curriculum

follow your own sourdough journey

There is so much sourdough baking content available that it is sometimes overwhelming to figure out how and where to start.  In this section we organize the most popular content from The Sourdough Journey and other sources into individualized paths based on your starting point.  

beginners - creating a sourdough starter

  1. Download Starter Recipe from Tartine Country Bread
  2. Watch “How to Create a Sourdough Starter”
  3. Watch “How to Maintain a Sourdough Starter”
  4. Watch “The Biggest Mistake You Can Make With Your Sourdough Starter: Premature Discarding”
  5. Your starter will take 7-14 days to mature.  During that time, watch the series “Tartine Bread: Beginner Mistakes and Tips.” 

Beginners - Baking the first Loaf

  1. Download the Tartine Country Bread Recipe from the Tartine Website or purchase the Tartine Bread book. 
  2. Watch the video “Tools of the Trade for Sourdough Bakers” and procure essential tools and ingredients
  3. Download and print the Tartine Country Bread Worksheet
  4. Bake a loaf following the video tutorial series “Tartine Bread Step-by-Step: Beginner Mistakes and Tips” 
  5. Continue baking until you get a few consistent results with the Basic Country loaf
  6. Watch the video “The Sourdough Apprentice – Special Edition: Sourdough Brothers” for a refresher on the recipe/process
  7. Continue baking the Basic Country loaf until you can produce consistently good results
  8. If you are struggling with over or under proofing, see section below – “Beginners — Over or Underproofing”

Beginners - over or under proofing

  1. Watch the video “The Mystery of Bulk Fermentation”
  2. Watch the video “When is Bulk Fermentation Done? – Eposode 3 – The Bulk-O-Matic System”
  3. Download and read the Bulk-O-Matic Guide
  4. Watch the video “When is Bulk Fermentation Done? – Episode 4 – Overproofing Problems”
  5. Download the guide “How to Read a Sourdough Crumb.”
  6. Watch the video “How to Read a Sourdough Crumb.” 
  7. Try baking a few loaves based on what you learned
  8. Watch other videos in the “When is Bulk Fermentation Done?” series based on specific issues you may be encountering

sourdough for busy people

  1. Download the guide “Post-Pandemic Sourdough for Busy People: The Low and Slow Method”
  2. Watch the video “Post-Pandemic Sourdough For Busy People”
  3. Test out the 25-minute Prep process and bake your first baseline loaf, following the method as closely as possible. 
  4. Optimize your fermentation by re-watching the second half of the video and calibrating your process to the tools. 
  5. Watch the video, “Two-Stage Bulk Fermentation: For Busy People,” for additional techniques and schedule options. 

weak starter problems

  1. Watch the video “How to Strengthen a Weak Starter.”
  2. Watch the video “How to Double Your Starter Strength in 6 Days (or less)”
  3. Watch “The Biggest Mistake You Can Make With Your Sourdough Starter: Premature Discarding”
  4. Watch the video “When is Bulk Fermentation Done?: Episode 2 – The Curse of the Weak Starter”
  5. Watch the video “When is Bulk Fermentation Done?: Episode 6 – Starter Strength and Leaven Percentage”
  6. Follow the six-day starter strengthening regimen in Episode 6 and compare your results to your prior baking

intermediate bakers

  1. Watch the video “The 10 Secrets of Sourdough Success” 
  2. Download and read the guide “The 10 Secrets of Sourdough Success”
  3. Watch the video “When is Bulk Fermentation Done?: Episode 6 – Starter Strength and Leaven Percentage”
  4. Watch the Video series “Tartine Bread: The Art and Alchemy”
  5. Experiment with the techniques described in “Tartine Bread: The Art and Alchemy”
  6. Watch the video series “In Search of Open Crumb”
  7. Watch the video “Experimenting with Bread Flour” and try using some different bread flours
  8. Watch the video “The Secrets of Ovenspring and Baking Temperature” and experiment with different baking methods

in search of open crumb

  1. Read Trevor Wilson’s e-book “Open Crumb Mastery.”
  2. Watch the video “The Impact of Final Shaping on Open Crumb”
  3. Watch the video “The Impact of Pre-Shaping on Open Crumb”
  4. Watch the video “The Impact of Bulk Fermentation on Open Crumb”
  5. Watch the video “How to Make a Basic Open Crumb Sourdough Loaf (Full Proof Baking)”
  6. Watch the video series “Tartine Bread: The Art and Alchemy” 
  7. Watch the video “The Secrets of Ovenspring and Baking Temperature“

tartine obsession

  1. Read Tartine Bread by Chad Robertson
  2. Study Maurizio Leo’s Tartine-based recipes on The Perfect Loaf
  3. Watch “How to Make Open Crumb Sourdough” on Full Proof Baking
  4. Watch Chad Robertson’s Master Class shaping video
  5. Watch the video series “Tartine Bread: The Art and Alchemy”
  6. Choose one of the three experimental loaves from Tartine Bread: Art and Alchemy and try to replicate the results. 
  7. Watch the video “Sourdough Brothers – The Sourdough Apprentice Special Edition.”

comic relief

  1. Watch the video “Sourdough Brothers – The Sourdough Apprentice: Special Edition”
  2. Watch the video “50 Ways to Kill Your Starter.”

managing dough temperature

  1. Watch the video series “Bulk Fermentation: Mastering Temperature and Time”
  2. Watch the video “When is Bulk Fermentation Done?: Episode 7: Some Like it Hot, The Temperature Effect”
  3. Watch the video “When is Bulk Fermentation Done?: Episode 8: Low and Slow at 70F/21C”
  4. Try baking a loaf at 90F/32C bulk fermentation temperature
  5. Try baking a loaf at 70F/21C bulk fermentation temperature

Other special topics

  1. Cold retarding up to 5 days for flavor – “Six Loaves, Five Days – The Long, Cold Proof.”
  2. Understanding leaven percentages – “When is Bulk Fermentation Done?: Episode 5 – Starter/Leaven Percentages”