Jenny Derrickson

One of the questions I hear often is: "How do I make my sourdough taste more sour?" The answer isn't one magic trick. It's actually a combination of how you care for your starter and how you ferment your dough. At Bread and More, our sourdough has a much milder flavor than many people expect. That's intentional. I keep Frodough (yes, my starter has a name!) well-fed, healthy, and he lives on my countertop year-round. He almost never goes into the refrigerator unless I'm away on vacation. A...

If you’ve ever followed the exact same sourdough recipe twice and ended up with completely different results, you’re not imagining things. One of the biggest variables in sourdough baking isn’t the flour, the starter, or even the recipe itself, it’s the weather. Sourdough is alive. Your starter contains wild yeast and bacteria that respond constantly to their environment. Unlike commercial yeast, sourdough fermentation isn’t always predictable because it reacts to temperature, humidity, and...

No giant ear here, but delicious! One of the hardest parts about learning sourdough today has nothing to do with fermentation, hydration, or shaping. It’s comparison. Everywhere you look online, there are perfect loaves with dramatic ears, giant open crumbs, spotless kitchens, and dough that seems to behave perfectly every single time. And while those photos can absolutely be inspiring, they can also make new bakers feel like they’re doing something wrong when their bread doesn’t look the...