Successful Sourdough: Tips and Tricks for a Beautiful Loaf

I’ve had a love-hate relationship with sourdough bread making for a long time. I’ve tried different recipes and methods, determined to get it right, but with very inconsistent results. I’d get frustrated and give up for a while, only to feel inspired to try again a few months later.

I love the idea of baking bread for our family, especially when I can get my hands on organic New Zealand stoneground flour. It's really satisfying making your own bread from scratch, and sourdough is great because its long fermentation process can make it easier to digest for some people.

After years of trial and error, I’ve finally found a recipe that works consistently for me. I adapted it from Stella Culinary, a rather random find that I’m very grateful for!

I’ve been making this loaf successfully, and it’s given me renewed confidence in sourdough baking. The result is a beautifully crusty loaf with a soft, open crumb.

The method might look like it involves a lot of steps, but once you get into the rhythm, it’s surprisingly manageable. I often make my bread while preparing dinner, fitting in each step around whatever else is happening in the kitchen.

Ingredients

• 280g warm water

• 400g active sourdough starter (100% hydration)

• 400g unbleached baker’s flour

• 100g wholemeal flour (or spelt or rye flour)

• 20g salt

A note about sourdough starter

Your sourdough starter is a bit like a baby. It needs feeding, attention and time to grow!

If you have a friend who already makes sourdough, they’ll probably be happy to share some starter with you. Otherwise, there are plenty of recipes online to help you make your own using just flour and water. Naturally occurring yeasts and bacteria develop in the mixture over time, creating your starter. These are what help your bread rise and give sourdough its distinctive flavour.

Making a starter is a great way to get to know the process. You’ll learn how it behaves, how it changes after feeding and when it’s ready to use. It’s easy to make, but it does take patience.

When I say hydration, I mean...

Hydration refers to the amount of water in your starter compared with the amount of flour, measured by weight. A 100% hydration starter contains equal weights of flour and water. For example, if you feed your starter 50g of flour, you add 50g of water.

My first tip: Make sure your starter is ready

This is something I learnt the hard way!

Your starter might look bubbly and smell lovely, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s ready to make bread. If your starter isn’t active enough, your loaf may not rise as well as it should.

One way to check is to drop a teaspoon of starter into a glass of cold water. If it floats, it’s generally a good sign that it’s ready to use. If it sinks, give it more time and feed it again before testing.

Method

1. Mix the ingredients

Mix the sourdough starter with the warm water, then add both flours and stir until everything is combined.

Remember to save some starter! Before you get too carried away with the bread, set some aside and feed it so you have starter ready for your next loaf.

Leave the mixture to rest for around 30 minutes. This is known as autolyse. It allows the flour to absorb the water and begins the process of developing the gluten.

Gluten is the protein network that gives bread dough its stretch and helps it hold the gas produced during fermentation, allowing the loaf to rise.

After resting, add the salt and mix it through the dough.

2. Slap and fold the dough

This is the step I believe has made the biggest difference to my bread-making success.

The slap and fold method helps develop the gluten in the dough, giving it strength and elasticity.

I’ve included a few videos below to show you how it works. And excuse my tongue in the video; apparently, that’s my concentration face!

My tip: Don’t flour your work surface before you start. You want the dough to grip the bench a little, as this helps create the tension needed for the technique. Flour your hands, though!

At first, the dough may feel sticky and like it’s about to tear apart. Keep going. After a few minutes, you should notice it becoming smoother, stretchier and more cohesive.

Once you’ve done the initial slap and fold for a few minutes, I tuck the dough into a ball, cover it with a tea towel and leave it to rest for 10–20 minutes.

I then repeat the process three more times (with 10-20 minutes between), but instead of doing the full slap and fold, I stretch and fold the dough from each side, tucking it back into a ball each time. The second video shows what I mean.

I cover the dough with a wet tea towel or plastic bag and leave it on the bench between each round. By the end, the dough should feel much smoother, stretchier and easier to work with as the gluten develops.

Once you've finished the stretch and folds, you're ready for the first fermentation. The video below shows how I tuck the dough in before leaving it to rise.

3. Bulk fermentation (first rise)

Pop the dough into a bowl, cover it with a plastic bag and tea towel, and leave it somewhere warm for at least three hours, or until it has noticeably risen.

This stage is called bulk fermentation. During this time, the natural yeasts in your starter produce gas, helping the dough rise and develop flavour.

The time this takes will depend on the temperature of your room and how active your starter is, so keep an eye on the dough rather than relying on the clock alone.

4. Shape the loaf

Once the first fermentation is complete, use a spatula to scrape the dough out of the bowl onto your work surface.

Give it one final stretch and fold, then use a tension roll on the bench to shape the dough into a loaf. To do this, gently roll and tuck the dough against the bench, using the friction to create a smooth, tight outer surface, then pinch the seam underneath together like you’re closing a zip. This helps the loaf hold its shape as it rises and bakes.

Next, place the dough upside down into a floured, lined banneton (a basket used for proving bread). The banneton supports the dough while it rests and helps it keep its shape.

Don’t have a banneton? No problem. A bowl lined with a clean tea towel will work just fine.

Cover the dough with a plastic bag and a tea towel, then place it in the fridge for at least 12 hours. This is called cold fermentation or cold proofing. The cooler temperature slows fermentation, allowing the flavour to develop while making the dough firmer and easier to handle when it’s time to bake.

5. Bake your bread

When you’re ready to bake, preheat your oven to its highest setting, around 250°C, with a Dutch oven or another oven-safe pot with a lid inside. Let the pot heat for about 30 minutes.

A Dutch oven works particularly well because the lid traps steam released by the dough. This keeps the crust soft enough during the first part of baking for the loaf to expand before the crust sets.

Carefully remove the hot pot from the oven. Turn the dough out into it, taking care not to burn yourself.

Using a sharp knife or bread lame (a tool designed for scoring bread), score an X across the top of the loaf. This gives the bread a controlled place to expand as it bakes and helps create its final shape.

Put the lid on and return the pot to the oven.

• First 20 minutes: Bake at 250°C with the lid on.

• Next 30 minutes: Remove the lid, reduce the temperature to 220°C and continue baking until the crust is a deep golden brown.

Your loaf should be ready after this, but you can check by tapping the bottom. It should sound hollow.

Transfer the bread to a cooling rack and resist the temptation to cut into it straight away!

This is another lesson I’ve learnt the hard way. When you cut into a loaf while it’s still hot, the inside is still setting, which can affect the texture of the crumb. Give it time to cool completely before slicing.

Enjoy your homemade sourdough!

And there you have it, a beautiful loaf of bread made from simple ingredients, ready to share with your family.

Most importantly, don’t be put off if your first few loaves don’t turn out quite as you hoped. It took me years of trial and error to find a method that works for me.