The Sourdough Lady

11/05/2025

Twin Cities, MN November and December Sourdough classes posted and filling up super fast.
Link for class schedule in comments

11/05/2025

Did you catch my segment last night? Here it is…

Sourdough bread is rising in popularity and becoming a beloved staple in many homes. An Apple Valley mom, affectionately called "The Sourdough Lady," is here to demystify the baking process with her interactive classes.

10/11/2025

Question I get asked a lot...

I know, I know — the Dutch oven has been the sourdough gold standard for years. And don’t get me wrong, it’s fantastic for beginners or when you’re baking one loaf at a time. But… after years of baking multiple loaves each week, my back (and my schedule) said, “There has to be an easier way.” 😅

Enter the Cooking Steel.
It’s a heavy-duty cast iron steel that lives permanently in my oven — no lifting, no juggling hot pots. I just grab my pizza peel, slide my loaves in, and bake.

Here’s my open bake setup:
🔥 Preheat oven to 500°F for a full hour with the steel on the middle rack.
🔥 Place a heavy-duty cast iron or metal pan underneath on a lower rack.
🔥 Load your loaves onto the steel, then toss 2–3 cups of ice cubes into the empty pan below to create steam.
🔥 Close the door, lower to 450°F, and bake for about 35 minutes.

(If you’re baking 3 or more loaves, rotate them halfway through for even color.)
That’s it. No heavy lifting. No burnt arms. Just beautiful, evenly baked loaves — and I can bake 3 or 4 at a time!
This setup is amazing for sourdough, pizza, pita, and even English muffins.

If your oven heats up well (I use an electric convection oven, but not the convection baking mode when baking), open baking might just change your whole routine too.
Once you get used to it, there’s no going back.

10/10/2025

Before you ever mix your dough, your starter sets the stage for everything — rise, texture, and flavor.

If you’re looking for your starter to just double in size, you’re doing it wrong.

Here’s the part many sourdough bakers miss…
Your starter’s “peak” isn’t when it looks the tallest.
It’s when it’s the most active.

That means:
✨ It’s risen to its full height — usually tripled in size
✨ The dome has leveled off
✨ You’ll see tiny dimples forming on top and even a little descend
✨ Tons of bubbles everywhere — on top and on the sides
That’s true peak activity !

If you mix your dough too soon — right when your starter domes — you’re actually using a premature starter. It won’t have the strength or gas production to fully ferment your dough, leading to dense, under fermented bread.

So next time, watch the surface, not just the size.
Wait for that moment when your starter levels off and begins to just descend — that’s your cue. That window is at least an hour or two, so you’ll have plenty of time.

That’s how you build the foundation for the fluffiest loaf ever.

10/06/2025

October classes in Twin Cities, MN.

09/24/2025

Focaccia Therapy

This weekend I was craving focaccia. But instead of just one, I made 3.
1. Rosemary Sea Salt
2. Green Olive Pesto
3. Apple Cinnamon Brown sugar

What’s your favorite focaccia toppings?

09/18/2025

Bread Scoring 1️⃣0️⃣1️⃣

🍁 Fall leaves may be crisp… and so is this dough.�Even though it’s still hot outside, we’re in full pumpkin-and-falling-leaves mode over here. That means cozy sourdough bakes and fun scoring designs to match. 🧡🍂

Every time I post a scoring video, I get asked:�“How is your dough so firm and easy to score without sticking or spreading?”

Here are my top tips for prepping your loaf so it’s ready for a clean, crisp score (and those beautiful designs you're dreaming of)👇

✅ Build strong, well-developed dough.
This starts with mixing to proper gluten development—take a few minutes to knead that dough at mixing, aim for 4-6 sets of stretch & folds or coil folds. Dough that passes the windowpane test before shaping.

✅ Cold dough is key.
Refrigerating your shaped dough overnight helps it firm up, making it easier to score. For extra firmness, pop the banneton in the freezer for 30–40 minutes while your oven preheats.

✅ Get bulk fermentation right.
Overproofed or underproofed dough can be sticky, slack, or puffy—making scoring a challenge. Fine tune your bulk rise timing and rise percentage based on temperature . It should feel airy but still hold structure, with visible bubbles and slight jiggle.

✅ Prep the surface before scoring.
Lightly spritz the top of the loaf with water, then dust with superfine Thai rice flour—it creates contrast for your design and helps the blade glide smoothly.

✅ Use a razor-sharp lame/razor.
A clean blade makes all the difference for smooth, confident cuts. Dull blades will tug and drag.

✅ Score with intention�Have a design in mind before you begin.
I like to use a toothpick to lightly sketch the pattern first—like a rough draft—then go in with the blade. Score swiftly and commit!

✅ Use lower hydration dough recipe.
Try a recipe such as: 325g water (or even 300g), 100g active starter, 500g bread flour, 10g salt. This will be a stiffer dough and much easier to score.

✅ Bake without steam
To make sure the white flour dusting stays while baking, avoid adding ice cubes in your dutch oven or water for steam if open baking.

This fall leaf design is one of my seasonal favorites. Many more to come!
Have you tried scoring your loaves yet? What’s your favorite?�

09/17/2025

September Sourdough Classes are selling out FAST! Just a few spots left...

Link to Register in comments.

09/12/2025

Starter vs. Discard – What’s the Difference?

One question I get asked at my sourdough classes... what is the difference between starter & discard? Let’s break it down in simple terms 👇

🤩 Your sourdough starter is the heart of the process — a living culture of flour and water that’s been fermented over time to capture wild yeast and bacteria. It is active and bubbly, and serves as a leavening agent for your bread — no instant yeast needed!

😴 Sourdough discard is your starter in sleep mode, dormant, hybernating — still full of flavor and healthy microbes, but not strong enough to raise a loaf of bread on its own. So you need to wake it up & activate it.

🤔 Can You Bake Bread With Discard?

If your discard is no older than 2-3 days - yes.
If it has been longer than that, it needs to be fed again or used in baked goods that don’t need a big rise — like pancakes, crackers, cookies, muffins, waffles, and more!

🤔 Why Do We Need to keep Discard?

Because that's basically your refrigerated starter that you then feed to make active starter (a levain) in order to make bread. If you always used up all of your starter when baking, you wouldn't have any left to continue to feed and reuse over and over.

💡Using Discard the Smart Way

If you have a lot of discard, don’t toss it in the trash — discard is full of flavor and gut healthy bacteria. Use it in sourdough discard recipes, Pinterest is full of them.

💡Remember, when you are "feeding your starter", you are taking a portion of your discard (refrigerated starter) feeding it with water and flour and leaving it out in room temp to activate and more than double in size.
I always feed into a new jar and then the discard jar goes back in the fridge as I use discard for crackers and scones and crepes regularly.

💡Tip: Just don't start accumulating jars of discard in your fridge. If you have more then 2, it's time to toss them.

Have you made something delicious with your discard lately? Tell me in the comments! 💬👇

09/11/2025

Pumpkin Season is here! I’m ready for it! 🎃