Week 2 Challenge: Build Your Sourdough Timeline One of the biggest sources of stress for new sourdough bakers isn’t the recipe. It’s the timing. “Do I have enough time?” “When should I mix?” “Will this fit into my day?” Here’s the good news: sourdough can fit into almost any schedule once you build a simple rhythm. This week, your goal is to choose a timeline that fits your life. Below are three of the most common schedules home bakers use. Try one and see how it feels. Important: With Sourdough Made Simple, you basically will need a time to mix your dough/feed your starter, let them rise, then another time to shape & rest your dough and then score/bake your dough. See March Challenge Week 1 for more info. With this method you can mix up your dough Sunday afternoon, pop it in the fridge once it has doubled and pull from it to form your loaves all week. The dough will get more sour the later in the week it is. I’m always a little hesitant sharing baking schedules & timelines because I don’t want you to get stuck on a rigid schedule. But here are some ideas that can get you started...find your timeline. . Option 1: Evening Mix / Next Day Bake This is one of the easiest rhythms for many home bakers. - Mix your dough (with the starter) before or after dinner, when you kitchen is the warmest - 4 hours later (put dough in the fridge overnight) - When you are ready the next day or 3 days later:  Option 2: Morning Mix / Evening Bake or Next Day Bake Great for people who like to start something before the day begins. • Mix your dough in the morning before work • Let it bulk ferment during the day • Shape when you get home (FYI: warm dough is harder to handle) • Bake before dinner Or put it in fridge when you get home and bake the next day for longer fermentation. This schedule lets sourdough work quietly in the background while you go about your day. Option 3: Weekend Baker Perfect if weekdays are busy. • Mix dough Friday evening or Saturday Morning • Let double (4 hours or so) Put in the fridge.

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!

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?

I'm from Minnesota, so January is especially cold, but people also swear off carbs so January is usually slow for my bakery as well. I tend to take the month to stay inside, try new recipes, watch movies, & read books. This week I am going to be testing a Rye Wheat Sourdough. Has anyone tried it? Please share you experience.

If you are new to bread baking, it can feel like it takes forever to make a loaf of bread. That may be true at first, because you probably are checking the instructions, rewatching the videos, and second guessing yourself. However, you can save some time by dedicating a specific time to learning the new recipes and another time to the doing. While you are going through the course take notes by having a specific "baking journal" - write down the observations, process and tips & tricks in your own words. We tend to learn better when we write things down ourselves. I promise, the more you make bread, the bread baking process becomes second nature.