My Sourdough Method

I had a sourdough starter in 2024 and made it pretty regularly for a year and a half. I had okay luck for not knowing what I was doing. Then I stopped and started up again this past fall with a new starter. It immediately got moldy, which seemed kind of crazy because that's never happened to me before. I began again in November 2025 with a new starter I made myself and I've had luck so far! I actually use a mash-up of a couple of different recipes so I'm going to type out what I DO. I legitimately feel, 2 years in, that it's about what works for you and you have to be willing to experiment a little. It's more about feeling and how basic science works, not so much following an exact series of steps in a recipe or having the right equipment. I used to get really hung up on the equipment aspect. I'm linking the products I used but none are very expensive. The most "expensive" part of sourdough making is the time you invest. 

The only special equipment you need is a food scale and a way to warm your sourdough starter. 

I do prefer to bake in a regular loaf pan, and you probably already have one! I did buy the fancy Dutch oven to start two years ago but realized I preferred a loaf method better. 

1. Pull your starter out of the fridge and let it warm to room temperature for about 12 hours. I'll pull it out first thing in the morning or before bed. 

2. Discard half your starter --I keep a jar of discard in the fridge, or you can just throw it out. You can make just about anything with sourdough discard. Google it. 

3. Add 3 tablespoons of flour and 1 tablespoon of water. Stir really well and place on a sourdough warmer. This is CRITICAL. You must keep it warm. I am lazy and also a little cheap so I made my own warmer. I'm not telling you to do this but it works amazingly well. 

I also never understand how people are putting open jars or jars without a lid or jars with a lid or whatever as a way to let their starter rise. Every website talks about ventilation and air but also covered but also loosely covered. It's all very contradictory. 

I use press-and-seal with a rubber band around it. The first person to give me a starter two years ago handed me a mason jar with press-and-seal on it so that's my method now. I do the same for my discard jar in the fridge because I lost the lids to my mason jars I bought specifically for this purpose. 

Just fed and starting to warm

...and a few hours later:

4. You want the starter to get bubbly and double in size. This can take 4 hours, it can take 10 hours. I used to think it was a hard and fast 12 hours from feeding the starter to mixing the dough, because that's what the tutorials give for their time ranges. It's not. It just depends on what the starter is doing. This key is: Has it doubled in size? Is it bubbly?

5. Then you're ready to make dough. 

After I measure out the starter, I also feed the starter again and put it back on the warmer. This is why it doesn't get moldy; as long as it is being fed or refrigerated between feedings, starters last forever. I try to discard and feed twice a day if I'm actively making a few loaves of bread a week. 

You will need a scale. There's no way around it. I've been using it for a couple of years. 

Put a big bowl on the scale and then "tare" it so it goes to 0 grams (you are measuring in grams).

Add 100 grams of your starter. 

Add 360 grams of room temp/slightly warm water. I usually take a big mug of water and microwave it for 20 seconds. Comes out to about 80 degrees. A thermometer is great for checking this--I also use a thermometer to check how warm my starter is when it's in the jar. 

Stir.

Add 500 grams of all-purpose flour. 

I used to use separate bowls but I realized I was just aiming for 960 grams on the scale when I was done and it saves some time and dishes. 

Stir into a dough.

6. Cover and let sit in a warm spot (I just put it on top of the stove but sometimes I check the air temp there with my thermometer) for about 30 minutes. This is a very important step because it lets the flour absorb the water. 

Add 10 grams of sea salt. I used Redmond's, and can only find it on Amazon. Do not use table salt. It's a different consistency for the measurement and your bread will be too salty.

Either mix in the salt with your hand or a wooden spoon. Form the dough into a loose ball but keep it in the bowl.

7. Cover and let sit for 30 minutes.

Put some flour on a cutting board and scrape the dough onto the board. Do some stretch and folds, just for about 15 seconds, maybe 4 or 5 of them. Don't over-handle the dough.

There are a ton of quick tutorials out there on how to stretch and fold. It's not complicated at all but just watching someone explain how to do it is helpful. It's not a long task or process. 

Cover and let sit for 30 minutes.

Stretch and fold again.

Cover and let sit for 30 minutes.

Stretch and fold again.

Cover and let sit for 30 minutes.

Stretch and fold again.

Four times is usually the magic number for stretching and folding. You can do more but you don't want to over-handle the dough. 

8. Then you have the bulk rise. If you make up your dough in the morning, it's going to rise all day. If you make up your dough at night, it will rise overnight. Again, I used to think that it needed to rise for like 12 hours. It doesn't. The key is to just let it double in size, just like with the starter after you feed it. I used to get over-fermented dough because I let it go too long. For me, I normally mix up the dough around 8-10pm and then will bake it around 9am (because I'm lazy and get up late...you can do it earlier). Or I'll mix it up in the morning and bake it late afternoon or evening. Again, just let it double in size. 

9. Flour a cutting board, scrape out the dough, shape it into a loose rectangle and gently fold it up into a loaf shape. I tri-fold it and then tuck in the ends. 

