Sourdough for Beginners – Ready To Start a New Hobby? Here’s a Yummy One!

Want to start baking sourdough but not sure how to get started? Here’s all the info you actually need to make sourdough as a beginner.

Sourdough 101 – All The Beginner Info You Need

PPP contributor, Hannah, here!

If you’ve ever thought, “Baking sourdough sounds amazing, but I have no idea where to start,” you’re in the right place.

I have fallen in love with sourdough this past year, and I want to share this love with you! I’ve learned the hard way and made all the mistakes so you don’t have to.

Sourdough can look complicated (fancy jars! stretchy dough! mysterious “starter” talk!), but at its core, it’s just flour, water, and time.

Once you get the hang of it, there’s nothing quite like pulling a warm, bakery-style loaf out of your own oven. Watching your dough rise (because you made it happen!) is incredibly satisfying. After you master it, you can also share it with your friends and neighbors!

This post walks you through the basics step-by-step, without the overwhelm. Just real-life sourdough that works.

So, first things first. You’re going to need a sourdough starter.

A “starter” is what makes your sourdough bread rise and gives it that tangy flavor (it kind of resembles the consistency and look of pancake batter).

Sourdough bread is naturally leavened bread. That means instead of using commercial yeast or chemical leaveners (like baking soda or baking powder), the dough rises thanks to wild yeast and bacteria living in your starter.

You can make that starter right in your kitchen (takes about 7 days of mixing flour and water to become active), or you can grab some from a friend.

For this post, I recommend starting with a mature starter that’s already active and ready to use. (Trust me, your sourdough-loving friend wants to share!) You can also often find jars for sale at farmers markets.

When your starter is active and happy, it:

• Makes bread rise
• Adds flavor (that tangy, bakery-style taste!)
• Improves texture and shelf life

Tools: What You Actually Need

Truly necessary:

• Active starter (I keep mine in this, but you can store it in a mason jar too)
• Flour
• Sea salt (or kosher salt)
• Water
• Basic kitchen tools (bowl, spoon, oven, etc.)

Helpful, but optional:

• Kitchen scale (In the sourdough world, most recipes use grams instead of cups because weighing ingredients is more accurate and leads to lighter, less dense loaves).
• Dutch oven
• Bench scraper
• Banneton basket
• Parchment paper or these silicone bread slings
• Razor blade for scoring

This kit from Amazon is a great purchase if you are new to sourdough!

Ok, what does “feeding” your sourdough starter actually mean?

You may have heard the phrase from a sourdough baker or blogger that they need to “feed” their starter. But what does that mean?

To keep your starter active and bubbly (aka ready to use for baking bread) you’ll have to feed it. Think of “feeding” as giving your starter breakfast, and it makes it all bubbly and happy again. (Surprisingly, a lot like me after I eat!)

This sounds complicated, but it’s really just mixing water and flour into your starter!

You’ll want to feed your starter equal parts flour and water, it’s a ratio of 1:1:1. So for example, if you have about 1/2 cup of starter in your jar, you’ll want to add approximately:

• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup flour

and mix!

(This is why using a kitchen scale is so handy, so you can weigh your starter and add the proper ratio of flour and water.)

Let it sit at room temperature until it doubles in size (usually 4–8 hours).

When it’s puffy and airy, it’s ready to use for baking!

How to Store Your Starter When Not in Use:

Not making a loaf right away? Keep your starter in a loosely covered jar in the refrigerator. Feed it before you bake, allow it to get bubbly, and then return it to the fridge after feeding again.

The best part about sourdough, is that it really isn’t all that fussy. Some people act like they have to “babysit” their starter. But if you’re not baking often, you can store it in the fridge and feed it once a week.

Making your first loaf:

There are essentially 5 steps to making your first loaf of sourdough bread:

1. Mix the dough (flour, water, salt, starter)
2. Bulk fermentation (first rise + stretch and folds)
3. Shape and rest
4. Cold proof in the fridge
5. Score and bake

I like to start the process of making a loaf at night before I go to bed. That way, the first rise happens while I’m asleep.

Step by Step:

In a large bowl, combine your ingredients.

• Add 375 g water (about 1 1/2 cups plus 1 Tbsp) to a bowl.
• Stir in 100 g sourdough starter (about 1/2 cup).
• Add 2 teaspoons sea salt and mix.
• Add 500 g all-purpose flour (about 4 cups plus 2 Tbsp) and stir until combined.

Cover the bowl (a lid or damp towel works).

During the first hour, stretch and fold the dough every 20 minutes. This looks like grabbing a corner of the dough and pulling it up and into the center. Repeat until you’ve performed this series of folds 4 to 5 times with the dough. Rotate the bowl as you work. Damp fingers help when you’re working with the sticky dough, but I also usually scoop from the bottom with a spoon and fold it over the top.

You should notice the dough getting stronger and more elastic with every set of stretches and folds.

If you’d like to add cheese, herbs, jalapeños, or other seasonings, do so on the 3rd set of stretches and folds.

After 3–4 rounds of stretching and folding, let it rest and rise until it increases in volume by about 50%. This usually takes 8–10 hours.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and shape it into a round. Let it rest for a few minutes. While it’s resting, prepare your banneton by dusting it generously with flour to prevent sticking.

Reshape the dough into a round again, then place it seam side up in the banneton. Cover it to keep it from drying out. I like using a plastic produce bag, but a tea towel or even a disposable shower cap works great.

Cold proof the dough in the fridge for 12-48 hours. I usually leave it in for a day.

Preheat your oven to 450°F.

When you are ready to bake, turn the banneton upside down and gently release the dough onto a piece of parchment paper (or a silicone bread sling). Carefully lift it and place it in your Dutch oven.

While the oven finishes heating, use a razor blade to score the top of the loaf. Scoring allows steam to escape so the bread bakes evenly and helps prevent random cracks.

A simple “X” across the top works great, but you can also get creative with designs if you want!

When you are ready to bake, there’s no need to let the dough come to room temperature before baking it. Simply take it out of the fridge, turn it out, score it, and bake it!

Bake your sourdough loaf in the Dutch oven with the lid on for 30 minutes at 450°F. Then lower the oven temperature to 400°F, remove the lid, and bake for another 10–15 minutes. This finishes the bake and helps the crust turn golden and crisp.

Let the loaf cool for about an hour before slicing with a sharp bread knife. I use this one.

Take a moment to admire your hard work! And remember, if your first loaf isn’t the prettiest, it’s the taste that counts!

Enjoy your first slice warm with butter, or add a little jam or honey. Feeling fancy? Dip it in olive oil and balsamic vinegar, it’s seriously so good.

One of the best parts about making your own sourdough is that it saves money. Artisan loaves can be $7–$10 each (or more – yikes!), but homemade costs pennies compared to store-bought. Plus, you can put it in these cute bread bags and it makes the perfect gift!

Learning sourdough takes a bit of practice, but once you get comfortable, it becomes second nature, and incredibly rewarding. I hope this guide gives you the confidence to try your first loaf. You’ve got this!