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Follow the explanation back

Good questions
deserve good sources.

Each guide links the references used for its explanation. This library groups them by the problem you are working on, so you can compare the original context.

Read the scope as well as the advice.

A recipe’s temperature, flour, loaf size and equipment belong to its method. A timing from one recipe is not a guarantee for another. University extension and food-safety guidance answer different questions from a baker’s shaping demonstration.

Our numerical examples and comparison checklists are explanatory additions. References are credited, but their publishers do not endorse Sourdough Bench. See our editorial policy for how we distinguish sourced guidance, examples and recorded bakes.

01 / Starter care

Is my starter ready for the next step?

Build a starter, keep it going, and understand what a feed changes.

How much starter should you feed for a bake?

Add the starter needed for the recipe to the amount you want to keep, then divide that target by the feeding ratio’s total parts.

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How to make a sourdough starter from scratch

Begin with flour and water, refresh a measured portion on a consistent schedule, and wait for a repeatable rise after feeding. Early bubbles and a calendar date do not establish baking readiness.

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How to refrigerate and maintain sourdough starter

Refrigerate an established starter using a consistent maintenance method, label each feeding, and allow preparation time before baking. Cold storage reduces routine work but does not establish baking readiness.

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How to revive a neglected sourdough starter

Inspect a neglected starter before feeding it. Discard moldy or pink/orange culture; for a known, uncontaminated starter, resume a documented refreshment routine and look for a dependable response before building levain.

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Is your sourdough starter ready to bake?

Assess a starter using its behavior across feeds, rise, aeration and condition together. One float test or one clock time cannot establish readiness.

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Sourdough starter feeding ratios, explained

A feeding ratio lists seed starter, fresh flour and fresh water by weight. It controls the quantities in a feed, not a guaranteed time to peak.

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02 / Flour & ingredients

What should go into this dough?

Choose flour, account for the starter, and understand the ingredients in your bowl.

How to choose flour for sourdough

Choose flour that matches your recipe and bread style, then keep the product consistent while learning its behavior. Include levain flour when calculating blends, and test substitutions as deliberate changes.

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Salt in Sourdough: Percentages, Weighing, and Formula Checks

Calculate salt as a percentage of total flour, including starter flour. Use the recipe’s intended salt level and check the weight on a suitable scale.

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Starter Hydration and Feeding Ratios, Explained

A starter’s hydration describes its water relative to flour. Equal fresh additions do not make a whole build 100% hydration if the seed is stiff or liquid.

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Water temperature for sourdough: plan, measure, adjust

Choose water temperature to help reach the recipe's dough-temperature target, then measure the dough after mixing. Factor calculations are estimates that need consistent units and a mixing-specific calibration.

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Whole-wheat and rye sourdough: plan the grain blend

Calculate wheat, rye, and whole-grain shares from all flour in the dough, including levain. As the blend changes, choose a suitable recipe and expect different water needs and handling rather than forcing white-flour behavior.

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03 / Baker’s math

How much of each ingredient do I need?

Read a formula, check its percentages, and scale it to the batch you need.

Baker’s Percentage: A Clear Guide for Sourdough

Use total flour as 100%. Count the flour inside your starter before calculating water, salt or a batch size.

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How to Read a Sourdough Formula Before You Mix

Before mixing, identify the flour basis, starter hydration, prefermented flour and intended batch weight. Translate ambiguous percentages into grams.

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How to Scale a Sourdough Recipe Without Changing the Formula

Multiply every ingredient by the same scale factor. Check the target as mixed dough weight, then make a separate plan for bowls, proofing space and baking.

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Sourdough Hydration: Calculate the Water You Actually Use

Hydration is total water divided by total flour, including the starter. Flour choice and handling still affect how wet a dough feels.

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04 / Dough & technique

What does the dough need now?

Follow the dough from mixing and folds to proofing, shaping, scoring and steam.

