Flour Water Salt Yeast

This is my sourdough bible. It’s a James Beard Foundation Award winner and it lives permanently on the counter in my kitchen — flour-dusted, dog-eared, and never put away. If you’re brand new to sourdough, do yourself a favor: during the two weeks it takes to build your first starter, sit down and actually read Chapters 2, 3, 4, 7, and 8. Those chapters will save you months of frustration. Almost every piece of equipment I recommend on this site comes straight from the guidance in this book. Every recipe is written to make two loaves that bake perfectly in a 5-quart Dutch oven. Start with the Overnight Country Blonde on page 168. Once you can nail that loaf consistently, you’ll be unstoppable with nearly any sourdough recipe that comes your way. Then try the Overnight Pizza Dough with Levain on page 222 — it’s the best pizza dough I’ve ever made and easily rivals anything from a restaurant. Master these two recipes first. Then go explore other books. But start here. It’s the fastest, most reliable path I’ve found to becoming a confident sourdough baker.

★★★★★5 out of 5Reviewed August 24, 2026