The Quiet Magic of Sourdough Bread (And My Simple Homemade Recipe)
The Quiet Magic of Sourdough Bread (And My Simple Homemade Recipe)
A simple loaf, a daily ritual, and a reminder to slow down.
For me, baking sourdough has become more than just making bread. It has become a small ritual in my home — something grounding and comforting.
My sourdough starter is named Edna, and she began during a very unexpected season of my life.
In 2023, while I was going through chemotherapy for breast cancer, my energy was limited and my days often felt uncertain. I needed something small to care for — something simple that gave rhythm and purpose to the day.
So I started a sourdough starter.
Feeding it, watching it grow, and baking a loaf of bread became something I could do even on the days when I didn’t have much strength. It was quiet, gentle work. And somehow, in a strange and beautiful way, it helped me feel like myself again.
Since then, Edna has grown far beyond my own kitchen. Her starter has been shared with friends, neighbors, and family — little jars passed along with instructions and encouragement to try baking their own bread.
I love that something that began during a difficult time has now become something that connects people. Early in the morning I feed my starter, dust the counter with flour, and begin the gentle rhythm of folding the dough. The process is simple, almost meditative. And when the bread finally comes out of the oven — golden, crusty, and fragrant — the reward feels even greater because of the time it took to get there.
There is something deeply satisfying about baking bread the old-fashioned way. Just flour, water, salt, and time.
My family loves it, my friends often receive a loaf, and the kitchen smells incredible for hours.
If you’ve been curious about trying sourdough, I encourage you to start. It doesn’t need to be perfect. The beauty is in the process.
Below is the simple recipe I use most often in my kitchen.
Lina’s Simple Sourdough Bread Recipe
Ingredients:-
125g active sourdough starter
340g warm water
500g bread flour
10g salt
Instructions
Mix the Dough – In a large bowl, combine the starter and warm water. Stir until the starter dissolves. Add the flour and salt and mix until a shaggy dough forms.
Rest (Autolyse) – Cover the bowl and let the dough rest for about 30 minutes.
Stretch and Fold – Over the next two hours, gently stretch and fold the dough every 30 minutes. This helps build structure in the dough.
Bulk Fermentation – Cover the dough and allow it to rise at room temperature for 4–6 hours, or until it has noticeably expanded.
Shape the Dough – Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and gently shape it into a round loaf.
Cold Proof – Place the dough in a floured proofing basket or bowl, cover, and refrigerate overnight.
Bake – Preheat oven to 475°F with a Dutch oven inside. Turn the dough onto parchment paper, score the top with a sharp blade, and bake 20 minutes covered and 20–25 minutes uncovered until deep golden brown. Allow bread to cool before slicing.
Starter Note
If you ever find yourself with a small jar of sourdough starter from my kitchen, there’s a good chance it came from Edna. What began as a quiet project during my chemotherapy treatments in 2023 has now been shared with friends, neighbors, and family. Each time someone takes a bit of starter home, it feels like passing along a small piece of comfort and tradition. That’s one of the beautiful things about sourdough — it grows, it multiplies, and it brings people together.
A Final Thought
One of the things I love most about sourdough is that it connects us to a slower rhythm of life — one that feels especially fitting here in New England. Bread baking reminds us that some of the best things simply take time.
Life in Ridgefield
Here on my blog I’ll be sharing more about the things I love — cooking, gardening, sewing, home projects, and life here in beautiful Ridgefield, Connecticut. I hope this space feels a little like sitting around the kitchen table together.
From my kitchen in Ridgefield,
-Lina
Meet Edna
Every sourdough starter has a story. Mine began in 2023 during my breast cancer treatments, when I needed something simple and nurturing to focus on each day. With limited energy, caring for a sourdough starter felt manageable — feed it, watch it grow, bake when I could.
I named her Edna, and she quickly became part of the rhythm of our kitchen. Since then, Edna has been shared with many friends and neighbors, and I love knowing that loaves of bread are rising in kitchens around Ridgefield and beyond from the very same starter. She reminds me that even the smallest things can grow into something wonderful.
