It cares about your kitchen temperature, your flour, your starter activity, and your hydration. A dough that finishes its first rest (aka bulk fermentation, first rise) in 4 hours in a 78° kitchen might take 7+ hours in a 68° kitchen. Neither is wrong. They're just different conditions. The skill isn't following a timer. It's learning to read your dough. And that's actually a learnable skill — which means you can get there. So tell me — which of these feels most familiar right now? 👉 "My dough has been sitting for hours and I have no idea if it's done." 👉 "I'm not sure what over-fermented vs. under-fermented even looks like." 👉 "I just follow the time and hope for the best." Drop your answer below — even if it's just a number of hours or a quick "that last one, definitely." There are no wrong answers here. This is exactly the kind of thing we work through together. (And if you want the full breakdown — what to look for, what to adjust, and how to finally stop second-guessing your dough — it's all inside the Sourdough Foundations module in BBW. It's the explains Sourdough Condition that makes everything else click.) 👉 Learn more → www.thebreadandbutterway.com/membership

Focus: Understanding + caring for starter Challenge: Feed & Bake with your starter once per week - Reading starter readiness - Fridge-to-dough method (Sandra’s Simple Method) - Small starter maintenance If you feel intimidated by your Sourdough starter, this will be month that you get to know your starter a little bit better to help ease some of your concerns. Introduce Your Starter: Picture? Do you have name for your starter? How old is it? Did you start it from scratch or get it from a friend? What question do you have?

My bread looks like a French beret, long with a little puff. I found out that my oven cooks really hot at 450 degrees so I need to watch it more closely. I found my dough to be very sticky after rising, would it be better to put it in the refrigerator? My first try was not the best looking loaf but I gave it the old college try! I would love all the help and ideas you can give this beginner.

If you are not sure how to get a starter started or you just need a little motivation/accountability! Let's do it together! Join the 10-day (cause that's how long it takes) Sourdough Starter Challenge. Sign Up Here! You will have a happy & active starter in 10 days!

Thank you for having me. I’m in Australia.