For beginners
Sourdough, in plain words.
Every word a new baker meets in the first month — autolyse, levain, stretch and fold, cold retard — with the drawings we wish we'd had on our own counter.
All 18 terms · 8 pages · US Letter, print at 100%
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Every word, in the order a new baker meets them.
- Starter
- A jar of fermented flour and water hosting wild yeast and lactic bacteria. Fed daily (or refreshed from the fridge), it's the engine behind every naturally leavened loaf.
- Levain
- You take a spoonful of ripe starter, feed it with fresh flour and water in a set ratio (say 1:5:5), and let it peak. That peaked mixture — the levain — is what actually goes into the dough.
- Autolyse
- Mix just flour and water, cover, and walk away for 30–60 minutes. The flour hydrates, gluten begins forming on its own, and the eventual dough is more extensible with less kneading.
- Hydration
- 500 g flour + 375 g water = 75% hydration. Higher hydration means an opener crumb and stickier handling; lower hydration is tighter and more forgiving. Start around 70–75% and adjust from there.
- Bulk ferment
- After mixing, the dough ferments as a single mass for several hours at room temperature. You're watching for a 50–75% increase in volume, a domed surface, and bubbles along the sides of the container.
- Stretch and fold
- Step 1: Wet your hand. Dip your hand in water first — this stops the wet dough from clinging to your fingers.
- Step 2: Grab an edge. Slide your fingers underneath one side of the dough, then lift that edge slightly.
- Step 3: Stretch upward. Gently pull the edge up and out, stretching the dough without tearing it.
- Step 4: Fold over center. Lay the stretched flap over the middle of the dough, then rotate the bowl and repeat on the other three sides.
- During bulk, wet your hand, lift one side of the dough up and over the center. Rotate the bowl a quarter turn and repeat — north, east, south, west. A set every 30 minutes, three or four sets total.
- Lamination
- Once the dough is extensible, stretch it out on a wet counter into a thin sheet, scatter olives, herbs, or seeds, then fold it back into a package. One clean pass beats stirring inclusions through.
- Preshape
- Turn the bulked dough onto the counter, gently tuck it into a ball, and let it rest uncovered for 20–30 minutes. This lines up the gluten so the final shape holds cleanly.
- RecipeThe Classic Country Loaf
- RecipeCranberry Walnut Batard
- Shape
- Fold the preshaped dough into a tight boule or bâtard. A taut skin traps gas and lets the loaf rise upward in the oven rather than spreading sideways.
- RecipeThe Classic Country Loaf
- TroubleshootingMy loaf is flat and spreads sideways
- Banneton
- A cane or wood-pulp basket, usually dusted with rice flour, that cradles the shaped dough during its final rise. It leaves the characteristic ringed pattern on the crust.
- Proof (final proof)
- After shaping, the dough proofs in its banneton — either 1–2 hours on the counter or overnight in the fridge (a cold retard). The poke test is your guide: an indent that springs back slowly means it's ready.
- TroubleshootingMy loaf is flat and spreads sideways
- TroubleshootingMy loaf explodes at the score line and is dense inside
- Cold retard
- Slowing the final proof at 4°C for 8–16 hours deepens flavor, firms the dough for cleaner scoring, and lets you bake first thing in the morning instead of at midnight.
- Score
- A single confident slash with a razor (a lame) on cold dough, held at a shallow angle. It directs the oven spring and gives you that dramatic ear along the crust.
- TroubleshootingMy scoring never opens into an ear
- RecipeWeekend Sourdough Baguettes
- Oven spring
- Trapped gases expand and the yeast makes one last push before the crust sets. Steam in the oven — from a covered Dutch oven or a tray of boiling water — keeps the crust soft long enough for this to happen.
- TroubleshootingMy scoring never opens into an ear
- TroubleshootingMy crust is pale and soft, not deeply browned
- Gummy crumb
- Usually under-fermented dough or a loaf sliced while still warm. Push bulk a little further next time, and let the loaf cool completely (at least two hours) before cutting.
- TroubleshootingMy crumb is dense and gummy
- TroubleshootingMy loaf explodes at the score line and is dense inside
- Flat loaf
- Over-proofed dough or slack shaping. Cut 30–60 minutes off the final proof, shape a little tighter, and make sure your starter is doubling reliably before you build the levain.
- TroubleshootingMy loaf is flat and spreads sideways
- RecipeWeekday Sourdough Sandwich Loaf
- Crumb
- The pattern of holes when you slice it open. Open, irregular crumb suggests high hydration and gentle handling; tight, even crumb suits sandwich loaves and beginner bakes.
- JournalWhy Hydration Matters More Than Your Flour
- TroubleshootingMy crumb is dense and gummy
- Discard
- Keeps your starter's ratio healthy and its jar manageable. Save discard in the fridge and bake it into crackers, pancakes, or focaccia — never bin it.
- RecipeSunday Discard Pancakes
01
Living culture of flour + water.
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02
An off-shoot built from your starter for a specific bake.
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03
Rest flour and water together before anything else.
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04
Water as a percentage of flour.
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05
The first, long rise — where flavor is built.
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06
Gentle strength-building instead of kneading.
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07
One big stretch to distribute mix-ins evenly.
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08
A loose round to organize the dough.
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09
Building surface tension for oven spring.
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10
The proofing basket that shapes the crust.
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11
The second rise, on the dough's final shape.
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12
An overnight nap in the fridge.
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13
The cut that tells the loaf where to open.
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14
The final burst of rise in the first 10 minutes.
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15
Dense, sticky slices that gum up on the knife.
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16
A wide, low bake with no oven spring.
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17
The inside of the loaf.
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18
The portion of starter you remove before feeding.
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Missing a term? Write to us — we add to this page every month.