Welcome to the Beginner's Sourdough Guide. If you are new to sourdough baking or want to improve your skills, this is the perfect place to start.
In this guide, I will walk you through the nine important steps for making delicious sourdough bread. I will also help you create a sourdough starter from scratch if needed.
Ready to bake your first loaf or try a new one? Check out my Beginner's Sourdough Bread Recipe.
Beginner's guide to sourdough bread
Here is a simple breakdown of the sourdough bread-making process, with nine steps and autolyse or fermentolyse optional.
Let's go through each step together and learn more about mastering it and what your dough should look like during each stage.
Levain building
The first step involves creating a lively and active offshoot of your starter. You will mix flour and water with your "mother" starter and let it ferment. This creates levain, the natural leavening agent that helps sourdough rise and gives it its tangy flavor. A healthy levain is key to a great loaf.
Read more: How to Make Levain and How to Make Sourdough Starter in 10 days
Mixing
Next, you will mix all the ingredients. Sometimes, you might let the flour and water sit first (autolyse) to give the enzymes time to hydrate the flour. Other times, you mix the flour, water, and levain and allow your dough to fermentolyse. These steps are optional, but they help develop the gluten and create a strong and stretchy dough.
Read more: How to Mix Bread Dough
Bulk fermentation
This step is where the magic happens. When you add levain to the dough, it starts to ferment. This step involves a series of folds to strengthen the dough and allow it to rise. The yeast and bacteria from the levain help the dough grow, making it light and airy when baked.
Read more: How to Bulk Ferment Bread Dough and When Bulk Fermentation Is Done
Preshaping
After the bulk fermentation, you divide and preshape the dough into rough rounds. This helps the dough redistribute the gas inside and gives it a more even texture, making it easier to shape in the next step.
Read more: How to Divide and Preshape Bread Dough
Bench rest
Let the dough rest for 15-30 minutes. This helps the gluten relax, making it easier to handle in the next step when you finalize the shape.
Read more: How to Bench Rest Bread Dough
Final shaping
Now, it is time to shape your dough into its final form: a boule, batard, or other desired shape. This process gives your loaf its final structure and surface tension, which helps it rise nicely in the oven.
Read more: How to Shape Bread Dough
Final proofing
After shaping, let the dough rest again, usually in the fridge. This final proofing time allows the dough to finish fermentation and develop even better flavor. The timing is important for the texture and sourness of true sourdough bread.
Read more: How to Proof Bread Dough
Scoring
Before baking, you will score your dough with a sharp knife or blade. This allows steam to escape and helps the bread expand in the oven, creating a beautiful crust pattern.
Read more: How to Score Sourdough
Baking
The final step is baking. The dough goes into a preheated oven to create a great oven spring and crisp crust. The heat transforms the dough into a golden-brown loaf with rich flavors and a soft, chewy inside.
Read more: How to Bake Sourdough Bread
Once your sourdough is out of the oven, let it cool for at least 2 hours before slicing. When it is time to slice, grab a bread knife and cut it like a pro.
Now, enjoy your fresh sourdough with some butter, and remember to check out how to store sourdough bread to keep it fresh.
Ready to keep learning?
Now you can choose how you want to learn the magic of sourdough: guided or self-taught.
If you would like me to guide you step by step, sign up for my newsletter. You'll receive easy-to-follow daily emails, perfect for your morning coffee, that guide you through sourdough basics and, later, advanced techniques.
My emails are designed logically, so you can learn sourdough baking without missing a step or jumping around.
If you go the self-taught route, start by reading about what perfect sourdough bread looks and tastes like.
And remember, if you ever need help, I'm just a comment away!
JJ says
During bench rest my dough gets this darker colour and is like a shell. Why is this?
Irina Totterman says
That darker “shell” happens because the dough surface dries out a bit during bench rest. Moisture escapes, and the outside tightens up, making it look darker and feel firmer. Oxygen also darkens the surface slightly, and as the dough rests, the gluten layer on top firms up, adding to that thin crust feel. It’s not harmful, but covering the dough loosely with a towel or bowl helps keep it soft and easy to shape. You can read more about bench rest.
Desiree Bigaignon says
Thanks for giving me the opportunity to join the group as a beginner. I see in reading about levain. I understand that you must have a starter to make the levain. I must know how to make the starter first. Sorry for asking. I am really a beginner. Hope I am not annoying you with my question.
Irina Totterman says
Hello Desiree, Yes, you’re right. The levain is an offshoot of your starter, specifically built for baking bread. You maintain your starter indefinitely and only build the levain when you’re ready to bake.