10. Put it into a loaf pan. I use a regular metal one. Cover with press-and-seal and place in that warm spot again for about 30 minutes. Then I preheat the oven for the next 15 minutes or so. In all, it sits in the pan for about 45 minutes. 

11. I bake at 392 degrees F. The very first recipe I used gave that as the time so that's what I stuck with and it works. I've seen loaf pan recipes say to bake at 375 degrees or 400 degrees. I'm sure the difference between 392 and 400 is negligible at best, but I like what I like. 

Score the top. Nothing fancy here and I just use a paring knife. You just need a place for steam to escape. 

I usually bake for 40 minutes. I set the timer and check on it at that point. I do usually put a knife into the center but if the outside is golden brown and it's puffed-up, it's done. 

That's it. No fancy equipment. Just a few links to products I already use. No videos. No ads that slow your scrolling. This is my tried and true method. 

Let me know if you try it and I'd love for you to share your own recipe for sourdough!

Friday things, 2/27

This week, I posted recent content again. Cannot recommend Paradise enough if you need a show to binge this weekend! 

Linking up with Friday Favorites!

1. I have big, big thoughts about this:

Grown adults who are not or were not teachers have no idea how this works. My first year in the classroom, I was sick most of the year. Started with student-teaching. Literally the sickest I'd ever been to that point and still couldn't miss without a doctor's note. I had a cold or a cough, literally, for the next 5 years on and off. I had strep throat for the first time ever as a 25 year old. Scott would catch what it was from me and get it twice as bad. It never failed. His years in Afghanistan were probably a respite from the constant respiratory viruses, to be honest. 

My point is, you have these people who haven't been around small children since they were a small child. They go to work in an office or something and then when they have kids post-25/30/35, they're all shocked and put out that they're getting sick again. Like, nope. My immune system did the work pre-30. So this does not apply to all of us. It's actually just showing a level of ignorance. 

This is a result from a society being one where children are not considered to be a huge part of many peoples' lives. Birth rate is down, people think kids are too much work, no one wants to go into child-centered fields anymore, adults just want a dog or a cat and kids are too much of a hassle, etc.

At this point in my life, my kids get colds and coughs and low fevers occasionally, Scott will get sick for a day or two (not as much as he used to), and I'm usually fine. The one exception was when my immune system was definitely compromised during pregnancy exactly 4 years ago and I had a sinus infection for 4 weeks. 

**Bonus comment regarding kids: You know how people are like "stop being lazy get up before your kids this is your own fault that you never get anything accomplished"? 

Well, blogging in real time, I got up at 5:05am this morning to "get stuff done" and guess who was up by 5:20? My kids. 

I wish all of those people nights of restless sleep and I hope their nannies quit because let's face it: the only way moms are "getting it all done at 5am" is if they have hired help. Change my mind.

2. I tracked grocery spending for February and the good news is that I came in at $699. I'm going to guess that a few expenditures would put that over $700 but that includes things like paper towels, toilet paper, hand soap...anything I would buy at Aldi. I made a few small Walmart runs because I will only buy name-brand in certain products (soda, sour cream, etc) but cutting out those $150-200 Walmart pick-ups made a difference. 

3. Scott brought home a Dubai chocolate bar. I had no idea these were so stupidly expensive. But I really liked it. The irony of talking about it right after I mention I saved money on food this month is not lost on me. However, what Scott spends at gas stations is none of my business, you know? I was just tracking food and such. But anyway: I think a lot of people think Dubai chocolate is too sweet but I think it's just about perfect.

4. Does anyone know an actual method for keeping an orchard alive and blooming? I've read a lot about it. I have finally switched to water. 

5. 

Content I'm Consuming, vol. 3

Watching: Paradise. Season 2 started on Monday. Do not sleep on this show. I could not stop watching. I even posted to stories about how it's like watching a movie. You MUST try it. It's on Disney+. Again, DO NOT SLEEP ON THIS SHOW. GO TO WATCH IT IMMEDIATELY. I cannot stress this enough. 

We watched the original Guardians of the Galaxy the other night. I'm not a movie person but Scott is and when I offer up "Love is Blind?" as a suggestion when he asks what I want to watch, the look I get in return is something else. So he will occasionally find a movie he knows I haven't seen because he knows I don't watch movies. This is how we ended up watching Interstellar a few weeks ago. I like Chris Pratt and it was funny so this worked out okay. 

Over the weekend, I made it through all three episodes of the America's Next Top Model Documentary on Netflix. I definitely recommend. The show started in 2003 and I don't think I picked up on it, really, until 2006-2007ish but there must have been 3-4 cycles a year because there were a ton of reruns available by that point. My only takeaway is that Tyra is definitely a villain and the two Jays and Nigel were definitely victimized as much as the contestants in the end. 

Also, I am caught up on the first two drops of Love is Blind and it's just not that interesting to me, unfortunately. The men are trash, the women have weird expectations, and I'm no fan of Chris, but the fact that Jessica got divorced during covid because her husband "didn't understand" is a red flag. She was probably really annoying. 

Listening: The Prosecutors are doing a series on The Isdal Woman. It had me gripped. You need to listen to it. There are 6 parts but not all have been released yet.

