By Erik Fabian, co-founder of Sourhouse.
Chilly Autumn evenings reveal the sourdough baker hiding in all of us. There is an itch for the aroma of hot bread in the oven. A hunger for hearty whole grain hunks dunked in soups and stews. For holiday breads like challah and panettone to be made a bit more complex and nutritious.
Whether you are curious about baking your first loaf or have a goal of creating an applause-worthy showpiece for this year’s holiday table, sourdough is calling and I am here to help you answer that call.
Here are a few tips for getting started with sourdough this Autumn from one baker to another.
The Big Secret of Sourdough
The big secret is sourdough baking isn’t that hard.
With an active starter and the experience of baking a few loaves, you will be making bread that is better than anything you will buy in the shop.
Yes, sourdough can take a couple days to make, but most of that time the dough is doing the work for you. You will be busy for 15 minutes here and there.
Sourdough is not a fancy new technique, sourdough is bread. Humans have fed themselves and their families sourdough breads for thousands of years with the simplest of tools and ingredients.
You can do it too!
Great Bread Starts with Active, Happy Sourdough Starter
The fastest way to get started with sourdough baking is to find an existing sourdough starter. You can likely buy it online but if you have a sourdough baker friend or a local sourdough bakery, I am sure they will be happy to share some starter. Trust me, we bakers all have plenty of starter to share.
Making a new sourdough starter isn’t that hard either. It will take a week or so. There are lots of instructions for making sourdough starter to be found online. Just keep your starter warm and stick with whatever instructions you decide to use and you will be fine.
Temperature is an Ingredient
Sourdough starter is most active when the temperature is between 24-28ºC. That’s just a little too warm for us humans! Most of us keep our homes cooler…maybe 20-21ºC. “Room Temperature” makes our starters sluggish and our baking even harder.
So warm up your starter to keep it healthy, active and ready to bake great bread.
Look out for products that will regulate the temperature of your starter, making sure it doesn’t overheat and will actually shave an hour or so off the typical doubling time of your starter whether you keep it in the fridge or on the counter.
Watch It Rise
Watching your starter (and your dough) is the best way to understand it.
Sourdough is alive. You are working with living food that will transform before your eyes. All we do as bakers is give it the food and environment that keeps it happy. Witness the results of your care and you will become a better baker.
Using transparent containers for your starter and doughs and keeping them on the counter where you can see it, will tune you to the rhythms of baking.
Put Baking on Your Schedule
Once you make a few loaves, fitting baking into your life will become your next goal.
You will notice as temperatures change during the day and as seasons change during year that your doughs will ferment at different speeds. Slower in cooler temperatures and faster in warmer temperatures.
Various temperature have their issues in baking but consistent temperature is the key to consistent results both with your starter and your dough – and to putting baking on your schedule.
If you can find a way to keep your starter and dough temperatures consistent from bake to bake then you will be able to plan a bake that fits your schedule.
There are DIY solutions for maintaining starter and dough temperatures but dedicated tools take the guesswork out of this for you.
Storing and Sharing
Sourdough baking creates generous and popular people. You will soon be making more bread than you will care to eat and your lucky friends and neighbours are going to be excited to see you show up with gifts.
For simple store of cut loaves at home, place bread cut side down on a cutting board. Cover with a cloth if you like. For longer storage, skip the refrigerator which speeds staling and put well wrapped loaves into the freezer.
Wrapping bread in a muslin cloth ‘bread blanket’ is a lovely way to give a loaf to a friend or to bring a loaf to a party – the blanket will also act as a crumb catcher when you slice into your loaf as well as an al fresco or picnic table covering.
Now Go Bake!
I am excited for your next loaves of sourdough! Remember the Big Secret of Sourdough and you will be fine.
About the expert
Home baker Erik Fabian co-founded Sourhouse with industrial designer Jenny Yoko Olsen in the US during Covid, with the aim of creating thoughtfully designed sourdough baking tools and inviting people to bake more often. Thousands of bakers have joined them in this journey so far and continue to inspire more and more! Their first product, the Goldie which regulates sourdough starter temperature, was launched after a Spring 2022 round of Kickstarter funding. The latest, the DoughBed dough proofer, launched this summer. Sourhouse products are available in the UK from selected retailers as well as direct from Sourhouse in the US. Find out more at eu.sourhouse.co
