Sourdough

Almost all German breads - at least the ones I've made so far - are based on some kind of sourdough. You can buy sourdough starter but it pretty simple to make your own. Sourdough starter is really just the left over sourdough from a previous bread but when you get started you need to plan ahead for about a week as it takes 5 days to get the first batch going.

Both rye and wheat sourdough follow the same process, just the flour:water ration is a little bit different. Most of the breads I made use rye sourdough (I used whole grain, but it doesn't really matter that much), so it's probably a good idea to start with that and only move on to the wheat version if you find out that you like making breads as much as I do. Or of course if you really want to try a wheat bread first. For the wheat sourdough I use all-purpose flour.

Day 1

• Combine 50g of rye flour and 50ml of water in a glass or bowl with a top (try avoiding plastic containers), for wheat sourdough, use 50g of wheat flour and 40ml of water
• Stir until smooth
• Cover, put into a warm spot
• Let rest for 12 hours
• Stir well
• Let rest for another 12 hours

Day 2

• Add 50g of rye flour and 50ml of water; for wheat sourdough, use 50g of wheat flour and 40ml of water
• Stir until smooth
• Cover, put into warm spot
• Let rest for 12 hours
• Stir well 
• Let rest for antoher 12 hours

Day 3

• Repeat procedure of day 2

Day 4

• Repeat procedure of day 2

Day 5

• Repeat procedure of day 2

Day 6

• The dough is now ready, should have produced bubbles and smell slightly sour 
• Move into airtight contain with screw-on top
• Store in refridgerator

Weekly after that

• Add 50g of flour and 50ml of water (40ml for wheat sourdough)
• Stir well
• Leave outside the fridge for about 10 hours
• Put back into refridgerator

US units: Use 2oz of flour and 2oz of water for rye sourdough and 2oz of flour and 4 Tbsp of water for wheat sourdough. That's slightly more but the ratio of flour/water is about the same.


For the first bread you make just use the amount that is stated in the recipe (sum up water and flour and take the respective amount of sourdough). Also, for the first 3 to 5 breads add additonal yeast to the recipe until the sourdough has fully developed. I have both rye and wheat sourdough and make one bread a week. Since you need very little starter per bread the amount of sourdough continues to increase. Which eventually comes in handy as many times I don't have to start a new batch for a new bread, I just use the respective amount of sourdourgh and go from there. In that case you take the amount of dough that you need out and let it adjust to room temperature. That usually takes about 2 hours, but so far it seems that leaving it out longer doesn't harm.