Master Class: Ben Starr’s 10 minute Simple Sourdough (for lazy people!)
A sourdough loaf so simple ANYONE can do it, with about 10 minutes of actual effort across 24 hours, with NO stretching or folding, using UNFED starter, and without preheating the oven.
Sound too good to be true? It’s not. After more than 4 million views, and 4 years helping viewers troubleshoot this recipe, this video is an incredibly comprehensive Master Class on the easy product of low-hydration sourdough.
Wicked thanks to S0UD10 STUD10 for naughty animation!
Printable recipe:
My Favorite Sourdough Toys:
(I’m an Amazon affiliate. If you buy something from these links, I’ll get a few cents. Thanks!!)
4 Quart Enameled Cast Iron Dutch Oven:
(This is the closest Dutch Oven available on Amazon to the model I am using in the video. If this link doesn’t work, search for a 4-5 quart Dutch oven, approximately 9″ in diameter and 4″ deep.)
Professional Kitchen Scale:
(Tough, accurate, runs on AAA batteries rather than pricey ones.)
My favorite oven gloves:
(Comfy, fit well, dextrous, totally heatproof.)
My favorite bread knife:
(I get a new one every 2 years or so…it’s not that easy to effectively sharpen a serrated knife.)
Clear plastic rising bowls with covers:
Precut parchment sheets:
Beeswax cloth:
(Perfect way to store bread)
CHAPTERS:
0:00 Sourdough doesn’t have to be hard
2:48 Quick demo/overview
8:36 Master Class begins
9:06 You MUST have a scale
10:10 Sourdough starter
11:57 NEVER pour off hooch!
12:42 Texture of your starter (thick or thin?)
13:35 How soon can you bake after feeding your starter?
14:15 Water
15:17 Inclusions (adding stuff!)
15:39 Flour
16:30 Whole wheat/Rye/Spelt/Einkorn flour additions
17:11 Salt (why more salt makes the recipe flexible)
18:11 Gluten Free? (Starter? Sure. Bread? Never.)
18:40 Gluten is Everything
20:24 Lowering the salt content
21:14 Mixing
21:52 Too sticky to mix?
22:09 Rising in ziploc bags
23:00 First rise / bulk fermentation times
26:05 Refrigerating the dough option
27:15 Transporting dough to bake elsewhere
27:53 Understanding fermentation
28:35 Science!
28:48 Naughty animation by S0UD10 STUD10
31:52 Sourness of bread
33:02 Is the dough ready to shape?
34:14 Baking vessels (Dutch ovens, loaf pans)
35:36 Size of Dutch oven
36:59 Preventing sticking (oil/spray/parchment)
38:27 Risks of overproofing in ziplocs
40:14 Shaping a boule for Dutch oven baking
42:04 Too sticky to shape?
42:32 Dough tears while shaping?
42:58 Timing of the second rise
43:54 Shaping a loaf for a loaf pan
49:14 Scoring a loaf
49:41 Scoring a boule (Sourdough Ear)
50:10 High humidity delays crust development
51:00 Baking at elevation
51:26 Starting in a cold oven
52:01 Convection is irrelevant
52:28 Importance of cooling fully
53:53 The Insanity of Modern Sourdough Thinking
55:20 Browning or Burning
56:04 Tasting!
56:53 The ONLY kind of bread knife to own
58:19 Preserving freshness with beeswax cloth
59:14 NEVER REFRIGERATE BREAD!!!
1:00:29 Rewarming makes bread moist again
1:00:57 Shameless groveling
source
27 Comments
Ben, thank you for sharing this amazing secret. I am fairly new to sourdough baking. Only six months in. Prior to attempting my first loaf, I spent several days reading, researching and reviewing various YouTube channels. Luckily, I stumbled across your channel and let me tell you, you changed my way of thinking and simplified everything, including my life. I have followed your steps and have baked over 50 loaves with complete success each and every time. Not one failure! I have also made your sandwich loaf, English muffins and yes, even your Buttermilk. Thank you again for sharing your extensive knowledge with us.
