Home

Welcome along...

Hi, I'm Brendan and I'm a Sourdough-obsessed baker.  Originally from the San Francisco Bay Area, I now call England home and I'm constantly looking for ways to apply my engineering background to the Sourdough process to make every bake better.

After years of benefiting from all the amazing sourdough resources online, I'm so very proud of my first offering back to our virtual sourdough community... the Autoproofer app.  What started as an excel spreadsheet quickly took on a life of its own. Recently released, this app's mission is to tailor sourdough recipes to your unique starter's performance, and to prompt you every step of the way to make the sourdough process as easy as possible.

If you want to try it out.... please choose your platform below:

New to Sourdough Breadmaking?

Join me for my YouTube series that walks you through making your very own Sourdough starter, and then on to baking delicious tangy San Francisco Sourdough Bread at home... all within two weeks. No breadmaking experience required!

Read More

Presenting... Autoproofer

Tailor each recipe to your starter and your environment
Android, Apple iOS or on your desktop
Native apps, Progressive Web Apps or via a browser
Notifications for every step along the way
No two starters are alike, Autoproofer adapts the recipes for you
Walks you though each step and reminds you when each step is due
Login from multiple devices to get notifications across them all
Step by step guidance
See details of the upcoming step with a countdown
Notifications on every device from mobile to desktop
Tailor each bake
Change the cold proofing time to achieve the flavor profile you want
Recipes adapt to your sourdough starter
How many loaves?
Take notes like a pro
Print bakes at any time
Bakes are archived so you can review anytime
Make notes on each step
Integrated videos and pictures
Key steps can be illustrated with embedded video or pictures
1 2 3 4 5

Still looking for more sourdough goodness?

Don't worry, I've got you covered... check out my recent Instagram and YouTube posts below 😉

2024-10-1513:38
Sourdough LoafHacker
Sourdough LoafHacker
Best Ever Sourdough Discard Dog Treats (updated version!)
Best Ever Sourdough Discard Dog Treats (updated version!)
The best dog treats in the world are these nutritious and delicious sourdough starter discard dog treats... Rocco told me himself! And now they're even better with this updated recipe and a 3d-printable dog paw stamp that you can download and print yourself.
The full recipe and the link to download the paw stamp are all at: https://loafhacker.com/sourdough-discard-dog-treats-recipe
I'd love to know how this works for you and your pup! Happy baking :)
Show Comments
2024-07-2915:34
Sourdough LoafHacker
Sourdough LoafHacker
Sourdough Starter Showdown - Profile timelapse for "tha_bread_zaddy" #shorts
Sourdough Starter Showdown - Profile timelapse for
Final result.... from tha_bread_zaddy (I love that handle 🤣)
Viet Le and his "Yeastie Boys" starter have the honor of being our last entry to publish results for. And in an end-of-competition twist - he's managed to take a place in the top ten! Congrats!
Not only did it reach an impressive 258%, but it did it in only 4.3 hours! This really is a testament to the great variance we've seen in the starters from around the world throughout this competition. Yes they all rise with a predictable growth curve, but the height of the curve and the rate tha Read More
Show Comments
2024-07-2915:33
Sourdough LoafHacker
Sourdough LoafHacker
Sourdough Starter Showdown: tha_bread_zaddy (*FULL* profiling session)
Sourdough Starter Showdown: tha_bread_zaddy (*FULL* profiling session)
Final result.... from tha_bread_zaddy (I love that handle 🤣)
Viet Le and his "Yeastie Boys" starter have the honor of being our last entry to publish results for. And in an end-of-competition twist - he's managed to take a place in the top ten! Congrats!
Not only did it reach an impressive 258%, but it did it in only 4.3 hours! This really is a testament to the great variance we've seen in the starters from around the world throughout this competition. Yes they all rise with a predictable growth curve, but the height of the curve and the rate tha Read More
Show Comments
2024-07-2915:22
Sourdough LoafHacker
Sourdough LoafHacker
Sourdough Starter Showdown: crisverdubakery (*FULL* profiling session)
Sourdough Starter Showdown: crisverdubakery (*FULL* profiling session)
Mammallama... all the way from Chile! 🇨🇱🤩
So there's been a long pause in results right at the end. A big part of that is due to an exciting announcement (more on that soon), but this also gave me time to wait for our most distant entry to arrive all the way from Chile! And it wasn't an easy journey - Cris had to get a special "sanitary authorisation" just to be able to send it! So there's no way I could end it before Mammallama arrived!
