Every sourdough term, explained in plain language — from wild yeast to the perfect ear. Search it, or browse A–Z.
ArtisanCrustEvery sourdough term, explained in plain language — from wild yeast to the perfect ear. Search it, or browse A–Z.
The sharp, vinegary acid produced by LAB, favoured by cooler, stiffer, oxygen-rich fermentation.
If you want a more pronounced sour tang, cooler temperatures and a stiffer starter push the balance toward acetic acid.
A medium-protein wheat flour (about 10–12%) suited to a wide range of baking.
It makes a softer, less chewy loaf than bread flour and can struggle to hold high hydration.
The temperature of the room where the dough ferments.
It is the biggest lever on timing — a few degrees can add or cut hours from bulk.
Older, less-bred grains such as spelt, einkorn, emmer and khorasan.
They bring flavour and nutrition but weaker gluten, so blends usually keep some modern wheat for structure.
A rest of just flour and water (no salt, no starter) before mixing, letting the flour fully hydrate and gluten begin to form.
A short autolyse makes dough more extensible and easier to handle, often cutting the kneading you need.
A recipe system where every ingredient is given as a percentage of the total flour weight, which is always 100%.
Baker’s percentages let you scale any recipe up or down and compare loaves instantly, regardless of batch size.
A thick stone or steel slab preheated in the oven to deliver a strong burst of bottom heat.
Stored heat drives oven spring and a crisp base when you bake without a Dutch oven.
A proofing basket, often rattan or cane, that supports a shaped loaf during its final rise and leaves a spiral pattern.
It holds a wet dough’s shape during proof and wicks surface moisture for a better crust and cleaner scoring.
Holding back some water at mixing and working it in gradually once the gluten has formed.
Bassinage lets you reach high hydration and an open crumb while keeping the dough manageable.
An oval, torpedo-shaped loaf.
It offers more crust and easier slicing than a boule, but needs a little more shaping skill.
A short rest after pre-shaping that lets the gluten relax before the final shape.
Skip it and the dough fights back and tears; rest it and the final shape comes out clean and tight.
A flat metal or plastic blade used to divide, lift and shape sticky dough and to clean the work surface.
It lets you handle wet dough confidently without adding flour — the most-used cheap tool in sourdough.
An uncontrolled tear where a loaf bursts at the side or base during baking.
It signals under-proofing or shallow scoring — the loaf had to escape somewhere.
A round loaf shape.
The compact, taut ball is the most beginner-friendly shape and the easiest to score.
A high-protein wheat flour (typically 12–14%) that forms strong gluten.
Its strength supports high hydration and a tall, open loaf — the default flour for most sourdough.
A flat board or paddle used to slide loaves onto a hot stone and out again.
It lets you load a proofed loaf onto fierce heat without burning yourself or deflating it.
The first, main rise after mixing, while the dough is still one mass — where most flavour and structure develop.
Getting bulk right is the single biggest factor in a good loaf; under- or over-doing it can’t be fixed later.
A gentle fold where you lift the dough’s centre and let the ends tuck under into a coil.
It strengthens delicate, high-hydration dough during bulk without degassing it.
Slowing fermentation by resting shaped dough in the fridge (around 4 °C), usually overnight.
Cold retard deepens flavour, builds acetic tang, and makes scoring easier — plus it splits the work across two days.
Cultivated baker’s yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) sold fresh or dried, used as a fast single-strain leavening.
Sourdough replaces it with a wild culture — knowing the difference explains the slower rise and richer flavour.
A stiff, floured linen cloth that supports baguettes and small loaves as they proof.
The pleated cloth holds slack shapes upright so they don’t spread into one another.
The interior texture of a baked loaf — the pattern, size and distribution of the holes.
Reading the crumb is how you diagnose fermentation and shaping after the fact and improve the next bake.
The browned, crisp outer shell of the loaf, formed by heat, steam and the Maillard reaction.
Crust colour tells you about bake time and fermentation; controlling it is how you get crackle without bitterness.
Pressing gas out of the dough, intentionally during shaping or accidentally through rough handling.
Some degassing redistributes bubbles for an even crumb; too much flattens the loaf you worked to inflate.
A tight, heavy interior with few holes.
It usually points to a weak starter, under-fermentation or knocked-out gas — each with a clear fix.
The target temperature of the dough right after mixing, hit by adjusting the water temperature.
Nailing the DDT (often around 24–26 °C) makes fermentation times predictable instead of guesswork.
Malted grain flour rich in active amylase, added in tiny amounts to boost enzyme activity.
A pinch improves browning and rise in flours that are low in natural enzyme power.
Pressing fingertips deep into dough to create the signature wells of focaccia.
The dimples trap oil and toppings and keep the flatbread from doming.
Pricking dough with holes before baking to stop it puffing up.
It keeps crackers and flatbreads flat and evenly crisp instead of ballooning.
A probe thermometer used to read dough and water temperature.
It turns DDT and fermentation from guesswork into something you can repeat every bake.
