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16 Sourdough Mistakes (or Myths)

If you’re new to sourdough and struggling to get good-quality loaves of bread, you may be making the same common sourdough mistakes many of us have! You also may have believed some of the following sourdough myths, keeping you from getting started. Rest assured, it gets easier to consistently make delicious, light, fluffy bread the more you know!

A woman holding up a loaf of artisan bread.

When I first started baking with sourdough, I made every single mistake in the book. I sure wish I’d seen these 33 things to know BEFORE baking with sourdough!

I nearly gave up on my sourdough journey, but commercially prepared ‘sourdough’ bread usually isn’t true sourdough. I wanted the delicious flavor and all the health benefits so I persevered and learned a lot of tips and tricks that now help to make sourdough really simple and really practical.

If making delicious sourdough Parkerhouse Rolls, no-knead artisan loaves, gooey sourdough brownies, pizza crust, cinnamon rolls, and sourdough pancakes is something you want to become second nature in your kitchen, then keep reading!

A woman in the kitchen chopping an avocado.

This post was originally published in 2021 but has since been updated with my podcast interview with Lisa Bass. Together, we’re sharing our top sourdough mistakes (or common misconceptions) to avoid so you don’t make them in your sourdough journey.

About Lisa Bass

Lisa is a mom of 8 who is passionate about homeschooling, homesteading, and making real food for her family. She’s been blogging since 2009, and on her website, Farmhouse on Boone, you’ll find amazing sourdough recipes, fermented foods, and many projects to make your home feel cozy. She recently wrote another book; this time, it’s all about sourdough!

So, it makes sense that in today’s podcast, we’ll discuss common sourdough misconceptions and mistakes many people new to sourdough baking make.

Common Sourdough Mistakes & Misconceptions

Fresh loaf of sourdough bread coming out of a cast iron dutch oven.

Making Sourdough Is Hard & High Maintenance

This is a common misconception that keeps many people from even trying sourdough. Lisa says that if you can make a common loaf of yeast bread, you can bake sourdough.

Though sourdough may seem hard at first, there are some very basic recipes to get you started on the right path to successful sourdough baking. Furthermore, once you’re used to the sourdough basics, baking with sourdough is even easier than other yeast recipes.

Don’t feel like you have to know all the sourdough terminology right away. You’ll get there eventually. Take one small step at a time.

A woman holding a plate of sourdough pancakes.

Starter Must Be Mature Before Baking

The next common misconception is that you can’t bake with your sourdough starter until it’s mature. Just because your starter may not be strong enough to bake a loaf of bread doesn’t mean you can’t use it to add flavor and nutritional value to things like sourdough discard pancakes, brownies, muffins, etc.

Furthermore, Lisa actually disproved the misnomer that a 10-year-old sourdough starter is better than a brand-new starter when she was trying to do the opposite for her sourdough book. She said that in seven days, her brand-new starter produced a fluffier boule than her 10-year-old starter!

In fact, sourdough starter matures up to a point (and continues to get better), but beyond that maturity, it will not keep improving for hundreds of years (despite what some people may tell you).

Sourdough starter being measured into a glass bowl.

Starter Must Pass Float Test

The float test involves taking about a tablespoon of your sourdough starter and dropping it into a glass of water. The idea is that if the starter floats, it’s strong enough to make a loaf of bread rise.

Funny enough, Lisa had never even heard of the float test before 2020, yet had successfully made bread for years. Something that we both identified in the interview is that the amount of yeast naturally occurring in your kitchen plays a big role in how successful your sourdough starter will be.

If you’re constantly sterilizing your kitchen, or perhaps you live in a house that’s brand new construction, you simply may not have enough yeast built up to help support a strong sourdough starter. This is all information to consider when trying to start (and maintain) a healthy and strong sourdough starter.

Woman's hands slicing a boule of whole wheat sourdough bread.

Starter Location Determines Flavor

Lisa and I agree that distinguishing the sourdough flavor of various starters requires a finely tuned palate, which neither of us has.

We also think that if you purchase one of those Klondike or San Francisco sourdough starters, it may start with those unique flavor profiles but will likely take on the yeasts and flavors of your specific kitchen over time.