Mammallama did wonderfully and reached 249% in 5.3 hours... just barely missing out on a top ten spot 🤦
If y Read More
Show Comments
2024-07-2915:21
Sourdough LoafHacker
Sourdough LoafHacker
Sourdough Starter Showdown - Profile timelapse for "crisverdubakery" #shorts
Sourdough Starter Showdown - Profile timelapse for
Mammallama... all the way from Chile! 🇨🇱🤩
So there's been a long pause in results right at the end. A big part of that is due to an exciting announcement (more on that soon), but this also gave me time to wait for our most distant entry to arrive all the way from Chile! And it wasn't an easy journey - Cris had to get a special "sanitary authorisation" just to be able to send it! So there's no way I could end it before Mammallama arrived!
Mammallama did wonderfully and reached 249% in 5.3 hours... just barely missing out on a top ten spot 🤦
If y Read More
Show Comments
2024-06-1415:37
Sourdough LoafHacker
Sourdough LoafHacker
🚨MasterChef starter alert!🚨
🚨MasterChef starter alert!🚨
Sourdough Starter Showdown - Profile timelapse for "toast_with_hope" #shorts
I met Hope at a Real Bread Campaign event where she had brought some delicious sourdough buns 🤤... and had no idea that she was about to appear on MasterChef! Not only did Hope compete, but her starter Killian also featured on the series in two recipes! Congrats to both for making it to the MasterChef semi-finals!
Killian is normally a rye-based starter, but I transitioned her to the competition standard strong white flour and she did amazingly despite the shake-up in h Read More
Show Comments
2024-06-1415:36
Sourdough LoafHacker
Sourdough LoafHacker
Sourdough Starter Showdown: toast_with_hope (*FULL* profiling session)
Sourdough Starter Showdown: toast_with_hope (*FULL* profiling session)
🚨MasterChef starter alert!🚨
I met Hope at a Real Bread Campaign event where she had brought some delicious sourdough buns 🤤... and had no idea that she was about to appear on MasterChef! Not only did Hope compete, but her starter Killian also featured on the series in two recipes! Congrats to both for making it to the MasterChef semi-finals!
Killian is normally a rye-based starter, but I transitioned her to the competition standard strong white flour and she did amazingly despite the shake-up in her normal diet... 243% rise in 5.6 hours. Nicely d Read More
Show Comments
2024-05-3015:00
Sourdough LoafHacker
Sourdough LoafHacker
Sourdough Starter Showdown - Profile timelapse for "baking_bread_nl" #shorts
Sourdough Starter Showdown - Profile timelapse for
The secret to perfect designer baguettes!?
I'm addicted to the beautifully unique baguette stunners that Rudy not only posts pictures of (see his feed!) but also runs workshops to teach people exactly how to do it... how cool is that!?
OK so lets be honest... the secret isn't the starter itself but the baker's knowledge and experience behind each loaf. Still though... it was great to get my hands on Rudy's starter and put it through its paces. And it did.... GREAT!
259% rise in 4.5 hours.... that's currently looking like a top ten finisher - awe Read More
Show Comments
2024-05-3014:59
Sourdough LoafHacker
Sourdough LoafHacker
Sourdough Starter Showdown: baking_bread_nl (*FULL* profiling session)
Sourdough Starter Showdown: baking_bread_nl (*FULL* profiling session)
The secret to perfect designer baguettes!?
I'm addicted to the beautifully unique baguette stunners that Rudy not only posts pictures of (see his feed!) but also runs workshops to teach people exactly how to do it... how cool is that!?
OK so lets be honest... the secret isn't the starter itself but the baker's knowledge and experience behind each loaf. Still though... it was great to get my hands on Rudy's starter and put it through its paces. And it did.... GREAT!
259% rise in 4.5 hours.... that's currently looking like a top ten finisher - awe Read More
Show Comments
2024-05-2917:38
Sourdough LoafHacker
Sourdough LoafHacker
Sourdough Starter Showdown - Profile timelapse for "sourdoughmamaa" #shorts
Sourdough Starter Showdown - Profile timelapse for
Look at that amazing rise!! 😱😲🙌
Kate's starter "Doughlene" is something really special! The Showdown has seen plenty of excellent starters that have had sub-200% growth. My own starter (which I love dearly) only managed 220%. The previous holder of the #1 slot had an almighty 266% rise. Doughlene decided that she could do even better... and managed a whopping 277% rise in 5 hours flat!
