SOURDOUGH STARTER: the following are the steps I take to make a new starter - at the end of the week you should be all ready to bake. I use an organic all purpose unbleached flour and the water from my tap which is well water from our property. NOTE: I use weights which are much more reliable, but have included a rough conversion at the bottom of the post.

DAY 1: In a glass container with a wide mouth measure: 50 g warm water (preferably boiled and cooled to warming temp) 50 g +1-2 teaspoons of all purpose flour. Stir well - should be the consistency in the video. Cover the container with parchment, cling wrap, or several layers of cheesecloth and secure with an elastic band. Set the container in a warm place in your house. Give it a name and say goodnight until tomorrow! (Mine is names Betty)

DAY 2: Add 50g flour + 50g water - stir well, cover and leave on counter.

DAY 3: Remove 100g of your starter (I keep this in another jar in the fridge to add to pancakes and waffles). Add 100g flour and 100g water to your main starter. Stir and set on counter until tomorrow.

DAY 4: Discard: 150g of the starter. Feed: 100g flour + 100g water. Cover and wave goodbye until tomorrow. NOTE: I keep mine on my fireplace mantle - mostly because I live in a crazy cold old farmhouse and my kitchen is FREEZING. Try and keep yours somewhere that is comfortably warm but not hot. Too cold and it goes dormant - too hot and it will burn through the sugars really quickly. Basically if you're ok in a t-shirt it should be fine.

DAY 5: REMOVE: 200g of starter (approx. 1 1/4 cups) -- save in fridge for other baking or pass to a friend at this point ADD: 150g of flour (approx. 1 cup) + 150g water (approx. 150ml)

DAY 6: DISCARD: 250g starter ADD: 200g flour + 200g water. This is the last day of measuring like this. Your sourdough should be looking a bit like this video...if you’re not here yet, then keep going for a day or two removing a cup of starter each morning and adding 1/2 cup flour, 1/2 cup water - you may need more flour if your starter is really runny....it should be thick like craft paste.

MAKING SOURDOUGH BREAD: So now you have a happy starter and it’s time to make a loaf. Here is my basic recipe passed down from a dear theatre friend and wiggled with a bit as per the amazing Patrick Ryan. Don’t be daunted by the steps - I’ve broken it out into each phase to try and give some guidance, but it really is easy and the hands on time is only a few minutes. Here is my timing for making bread throughout the day:

7:00 am - make the shaggy and let rest 30 minutes
7:30 am - knead for 1 minute, rest for 10 - repeat 3 times.
8::00 am - leave to proof for 3 hours
11:00 am - fold dough and separate loaves / shape loaves and pop into proofing vessels. One stays on counter for 3 1/2 hours, the other goes into fridge for tomorrow’s loaf.
2:30 pm - bake loaf for 25 minutes with lid on
2:55 pm - remove lid and continue baking for another 25-30 minutes.
3:30 pm - let loaf rest for 60 minutes before slicing
4:38….wonder why I didn’t just bake both as the kids have eaten the entire loaf….

Let’s make bread!

STEP 1: Mix 350g of starter with 420g of water and 10 g of salt and give it a mix - this will disperse your starter throughout the water.

STEP 2: To the sourdough mix add 850g of flour and stir with a spoon to incorporate.

STEP 3: Dump the whole lot out onto a counter top and mix with your hands to fully incorporate the flour. Cover with a clean bowl and let rest for 20-30 minutes.

STEP 4: Begin kneading - knead the dough for 1-2 minutes and then let it rest for 10 minutes under a covered bowl. Repeat this process 3 times.

STEP 5: After the last knead, roll the dough into a ball, place into a bowl and cover with a shower cap or damp tea-towel and a plate. Place somewhere warm and left rest for 3 hours.

STEP 6: After the dough has sat for 3 hours it’s time to shape the dough. The first step is the “fold” - this is where you grab the edge of the dough and pull it across to form a circle. Once you have folded the dough you can divide it into two portions and begin to shape the loaves.

STEP 7: Shape the loaves into balls by cupping your hands and pulling the loaves towards you - see video.

STEP 8: You can proof both loaves on the counter or you can proof one in the fridge to bake tomorrow and one on your counter to bake today. That’s my cycle, I make the loaves every two days but have one baking every day.

STEP 9: Once the loaves are shaped you can place them into a proofing basket, or, if you don’t have one, you can use any bowl lined with a tea towel. Be sure to rub plenty of rice flour into the towel and scatter it around the loaves so that they won’t stick (nothing worse than loaves sticking to a tea towel. Once you have them both happily nested, leave one on the counter to proof for approximately 3 1/2 hours and pop one in the fridge (tomorrow when you want to bake the second loaf just pull it out and leave it on the counter for 45 minutes or so and then follow the baking instructions as below).

BAKING: I use the dutch oven method which means that I bake my loaves inside a dutch oven. If you don’t have one you can use a pyrex dish or other roaster with a lid as well. If you don’t have any of the above you can turn your loaf out onto a pizza stone or a parchment lined baking tray but you’ll also have to have a cake pan filled with boiling water inside the oven for the first 25 minutes of the bake.

STEP 10: Preheat your oven to 450 F. Line your dutch oven with a layer of parchment paper. No need to preheat the vessel - if you do your crust will be much darker and crustier which my kids don’t like as much as a delicate yet nice and crunchy bite.

Pop the loaf into the pan and make s slash across the top to five the loaf room to grow (this is where you can get really fancy with decorations if you have the right tools. Cover with a lid and bake for 25 minutes. After 25 minutes remove the lid and continue to cook for another 25-30 minutes or until thE crust is a deeply golden colour.

If you can resist - try and let the loaf sit for 45-60 minutes before cracking into it. If you cut. in too early the crumb can be quite gummy. Your loaf should have risen well and should have nice big air pockets throughout. Bon appetit!