My sourdough starter, Sophia, has been in the family since I was just a puppy. She’s a descendent of a San Francisco sourdough starter named Sofia, who goes back to 1916. I only bake sourdough bread once a week or even every other week, so Sophia lives in the refrigerator.
If you already have a starter going, you know how to feed and love and care for them. If not, here’s where we adopted Sophia: Heirloom Sourdough. They have lots of instructions there.
There are so many things we can do or not do to make good sourdough. I use a proofer to keep everything at the right temperature, but it’s not necessary. I use a stand mixer, which I know is cheating, but we don’t take it with us in the travel trailer so I know how to knead with floured paws if I have to. (Yes, we make sourdough in the travel trailer.) I use a preheated Dutch oven but I’ve heard people have good luck with a cold pot. I like to put some rice below my loaf after the preheat to keep the bottom from getting too tough, but a baking stone on a lower rack can do that too.
But I also have a secret ingredient! A little maple syrup gives Sophia something extra to snack on while rising and I really like the results.
Sourdough Bread
Ingredients
500 g active starter (100% hydration)
244 g water
30 g maple syrup (or honey/sugar)
15 g salt
490 g bread flour (added in two stages)
Rice flour (for dusting proofing basket or cloth)
Directions
- Prepare Starter
- Feed your starter as usual so it’s bubbly and active. You’ll need 500 g starter for the dough.
- Mix Dough
- Mix 244 g water, 30 g maple syrup, and 15 g salt in a mason jar or other sealed container and shake to dissolve salt.
- Stir mixture into 500g starter.
- Add flour in two stages: Mix in 320g bread flour until no dry flour remains.
- Then add 170 g bread flour and mix with hands (dough will be sticky)
- Knead in the bowl for about 8 minutes.
- Bulk Fermentation
- Cover dough loosely.
- Every 30 minutes, do a stretch and fold. (4 times total)
- If house is cold, extend bulk fermentation to ~3 hrs.
- Shape
- Dust banneton or cloth-lined bowl with rice flour.
- Shape dough to create surface tension.
- Place dough seam-side up in proofing container.
- Proof
- Option A (Room temp): 1.5–3 hrs.
- Option B (Fridge): 8–48 hrs. Bake straight from fridge.
- Bake
- Preheat oven with Dutch oven inside to 500°F (260°C)
- Turn dough out onto parchment. Score with lame/knife.
- Bake covered: 30 mins
- Uncover and continue until bread reaches 185°F (85°C) internal (≈5–15 more minutes).
- For less bottom crust toughness, place a baking stone on rack below Dutch oven or put a thin layer of uncooked rice in the Dutch oven after preheating.
- Cool before slicing.
But dogs shouldn’t eat sourdough bread. So I also made pup-friendly banana pumpkin bread!
Banana Pumpkin Pup Loaf
Ingredients
- 2 ripe bananas, mashed
- ½ cup pumpkin purée (plain, not pie filling)
- 2 cups oat flour (blend rolled oats if needed)
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp baking powder (optional, for a lighter rise)
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Lightly grease or line two mini loaf pans.
- In a large bowl, mash the bananas. Stir in pumpkin and eggs until smooth.
- Add oat flour (and baking powder, if using). Mix until just combined.
- Pour batter into the prepared loaf pans and smooth the top.
- Bake for 30–35 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean and the loaf springs back slightly to the touch.
- Let cool completely before slicing into pup-sized portions.
Serve plain, or with a thin layer of plain yogurt “frosting.”
Store in the fridge up to 5 days or freeze slices for future treats.
Check out my Instagram to see a video of me making these! (Pan on Instagram)