Autolyse vs. fermentolyse: choose and account for the rest

An autolyse rests flour and water before starter and salt; a fermentolyse includes starter, so fermentation is already underway. Follow the recipe’s ingredient sequence, include all reserved water in the formula, and use a rest to solve a specific handling problem.

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Bake sourdough with steam using equipment that supports the method

Use a manufacturer-compatible method to retain moisture early in the bake, then allow the crust to finish in a drier environment. A covered baker often uses the dough’s own moisture. Never assume a pot permits empty preheating or that a steam-cleaning oven supports steam baking.

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Cold-proof sourdough with a schedule you can actually follow

Cold proofing slows a shaped loaf’s fermentation and can make scheduling and scoring easier. Start with a recipe designed for refrigeration, track dough condition and actual elapsed time, and remember that warm dough continues changing while it cools.

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How to read bulk fermentation signs

Read dough expansion, aeration, strength and temperature together. A container mark is useful evidence, but no single rise percentage fits every dough.

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Score sourdough with a clear plan for the loaf’s expansion

Begin with a simple functional score: one lengthwise cut for a bâtard or a balanced pattern for a boule. Plan the path before cutting, use a secure sharp tool, and match depth and tilt to the dough and recipe rather than a universal number.

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Shape a sourdough boule or bâtard with better control

Choose a boule for a round loaf or a bâtard for an oval that fits your basket and baking vessel. Preshape and rest as the recipe directs, create a continuous outer surface without tearing, close the seam, and transfer with its orientation understood.

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Stretch-and-fold vs. coil fold: choose the movement your dough needs

Bowl folds lift an edge over the dough; coil folds support the middle and tuck the ends underneath. Both can develop suitable wheat dough. Choose by dough condition, prior mixing, and container access, then stop increasing force when the dough resists.

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05 / Fix your loaf

What should I change next time?

Work backwards from a symptom, check the evidence, and choose a useful next experiment.

Dense Sourdough Crumb: Diagnose the Pattern Before Changing the Recipe

Assess the fully cooled crumb and its pattern before adjusting the formula. Compare starter performance, the bulk endpoint, and handling history; a tight whole-grain crumb and large tunnels surrounded by dense bread are different problems. More water is not an automatic fix.

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Gummy Sourdough Crumb: Check Cooling, Baking, and Fermentation

Assess gumminess after complete cooling, then check loaf size and baking evidence before changing hydration. A sticky center can involve baking, fermentation, or a formula change; one internal temperature reading or one crumb photograph cannot identify the cause.

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Sourdough Crust Too Hard: Separate Baking Problems from Storage

First decide whether the crust was too hard after cooling or became hard during storage. Check the full baking and drying sequence for a thick fresh crust; check packaging for a loaf that hardened later. Keep the interior fully baked while testing one change.

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Sourdough Not Rising: Find Where Progress Stopped

First locate the stage where expansion stopped. Check starter activity and actual dough temperature for a slow bulk rise; investigate handling and support if a bubbly dough spreads. Low oven spring alone does not prove that fermentation failed.

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Sourdough Spreading Flat: Find the Point Where Support Was Lost

Find when the dough starts spreading. Early slackness points toward water, flour, and development; a loaf that collapses during release needs a transfer check; dough that loses strength later needs a fermentation review. A colder or more heavily floured surface cannot answer every case.

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06 / Bake day & beyond

How do I fit the bake into my day?

Make room in your day, cool and store your bread, and keep a record worth using.

Build a sourdough baking schedule around your day

Plan backwards from the time you can bake, leaving room to respond to the starter and dough. A schedule organizes your day; it does not declare fermentation complete.

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Cooling and Storing Sourdough: Keep the Right Portions Ready

Cool plain sourdough fully on a rack, choose wrapping for the texture you want, and freeze excess bread in usable portions. Perishable fillings need their own refrigeration plan. Discard a moldy loaf instead of trimming it.

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Keep a sourdough bake log you will actually use

Record enough about ingredients, temperature, timing and the finished loaf to compare one deliberate change on the next bake.

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