September 2025 marked the start of my sourdough journey…. 

Unfortunately (but also, somewhat fortunately) my realization that I may be gluten intolerant peaked my interest in sourdough. Previously, during the summer, I was in denial of my intolerance of gluten. But after a couple of months of my body feeling awful when I did have gluten, and cutting out gluten every once and awhile to test and see if that was REALLY my issue…. I came to terms with needing to cut gluten from my diet. 

But, I had heard that people who have an intolerance to gluten can handle sourdough bread. What’s the science behind that? Honestly, I’m  not 100% sure. The way I understand it is that the fermentation process of sourdough breaks down the gluten in a way that makes it more easily digestible. Regardless, it worked for me! 

After accepting the future ahead of me (a future without all of the well loved carb filled foods that I thought I’d never taste again) I decided that I might as well go all in and try baking any and all things sourdough. As it turns out… just about all of the carb rich foods and sweet treats that I love, can be made in a sourdough version! So far (January 2026), I have learned to make sourdough bread, rolls, pancakes, muffins, chocolate chip cookies, cinnamon rolls, pumpkin bread, cinnamon pull apart bread, and pasta. 

I’m far from perfecting the sourdough goodies that I’ve learned to bake, but I will gladly share my sourdough journey along the way! 

Let’s start with a simple sourdough loaf. You might already be tempted to roll your eyes at me for describing sourdough as “simple.” But trust me, it really is! As a beginner sourdough baker, I have come to realize that sourdough bread is not complicated… It just takes a little bit of time and focused effort. 

You can find the recipe below:

Ingredients

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1⁄2 cup active starter
• 1 cup water
• 2 teaspoons salt

Directions

• In a bowl, whisk together starter and water.
• Add flour and salt. Mix together to form a shaggy dough.
• Cover bowl with a damp towel.
• After thirty minutes to one hour, stretch and fold the dough 6-10 times.
• Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a bowl cover and let the dough bulk ferment for 6-12 hours.
• When the dough has doubled, remove the dough from the bowl and shape into a loaf.
• Place the dough into a greased loaf pan (or with parchment paper), cover with plastic wrap, and place in the fridge for 6-12 hours.
• When ready to bake, remove loaf from the fridge and pre-heat the oven to 450 degrees.
• Sprinkle the top of the dough with flour, evenly spread the flour across the dough with your hand. Make at least one long score on the dough.
• Once the oven is preheated, place the loaf pan in the oven and use an additional loaf pan to cover the top.
  • If you don’t have an additional loaf pan, another option is to use aluminum foil to cover the top. Shape the aluminum foil into a dome to leave space for the bread to rise.
• Bake the bread for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, remove the top and bake for an additional 15-18 minutes until golden brown.
• Remove the bread from the oven, place on a cooling rack or cutting board for at least one hour.
• Slice bread and enjoy!

Sourdough Rolls

Ingredients

• 1 cup active starter
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup milk
• 3 tablespoons melted butter
• 1 egg
• 5 cups all-purpose flour
• 1⁄2 sugar (or honey)
• 1 teaspoon salt

Directions

• In a bowl, whisk together starter, water, milk, & melted butter.
• Add egg and mix well.
• Add 3 cups of flour, sugar, and salt. Mix until well combined.
• Add 1-2 more cups of flour until the dough starts to come together.