Sourdough, explained honestly.

How to create a sourdough starter from scratch

A sourdough starter is just flour, water and patience — the wild yeast is already all around you. Most starters fail for one reason: people follow day counts instead of watching the dough. A stage is finished when the mixture has doubled in volume, never before. A rubber band on the jar is all the equipment that rule needs.

And the biggest head start? Our method begins with a simple kick-start trick using one everyday kitchen ingredient — it gets a young culture going days faster and makes the first week almost fail-proof. It's the heart of Module 1.

How to feed and care for your starter — the Lievito Madre way

All our breads are baked with a Lievito Madre — the stiff, Italian-style sourdough starter. Less water in the culture means the yeast wins over the acid-producing bacteria: milder flavor, stronger rise, and a starter that forgives you a busy week in the fridge.

The dome test — a taste of the method

You never need a clock to know whether your Madre is ready:

• Surface curves up into a small dome → active and ready to use, even straight from the fridge.
• Dome has collapsed → it wants a feeding first, no matter what the calendar says.

How to revive a neglected starter

The reassuring truth: starters are far tougher than their reputation. After a week or two in the fridge, a single feeding usually brings them right back — and even the jar you forgot for months is almost certainly not dead.

The 10-second check

• Pink or orange discoloration, or fuzzy mold → the only true emergency. Discard and start fresh.
• Dark liquid, a dry crust, a sharp smell → looks dramatic, is harmless. This starter can be brought back.

How to back up your starter (so you can never lose it)

Five minutes of work gives you insurance that lasts years — no matter what happens to the jar on your counter.

Drying (the long-term backup)

1. Feed your starter and wait until it's active and bubbly.
2. Spread a thin layer (2–3 mm) on parchment paper.
3. Let it air-dry completely at room temperature, 1–2 days, until it snaps like a cracker.
4. Break into flakes, store in a labeled airtight jar in the pantry. Keeps for a year or more.

Reviving from flakes

1. Soak 15 g of flakes in 30 g warm water for a few hours until dissolved.
2. Add 30 g flour, stir, keep warm.
3. Feed twice daily — expect real bubbling within 2–3 days. Once it doubles reliably, return it to its usual stiff Lievito Madre form and rhythm (the full feeding plan is Module 2 of the Starter Kit).

How to tell when bulk fermentation is done

Bulk fermentation — the first rise, after mixing and before shaping — is where most sourdough goes right or wrong. The clock can't tell you when it's done: fermentation speed changes drastically with temperature, so a recipe's "4–6 hours" is only ever a suggestion. The dough itself gives clearer answers.

Three signs to look for

• Volume: grown noticeably — but not doubled. A straight-sided container with a marked starting level makes this readable.
• Bubbles: scattered on the surface and visible at the sides of the container.
• Jiggle: shake the container gently — the dough wobbles as one lively mass, like set jelly.