Agnes Murphy says
Can't wait to try making my first loaf!
Irina Totterman says
Hello Agnes, I’m excited for you! Take some time to learn the basics before jumping into your first loaf. When I started, I spent two months learning, and it was worth it. Please, sign up for my newsletter to learn the basics step by step so you don’t miss a thing. Good luck!
Dalia Wells says
I'm a beginner on sourdough starter and baking where can I buy the sourdough Bible?
Irina Totterman says
Hello Dalia, I’m sorry, but I’m not sure what you mean by Sourdough Bible. Here’s my website devoted to sourdough bread baking, where you’ll find everything from creating a starter to baking multiple loaves of bread.
Irina Totterman says
Hi Dalia, You don’t need to buy a sourdough Bible. My blog is exactly what you need! It’s packed with beginner-friendly guides, simple recipes, and step-by-step tips to help you start (and love!) your sourdough journey. Start with my sourdough starter recipe, and you’ll be baking your first loaf soon.
Antoinette Paolello says
Irina, can I use a banneton to shape the bread prior to baking? Is cast iron Dutch oven the best choice to bake in?
Irina Totterman says
Hello Antoinette, yes, use a banneton for cold proofing and a cast iron Dutch oven for baking. The latter is best for retaining the steam necessary for baking sourdough bread.
Toni Paolello says
Thank you!!
Steve Sharp says
Well I'm even more confused after reading the info above. I have a good starter that doubles in size in about 8 hours and maintains it's peak into the 12th hour. It may go longer but I usually stir it down for the next feeding (maybe I shouldn't). My mystery is when to do the bowl folds or slap and fold and for how long. Do I start that after letting the dough rest for 30 minutes after mixing? Do 8-10 minutes of bowl folds, rest 30 min and repeat a couple more times? I'm great at making starter and have had good success in revising my recipes to use discard. The reason I'm using this site is that I hope I can get some help. Other sites never answer questions.
Irina Totterman says
Hello Steve, Hi, let me help clear up the confusion. When you ask about “when to do the bowl folds or slap and fold,” here’s the key: slap and fold is a mixing technique, used right after combining your ingredients. Once mixing is done, you only do stretch and folds and coil folds (see my guide on coil folds vs stretch and folds). You don’t need to do bowl folds for 8–10 minutes—just fold the dough in four directions, which takes about a minute. Don’t overwork the dough!
A good order looks like this: Mixing → 30 min rest → first set of stretch and folds → 30 min rest → second set of stretch and folds → 30 min rest → first set of coil folds → 30 min rest → second set of coil folds → continue bulk fermentation → preshape → bench rest → final shaping.
Steve Sharp says
Thank you for your explanation. I can't tell you how frustrating it was when I asked questions on other sites and never got an answer. I didn't know that all of the stretching and folding was actually part of the bulk fermentation step. I watched the Sourdough Journey master class videos going through every step. It all makes sense now. Thanks again.
Francie Taylor says
I want my bread to taste more like San Francisco Sourdough. how can I do this?
Irina Totterman says
Hello Francie, San Francisco sourdough is often linked to a specific lactic acid bacteria called Lactobacillus Sanfranciscensis, which was first identified in that area. You can buy a San Francisco starter, and it may influence the flavor at first, but starters are living things and will slowly adapt to your local flour, water, and environment. But you can try making your sourdough more sour. I’ve put together a guide that explains how >> https://sourdoughtalk.com/how-to-make-sourdough-more-sour/
Leonardo Anguiano says
Hello Irina, I hope you are having a wonderful day. My name is Leonardo, and I am reaching out with a question regarding my sourdough bread. I make sourdough using a traditional recipe with only starter, salt, water, and flour. However, I have been consistently experiencing large air pockets in the final loaf. I would appreciate your insight on what might be causing this issue and any guidance you may be able to share. Thank you for your time, and I look forward to your response.
Irina Totterman says
Hello Leonardo, Large air pockets are often related to fermentation and shaping rather than the ingredients themselves. In many cases, this type of open, uneven crumb is what bakers call a wild crumb, and it’s something many bakers actually strive for. If the holes feel excessive or create weak spots, they’re usually caused by uneven degassing during shaping, high hydration, or fermentation issues. If you’re aiming for a more even crumb, gently press out large bubbles during shaping and slightly reduce hydration. You can try adding one extra coil fold during the second phase of bulk fermentation to help redistribute gases and even out the crumb. If you’d like, feel free to send a photo of your crumb to [email protected]. I'm happy to help troubleshoot further.