Kate is pretty new to sourdough making having only caught the bug in 2023. Since then she has fallen down the sourdough rabbit hole (like so many of us!) and alrea Read More
Show Comments
2024-05-2917:38
Sourdough LoafHacker
Sourdough LoafHacker
Sourdough Starter Showdown: sourdoughmamaa (*FULL* profiling session)
Sourdough Starter Showdown: sourdoughmamaa (*FULL* profiling session)
Look at that amazing rise!! 😱😲🙌
Kate's starter "Doughlene" is something really special! The Showdown has seen plenty of excellent starters that have had sub-200% growth. My own starter (which I love dearly) only managed 220%. The previous holder of the #1 slot had an almighty 266% rise. Doughlene decided that she could do even better... and managed a whopping 277% rise in 5 hours flat!
Kate is pretty new to sourdough making having only caught the bug in 2023. Since then she has fallen down the sourdough rabbit hole (like so many of us!) and alrea Read More
Show Comments
2024-05-2818:16
Sourdough LoafHacker
Sourdough LoafHacker
Sourdough Starter Showdown: summitsourdoughyeg (*FULL* profiling session)
Sourdough Starter Showdown: summitsourdoughyeg (*FULL* profiling session)
Check out this 125 year old Mother!! 👆
Yep, that's Kristy's starter, "The Mother" who boasts a 125+ year old history that has shown the wisdom that comes with age by putting up an impressive 264% rise to raise her to 3rd in the current leaderboard for the Showdown!
This is another one of those rare times where we have a tie at 264% which meant that The Mother just missed out on getting to second place by a slightly slower rise to that impressive mark. Doh!
Not only is Kristy's IG feed a great place to spend some time scrolling, but her website ( Read More
Show Comments
2024-05-2818:16
Sourdough LoafHacker
Sourdough LoafHacker
Sourdough Starter Showdown - Profile timelapse for "summitsourdoughyeg" #shorts
Sourdough Starter Showdown - Profile timelapse for
Check out this 125 year old Mother!! 👆
Yep, that's Kristy's starter, "The Mother" who boasts a 125+ year old history that has shown the wisdom that comes with age by putting up an impressive 264% rise to raise her to 3rd in the current leaderboard for the Showdown!
This is another one of those rare times where we have a tie at 264% which meant that The Mother just missed out on getting to second place by a slightly slower rise to that impressive mark. Doh!
Not only is Kristy's IG feed a great place to spend some time scrolling, but her website ( Read More
Show Comments
2024-05-2718:17
Sourdough LoafHacker
Sourdough LoafHacker
Sourdough Starter Showdown - Profile timelapse for "wildbluebell.ca" #shorts
Sourdough Starter Showdown - Profile timelapse for
Meet Lou and her remarkable starter "Gianni"! 🌟 With a 248% rise, Gianni has earned his top ten spot in our current leaderboard. This 75-year-old Italian starter not only bakes up fantastic loaves but has already been sent to the four corners of the world to spark many new sourdough journeys long before it made the trip to the UK for the Showdown. Quite impressive!
Lou's feed is a treasure trove of sourdough tips, recipes, and more — quite a fun place to spend some time! Discover more about Gianni’s rich history and the health benefits Lou enjoys f Read More
Show Comments
2024-05-2718:16
Sourdough LoafHacker
Sourdough LoafHacker
Sourdough Starter Showdown: wildbluebell.ca ("*FULL* profiling session)
Sourdough Starter Showdown: wildbluebell.ca (
Meet Lou and her remarkable starter "Gianni"! 🌟 With a 248% rise, Gianni has earned his top ten spot in our current leaderboard. This 75-year-old Italian starter not only bakes up fantastic loaves but has already been sent to the four corners of the world to spark many new sourdough journeys long before it made the trip to the UK for the Showdown. Quite impressive!
Lou's feed is a treasure trove of sourdough tips, recipes, and more — quite a fun place to spend some time! Discover more about Gianni’s rich history and the health benefits Lou enjoys f Read More
Show Comments
2024-05-2315:03
Sourdough LoafHacker
Sourdough LoafHacker
Sourdough Starter Showdown: pandeluxe.byholm (*FULL* profiling session)
Sourdough Starter Showdown: pandeluxe.byholm (*FULL* profiling session)
Sourdough from Scandinavia... in Málaga 🤯 And it's amazing! OK so I may have taken a slight detour from my holiday to meet Thomas and the team behind this bakery at the start of their 4am shift whilst on a holiday to Málaga recently... and I don't regret the early start one bit!
Lovely origin story, excellent bread... and now we find out that there's a really strong starter powering it all...
"Miss Andalusia" nailed a steady rise to reach 260% at 4.8 hours... so she was a speedy one as well!
