Sourdough Slave

Slave to the starter.Happily, since day one.

Flour, water, salt and time. That's the whole recipe for real San Francisco–style sourdough, and you can bake it in your own kitchen this week.

Learn the method Join the community

Why bake your own

Store bread is built for shelf life. Sourdough is built for flavor, and it asks only for your attention, a little at a time.

  • It's a pastime that slows you down

    Feeding a starter, folding dough between other things, waiting for the oven spring. Sourdough fits into a normal day and rewards patience more than skill.

  • It feeds your family something simple

    Three ingredients you can pronounce, no preservatives, no dough conditioners. You know exactly what's on the table because you put it there.

  • It's easier on a lot of people

    The long, natural fermentation breaks down some of the starches and compounds in flour before it ever reaches you. Many bakers find real sourdough sits better than commercial bread, which matters if you're watching what you eat.

  • It's better with other people

    Every baker has a crumb shot to show off and a flat loaf to laugh about. Sharing starter, swapping tips and comparing ears is half the fun.

Sourdough isn't gluten-free, and nothing here is medical advice. If you have celiac disease, a wheat allergy or another health condition, check with your doctor before changing your diet.

FlourWaterSalt

That's it. The fourth ingredient is your starter: flour and water that have caught the wild yeast and bacteria living all around you. A good everyday loaf starts with this ratio.

500 gbread flour
375 gwater
100 gactive starter
10 gsalt

The method

Most of this is waiting. Hands-on time for a whole loaf is about thirty minutes, spread across a day and a night.

  1. Feed your starter

    4–8 hours before mixing

    Use it at its peak, when it's doubled, domed and full of bubbles. A spoonful should float in water.

  2. Mix and rest

    1 hour

    Combine flour and most of the water and let it sit. Then add starter, salt and the rest of the water and squeeze it all together.

  3. Stretch and fold

    4 sets, 30 minutes apart

    Wet your hand, lift one side of the dough, fold it over. Turn the bowl and repeat. This builds strength without kneading.

  4. Bulk ferment

    4–6 hours, warmer is faster

    Let the dough rise until it's grown by about half, jiggles when you shake the bowl and shows bubbles on the sides.

  5. Shape

    15 minutes

    Pre-shape into a loose round, rest 20 minutes, then shape tightly and drop it seam-side up into a floured basket.

  6. Cold proof

    Overnight in the fridge

    The slow, cold rest is where the San Francisco tang develops. It also makes the dough far easier to score.

  7. Score and bake

    45 minutes at 475°F

    Bake in a preheated Dutch oven: 20 minutes lid on, then 25 lid off until deep brown. Let it cool at least an hour before slicing.

Tips & tricks

The things nobody tells you until your third loaf.

Weigh everything
A $20 kitchen scale will do more for your bread than any recipe. Cups lie.
Watch the dough, not the clock
Times are guesses. A cold kitchen can double your bulk ferment; a warm one can halve it.
Bake darker than you think
Pale crust means pale flavor. Push it until it's a deep mahogany with blistered edges.
Score with confidence
One quick, shallow cut at a low angle opens the ear. Hesitation drags the blade.
Use rice flour in the basket
It doesn't absorb moisture the way wheat flour does, so your dough won't stick.
Keep discard
Leftover starter makes great pancakes, crackers and waffles. Nothing goes to waste.
Wait to slice
The inside is still cooking when it leaves the oven. Cut too early and the crumb turns gummy.
Name your starter
Everyone does. You'll feed it more faithfully if it has a name.

What you'll need

You can bake a great loaf with a bowl and a hot oven. These make it easier and more consistent.

Digital kitchen scale

Gram accuracy for flour, water and salt. The one tool that's not optional.

Our pick, coming soon

Dutch oven

Traps steam for a crackling crust and a tall rise. Cast iron, 5 quarts or so.

Our pick, coming soon

Banneton basket

A proofing basket that holds the loaf's shape and leaves those flour rings.

Our pick, coming soon

Bread lame

A razor blade on a handle for clean, confident scoring.

Our pick, coming soon

Bench scraper

For dividing, shaping and cleaning sticky counters in one pass.

Our pick, coming soon

Clear starter jar

Wide-mouthed glass so you can see your starter rise and know when it's ready.

Our pick, coming soon

A San Francisco story

When the Gold Rush brought prospectors to California, they carried starters with them and guarded them through cold nights. Old-timers got the nickname "sourdoughs." Bakeries in the city have kept some starters going for well over a century.

The bay's cool, foggy climate suits the slow fermentation that gives the bread its signature tang, and scientists even named a bacterium after the city: Lactobacillus sanfranciscensis. You don't need to live there to bake like it. You just need to be patient.

Bake with us

This is a place for people who care about good food and like making it themselves. Our community pages are opening soon, so you can share loaves, ask questions and trade starter stories.

#sourdoughslave

Tag your bakes now. We'll be sharing our favorites.