Watch The Step-By-Step Video

LIVE BAKING CLASS: We hosted a live baking event to raise awareness and money for EwB. Complete with live commentary by writer and comedian Andrea Jin, our head baker Jonathan Snelgar walked participants through each step of the perfect sourdough loaf. Click the button below to be redirected to the recording.

SOURDOUGH INGREDIENTS YOU WILL NEED TO GET STARTED:

• Whole Grain Flour

  • If you’re a Vancouver local you can buy our Organic - Stone Ground Whole Grain (Red Fife) Wheat Flour in store - shop online here!

• Unbleached White Flour

  • If you’re a Vancouver local you can buy our Canadian Red Spring Wheat (Unbleached) White Flour in store - shop online here!

• High Quality Fine Grain Sea Salt

  • We suggest using a high quality salt when making sourdough. Find Fine Vancouver Island Sea Salt - shop online here!

CHECK OUT OUR WEBSITE FOR BAKING TOOLS:

• A Dough Scraper, is a handy multipurpose tool made of plastic which allows it to bend. It is used to scrape dough out of your bowl, cut dough into pieces, shape your sourdough and clean up your surface when you’re done!

• A Bread Banneton to help in your Final Shaping & Proofing steps.

Check out our Amazon.ca shopping page! We have created a bread baking specific store - that you can shop directly from.

TOOLS FOR MAKING SOURDOUGH:

• A Glass Jar for your starter, using a glass jar will allow you to see it’s activity and bubbles

• A Dutch Oven or Cast Iron Pot that is oven safe up to 500 F

• A Kitchen Scale to weigh out your flour and salt

• A Bench Knife used to help you shape, but you can use your hands as well

• A Proofing basket, although a bowl with a floured tea towel works well too

• A Bread Lame with replaceable blades, used to score the top of your loaf

What are the must have tools to get started?

• A clean container for your starter to live in, a scale to weigh out ingredients, 2 clean tea-towels, large bowls to mix and proof your dough in and a dutch oven (or heavy pot with a lid) which can reach up to 500F without issue. While the specialized gear is fun and will give you better results, it is not necessary to start. If you’re not ready to purchase a bunch of new gear, you can get by with common kitchen items. For example at the scoring stage, instead of a bread specific scoring lame you could use scissors or a sharp knife!

What if I feed my dehydrated starter but don’t see bubbles after 24 hours?

• Don’t panic! You’re working with a dehydrated dormant starter sometimes it needs a little bit more coaxing. Give it another 24 hours to form bubbles. If the flour you fed the starter with is older the nutrient levels could be lower and therefore activation is slower. Try feeding it with Whole Grain or Rye flour for an extra nutrient kick! Another possible reason your starter could be off to a slow start is colder external temperatures. Waiting an additional 24 hours usually solves the problem. If there are still no bubbles after waiting 48hrs, then give your starter a boost by discarding half of it and re-feeding with warm water and the freshest flour you can get your hands on, we love freshly milled wholegrain flour. High quality flours are available our store, if you’re not a Vancouver local we suggest sourcing Organic Whole Grain Red Fife Flour in your city.

The top of my starter has a crust and has turned grey, is it dead?

• Nope it’s good! This is actually normal, it is just a result of the exposed part of your starter drying out while in contact with air. Simply scrape the crust off with a spoon and discard it. Pour your starter into a new clean container and feed like normal.

I think my starter went moldy. What should I do?

• Before doing anything drastic, first take a really good look and make sure it is mold and not just dried starter. If you diagnose it as moldy we suggest starting the process again. However, if it’s not scary mold (pink, green, black) you could discard all mouldy bits, save a tablespoon of clean starter and re-feed. We recommend ensuring your starter’s container is clean and changed often so this issue doesn’t occur in the first place. See page 4 of our online Step-By-Step Guide for home bakers if you’d like to try making sourdough starter from scratch. When making from scratch your starter will take some time (year or so) to develop the flavour complexity of a mature sourdough starter but is still usable to make bread.

I am going on a trip / I am wanting to transition to a less frequent feeding schedule for my sourdough starter. How do I do this?

• If you're planning to bake bread once a week or less, it may make the most sense to store your starter in the fridge and feed it weekly. We suggest baking successfully a few times before changing over to a refrigerated feeding schedule. Not only will a less frequent feeding schedule reduce the amount of flour you’re going through you will also only have to remember to feed it once a week instead of everyday.

• Before putting your starter in the fridge, put it in a new clean container, feed it and leave it at room temp for a few hours, you’ll only want to put it in the fridge once you see bubbles throughout the starter. Put it in the fridge covered with loose lid or piece of secured cloth. Keeping your starter in the fridge slows fermentation but it will still be active, producing some gas. A tight lid could trap those gasses and cause a tiny starter explosion.

Okay, now I am ready to bake again but my starter has been kept in the fridge all week. What do I do next?

• When you’re ready to bake again, you’ll need to plan a day in advance. Take your starter out of the fridge, feed it and leave it at room temp for 24 hrs. Waiting until your starter is at its most active point before baking with it will help ensure you’re successful. Once the starter is flourishing, proceed with the sourdough recipe found in your Step-By-Step Guide or follow along with our video.

The dough is sticking to my hands, help!

• Our sourdough recipe is a high hydration dough which means the flour to water ratio is similar. This makes for a stickier dough the best way to combat this is actually by wetting your hands with more water before touching the dough.

I want to add ingredients to my sourdough when should I do that?

• Add things like nuts, seeds, cheese… or chocolate at the same time as you add your salt, just after the Autolyse step.