For the full details of Thomas and "Miss Andalusia", Read More
Show Comments
2024-05-2315:03
Sourdough LoafHacker
Sourdough LoafHacker
Sourdough Starter Showdown - Profile timelapse for "pandeluxe.byholm" #shorts
Sourdough Starter Showdown - Profile timelapse for
Sourdough from Scandinavia... in Málaga 🤯 And it's amazing! OK so I may have taken a slight detour from my holiday to meet Thomas and the team behind this bakery at the start of their 4am shift whilst on a holiday to Málaga recently... and I don't regret the early start one bit!
Lovely origin story, excellent bread... and now we find out that there's a really strong starter powering it all...
"Miss Andalusia" nailed a steady rise to reach 260% at 4.8 hours... so she was a speedy one as well!
For the full details of Thomas and "Miss Andalusia", Read More
Show Comments
2024-05-1719:36
Sourdough LoafHacker
Sourdough LoafHacker
Sourdough Starter Showdown: breadandhappiness (*FULL* proofing session)
Sourdough Starter Showdown: breadandhappiness (*FULL* proofing session)
Miranda's got something special on her hands! Her starter has not only shot up to claim the current 2nd place spot in our leaderboard... but it has done it in record time - only 4 hours! Most of the starters in the Showdown have peaked anywhere between 4.5 and 7 hours... so this one is a real speedster!
We've had a couple results recently where the bakers have (quite rightly) cited the health benefits of sourdough... well in Miranda's profile she cited a pregnancy craving years ago for kicking off her sourdough journey. So now we're talking about Read More
Show Comments
2024-05-1719:36
Sourdough LoafHacker
Sourdough LoafHacker
Sourdough Starter Showdown - Profile timelapse for "breadandhappiness" #shorts
Sourdough Starter Showdown - Profile timelapse for
Miranda's got something special on her hands! Her starter has not only shot up to claim the current 2nd place spot in our leaderboard... but it has done it in record time - only 4 hours! Most of the starters in the Showdown have peaked anywhere between 4.5 and 7 hours... so this one is a real speedster!
We've had a couple results recently where the bakers have (quite rightly) cited the health benefits of sourdough... well in Miranda's profile she cited a pregnancy craving years ago for kicking off her sourdough journey. So now we're talking about Read More
Show Comments
2024-05-1515:59
Sourdough LoafHacker
Sourdough LoafHacker
Sourdough Starter Showdown - Profile timelapse for "sourdohbynene" #shorts
Sourdough Starter Showdown - Profile timelapse for
Anne's keeping us entertained with a lively starter and a pun to boot... "Sour Joe"! As a dad, I do so appreciate a good pun 🤣
We recently had Heather's result where she talked about getting into sourdough as she found she could stop being gluten-free with sourdough's low GI rating. And now Anne is in the nutrition and wellness space and cites that as one of the reasons she got into sourdough. I see a deliciously healthy pattern emerging here!
Sour Joe was one of the faster starters - hitting her peak (yes, her... see the results link for the full Read More
Show Comments
2024-05-1515:58
Sourdough LoafHacker
Sourdough LoafHacker
Sourdough Starter Showdown: sourdoh.by.nene (*FULL* profiling session)
Sourdough Starter Showdown: sourdoh.by.nene (*FULL* profiling session)
Anne's keeping us entertained with a lively starter and a pun to boot... "Sour Joe"! As a dad, I do so appreciate a good pun 🤣
We recently had Heather's result where she talked about getting into sourdough as she found she could stop being gluten-free with sourdough's low GI rating. And now Anne is in the nutrition and wellness space and cites that as one of the reasons she got into sourdough. I see a deliciously healthy pattern emerging here!
Sour Joe was one of the faster starters - hitting her peak (yes, her... see the results link for the full Read More
Show Comments
2024-05-1418:01
Sourdough LoafHacker
Sourdough LoafHacker
Sourdough Starter Showdown: breadblum (*FULL* profiling session)
Sourdough Starter Showdown: breadblum (*FULL* profiling session)
Bobo go-go so-so high! Holly should be proud of her starter Bobo as he's faced adversity in the start of his life when Holly said she started him out on "supermarket white flour", but soon new she had a star on her hands apparently as he graduated to home-milled "white wheat berries purchased locally"... quite the diva starter! 🤣
Well it appears to have been worth it because Bobo reached the lofty height of 263% and claims the 2nd place spot in the current leaderboard! Congrats to Holly and Bobo!
