Sourdough and store-bought bread may look similar, but they are not even close to the same thing. One is built slowly by wild yeast and fermentation, making it easier to digest and better for your gut. The other is designed to be fast and shelf-stable, full of fillers and preservatives to force a quick result.
Just like the garden, everything that makes sourdough good happens quietly, below the surface. Time does the work. The culture strengthens. Flavor and nutrition develop without needing anything artificial added in.
If you’ve been curious about sourdough but felt intimidated, I put together a simple, printable quick-reference guide you can keep right on your counter. It shows how I feed my starter, what “warm” really means, how much to keep, and how to use the discard without turning it into a whole production.
Cups to grams, the conversions I actually use
These are approximate but reliable for everyday baking. If I bake in cups, I stay in cups. If I bake in grams, I stay in grams. Mixing the two mid-recipe is where things go sideways.
- Flour. 1 cup all-purpose ≈ 120 g. 1 cup bread flour ≈ 125 g. ½ cup ≈ 60 g. ¼ cup ≈ 30 g.
- Water. 1 cup ≈ 240 g. ½ cup ≈ 120 g. ¼ cup ≈ 60 g.
- Sourdough starter. 1 cup ≈ 225 to 240 g. ½ cup ≈ 110 to 120 g. ¼ cup ≈ 55 to 60 g.
- Salt. 1 teaspoon fine sea salt ≈ 5 g. ½ teaspoon ≈ 2.5 g.
Starter feed ratios
Ratios are starter : flour : water. Feed based on when you want to bake. Lighter feeds peak faster, heavier feeds buy you time.
- 1:1:1. Good for regular maintenance. Peaks in about 4 to 6 hours in a warm kitchen.
- 1:2:2. Stronger feed, steadier rise. Peaks in about 6 to 8 hours.
- 1:3:3. Best for overnight feeds or a sluggish starter. Peaks in about 8 to 12 hours.
When is your starter ready?
- It has doubled, or more.
- Domed on top, good and bubbly.
- Smells yeasty and clean, not sharp.
Temperature notes
Ideal starter temperature is 70 to 78°F. Cool kitchens mean a slower rise, warm kitchens a faster one.
Real-life timing expectations
From mixing to baking, it’s the same day if your kitchen is warm and overnight if it’s cooler. If the dough is slow, wait longer. Don’t rush it. Sourdough almost always catches up.
A few extra tips
- Shaggy dough is fine. A little water on your hands makes it easier to handle. Don’t keep adding flour. Let the gluten build and the sticky dough will improve over time.
- Under-proofed is easier to fix than over-proofed. Overproof rule of thumb: bake it anyway.
- Want a soft crust? Add 1 to 2 tablespoons honey and 1 to 2 tablespoons melted butter or oil, mixed in with the water and starter at the beginning. If you love a crackly, rustic crust, skip this and bake as written.
The easy sourdough recipe
PrintEasy Sourdough Bread
The reliable everyday loaf. Mix, a few stretch and folds, a long bulk ferment, then bake same day or straight from the fridge the next morning.
- Prep Time: 2 hours 30 minutes
- Bulk Ferment: 8 to 12 hours
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Total Time: about 12 hours, mostly hands off
- Yield: 1 loaf
- Category: Bread
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 60 g active, bubbly sourdough starter (about 1/4 cup)
- 340 g water (about 1 1/3 cups plus 2 tablespoons)
- 500 g bread flour or all-purpose flour (about 3 2/3 cups)
- 10 g salt (about 1 1/2 teaspoons)
Instructions
- Mix. Stir the water, starter, flour, and salt until everything is hydrated. The dough will look shaggy and sticky, which is exactly right.
- Stretch and folds. Over the next 2 hours, do 3 to 4 rounds of stretch-and-folds, about every 30 minutes. Grab one side of the dough, stretch it up, fold it over itself, turn the bowl, and repeat a few times. This builds strength without kneading.
- Bulk ferment. Cover and let the dough rise until it looks puffy and has grown noticeably, usually 8 to 12 hours depending on temperature.
- Choose your path. Same-day bake: after the bulk rise, gently shape the dough, rest 1 to 2 hours at room temperature, then bake. Next-day bake (my usual): after shaping, place the dough in a floured bowl or banneton, cover, and refrigerate overnight. This adds flavor and makes the dough easier to handle.
- Bake. Preheat a Dutch oven to 500°F. Bake straight from the fridge or counter: 25 minutes covered at 450°F, then 20 minutes uncovered until deeply golden.
- Cool before slicing.
Notes
Shaggy dough is fine. A little water on your hands makes it easier to handle. Do not keep adding flour; let the gluten build and the sticky dough will improve over time.
Under-proofed is easier to fix than over-proofed. Overproof rule of thumb: bake it anyway.
Want a soft crust? For a softer, more sandwich-style crust, add 1 to 2 tablespoons honey and 1 to 2 tablespoons melted butter or oil, mixed in with the water and starter at the beginning. If you love a crackly, rustic crust, skip this and bake as written.
Take the printable version with you
Here’s the whole quick-reference sheet as a PDF. Print it and keep it right on the counter.
Once your starter is going strong, the discard jar fills up fast. It turns into crackers, focaccia, and English muffins.
Everything we’ve written about sourdough, from starter care to discard recipes, lives on one page: Sourdough at Our House.
Written by
Lane and Jules Morris
Authors and University of Tennessee faculty writing from our farm in East Tennessee about gardening, the farm kitchen, faith and designing a flourishing life at any age. More about us
