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Tips & Tricks

Stacy's go-to guides — from storing and reheating your sourdough to making your very first loaf from scratch.

Storage Guide

Freezing & Reheating Your Sourdough

Good sourdough doesn't have to go to waste. Freezing works great — you just need to wrap it right and reheat it properly. Here's everything you need to know, start to finish.

Step 1 — Before You Freeze: Whole Loaf or Slices?

The first thing to decide is whether to freeze the loaf intact or pre-slice it. Here's how to choose:

Which is right for you?

Whole Loaf
Best if you plan to heat up the rest of the loaf for another meal all at once. Leave it unsliced.
Pre-Sliced
Best if you want to grab individual slices as you need them — for toast, sandwiches, etc. Stacy recommends this option if you're not sure.

Step 2 — Wrap It Well

Almost the same for both — with one small difference for slices.

  1. 1
    Whole loaf: Wrap tightly in saran wrap first, covering every surface with no air gaps, then place in a freezer zip-lock bag.

    Slices: Skip the saran wrap — just place directly into a freezer zip-lock bag and press out as much air as possible before sealing.
  2. 2
    Freeze. Sourdough keeps well for up to 3 months.
  3. 3
    Freeze. Sourdough keeps well for up to 3 months.
✦ ✦ ✦

Step 3 — Reheating

🍞 Reheating a Whole Loaf
When you're ready to serve the whole loaf for a meal
  1. 1
    Remove from the freezer and unwrap completely — take off all the saran wrap and the bag.
  2. 2
    Run the loaf under the faucet — wet it all around, top, bottom, and sides. This rehydrates the crust so it crisps up beautifully instead of going hard.
  3. 3
    Wrap in tin foil, tucking it in snugly.
  4. 4
    Bake at 400°F for 20–25 minutes, depending on how crispy you like it.
🔪 Reheating Individual Slices
When you just need a slice or two
  1. 1
    Pull out however many slices you need from the freezer bag.
  2. 2
    Wet the slice briefly under the faucet — both sides.
  3. 3
    Toast or bake as normal. The slice will crisp right up, just like fresh.
💡 Tip You can go straight from frozen to the toaster without thawing first. Just do the quick wet step and you're good to go.
Baking From Scratch

How to Make Sourdough Bread

Sourdough looks intimidating, but once you get the rhythm it becomes second nature. These are Stacy's own instructions — the same ones she uses every time she bakes. Use this as your starting point.

🧰 What You'll Need

  • Kitchen scale
    Essential — sourdough is measured by weight
  • Clean jar with lid
    For your starter
  • Spatula or spurtle
    For mixing starter
  • Large glass bowl
    For mixing and bulk ferment
  • Bowl cover
    Towel, shower cap, or wrap
  • Proofing basket or bowl
    Lined with a tea towel
  • Blade for scoring
    A sharp knife works too
  • King Arthur bread flour
    Highly recommended
  • Dutch oven with lid
    Or a roasting pan with lid
  • 2oz jar (optional)
    For the aliquot fermentation method
🛒 Shortcut Check out my Amazon Storefront for all your sourdough needs! Fancy tools aren't necessary if you already have equivalents at home.

🫙 Feeding Your Starter

Your starter is a living culture — it needs regular feeding to stay active and make great bread.

  1. 1
    Use water around 78°F for best results.
  2. 2
    Feed on a 1:10:10 ratio — starter : flour : water. Example: 5g starter + 50g flour + 50g water.
  3. 3
    First time receiving it? Feed right away. Take 5g starter, add 50g flour + 50g water in a clean jar. Mark the jar to track the rise. Repeat in 12 hours.
  4. 4
    Keeping it on the counter: Feed every 12 hours. Baking weekly: After feeding, let it sit 2 hours, then refrigerate. The day before you bake, take it out, let it sit 4 hours, feed again 1:10:10, then wait 12 hours before using.
📌 How to know it's ready It should double in size with a flat top. A domed top means it's still going. Best bread comes right when it peaks and just starts to fall. Do two feedings before your first bake — it may have missed a few meals.

What about discard? Anything not fed or used becomes "discard." It's great for cookies, muffins, tortillas, cinnamon rolls, and more. Keep it in the fridge up to 5 days.

🌊 Mixing the Dough

This is a 70% hydration loaf — great for sandwiches, with smaller, tighter holes. Between 68–75% hydration is the sweet spot.

  1. 1
    Mix 350g water + 100g starter in a large bowl until milky. Wet hands are your friend throughout this process.
  2. 2
    Add 500g bread flour, mix well. Cover and rest 35 minutes.
  3. 3
    Add 10g fine kosher salt. Mix with wet hands until you feel the gluten tighten. Cover and rest 35 minutes.
  4. 4
    Optional: pinch off 40g of dough into a small jar — this is the aliquot method to help you track bulk fermentation progress.
  5. 5
    Stretch & folds: Lift one side of the dough, fold it over to the other side. Rotate the bowl and repeat 6–8 times, then cup the dough into a ball. Cover, rest 35 minutes.
  6. 6
    Coil folds (do this twice): Slide both hands under the center of the dough, lift it up, stretch gently downward, then fold both ends under. Rotate and repeat 6–8 times. Shape into a ball. Cover, rest 35 minutes between each set.
  7. 7
    Bulk ferment: Let it rest 1.5–2 hours at 78°F. The dough should roughly double, feel jiggly, show bubbles, and slowly spring back when poked.
  8. 8
    Shape: Lightly flour your surface (rice flour works best). Turn the bowl and let the dough fall out on its own. Gently stretch the corners, fold like a letter, roll into a ball, and tighten by pulling it toward you along the counter. Rest 20 minutes covered.
  9. 9
    Repeat the shape, transfer to your proofing basket, and refrigerate 12+ hours.

🔥 Bake Day

  1. 1
    Preheat your oven to 450°F. Put the Dutch oven inside and let it heat for an extra 20 minutes — it needs to be very hot.
  2. 2
    Flip your dough out onto parchment paper. Score it at an angle, about halfway deep. This is the expansion score — where the bread opens up.
  3. 3
    Bake 30 minutes covered, then remove the lid and bake another 15–25 minutes uncovered until the internal temp hits 210°F.
🧄 Adding Inclusions A good starting point is 125–150g of mix-ins per 500g of flour. If using extracts for flavor, replace some of the water. If your inclusion holds a lot of water, reduce the water slightly. Note: raw cinnamon, ginger, fresh garlic, and horseradish can slow or kill fermentation — use them lightly in swirls, or roast/smoke garlic first.

Use a baker's percentage calculator to scale recipes up or down. A standard loaf uses about 500g flour. Open calculator →

🛒 Get Your Supplies Need equipment or ingredients? Visit my Amazon Storefront for all your sourdough essentials — everything I personally recommend in one place.

Want to learn to make sourdough?

Contact Stacy for classes or one-on-one help. These instructions are just the beginning — she'd love to walk you through it in person.

📩 Contact Stacy for Classes