Holly is also an artist who brings some of her arti Read More
Show Comments
2024-05-1418:01
Sourdough LoafHacker
Sourdough LoafHacker
Sourdough Starter Showdown - Profile timelapse for "breadblum" #shorts
Sourdough Starter Showdown - Profile timelapse for
Bobo go-go so-so high! Holly should be proud of her starter Bobo as he's faced adversity in the start of his life when Holly said she started him out on "supermarket white flour", but soon new she had a star on her hands apparently as he graduated to home-milled "white wheat berries purchased locally"... quite the diva starter! 🤣
Well it appears to have been worth it because Bobo reached the lofty height of 263% and claims the 2nd place spot in the current leaderboard! Congrats to Holly and Bobo!
Holly is also an artist who brings some of her arti Read More
Show Comments
2024-05-1320:08
Sourdough LoafHacker
Sourdough LoafHacker
Sourdough Starter Showdown: sevenbaskets_sourdough (*FULL* profiling session)
Sourdough Starter Showdown: sevenbaskets_sourdough (*FULL* profiling session)
Meet Heather and her standout starter "Helga"! 🌟 Helga showed her impressive strength by reaching a 250% rise, earning a tiebreaker and placing an impressive 5th on our current leaderboard. Heather, who turned to sourdough for its digestibility after years of being gluten-free, showcases the health benefits of sourdough through her baking. Dive deeper into her sourdough journey and check out her full profile here: https://www.loafhacker.com/results/sevenbaskets-sourdough/
.
.
.
.
.
#SourdoughStarterShowdown #ArtisanBread
#SourdoughStarterShowdown # Read More
Show Comments
2024-05-1320:08
Sourdough LoafHacker
Sourdough LoafHacker
Sourdough Starter Showdown profiling timelapse: sevenbaskets_sourdough #shorts
Sourdough Starter Showdown profiling timelapse: sevenbaskets_sourdough #shorts
Meet Heather and her standout starter "Helga"! 🌟 Helga showed her impressive strength by reaching a 250% rise, earning a tiebreaker and placing an impressive 5th on our current leaderboard. Heather, who turned to sourdough for its digestibility after years of being gluten-free, showcases the health benefits of sourdough through her baking. Dive deeper into her sourdough journey and check out her full profile here: https://www.loafhacker.com/results/sevenbaskets-sourdough/
.
.
.
.
.
#SourdoughStarterShowdown #ArtisanBread
#SourdoughStarterShowdown # Read More
Show Comments
2024-05-1020:02
Sourdough LoafHacker
Sourdough LoafHacker
Sourdough Starter Showdown: scrapinsl (*FULL* profiling session)
Sourdough Starter Showdown: scrapinsl (*FULL* profiling session)
Meet Sandra and her triumphant starter, "Phoenix"! 🌟 Sandra, a self-taught baker who nearly gave up on sourdough, perservered and has it all down pat and now has something else to celeberate too: Her starter, Phoenix, soared to a 229% rise, showcasing a unique slow-and-steady growth after an initial peak. This is a testament to never giving up, as every challenge is just another step on the path to success. Dive into the details of Sandra's journey and Phoenix's performance here: https://www.loafhacker.com/results/scrappinsl
.
.
.
.
.
#SourdoughStar Read More
Show Comments
2024-05-1020:02
Sourdough LoafHacker
Sourdough LoafHacker
Sourdough Starter Showdown - Profile timelapse for "scrappinsl " #shorts
Sourdough Starter Showdown - Profile timelapse for
Meet Sandra and her triumphant starter, "Phoenix"! 🌟 Sandra, a self-taught baker who nearly gave up on sourdough, perservered and has it all down pat and now has something else to celeberate too: Her starter, Phoenix, soared to a 229% rise, showcasing a unique slow-and-steady growth after an initial peak. This is a testament to never giving up, as every challenge is just another step on the path to success. Dive into the details of Sandra's journey and Phoenix's performance here: https://www.loafhacker.com/results/scrappinsl
.
.
.
.
.
#SourdoughStar Read More
Show Comments
2024-05-0717:12
Sourdough LoafHacker
Sourdough LoafHacker
Sourdough Starter Showdown - Profile timelapse for "justanotherloaf" #shorts
Sourdough Starter Showdown - Profile timelapse for
"I can't believe I haven't bought a loaf for 4 years!"... Judy said this to me and I thought it was the perfect example of how this "hobby" can deliver so much good to the families of the home bakers that have been bitten by the sourdough bug! Delicious home baked sourdough bread on tap every day?.... yes please!