The moral of the story? Don’t waste your money on expensive starters! Just make your own.

A bowl of flour and measuring cup of water.

You Must Use Filtered Water

This is one “misconception” that we will agree with. Though you don’t have to use filtered water, if you know your tap water has been treated with chlorine, you may want to use filtered water to feed your starter as it can kill the beneficial yeast.

That being said, we know many people who successfully bake sourdough bread using tap water, filtered water, distilled water or well water. Don’t let your water source be what keeps you from just getting started!

A vertical view of sourdough starter in a glass bowl.

Discarding Starter is a Waste of Money

So many people tell you to discard half your starter before feeding it. But the word “discard” is a bit misleading. Both Lisa and I agree that you should never throw your sourdough starter in the trash. Instead, you “discard” part of the starter into another container.

Once you have enough sourdough discard saved up, you can bake pancakes or use it in any other sourdough discard recipe.

I don’t like the advice of throwing your starter away because those are ingredients you’ve paid for and spent time maintaining. However, when feeding a sourdough starter, you’re constantly doubling how much you have. So if you don’t discard some of that starter each time you feed it, you’ll be using a lot of ingredients just to keep up a viable sourdough starter.

Remember, there are plenty of things you can make with that discard! You be the judge of whether or not you’ll continue to feed and double your starter, or choose to keep a small amount to feed just a little each day.

A woman teaching her daughter to make homemade rolls.

Sourdough Baking is Expensive

This will be determined by many things: the type of flour you use, how expensive your other ingredients are, how often you’re baking, whether you’re truly throwing away your sourdough discard, etc.

Lisa and I believe sourdough baking is extremely frugal. You only need a few ingredients to bake a delicious loaf of bread. Whereas commercial yeast bread can call for a handful of ingredients (or more), sourdough bread only needs flour, water and salt.

Parkerhouse rolls in a cast iron skillet with a bowl of melted butter in the foreground and a pastry brush.

Sourdough Tastes Too Sour (Or Not Sour Enough)

How sour your bread is will be determined by the type of flour you use and your rise (or proofing) time. Generally speaking, an all-purpose flour will be less sour than a whole grain or freshly milled flour. Also, the longer you allow the bread to ferment, the more sour it will become.

There are many different tricks to change the sourness of your loaf. If you’re looking for more sourness, you can implement using a starter that hasn’t been fed in a while, doing bulk ferments, using freshly milled whole grain flour, etc.

On the other hand, if you don’t enjoy that sour flavor, Lisa has a same-day sourdough loaf recipe in her new book that’s not sour at all.

Again, without getting too fancy or lost in all the sourdough confusion. In short, you can manipulate how sour your loaf is to suit your taste.

Sourdough sandwich loaf being sliced.

Sourdough Bread Always Has a Hard Crust

There are certainly loaves of sourdough bread with a crusty outer shell and a soft, fluffy inside, which is something that many people are looking for in their sourdough bread.

However, other ingredients (such as fat and dairy) can be added to a loaf of bread to keep the crust soft, more like a loaf of sandwich bread.

Also, slathering the crust of the bread with butter after it’s baked will help soften it even further.

You Can’t Overfeed or Underfeed a Sourdough Starter

Mature starters can last an incredibly long amount of time in the refrigerator with zero care or feedings. Many people will tell you that your starter must be fed weekly to stay alive. While that’s the best practice and will ensure your starter is always ready for baking, this doesn’t mean a neglected starter is too old or dead.

If you have a neglected starter, all you need to do is bring it to room temperature, reduce the amount to just about a tablespoon, give it proper feedings for about three days, and you should be good to go!

Be sure to properly space out your feedings to once every 12 hours. You have to give your sourdough starter time to let the yeast properly consume and digest the flour. If you speed the process up too much, your starter won’t be able to keep up.

A serving platter of chocolate sourdough brownies.

Sourdough Starter is Only for Baking Bread

Don’t limit yourself to bread only! Those delicious brownies pictures above? They’re made with sourdough starter!

