Easy Homemade Sourdough Bread: A Beginner's Guide That Actually Works
Sourdough bread has a reputation problem. Scroll through baking forums and you’ll find people treating their starters like temperamental pets, obsessing over hydration percentages, and posting crumb shots with the intensity of proud parents at a recital. It’s enough to make a beginner think sourdough requires a chemistry degree and a trust fund’s worth of free time. It doesn’t. People have been making sourdough for thousands of years — long before anyone owned a digital kitchen scale or a Dutch oven. The process is simpler than the internet makes it look. You need flour, water, salt, patience, and a willingness to accept that your first loaf won’t be Instagram-perfect. Here’s how to do it, step by step. ...