I also am extra proud of Judy and her starter "Rona" because Judy happened across my YouTube series on learning to bake sourdough at the start of the pandemic... so I'll pretend to take just the smallest bit of credit for the wonderful bre Read More
Show Comments
2024-05-0717:12
Sourdough LoafHacker
Sourdough LoafHacker
Sourdough Starter Showdown: justanotherloaf ("*FULL* profiling session)
Sourdough Starter Showdown: justanotherloaf (
"I can't believe I haven't bought a loaf for 4 years!"... Judy said this to me and I thought it was the perfect example of how this "hobby" can deliver so much good to the families of the home bakers that have been bitten by the sourdough bug! Delicious home baked sourdough bread on tap every day?.... yes please!
I also am extra proud of Judy and her starter "Rona" because Judy happened across my YouTube series on learning to bake sourdough at the start of the pandemic... so I'll pretend to take just the smallest bit of credit for the wonderful bre Read More
Show Comments
2024-05-0717:10
Sourdough LoafHacker
Sourdough LoafHacker
Sourdough Starter Showdown: dough_engineering (FULL profiling session)
Sourdough Starter Showdown: dough_engineering (FULL profiling session)
Morgi's robust starter has made an impressive comeback! After a pause in baking, he revived his starter for the Showdown. Despite the long journey to the UK, it bounced back beautifully, earning third place on our current leaderboard. Congrats, Morgi! 🌟
To see more details about Morgi and his lively starter, check out the full results page here:
https://loafhacker.com/results/dough_engineering
All results from the Sourdough Starter Showdown can be found here:
https://loafhacker.com/showdown
And if you aren't already following Morgi, do yourself Read More
Show Comments
2024-05-0717:10
Sourdough LoafHacker
Sourdough LoafHacker
Sourdough Starter Showdown - Profile timelapse for "dough_engineering" #shorts
Sourdough Starter Showdown - Profile timelapse for
Morgi's robust starter has made an impressive comeback! After a pause in baking, he revived his starter for the Showdown. Despite the long journey to the UK, it bounced back beautifully, earning third place on our current leaderboard. Congrats, Morgi! 🌟
To see more details about Morgi and his lively starter, check out the full results page here:
https://loafhacker.com/results/dough_engineering
All results from the Sourdough Starter Showdown can be found here:
https://loafhacker.com/showdown
And if you aren't already following Morgi, do yourself Read More
Show Comments
2024-05-0717:09
Sourdough LoafHacker
Sourdough LoafHacker
Sourdough Starter Showdown: minnakatrina (*FULL* profiling session)
Sourdough Starter Showdown: minnakatrina (*FULL* profiling session)
Minna's starter has finally cracked a long-time sourdough mystery... does a starter change when it has been dehydrated and rehydrated? Spoiler alert: NO!
Minna was kind enough to send me both an active starter and a dehydrated version (as a backup). The live starter was in good health so I used that first, but then I decided to rehydrate the dehydrated version as well to compare the growth of the two. After a couple days of bringing it back to life, and then a couple more of feeding it regularly, I then profiled the dehydrated version to compare it Read More
Show Comments
2024-05-0717:08
Sourdough LoafHacker
Sourdough LoafHacker
Sourdough Starter Showdown - Profile timelapse for "minnakatrina" #shorts
Sourdough Starter Showdown - Profile timelapse for
Minna's starter has finally cracked a long-time sourdough mystery... does a starter change when it has been dehydrated and rehydrated? Spoiler alert: NO!
Minna was kind enough to send me both an active starter and a dehydrated version (as a backup). The live starter was in good health so I used that first, but then I decided to rehydrate the dehydrated version as well to compare the growth of the two. After a couple days of bringing it back to life, and then a couple more of feeding it regularly, I then profiled the dehydrated version to compare it Read More
Show Comments
2024-05-0717:07
Sourdough LoafHacker
Sourdough LoafHacker
Sourdough Starter Showdown - Profile timelapse for "oaktownbaker" #shorts
Sourdough Starter Showdown - Profile timelapse for
Today we have Betsy and a lockdown baby - "Dr. Fauci" 🤣
Betsy and I only met through the Showdown but she's from my old stomping grounds in the SF Bay Area where Betsy tells me that "Dr. Fauci" was used to warm weather... so he seemed to love the warm environment of the Showdown's 25°C/77°F environment in the Autoproofer.
So with our warm-weather-loving Dr. Fauci putting in a great performance, we have even more action at the top of the leaderboard with Betsy taking over the 4th spot - congrats! 🥳
To see more details about Betsy and "Dr. Fauci", Read More
Show Comments
2024-05-0717:06
Sourdough LoafHacker
Sourdough LoafHacker
Sourdough Starter Showdown: oaktownbaker (*FULL* profiling session)
Sourdough Starter Showdown: oaktownbaker (*FULL* profiling session)
Today we have Betsy and a lockdown baby - "Dr. Fauci" 🤣
Betsy and I only met through the Showdown but she's from my old stomping grounds in the SF Bay Area where Betsy tells me that "Dr. Fauci" was used to warm weather... so he seemed to love the warm environment of the Showdown's 25°C/77°F environment in the Autoproofer.
