Saturday, May 3, 2025

It's a perfect time of year to...

... build a sourdough starter from scratch! Friends, if you've ever wanted to build a sourdough starter from scratch or if you've tried in the past and failed, it's time to try again!

We've had a glorious few days of sunny skies and warm weather here in Upstate New York, and my starter hasn't been happier in months. I'm not feeding it any differently; it's thriving simply because the temperature outside has risen.

This got me thinking: if the weather here is finally looking bright (despite the forecast of rain for the next 7 days), it's likely even nicer where you are. Conditions are prime for building a sourdough starter from scratch.

And wouldn't it be fun to do together? I knew you'd think so!

I've created a 7-day Sourdough Starter from Scratch Challenge. If you join, it will start tomorrow, and it will require no more than 1-2 minutes of work a day for the next 7 days. Every morning for the next week, you will receive an email with a 1-minute video showing you what to do. Next Friday, I will hold Sourdough Starter Office Hours via Zoom (details to follow) to help with any issues.

Also: this will be a zero-waste exercise! By the end of the 7 days, you will have a vat of discard, and I will send you specific recipes that will help you put every gram of that discard to excellent use.

Sound fun? If you join, by this time next week, you'll have a happy, bubbly starter you can put to work right away. Click the button below to join the challenge.

Sourdough Starter from Scratch Challenge

Review of the Week

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Simple Sourdough Bread, Step by Step

"Not making this up: I've been baking with sourdough since 1979. This, by far, is the best recipe for sourdough bread I have come across for consistent high oven spring results. It is simple and produces great crunchy loaves time after time."

— Marty Brown