Sourdough From Scratch

Never baked sourdough before? Start here: a complete, no-photos-needed guide that turns flour and water into real bakery-quality bread.

Sourdough intimidates beginners for a reason: it depends on a living culture instead of a packet of yeast, and most guides assume you already know what "bulk fermentation" or "oven spring" actually looks like. Sourdough From Scratch doesn't. Every stage is described in exact, sensory detail, so you always know precisely what your starter and dough should look, feel, and smell like, without needing a single picture to follow along.

You'll start on day one with nothing but flour and water, follow a clear daily feeding schedule, and learn to recognize real readiness through rise, dome, jiggle, and smell rather than guesswork. From there, this book walks through every core technique step by step: autolyse, stretch-and-folds, shaping a boule or batard, cold retard proofing, scoring for oven spring, and baking with steam using a Dutch oven or a simple stovetop alternative. Troubleshooting sections cover the sluggish starter, the hooch layer, and the discouraging days-three-and-four slump that makes so many beginners give up too soon.

What's inside:

• A full beginner's technique course: starter-building, hydration math, folding, shaping, proofing, and scoring, explained in plain language
• Over 60 tested recipes across classic artisan loaves, sandwich and pan loaves, whole-grain and rye breads, sourdough pizza and flatbreads, and bagels and rolls
• Two full chapters of sourdough discard recipes, sweet and savory, so nothing you feed your starter ever goes to waste
• A day-by-day two-week starter plan, a hydration and flour conversion chart, and an honest troubleshooting FAQ
• Estimated nutrition information with every recipe

Perfect for: total beginners who have never kept a starter alive, home bakers who tried once and gave up during the awkward early days, and anyone who wants real, technically accurate bread instruction without relying on photographs to understand what "ready" looks like.