So with our warm-weather-loving Dr. Fauci putting in a great performance, we have even more action at the top of the leaderboard with Betsy taking over the 4th spot - congrats! 🥳
To see more details about Betsy and "Dr. Fauci", Read More
Show Comments
2024-04-2419:51
Sourdough LoafHacker
Sourdough LoafHacker
Sourdough Starter Showdown: "PSJ" (FULL profiling session)
Sourdough Starter Showdown:
This one is showcasing "PSJ" from Lisa in Germany. Now I've got a soft spot in my heart for this starter because Lisa describes the bread thatPSJ makes as "very sour". I know that's not everyone's cup of tea but my mouth is watering just thinking about it!
This is another starter that I had to take out of its comfort zone of a rye and whole-wheat flour in order to test it on the competition standard strong white flour. Despite the adversity, PSJ did wonderfully and proved to be a great reliable riser that Lisa should be very proud of!
To see mor Read More
Show Comments
2024-04-2419:51
Sourdough LoafHacker
Sourdough LoafHacker
Sourdough Starter Showdown - Profile timelapse for "PSJ" #shorts
Sourdough Starter Showdown - Profile timelapse for
This one is showcasing "PSJ" from Lisa in Germany. Now I've got a soft spot in my heart for this starter because Lisa describes the bread thatPSJ makes as "very sour". I know that's not everyone's cup of tea but my mouth is watering just thinking about it!
This is another starter that I had to take out of its comfort zone of a rye and whole-wheat flour in order to test it on the competition standard strong white flour. Despite the adversity, PSJ did wonderfully and proved to be a great reliable riser that Lisa should be very proud of!
To see mor Read More
Show Comments
2024-04-2419:49
Sourdough LoafHacker
Sourdough LoafHacker
Sourdough Starter Showdown - Profile timelapse for "Bub" #shorts
Sourdough Starter Showdown - Profile timelapse for
This one is showcasing "Bub" from Wayne in Florida. Wayne has been baking sourdough for 20+ years and he obviously knows how to keep a hearty starter nice and healthy because it came to me across the pond as a dehydrated brown starter... and jumped back to life almost immediately with no issues whatsoever in accepting its new diet of strong white bread flour.
Bub then performed great when the spotlight was on - recording a great 233% rise, easily surpassing my own starter and ranking comfortably in the top ten of our current leaderboard.
Cong Read More
Show Comments
2024-04-2419:48
Sourdough LoafHacker
Sourdough LoafHacker
Sourdough Starter Showdown: "Bub" (FULL profiling session)
Sourdough Starter Showdown:
This one is showcasing "Bub" from Wayne in Florida. Wayne has been baking sourdough for 20+ years and he obviously knows how to keep a hearty starter nice and healthy because it came to me across the pond as a dehydrated brown starter... and jumped back to life almost immediately with no issues whatsoever in accepting its new diet of strong white bread flour.
Bub then performed great when the spotlight was on - recording a great 233% rise, easily surpassing my own starter and ranking comfortably in the top ten of our current leaderboard.
Cong Read More
Show Comments
2024-04-2413:32
Sourdough LoafHacker
Sourdough LoafHacker
Sourdough Starter Showdown - Profiling: breadonbluetiles
Sourdough Starter Showdown - Profiling: breadonbluetiles
It's Rebecca's time to shine with "Hey You Two"! I love the story behind the name so make sure and check out her results page for the details. This was an interesting one because Rebecca has two starters, but her primary one is a rye starter that doesn't like the strong white bread flour that I use for all competitors (to keep it all as fair as possible). I don't work with rye much so it was fun to profile the rye starter (with rye flour) and see how different it responds (rye starters are apparently quite the dramatic starters with all the pronoun Read More
Show Comments
2024-04-2413:32
Sourdough LoafHacker
Sourdough LoafHacker
Sourdough Starter Showdown - Profile timelapse for "breadonbluetiles" #shorts
Sourdough Starter Showdown - Profile timelapse for
It's Rebecca's time to shine with "Hey You Two"! I love the story behind the name so make sure and check out her results page for the details. This was an interesting one because Rebecca has two starters, but her primary one is a rye starter that doesn't like the strong white bread flour that I use for all competitors (to keep it all as fair as possible). I don't work with rye much so it was fun to profile the rye starter (with rye flour) and see how different it responds (rye starters are apparently quite the dramatic starters with all the pronoun Read More
Show Comments
2024-04-2218:33
Sourdough LoafHacker
Sourdough LoafHacker
Sourdough Starter Showdown - Profile timelapse for "needleandbread_" #shorts
Sourdough Starter Showdown - Profile timelapse for
There's an ask on this one (!) But first, please meet Elizabeth's starter "Lexa" 👋
Besides having a great starter that performed admirably, what I love about Elizabeth's story is that she has several years of sourdough baking under her belt (baker's apron?🤔) and this year she has expanded to baking in bulk to offer to her community in Minnesota. Something I love about the sourdough community is how helpful everyone is and how much everyone wants to see each other succeed.... so isn't this the perfect time to again prove that to the world??
