My Simple Sourdough Method

Step-by-step notes from six months of trial, error and finally very delicious bread.

I lived out the lockdown cliché of sourdough back in 2020. But a few months after I started, just as I was getting the hang of it, my second daughter, May, was born.

Found this of me with bump and bread that summer :)

Anyway, I knew I couldn’t keep both my starter and my baby well fed, so I said goodbye to my sourdough for a little while once May arrived.

We had so many brilliant bakeries near us in London, so I didn’t really need it.

Then we moved to the countryside and I really missed those brilliant bakeries, so I thought it was the moment to give sourdough another go.

I’m six months into the process now and loving it. I’ve made some terrible loaves and some brilliant ones, taken a course, watched 100 YouTube videos, mixed and matched various techniques — and below is what I’ve settled on.

I’m no expert, but this is working brilliantly for me. I honestly love the process. It’s the ultimate lesson in learning to live well in terms of patience and delayed gratification.

Are my loaves perfect? I don’t think so. It is, however, a simple method that’s working for me every week, and we’re all just loving it!

The main thing is that there’s no clear method to follow when it comes to timings. It depends on your bread, the strength of your starter, and most importantly the temperature in your kitchen.

The warmer it is, the quicker the process will go. I’ve got an AGA so my process is on the faster side.

Here’s what I do. There’s a detailed version below, plus a condensed one to save and come back to as you bake.