A heavy lidded cast-iron or ceramic pot that traps the loaf’s own steam during the first part of the bake.
The trapped steam keeps the crust soft long enough for full oven spring, then crisps it — it is the home baker’s steam shortcut.
The raised, crisp flap of crust that lifts along a score line during oven spring.
A pronounced ear is the visual badge of a well-fermented, well-scored, well-steamed loaf.
Beaten egg brushed onto dough before baking for a glossy, deep-brown finish.
It gives enriched breads their bakery shine and helps seeds and toppings stick.
Proteins naturally present in flour: amylase breaks starch into sugars the microbes can eat, while protease softens gluten over time.
Enzyme activity feeds fermentation and explains why over-long autolyse or bulk can leave dough slack and sticky.
The proportion of old starter to fresh flour to water at a feed, written as starter:flour:water — e.g. 1:1:1 or 1:5:5.
A bigger ratio (more fresh food) slows the rise and is how you control peak timing to fit your schedule.
The metabolic process where microbes convert flour sugars into gas, acids and alcohol — the foundation of every sourdough.
Everything about a loaf’s flavour, rise and texture traces back to how fermentation is managed.
Like autolyse, but the starter is included in the flour-and-water rest, so fermentation begins immediately.
Fermentolyse saves a step and suits busy schedules, at the cost of slightly less control than a pure autolyse.
Dropping a spoonful of starter into water: if it floats, it is full of gas and likely ready to bake with.
It is a quick, beginner-friendly check that your starter is active before you commit a whole batch of flour to it.
A flour’s capacity to form gluten, often shown as protein percentage or the European W value.
Stronger flour holds more water and a longer ferment — exactly what high-hydration loaves need.
A crust that detaches and lifts away from the crumb, leaving a gap.
It points to under-proofing or set-too-soon baking — the crust hardened before the loaf finished expanding.
The elastic protein network that forms when wheat flour is hydrated and worked, trapping fermentation gases.
Gluten is the balloon that holds the rise — developing it well is what lets dough stretch instead of tear.
A dense, sticky, under-set interior, often from underbaking or slicing the loaf while still warm.
Knowing the causes — underproof, underbake, early slicing — turns a disappointing loaf into an easy fix.
A layer of greyish liquid (alcohol and water) that forms on top of a starter that is hungry and overdue a feed.
Hooch is harmless but a clear signal to feed more often or refrigerate — it tells you the culture has run out of food.
The amount of water in a dough relative to flour, expressed as a baker’s percentage (water ÷ flour × 100).
Hydration sets how open, soft and sticky a dough is — the core number you adjust to change a loaf’s character.
Extra ingredients folded into dough — seeds, nuts, olives, dried fruit, cheese.
Added at the right moment they flavour the loaf without shredding the gluten you built.
The percentage of ripe starter relative to flour in a dough or levain build.
Lower inoculation means a slower, more flavourful ferment; higher means a faster rise.
Working dough mechanically to develop the gluten into a smooth, elastic mass.
Most sourdough trades heavy kneading for time and folds, but it is still the fastest route to strength.
The mild, yoghurt-like acid produced by LAB, favoured by warmer, wetter fermentation.
Warm fermentation leans lactic — softer, creamier sourness — which is why temperature is your main flavour dial.
The community of bacteria (mostly Lactobacillus species) that live alongside wild yeast in a starter and ferment sugars into lactic and acetic acid.
LAB create sourdough’s tang, lower the pH for a longer shelf life, and make minerals more available — flavour and nutrition both come from here.
A handled razor blade used to score loaves quickly and cleanly.
A sharp lame makes the decisive, shallow cuts that a knife smears, giving you control over the ear and final shape.
Stretching the dough out very thin early in bulk, then folding it back up — often used to incorporate add-ins.
Lamination builds strength fast and distributes seeds, olives or inclusions evenly through the dough.
An off-shoot of starter built specifically for one bake, often at a different flour or hydration to tune flavour and timing.
Building a levain lets you keep a small mother starter while still making a large, predictable build for baking day.
A heat-driven reaction between amino acids and sugars that browns and flavours the crust during baking.
It is why a well-baked crust tastes deep and toasty rather than pale and bland.
Combining flour, water, starter and salt into a uniform dough and beginning gluten development.
How thoroughly you mix sets the starting strength every later fold builds on.
An interior with large, irregular, glossy holes — the hallmark of a well-fermented, high-hydration loaf.
Open crumb is a common goal, but it is a result of process, not a setting — fermentation, hydration and handling all feed it.
The rapid final expansion of a loaf in the first minutes of baking, as trapped gases expand and the crust sets.
Strong oven spring is the reward for good fermentation, shaping and steam — it gives height and an open crumb.
Letting dough ferment too long, so the gluten weakens and can no longer hold gas.
Overproofed dough spreads flat, tears when scored and bakes dense — recognising it saves wasted bakes.
The moment a starter or levain reaches maximum volume and activity, just before it begins to collapse.
