Sam Whitaker · July 15, 2026
Freezer-burned sourdough with a crust like cardboard is almost always a wrapping problem, not a freezing problem. Fix the wrapping and the bread comes back nearly as good as day one. When to Freeze for Best Results Freeze bread the same day you bake it, once it’s fully cooled — at least 2 hours after … Read more
Sam Whitaker · June 28, 2026
Warning: a beautiful crust tells you nothing about what’s happening inside your loaf. I learned that the hard way on a Tuesday morning, slicing into a loaf I was sure was my best yet, and watching the knife drag through a dense, gummy crumb instead of clean, open slices. Eleven years into this hobby—including a … Read more
Sam Whitaker · June 22, 2026
Your starter is bubbly. Your kitchen smells incredible. You’ve shaped your first boule at 2 a.m. and you’re genuinely convinced you’ve nailed it. Then you open your Dutch oven at 450°F and find… a pancake. Eleven years later, I’ve learned that flat loaves aren’t a failure—they’re feedback. Over three years running my home microbakery, I … Read more
Sam Whitaker · June 18, 2026
Half the sourdough advice floating around online will tell you a French culture and a San Francisco culture are basically interchangeable — feed either one, bake, done. The other half insists you need a completely separate schedule for each or the loaf just won’t work. The first claim is the one that’s dead wrong, and … Read more
Sam Whitaker · June 15, 2026
No recipe card on the planet warns you that a starter can go from sluggish to volcanic in the space of an evening, or that “double in size” doesn’t come with a manual for what to do when it actually happens at 11 PM on a Tuesday. That’s roughly the scene I found myself in … Read more
Sam Whitaker · May 26, 2026
The jar on my counter smelled sharp and boozy, almost like nail polish, and the surface sat completely flat — not a bubble in sight. That smell is what sent me down the “why is my sourdough starter not bubbling” rabbit hole at midnight, and this sourdough for beginners complete guide is what I wish … Read more
Sam Whitaker · May 24, 2026
For the longest time, my sourdough mixing routine was a mess. Not the good kind of mess where flour dusts your counter and everything smells like a bakery. The frustrating kind — where a wooden spoon gets hopelessly clogged with…
Sam Whitaker · April 26, 2026
Six months into my sourdough journey, I was still getting flat, dense loaves with no structure. My dough kept spreading sideways during the final proof instead of building upward. A friend suggested I needed a proper banneton basket, so I…
Sam Whitaker · April 24, 2026
Two years ago, my sourdough loaves were a mess. Every single bake felt like a gamble. I was using measuring cups, eyeballing flour, and wondering why my results were so wildly inconsistent. Then a baker in my local bread group…
Sam Whitaker · April 18, 2026
My sourdough starter turned 11 years old this spring. In that time, I’ve neglected it, overfed it, underfed it, accidentally frozen it, left it in the fridge for a month, and once knocked the jar off the counter and watched…
