected with thousands of years of baking tradition.

My starter has survived neglect, travel, and that time I accidentally used salt instead of flour. It's resilient, forgiving, and consistently surprising. Each loaf teaches something new about timing, temperature, or technique.