Guides
Sourdough guides
The questions that keep coming up when you bake with sourdough – with numbers you can check, and without the romance of a recipe blog.
Starter
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How to make a sourdough starter in seven days
Make your own sourdough starter, day by day: which flour, how much water, how warm – and how to tell when your starter is ready to bake with.
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Feeding your sourdough starter: ratios, rhythm and a rest in the fridge
How often and in what ratio to feed your sourdough starter, how to catch the best moment to bake, and how it survives a holiday in the fridge.
Dough and proofing
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Bulk fermentation and final proof: how long, and how to tell the dough is ready
How long bulk fermentation and the final proof take with sourdough, how temperature changes everything, and how to tell when the dough is ready – with a table and the poke test.
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Working out water temperature: how to hit the right dough temperature
The formula for working out the water temperature for your sourdough so the dough lands at the right temperature – with examples for mixing by hand and with a stand mixer.
Planning and maths
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A sourdough schedule: plan backwards, proof overnight, bake in the morning
How to plan a sourdough bake backwards from the time you want bread – with an example timetable, an overnight cold proof and fresh bread for breakfast.
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Hydration and baker's percentages: scale any recipe to the loaf you want
What hydration and baker's percentages mean, and how to scale any sourdough recipe to the dough weight you want – with a worked example.
All of this is built into SourTime
Starter assistant, phase timer, Plan mode, calculator and water temperature: the app does the maths and the reminding, so you can keep your mind on the bread. Free for iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch.
Free download for iPhone and iPad
iOS 18 or later