3 Essential Sourdough tips
I will continue to use in 2025
My first ever loaf of sourdough! I hadn’t invested in a lame at this point so that is why there is no scoring.
3 important lessons I've Learned as Sourdough Newbie that will help me this year
There’s something truly rewarding about making your own bread from scratch, using just flour, water, and a little patience. Of course, it has come with a few challenges along the way but, after many attempts—some successful, some not so much—I've learned these 3 tips have stood out in my sourdough making journey, making the process smoother and more enjoyable. If you’re thinking about getting into sourdough yourself, here are the top three things I’ve discovered so far.
1. A Good Sourdough Starter is Key
Let me be honest: I didn’t get it right on my first try (or my second). In fact, I attempted sourdough multiple times before I finally had some success. The key takeaway here? Your starter needs time and nurturing.
When I first started, I didn’t fully understand how much attention a sourdough starter requires. For those new to it, a sourdough starter is essentially a living organism. You need to feed it every day (discard some of it, feed it fresh flour and water), and it will slowly build up the healthy bacteria and wild yeast that make sourdough rise. This process can take anywhere from 10 to 14 days, depending on your environment.
But here’s the kicker: I was also a new mum at the time. Juggling a newborn and a sourdough starter was a recipe for disaster. Sleep-deprived, forgetful, and short on patience (understandably!), I ended up failing a couple of times. I had to recognise that sourdough simply wasn’t in the cards for me at that moment. So, I put my starter aside and focused on simpler yeast breads for a while—gaining a solid understanding of dough textures and baking techniques.
Once I was ready to revisit sourdough, I approached it with more patience. And when my starter was finally bubbling and lively, the payoff was huge. I remember slicing into my first loaf and I felt so proud. It was a golden-brown crust and airy, pillowy inside - it looked like bakery bought bread and tasted like it too. It was like a little piece of magic in my kitchen, and that moment made all the earlier failures worth it.
My happy and bubbly sourdough starter
2. Timing is Everything
One thing I’ve learned from my sourdough experiments is that timing is crucial. From feeding your starter to managing the fermentation periods, everything has its ideal timing. One of my biggest mistakes was misjudging the bulk fermentation period, especially when it came to chilling the dough in the fridge.
For a while, I thought it made sense to let my dough come to room temperature before baking after the fridge fermentation. But, I was wrong! This leads to over-fermentation, causing the dough to lose its rise and structure. Over-fermented dough won’t get that gorgeous, airy texture that makes sourdough so special.
Through trial and error and more research, I finally learnt that after the bulk fermentation in the fridge, you should pull the dough out directly from the cold and bake it immediately in a hot Dutch oven. It’s a bit of a mind shift—rather than letting the dough warm up, you’re popping it right into the oven while it’s still cool, which helps achieve a perfect rise and that crackly, golden crust.
This adjustment has been one of the game-changers for me.
One of the loaves I made! Once bulk fermentation was complete I removed the dough, turned it out onto the baking paper, and scored it before placing it in a hot dutch oven.
3. Refrigerate Your Starter Between Uses
If you’re anything like me when I first started, you’re probably tempted to constantly feed your starter, even when you’re not baking. At one point, I had two jars of sourdough starter sitting on my kitchen counter, getting fed every single day—even when I wasn’t baking. I was so excited and proud of it, but there was one big problem: waste.
The two sourdough starters I had on the go at once!
I was going through an absurd amount of flour (around 3 kilograms in two weeks!) just to feed the starters, and the discard was piling up. It didn’t take long for me to realise that keeping the starter on the counter all the time wasn’t the most efficient approach.
Once your starter is fully established and healthy, it’s perfectly fine to refrigerate it between uses. This saves you money on flour, reduces waste from excess discard (which you can now either use or throw away less frequently), and gives you more time between baking sessions. When you’re ready to bake again, just pull it out of the fridge, let it come to room temperature, and feed it a little to “wake it up.” It’s also a relief to not have to worry about feeding the starter every single day.
A cinnamon fruit loaf I made! Honestly delightful with butter. Tasted similar to a hot cross bun!!