Ok, this was a FREE MASTERCLASS, without paying for a subscription! Amazing video! Thank you, I learned so much!
Wow, what a science lesson this was!! As instructed, I watched the whole episode and feel confident in producing an edible loaf especially after my last 3 loaves which turned out like rubber!! Thank you so much 💓
A wonderful update video on the original. Answered a lot of questions. Thank you
I have a starter in my fridge that was last fed about a week ago. It was fed at 30 g starter 125 g water 140g flour. Do I need to correct this starter before I use your method or can I just pull the starter from there and use your method?
Where is his recipe?
❤❤❤ THANK YOU SO MUCH! This is so helpful.
Can this be done the same with fresh milled flour?
How long do you wait to bake if you HAVE just fed it? I had to feed my starter simply because I was getting low.
My dough doubles in size in about 24 hours. I shape and out in my greased Dutch oven, and it loses its shape and doesn’t rise anymore. I am left with a flat dense loaf after baking. What am I doing wrong?
Loved your video! You packed so much info, and knowledge, and science into an engaging hour. I am a chronic fast-forwarder (which I did on the first viewing), but I left the browser open so I could mindfully watch with my coffee the next morning. You titled this “Master Class…” and you served it up big time. Thank you for making your knowledge available for free and for making it fun to learn!
Ben, I have a question for you. Hopefully you’ll have an answer for me. I’ve followed your recipe (with much success I might add) but I wanted to try you Ziploc bag fermentation ‘trick’. It worked (as I expected it would). My bag of dough had probably just doubled around midnight but – being unfed sourdough – I knew you said it had time so I just figured I’d let it sit overnight and shape the bread in the morning. When I woke up – catastrophe had stuck!! The bag had burst open!! Oozing dough out of the end of the bag and leaving the dough and ‘odd’ texture. Up to that point everything about the dough was ‘normal’ but from THAT moment on it felt as there was nothing ‘normal’ about it and there seemed to be no ‘saving’ it. I attempted to shape it but I could no longer get the dough to form a tight skin, nor could I get it to maintain the tightest shape that I COULD obtain. Instead of a smooth skin it was more of a ‘rough’ skin. I’d shape it as tight as I could get it and place it in the greased Dutch Oven for its second rise and it just kept spreading out. Since I don’t really need this loaf until tomorrow, I’m just going to start another loaf (using my normal covered bowl for the first rise) but was curious if there was anything that I could have done to ‘save’ that loaf and have it come out as a ‘normal’ loaf of Sourdough bread??
awesome and entertaining, as usual.
Where do I find information on fixing my existing starter so I can use it with your method? Thank you!!
I’m confused about the sourdough started. I was given a small amount of started to use and told to wake it up when I want to make bread. Can I wake it up and then leave it in the fridge or counter until I want to make bread?
can you do this recipe with fresh mill flour?
Hi Ben! Merry Christmas!
Just found you! Wow – how I love your explanations❤!
Recipe please and thank you
Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge with everyone. would it be possible to share a tutorial on making a sourdough einkorn flour bread from start to finish, please?
Hi Ben. This is my first video of yours that I've viewed. Thanks for your thorough information. Do you have information on gluten free starter, gf bread as well as other gf sourdough recipes?
imagine having used the same thing for 4 years and all of a sudden getting a refresh. Imagine a good thing
I am making sourdough
I so love that you have made HOMEMADE easy. Thank you so much Ben! Please keep easy coming.
I’ve had amazing results following your sourdough videos from starter to the bread loaves. I now double the recipe and bake 2 loaves at once – one to share. I’ve never had a loaf fail and it’s so much fun sharing the bread and directing everyone to your channel. By the way, I’m 84 years old and love learning new things. I hope you know how much you are appreciated.
Thank you so much, I can't wait to try this simple method! ❤
I prefer a strong sourdough taste but there are so many helpful tips in this video, I have learned much.