*A note about the Sourdough Sisterhood: This passion started from a very special sisterhood. It began with a group of women, friends who have become family. These friends supported and inspired me to bring this passion to life, cheered me on, and helped me find the magic of the sourdough process. That said, sourdough is for EVERYONE. I am so glad you’re here. 

Shop my Sourdough Store on Etsy, where you’ll find my Sourdough Sisterhood starter kit, dehydrated starter, Sourdough Sisterhood Recipe Book (including this recipe and so many more delicious fermented and discard recipes for your kitchen – think pancakes, pizza, english muffins, pie crust, cookies, crackers, and more), video tutorials, my new Sourdough Sister’s Ultimate Travel Guide, A Sourdough Adventure kids’ book, limited edition holiday recipe books, and all sorts of fun bundles too!

Looking for some Sourdough Sisterhood swag? I’ve got you covered! Enjoy hoodies, beanies, and more (even some fun for the tiny bakers in your life). So grateful for this sisterhood.

Ok, let’s chat SOURDOUGH. Who knew something so simple could bring so much joy, presence, grounding, and nourishment? My journey started with a meal made during my first postpartum experience in 2017, kept up through sourdough shared with love during our 1.5-year van living and adventure across the country, and has continued over the past 7 years with the creation of my simple guide, recipe books, tutorials, workshops and more.

My goal will always be to make sourdough approachable, adaptable, and nourishing for body and soul

And through it all, sourdough has continued to bring joy, nourishment, food freedom, a creative outlet, and an opportunity for grounding, processing, and connection.

My goal will always be to share my journey in hopes that you can take what’s worked for me and make it your own, evolving this simple recipe – and all things sourdough – to fit into your life and your tastes.

Did you know sourdough is the oldest form of leavened bread and was used as far back as ancient Egypt? No wonder I feel so connected and grounded when I bake. I love that every recipe you’ll find will be a little bit different. Just like stories shift and change when passed down from generation to generation, so to do our sourdough techniques. I think of this much less as a recipe and much  more as a guide to help you tell your own story through sourdough. One thing is for certain, though: all sourdough begins with a starter, a mixture of flour, water, and what feels like a pinch of magic. Sitting at room temperature, wild yeasts in the air and on the flour settle into the starter mixture. The fermentation that occurs after a few days gives the starter its sour smell and magic powers. Our starter is named Willow, and I plan on sharing her with loved ones and passing her down to Evie and hopefully many generations to come.I’ve gotten a lot of questions about why I can enjoy sourdough when I usually don’t feel great eating gluten. Well, it comes down, once again, to the magic of the starter and fermentation she brings. The fermentation process that gives the bread its delicious sour taste also makes it much more gut-friendly than your standard bread, especially when you stick to organic and sprouted grains, and even more ideally, ancient einkorn. The sourdough’s bacteria breaks down the flour in a way that mimics our microbiome. In fact, the microbes that are in your sourdough starter are the same microbes that are in the soil and in our guts. How wild is that? We’re more connected to the earth than we often realize. What happens is that the wild yeast and bacteria in a sourdough starter break down some of the carbohydrates and proteins found in flour that can be tough on our guts, making for a much more easily digestible  and nutritionally beneficial real food. The fermentation also increases the body’s ability to absorb vitamins and minerals from the sourdough. As your dough ferments, it produces enzymes that break down phytic acid, which can inhibit the body’s ability to absorb nutrients.

So, not only does sourdough taste outstanding, it’s also nutrient dense and a great vessel for other nourishing foods like grass fed butter, avocado, smoked salmon, chili, soup, and more. The options are endless.

First, let’s talk about your STARTER.

Here is a video where I break down how to rehydrate and care for your starter.

Ours is named Willow, she is loved by my whole family. Willow started from dehydrated starter gifted to me by my dear friend Ashley. I slowly rehydrated it over the course of three days and have been feeding Willow daily ever since, aside from a few travel stints where she waited patiently for me to return in the fridge. Usually, I like storing her in an airtight glass container, on my counter.

Step 1: adopt or borrow some organic, well loved starter from someone you trust. You can find my Willow in my Etsy shop. Or get one from a friend, like my dear friend Ashley, a relative (older the better), a local sourdough bakery, or a wonderful small family farm like my friends at The Farm and the Kitchen. I am not here to tell you how to start one from scratch because I think one of the most beautiful thing about sourdough is how cool it is to start a whole new starter and sourdough practice after inheriting sourdough that’s been loved on by someone else.

Step 2: Rehydrating and feeding are pretty much the same. Add 1/3 cup organic unbleached flour of your choice (I’ve maintained mine with only organic unbleached white flour and have found great success) and 1/3 cup room temp or slightly lukewarm water. Stir and repeat morning and evening every day until you have a robust starter of your own. Once your starter is nice and bubbly, take it down to once a day (I like morning). At this point, you’ll need to discard a bit. Take about 1/4 cup of starter out before you add your flour and water. I love using this for Evie’s sourdough pancakes, our absolute favorite pizza (baked in our Ooni pizza oven), and all of the other recipes in my Sourdough Sisterhood recipe book!

Note: I have found the best success and most active happy floating starter from feeding about 3-4 hours before beginning a loaf, but this process is forgiving, and sometimes, I will start a loaf with a starter fed even 12 hours before!

And now, friends, it’s time to bake.

*note: if you prefer to flip pages and see recipes in cookbook form, checkout my recipe book!

Here are the steps to baking your own simple loaf. I’ve included the times I like to start and bake for reference. Another beautiful thing about sourdough is that you can make the process work into your own unique life. I plan to continue to expand and add to this post as my knowledge and experience grows too. That’s the beauty of sourdough baking, we get to ebb, flow, and grow along with our starters and our loaves.

Want to try a sandwich loaf? I’ve created an einkorn sandwich loaf that the whole family loves.

Oh, and looking for a bread knife to cut those perfect sandwich slices? Nakano knives has you covered. Save 30% with code: LAURAB.

Thank you for being here, friend. I’d love to hear from you. Who’s baking? I’d love to hear your sourdough stories, experiences, wins, and lessons learned. Let’s connect in comments or over on Instagram. Tag me and #sourdoughsisterhood in your sharing!