So the Read More
Show Comments
2024-04-2213:55
Sourdough LoafHacker
Sourdough LoafHacker
Sourdough Starter Showdown: needleandbread_ (FULL profiling session)
Sourdough Starter Showdown: needleandbread_ (FULL profiling session)
There's an ask on this one (!) But first, please meet Elizabeth's starter "Lexa" 👋
Besides having a great starter that performed admirably, what I love about Elizabeth's story is that she has several years of sourdough baking under her belt (baker's apron?🤔) and this year she has expanded to baking in bulk to offer to her community in Minnesota. Something I love about the sourdough community is how helpful everyone is and how much everyone wants to see each other succeed.... so isn't this the perfect time to again prove that to the world??
So the Read More
Show Comments
2024-04-1315:52
Sourdough LoafHacker
Sourdough LoafHacker
Sourdough Starter Showdown - Profile timelapse for "loaf_fi_bread" #shorts
Sourdough Starter Showdown - Profile timelapse for
Meet "Ruby," the vibrant force behind Azalea’s stunning loaves! Azalea's first starter didn't quite make it through a big move, but luckily Ruby stepped in as her new starter and quickly became a key player in creating those beautiful, colorful loaves that make her feed a treasure trove of inspiration. Celebrating Ruby's power in the Sourdough Starter Showdown, she's making waves in the top 5! Keep shining, Azalea and Ruby!
Full results page for Azalea and "Ruby":
https://loafhacker.com/results/loaf-fi-bread
All results from the Sourdough Start Read More
Show Comments
2024-04-1215:34
Sourdough LoafHacker
Sourdough LoafHacker
Sourdough Starter Showdown - Profile timelapse for "theearlyrisesf" #shorts
Sourdough Starter Showdown - Profile timelapse for
Say hello to 'Sourpuss,' the new leader of our Sourdough Starter Showdown! Laila and I first connected on Instagram years ago, and I was thrilled when she joined the Showdown, allowing me to profile the starter behind all the fantastic loaves I've admired on her feed. No double-bubble on this one (check out yesterday’s result for that to make sense) - just a traditional starter that began its rise smoothly and sustained a powerful, impressive growth to achieve the tallest rise we've seen to date. Well done, Laila (and Sourpuss too! 😉).
Full results Read More
Show Comments
2024-04-1119:30
Sourdough LoafHacker
Sourdough LoafHacker
Sourdough Starter Showdown: themobilebaker (FULL proofing session)
Sourdough Starter Showdown: themobilebaker (FULL proofing session)
Meet "Doughvid-19," Jen's incredible starter that's just clinched the current top spot in our Sourdough Starter Showdown! This unique starter shows a sign of the rare "double bubble" starter phenomenon which Tom (from "The Sourdough Journey") helped decipher for me. There will be a separate post going into that in full detail, but even when keeping with standard competition rules of measuring it at the first peak, it still means we have a new leader in the Showdown! Congrats Jen! Let's see if this compeition has any more fun twists and turns... st Read More
Show Comments
2024-04-1119:28
Sourdough LoafHacker
Sourdough LoafHacker
Sourdough Starter Showdown - Profile timelapse for "themobilebaker" #shorts
Sourdough Starter Showdown - Profile timelapse for
Meet "Doughvid-19," Jen's incredible starter that's just clinched the current top spot in our Sourdough Starter Showdown! This unique starter shows a sign of the rare "double bubble" starter phenomenon which Tom (from "The Sourdough Journey") helped decipher for me. There will be a separate post going into that in full detail, but even when keeping with standard competition rules of measuring it at the first peak, it still means we have a new leader in the Showdown! Congrats Jen! Let's see if this compeition has any more fun twists and turns... st Read More
Show Comments