Old Wives’ Tale or Crunchy New Wives’ Tale? The Magic of Sourdough

Have you ever heard that your sourdough starter changes consistency with the seasons? That when the air shifts and the weather turns, your dough responds before you even notice? Maybe it’s an old wives’ tale… or maybe it’s just another example of how nature speaks to us when we slow down enough to listen.

Simple Sourdough

Sourdough is one of those things people tend to overcomplicate—myself included. Whenever I catch myself spiraling into unnecessary overthinking in life, I call it “sourdoughing it.” Because let me tell you, I spent over a year psyching myself out over starting my own sourdough journey. I watched way too many complicated social media videos, scrolled through endless conflicting recipes, and convinced myself that unless I had the perfect flour, the perfect hydration ratio, and a decade of experience, I would fail. Spoiler alert: I was wrong.

Turns out, simpler is better. Yes, sourdough is an art. There are incredible, complex, time-intensive methods that create beautiful loaves worthy of a bakery display. But I didn’t need that—I needed a practical, no-nonsense daily bread my family could eat. My kids can’t tolerate commercial bread (the additives, gluten-processing methods, and sugars wreak havoc on them), but simple, traditional sourdough? They can eat it all day long.

So, I ditched the overwhelm and focused on the basics. I found trusted sources, stripped it down to the essentials, and made it work for our daily routine. Here’s how I keep it wildly simple.

Sourdough Starter: The Heart of It All

I maintain an established sourdough starter, which I feed daily:

• 1 cup of warm, filtered water

• A little more than 1 cup of organic heritage flour

Each day, I pour off what I need to make bread (usually almost all of it) and then refresh the starter in a wide-mouth quart mason jar. First, I add the warm water and let it sit for a minute. Then I mix in the flour with a butter knife until it’s combined. I cover it with organic linen, secure it with a jar ring, and set it aside. That’s it. No fuss.

The Easiest Daily Sourdough Bread Recipe

This is my tried-and-true base recipe. I can throw it together in minutes while cleaning up after dinner, and by morning, we have fresh bread for the day.

Ingredients:

• ½ cup active sourdough starter (or discard) – Active makes a fluffier loaf, but discard works just as well.

• 1 cup very warm filtered water

• 1 tbsp high-quality salt (like Redmond’s Real Salt)

• 1 tbsp olive oil or melted grass-fed butter

• 1 ½ tbsp raw organic honey

• 3 cups organic flour

Instructions:

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the sourdough starter and warm water. Let it sit for a couple of minutes.

2. Add salt, fat (olive oil or butter), and honey.

3. Add the flour and mix using the dough hook on the dough setting.

4. Adjust as needed—if the dough feels too sticky, add a bit more flour; if it’s dry or tearing, add a touch more olive oil or water. The dough should be soft and pliable but not stick to your hands.

5. Butter a loaf pan, shape the dough into a rectangle, and place it in the pan.

6. Cover with organic linen and let it rise for at least 12 hours (overnight works perfectly). In summer, I let it rise on the counter; in cooler months, I keep it in the (turned-off) toaster oven.

7. By morning, it’s ready to bake! Preheat the oven to 400°F, bake for 20 minutes, and enjoy.

Making Sourdough Work for Your Life

This method has become second nature in our home. I mix the dough in minutes, let it rise overnight, and by the time everyone is up and moving, fresh bread is coming out of the oven. It’s simple, nourishing, and connects us back to real food in a way that’s completely lost in modern convenience culture.

So, if you’ve been “sourdoughing it”—overthinking, overcomplicating, and letting perfection hold you back—just start. Forget the fancy techniques, the intimidation, and the endless research. Just grab some flour, water, and salt, and see what happens. Because at the end of the day, good food shouldn’t be complicated—it should just be.

Let me know if you try this recipe! And if you have any favorite sourdough tips or tricks, drop them in the comments—I’m always learning.