Okay, I do enjoy a good Whatever debate with Andrew Wilson. This one was something to behold. She was bragging about her IQ before she started and these comments had me rolling:

Reading: I just finished Count My Lies from Book of the Month.

I am currently re-reading First Light by Rebecca Stead. if you have a middle-grade kid, I cannot recommend it enough. 

I also have an Audible credit to burn so looking for something nonfiction...

What are you reading, listening to, or watching lately? Always looking for items to add to my list!

Volume 1

Volume 2

Friday Things, 2/20 (Empties!)

This week I shared about things that don't bother me and also some easy caesar chicken wraps, which are my new go-to for dinner when I don't feel like cooking. 

1. I've not watched a single second of the Olympics. Which is kind of sad. I didn't do that on purpose. We just don't have the TV on? I used to be glued to the Winter Olympics and now I feel all kinds of guilt for not watching with my kids? The first Olympics I really remember watching were the summer ones in 1996 when I was 10, so I guess I have time. But anyway, just depressing to think how I don't care this year. 

2. Since spring is on the horizon, my ads are warm-weather-related. This keeps popping up:

I bought these last year and they were the best thing I bought, maybe ever, in the shoe category. Cannot recommend enough. I do think that if I buy one sandal this year, it'll be another pair. 

3. Empties! I like to throw things away very quickly after using them so it pains me to have to save a pile until I'm ready to share. I love a good empties round-up though because it's where I get recommendations.

Arbonne facewash. I got this as a free gift with an order last summer and it lasted for several months. I only used it in the morning. It's extremely gentle and fragrance-free. I don't order Arbonne anymore but if you're having trouble finding a facewash for your sensitive skin, it's definitely worth a try. 

By Nature Vitamin C Serum. This is the end of my 3rd or 4th bottle in the last almost-two-years. If you're new to vitamin C and you want something gentle that also smells citrusy, this is for you. It also seems to fit the "crunchy" guidelines if you're reading ingredients.

John Frieda Frizz Ease leave-in conditioner spray. I love it. I use it to de-tangle Sutton's hair too. It adds extra moisture and makes it easier to smooth out and dry without extra heat treatment. 

Grace and Stella eye masks. I got these for Christmas and they're fine but I actually think just about all of these masks are created equal. 

Maybelline Full Time mascara. I bought this because the "full and soft" was like $10...it used to be $5...and I figured I might as well try something different for that price. I liked it a lot. I'm pretty easy with mascara though. 

Hi Pro Pac Conditioner for Damaged Hair. This is so great for blond hair or color-treated hair. I ended up being scolded by a stylist at Great Clips last fall because my hair was dry. Okay, well, a few inches off the end sort of solved that problem but then I tried this conditioner (found on a whim at Walmart) and it gave me new hair. 

I don't have a great "before" but this is after with just a blow-dryer and not even a round brush. 

I ended up buying the big bottles on Amazon after that and I use it a few days a week. The little packs are less than $3 at Walmart and you can get a 2-3 uses out of one pack if you want to give it a try!

4. This serum deserves its own number because I have a love/hate relationship with it and maybe you can help. 

I bought this in November-ish and used it for about a month and got amazing results. Smoothed my skin, evened my skin tone, seriously a fabulous product. Then it started to bother my eyes. Now it's not like I was putting it around my eyes or close to my eyes but I think it was migrating and/or it was just irritating to my eyes by being on my face. I switched to every other night and then a few days a week and it was always a problem the next day after I used it. I've gone back and forth with it for a month now and I've finally given up. The bottle is almost empty but I have to stop myself from using it because the burning/watery/irritated eyes are not worth it. (I have run through every other possible cause and this is what I've narrowed down as the likely cause.) 

So...does anyone else have that experience with retinol? Or with this particular product? I used actual tretinoin for acne for years and never had this problem. 

And then my friend (who is from Korea) gave me real Korean retinol serum and I've been using it VERY carefully and very sparingly hoping to get results but without irritating anything at the same time. 

Any advice in this department? It's the first time I've ventured into the retinol space. 

5. 

I can't wash and blow-dry my hair and get out the door in a reasonable amount of time. Add in getting kids ready and it's not physically possible. My hair is so thick and heavy that I have to wash it at night, and dry it and style it in the morning. If I have ANYWHERE to go with "done-ish" hair before noon, I have to shower at night. This is my lot in life. I used to wonder how everyone else could look put-together at 7am after showering and washing their hair...they don't have thick hair or they don't wash it often. It took me until I was like 30 years old to figure this out. 

I haven't had McDonald's, honestly, since college. Maybe a milkshake or fries when I was pregnant with Wells and the only place to get milkshakes was McDonald's in Laramie? (I mean, it was hit or miss with that, though.)

Wells has been BEGGING to go to Burger King for, like, years now (I think it's the commercials). Scott was planning on taking them last week when they were on a road trip and they were 2 miles from BK when Wells spotted a McDonald's and wanted to stop there instead. 

This is how I feel about the current season of Love is Blind. I think it's jumped the shark. Too many know too much about the show and what to say and what to do to get screen time. The first season was still the best because everyone was more authentic.

Linking up with Friday Favorites!