How to Revive a Dried Sourdough Starter (The Complete Guide)
Dehydrated sourdough starter is one of the most reliable ways to store, share, and preserve a strong and mature culture. Once dried, the yeast and bacteria inside it go dormant—almost like seeds waiting for moisture. Reviving it is simple, but doing it correctly ensures you restore a healthy, balanced, and fully active starter that behaves […]
Is the Brod & Taylor Proofer Worth It?
Yes — for most regular sourdough bakers, the Brod & Taylor proofer is worth it. If your kitchen temperature swings more than 5°F between seasons, or you bake at least once a week, the consistency improvement is real and immediate. If your kitchen holds steady at 72–76°F year-round and you bake occasionally, the DIY methods […]
Why Is My Sourdough Bread Dense
Sourdough Archive Home › Sourdough › Dense Bread Fix Troubleshooting Guide Why Is My Sourdough Bread Dense?And How to Fix It You followed the recipe. You waited. You baked carefully. And still got a heavy, tight loaf. Here’s exactly why — and how to fix it. 10 minRead Time BeginnerLevel Apr 2026Updated Dense sourdough […]
Large Holes in Sourdough Crumb? Here Is What Is Causing It
Fool’s Crumb vs Open Crumb — What Is the Difference Before diagnosing the problem it helps to understand what you are actually looking at, because not all large holes are a problem. A genuinely open crumb has holes that are relatively evenly distributed throughout the loaf — larger toward the top, smaller toward the bottom, […]
Sourdough Crust Too Thick? 6 Causes and How to Fix Each
A sourdough crust that comes out too thick, tough, or leathery is almost always caused by too much moisture loss during baking. The main culprits are overbaking, too high a temperature, not enough steam in the early phase, or low dough hydration. Fix the right variable and your next loaf will have a thin, crackly […]
Sourdough Won’t Pass the Windowpane Test? Here’s Why (and Why It Might Be Fine)
When the dough just keeps tearing You stretch a little piece of dough between your fingers, hoping to see that beautiful, translucent, see-through membrane that every sourdough YouTuber promises. Instead it rips. You try again. It rips. You knead for another 10 minutes. Still rips. First: take a breath. The windowpane test is useful, but […]
How to Dry Sourdough Starter (Step-by-Step Guide for Long-Term Storage)
Your sourdough starter represents weeks or months of careful cultivation. It’s a living culture you’ve fed, babied, and learned to read. Losing it — to a forgotten trip, a power outage, an accidental contamination — would mean starting that process over from scratch. Drying your sourdough starter is the simplest insurance policy you can take […]
Can You Use All-Purpose Flour for Sourdough Bread?
Yes — you can absolutely use all-purpose flour for sourdoughbread. Thousands of bakers do it every day and producedelicious, well-risen loaves. There are three adjustmentsyou need to make to get a great result: reduce your water,handle the dough more gently, and give bulk fermentationslightly more time. Do those three things and all-purposeflour works beautifully. Why […]
Gluten Free Sourdough Starter Recipe: Easy 7-Day Method
Jump to Section A gluten free sourdough starter is a living culture of wild yeast and lactic acid bacteria made by mixing gluten free flour and water, then feeding it daily for 7–14 days until active. The best flour for beginners is brown rice flour; buckwheat speeds up fermentation. Once it reliably doubles […]