A Guide To Making Sourdough

Great sourdough is built slowly. Fermentation is where flour, water, culture and time come together to create the flavour and texture that make a loaf worth queuing for.

Built Slowly

It starts with carefully selected flour combined with water and an active sourdough culture. After a short rest, salt is added and the dough is gently developed. This stage is about building strength without rushing: the dough should become smoother, more elastic and better able to hold the gases created by fermentation.

Reading The Dough

Fermentation is never exactly the same from one day to the next. Weather, room temperature and flour all play a part. The trick is to look for signs of readiness — volume, bubbles, elasticity and a light, aerated feel — rather than following a timer blindly.

Flour, water, culture, time. That’s the whole recipe. Everything else is patience.

The Final Proof

Once the dough has developed, it is divided, shaped and given time for its final proof. That patient rest helps create an open crumb, a crisp crust and the gently complex flavour that makes sourdough so satisfying.

Worth The Wait

Good sourdough takes the time it needs — there's no shortcut to a loaf that feels simple, tastes memorable and belongs at the heart of a good breakfast or lunch.