Using starter at peak gives the strongest, most reliable rise; past peak it weakens and turns sharply sour.
A measure of acidity; a ripe sourdough sits around pH 3.8–4.5 as fermentation acids accumulate.
Falling pH is what preserves the bread, tightens the crumb and defines the sour edge.
Gently pressing a proofing loaf: it is ready when the dent springs back slowly and only partly.
It is the most reliable read on final proof — better than watching the clock.
A light, first rounding of the dough before a bench rest, ahead of the final shape.
Pre-shaping organises the dough and builds gentle tension, making the final shape tighter and more even.
The final rise of a shaped loaf, after dividing and shaping and just before baking.
Proof controls the final volume and openness — too short gives a tight, bursting loaf, too long gives a flat one.
Coating a banneton with rice flour, which doesn’t absorb moisture the way wheat flour does.
It is the reliable fix for dough sticking to the proofing basket.
A starter that has been fed and reached peak activity — bubbly, domed and ready.
Building with ripe starter is the difference between a strong rise and a sluggish, flat one.
A flour low in gluten-forming proteins but rich in enzymes and pentosans, milled from rye grain.
Rye supercharges a starter and adds earthy flavour, but its lack of gluten makes 100% rye dough dense and sticky.
Added at around 2% of flour weight, salt tightens gluten and slows fermentation.
Beyond flavour, salt controls the pace of the rise and strengthens the dough — leaving it out makes loaves slack and bland.
Cutting the surface of a proofed loaf just before baking, with a blade or lame.
Scoring controls where the loaf expands so it opens cleanly instead of bursting at random — and it is where the ear forms.
The closed join left on the underside of a shaped loaf where the dough was sealed.
Placing the seam down (or up for a rustic split) controls whether the loaf opens where you want.
A coarse flour milled from hard durum wheat, golden and high in protein.
It adds bite and colour, and a dusting stops loaves sticking to a peel or tray.
Forming bulk-fermented dough into its final shape, creating an outer skin under tension.
Good shaping is what gives a loaf its height and even crumb; slack shaping makes it spread sideways.
A vigorous hand technique (the French fold) of slapping dough on the bench and folding it over.
It builds strength fast in wetter doughs that are too slack to knead conventionally.
Grains or seeds pre-soaked in water before mixing so they don’t steal moisture from the dough.
Skip the soak and you get hard bits and a drier crumb as the seeds drink the dough’s water.
The portion of starter removed before a feed, so the remaining culture is not diluted by an ever-growing volume.
Instead of binning it, discard adds tang and reduces waste in pancakes, crackers, brownies and more.
A living culture of flour and water colonised by wild yeast and LAB, kept alive by regular feeding and used to leaven bread.
The starter replaces commercial yeast entirely — its health directly decides whether your loaf rises.
An ancient wheat with fragile, extensible gluten and a sweet, nutty flavour.
Spelt ferments quickly and tears easily, so it rewards gentler handling and shorter proofs.
The process where starch granules absorb water and swell into a set gel as the loaf bakes.
It is what turns sticky dough into a sliceable crumb — and why cutting too early feels gummy.
Moisture introduced into the oven (or trapped under a Dutch oven lid) during the first phase of baking.
Steam keeps the crust elastic so the loaf can expand fully before it sets — no steam means a pale, cracked, stunted loaf.
A gentle handling method during bulk where you lift and fold the dough over itself instead of kneading.
Stretch and folds build strength in high-hydration dough without a mixer and without knocking out the gas.
The taut outer skin created on dough during shaping by dragging it against the work surface.
Surface tension holds the loaf’s structure up during proof and bake, directly affecting how tall it stands.
The mutually beneficial relationship between wild yeast and lactic acid bacteria in a sourdough culture, where each supports the other’s growth.
A balanced symbiosis is what makes a starter stable and predictable instead of sour-smelling and sluggish.
A cooked flour-and-liquid paste stirred into enriched dough to lock in moisture.
It keeps soft breads tender and fresh longer by pre-gelatinising some of the starch.
Large, irregular holes or a hollow just under the crust, often from trapped or uneven gas.
It looks like open crumb but usually means rushed shaping or uneven degassing.
Baking before fermentation has done enough work, so the dough is still tight and under-gassed.
Underproofed loaves burst at the side, have a gummy, tight crumb, and lack flavour — the fix is patience or warmth.
Flour milled from the entire wheat kernel, including bran and germ.
It ferments faster and adds flavour and nutrition, but its bran cuts gluten, so loaves are denser and thirstier.
Naturally occurring yeast (mainly Saccharomyces and Kazachstania species) captured from flour and the environment that ferments sugars into carbon dioxide and alcohol.
Wild yeast is the engine of the rise — it produces the CO₂ that inflates the dough and gives sourdough its open crumb.
Stretching a small piece of dough thin enough to see light through it without tearing.
It tells you the gluten is well developed and the dough is ready to move on from mixing.