This is brilliant advice, thank you Elaine 😊 With the excellent instructions from your website, I made my first ever starter... 8 days later it was ready - thanks to our warm weather, in NZ, in January. I made my first loaf, using that and it was perfect! I have since made another successful loaf using some wholemeal wheat flour in with the white bread flour and that turned out slightly smaller, but it was delicious! I have ordered your Sourdough Bible which will hopefully arrive in March. Meanwhile, I have found your 'Sourdough Whisperer' and 'Easy Everyday Sourdough' books on the Fishpond website. In my excitement, I ordered both of those 😂 They have now arrived and I am amazed and thrilled to bits to see all the wonderful recipes, with beautiful photographs and clear, easy to understand instructions ❤ I have never baked any bread previously so this is a very happy and exciting journey I have now begun, in my 77th year of life. We are never too old to learn something different Much respect to you, Elaine 🏆
Thank you for the instruction. I’m on day 5 of my first attempt at creating a starter. Everything seems to be going as it should be. I relied heavily on your video on how to make a starter. I also bought your book. The book is very well put together and VERY detailed. Thanks!
Hi Elaine👋 I have been watching your videos for a few months now & I think this is the first time I have left a comment. I had been inspired by my brother to consider making my own bread after spending some time with him during August last year whilst on holiday in Cornwall. He started sending me images of bread he had made in his bread machine after he returned to Hong Kong. I ended up buying a bread machine and quickly caught the bread making bug😂. I quickly progressed (within 2 weeks) to only using the bread machine to make dough, bought a few loaf tins and used my oven. Once my kids got wind of my new hobby, I quickly outgrew the bread machine lol. I am now the proud owner of a 2nd hand Ankarsrum mixer😊. After watching loads of different videos whilst researching recipes, I soon made another investment in a Mockmill 200😅. This was getting expensive😂. Then my new son in law asked if I could make sourdough! Needless to say, I welcomed the challenge👍. I set the date to start my sourdough journey and commenced making my own starter on the 1st Jan 2025!! It has been an interesting experience. I recognised immediately the situation where one begins to think my starter is dead. Days 1-3 went as expected. On day 3, my starter jumped into life in a big way😮. It was then, that I realised that I might need a bigger jar😂. Day 4 was less active, however. Day 5, my starter did ansolutely nothing and this continued all the way through to day 9 when my starter sprang back into life😃. It was a close call. If it hadn't shown any sign of life at the end of day 9, I was going to throw in the towel lol. I decided to wait until today to attempt my 1st Sourdough batch. I gave my starter enough feed to allow me to use it to make 2 loaves and have spent most of the day mixing, folding, dividing and shaping. My two banettons are now in my fridge for the final cold proof before I bake them in the morning🤞. I am not expecting success on my first attempt but wish me luck anyway 😂. Out of all the videos and channels I have watched whilst researching the "science" of sourdough, yours was the most down to earth and informative. You have taught me that there are many ways of achieving a decent sourdough result without worrying too much about sticking to exact timings and measures in a regimented, "by the book" way. There is quite a bit of flexibility in the sourdough process that allows one a little breathing room. Thankyou Elaine, I am so glad I found your channel👍. Oh, and by the way, I will be ordering your latest book in the morning😉.
I agree with not needing any heating device. I had 3 failed attempts at making a starter. I bought a Goldie (starter warmer) from Sour House. I did a side-by-side test using Elaine's method. The starter in the Goldie failed and did not grow. The starter on the counter grew much faster and within 2 weeks I had an established starter. After 3 weeks I gave up on the starter inside the Goldie.
Thanks for the video. I’ve been making great bread watching your videos. I have been baking 2 breads at a time, but been using 2 separate bowls. My question..which may be a silly one..can I just double your recipe and use one big bowl?
Thank you! We’re about to go on vacation for a month, and I was wondering if I should try freezing my starter or if I should just leave it in the fridge. Either way, I’m guessing it will take a few days (at least) to revive it. Any advice?😊
This is brilliant advice, thank you Elaine 😊
With the excellent instructions from your website, I made my first ever starter...
8 days later it was ready - thanks to our warm weather, in NZ, in January.
I made my first loaf, using that and it was perfect!
I have since made another successful loaf using some wholemeal wheat flour in with the white bread flour and that turned out slightly smaller, but it was delicious!
I have ordered your Sourdough Bible which will hopefully arrive in March.
Meanwhile, I have found your 'Sourdough Whisperer' and 'Easy Everyday Sourdough' books on the Fishpond website.
In my excitement, I ordered both of those 😂
They have now arrived and I am amazed and thrilled to bits to see all the wonderful recipes, with beautiful photographs and clear, easy to understand instructions ❤
I have never baked any bread previously so this is a very happy and exciting journey I have now begun, in my 77th year of life.