You can add sourdough starter to so many baked goods. Even if your starter isn’t strong enough to raise a loaf of bread, don’t toss it out! Add it for flavor and nutritional value to brownies, muffins, pizza crust, rolls, soft pretzels… the options are endless!

NutriMill Grain mill on a kitchen counter with two glass bowls of grain and flour.

One Must Have Special Equipment for Sourdough

There are so many great and helpful tools for sourdough, but they’re not necessary to bake a simple loaf of bread. If you have the equipment necessary to bake a loaf of yeasted bread, you’ll have what you need to bake a loaf of sourdough bread.

It’s my recommendation to learn the basics of feeding a sourdough starter and baking a simple loaf of bread first, then add fun tools like proofing bowls, lames, etc.

A bowl of dough with a whisk and wooden spoon in the foreground.

Sourdough Starter Should Never Touch Silicone, Metal or Plastic

Both Lisa and I have used metal spoons in our sourdough starter for years with no issue. We’ve also used plastic, silicone and other utensils to work with our sourdough starter. Lisa doesn’t care for wooden utensils because they’re too hard to clean (especially if the sourdough starter or batter dries on the spoon before cleaning).

Although it doesn’t seem to be an issue for the sourdough, neither of us likes to store our starter in plastic containers due to microplastics.

But as for specific materials, we haven’t come across any issues.

A mason jar labeled "Sourdough Backup" with a bowl of flour and a spoon in the background.

Not Keeping a Backup Starter

Always, always, always keep a little bit of starter stashed away in a jar in the refrigerator. ALWAYS!

This is just a backup in case you kill the starter that you keep out on the counter. This will save you a lot of time, so you don’t need to start with a fresh batch in case life happens and your starter dies.

Alternatively, you can preserve your sourdough starter by freeze drying or dehydrating it. If you don’t have a freeze dryer or a dehydrator, you can also just spread some starter onto waxed or parchment paper, let it air dry, crumble it up and store it in a ziplock baggie in the freezer.

Loaf of no knead artisan bread on a counter with ingredients in the background.

Getting Stuck on Someone Else’s Sourdough Schedule

Sourdough starter is extremely resilient and doesn’t always require the strict schedule you may have heard or read about.

Sure, there are some basic principles for getting the strongest, most viable starter, but you can typically get your starter onto a good routine that works for you without babysitting it multiple times daily.

Also, you can use the refrigerator as a pause button to give yourself a break as needed! You can place your starter in the refrigerator, or if you’re mid-rise on a loaf of bread and won’t have time to bake, you can wrap it up and toss it in the fridge, too!

A mason jar filled with gluten free quinoa flour.

Limiting Sourdough Starter Flour Options

Most people just use plain old white flour for their sourdough starters. This is completely fine; however, if you’ve never tasted whole wheat sourdough, you have no idea the depth of flavor you’re missing!

But many people don’t realize you can also make a sourdough starter out of rye, rice, quinoa, and many more flours, all with great success. I think making gluten-free sourdough is actually easier. Once you have a gluten-free sourdough starter, you’ll have to start by making these gluten-free sourdough cinnamon rolls. They’re to die for!

Hopefully, this blog post and podcast interview have dispelled some of the myths you’ve heard about sourdough. Are you ready to jump in? Then keep reading to find out where you can get Lisa’s book, Daily Sourdough.

A woman in an apron with three loaves of homemade bread on the counter.

Where to Find Lisa

Make sure you check out Lisa over at Farmhouse on Boone and do a quick search for more sourdough recipes on her blog. You can also follow Lisa on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and Pinterest.

If you’re ready to start baking with sourdough, go grab a copy of her book, Daily Sourdough from Homestead Living (or buy Daily Sourdough on Amazon here).

Gluten free cinnamon rolls, frosted in a cast iron pan.
A man and wife smiling.

Welcome to Homesteading Family!

Josh and Carolyn bring you practical knowledge on how to Grow, Cook, Preserve and Thrive on your homestead, whether you are in a city apartment or on 40 acres in the country. If you want to increase your self-sufficiency and health be sure to subscribe for helpful videos on gardening, preserving, herbal medicine, traditional cooking and more.

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