We are never too old to learn something different
Much respect to you, Elaine 🏆
Wonderful explanations and advice! KISS… Keep it simple Starter!!
Yes! 🤩
Thank you, Elaine. Love your starter jars - where did you get them from?
Ps super excited about your new book. Can’t wait for it to arrive!
Thank you for the instruction. I’m on day 5 of my first attempt at creating a starter. Everything seems to be going as it should be. I relied heavily on your video on how to make a starter. I also bought your book. The book is very well put together and VERY detailed. Thanks!
Great! Have fun, thank you 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻
Great videos , thank you. I made my first sour dough loaf using half your recipe and its great!
Great news, thank you!
What an excellent FAQ video. I learnt so much. Thank you!
Thank you 🤩🤩🤩
Thank you so much for simplifying this process. My starter is looking happy and I am looking forward to making my sourdough bread🌸
Thankyou ! Sharing on Facebook and Pinterest.I would love to see how you deal with a sticky dough that won’t come out of the bowl.
Thank you 🙏🏻 there’ll be a video about dough soon, but I’d say that maybe the dough shouldn’t be so sticky…?
Happy NewYears Elaine,
Always great to listen and learn from you. You always answer my questions, it’s like you read my mind😊
Thank you, you too 🙏🏻🤩👍🏻
Thanks you for your wonderful info and knowledge.
🙏🏻🤩
Hi Elaine👋 I have been watching your videos for a few months now & I think this is the first time I have left a comment. I had been inspired by my brother to consider making my own bread after spending some time with him during August last year whilst on holiday in Cornwall. He started sending me images of bread he had made in his bread machine after he returned to Hong Kong. I ended up buying a bread machine and quickly caught the bread making bug😂. I quickly progressed (within 2 weeks) to only using the bread machine to make dough, bought a few loaf tins and used my oven. Once my kids got wind of my new hobby, I quickly outgrew the bread machine lol. I am now the proud owner of a 2nd hand Ankarsrum mixer😊. After watching loads of different videos whilst researching recipes, I soon made another investment in a Mockmill 200😅. This was getting expensive😂.
Then my new son in law asked if I could make sourdough! Needless to say, I welcomed the challenge👍. I set the date to start my sourdough journey and commenced making my own starter on the 1st Jan 2025!! It has been an interesting experience. I recognised immediately the situation where one begins to think my starter is dead. Days 1-3 went as expected. On day 3, my starter jumped into life in a big way😮. It was then, that I realised that I might need a bigger jar😂. Day 4 was less active, however. Day 5, my starter did ansolutely nothing and this continued all the way through to day 9 when my starter sprang back into life😃. It was a close call. If it hadn't shown any sign of life at the end of day 9, I was going to throw in the towel lol. I decided to wait until today to attempt my 1st Sourdough batch. I gave my starter enough feed to allow me to use it to make 2 loaves and have spent most of the day mixing, folding, dividing and shaping. My two banettons are now in my fridge for the final cold proof before I bake them in the morning🤞. I am not expecting success on my first attempt but wish me luck anyway 😂.
Out of all the videos and channels I have watched whilst researching the "science" of sourdough, yours was the most down to earth and informative. You have taught me that there are many ways of achieving a decent sourdough result without worrying too much about sticking to exact timings and measures in a regimented, "by the book" way. There is quite a bit of flexibility in the sourdough process that allows one a little breathing room. Thankyou Elaine, I am so glad I found your channel👍. Oh, and by the way, I will be ordering your latest book in the morning😉.
Thank you so much, have fun with your sourdough! I’m glad you found me 🤩🤩🤩
Wow that is a novel🙄
Thank you, this was very helpful! ❤
I agree with not needing any heating device. I had 3 failed attempts at making a starter. I bought a Goldie (starter warmer) from Sour House. I did a side-by-side test using Elaine's method. The starter in the Goldie failed and did not grow. The starter on the counter grew much faster and within 2 weeks I had an established starter. After 3 weeks I gave up on the starter inside the Goldie.
Thank you 🙏🏻 Have fun with your new starter! 🤩
Thanks for the video. I’ve been making great bread watching your videos. I have been baking 2 breads at a time, but been using 2 separate bowls. My question..which may be a silly one..can I just double your recipe and use one big bowl?
Yes you can 👍🏻
Thank you! We’re about to go on vacation for a month, and I was wondering if I should try freezing my starter or if I should just leave it in the fridge. Either way, I’m guessing it will take a few days (at least) to revive it. Any advice?😊
As per my video, just put it in the fridge 👍🏻
Grazie Elaine purtroppo il tuo libro non c'è in italiano mi dispiace tanto un saluto dall'Italia 🤗🇮🇹
Ciao @silvanaflamminio6668 - dispiace anche a noi - thank you for watching!