BBC Good Food: Mastering Sourdough Series
Mastering Sourdough: Series Overview
Sourdough is simple and budget-friendly once you have the knack, all you need is flour, water and salt. In this three-part series we help you gain this life-changing skill, covering everything you need to know about making sourdough.

Our expert tutor, shows and skills editor Barney Desmazery, will share his years of cooking and baking experience, and answer commonly asked questions in a Q&A session. You'll also learn from Food Director, Cassie Best, who has created hundreds of recipes, including many of our magazine cover stars.

Watch this on demand masterclass series and learn how to:

- Make sourdough starter and rye starter
- Use your sourdough discard to make more things!
- Feed your starter
- Creatively shape and score your loaf
- Make bakery-quality bread in a home oven
- Make sweet sourdough, sourdough cinnamon rolls, knots and babka

Included in the series:

- 3 x 60+ minute masterclasses full of expert advice
- A 30 minute question and answer session in each masterclass
- A link to re-watch the webinar at your leisure
Sessions in This Series
  • BBC Good Food: Introduction to Sourdough, Part One
    Friday, May 13, 2022 · 4:00 PM BST
    Overview:

    You will learn how to make your starter, turn it into a dough, and then how to bake it. We’ll cover all aspects of troubleshooting, how best to use your home oven to make bakery level bread and how to improve on each loaf you bake.

    We’ll show you exactly what an active starter should look like, what the texture of your dough will be when you handle it and what you should be experiencing each step of the way.

    This is a one hour-long class, with a Q&A session with Barney Desmazery at the end answering the most common queries!

    Agenda:

    Ingredients for sourdough loaves
    Make your starter mix while you watch
    Equipment, what you need and what you can improvise
    The best methods for kneading and shaping
    Overnight proving in the fridge for a fresh breakfast loaf
    How to score and make the classic ‘ear’ shape on your loaf
    The casserole baking method for a crisp, stunning looking loaf
    Q&A
    1652454459-b725a79cd611e6ff
  • BBC Good Food: Next Steps and Troubleshooting, Part Two
    Friday, May 13, 2022 · 4:00 PM BST
    Overview:

    We will move your sourdough techniques to the next level and take this opportunity to troubleshoot common problems in our Q&A.

    We will recap making a starter, how to make a rye starter and troubleshooting starter issues, as well as what you can make with the discard produced when you feed your starter, such as pancakes and crackers!

    We will deep dive shaping techniques, this is the step that has a great impact on the texture of your finished loaf and is often the light bulb moment for addressing any issues with air bubbles or heaviness.

    Lastly, Barney will also show you how to score creatively and talk you through some equipment before recapping and elaborating on how to bake a really good loaf of bread in a home oven.

    This is a one hour-long class, plus 30 minutes for Q&A with Barney Desmazery.

    Agenda:

    Starter recap and troubleshooting
    Making a rye starter
    How to use up discarded starter
    Equipment recap and best buys for when you want to upgrade
    Refining your shaping technique
    Creative scoring
    Refining your baking techniques
    Q&A
    1652454468-c0d049c0a497fb0c
  • BBC Good Food: Sweet Sourdough, Part Three
    Friday, May 13, 2022 · 3:30 PM BST
    Overview:

    In the Sweet Sourdough masterclass, Barney Desmazery will be showing you how to incorporate the flavour of sourdough and slow dough fermentation into sweet baking.

    Part three will tell you all you need to know about using a sourdough starter in everything from buns and doughnuts to fluffy pancakes and fudgy brownies.

    This session is followed by a 30-minute Q&A session that answers the most common questions.

    Agenda:

    How to make a basic sweet dough
    How to make sourdough cinnamon rolls, knots and babka
    Incorporating butter and making laminated doughs
    Using the flavour of sourdough in cakes and cookies
    All you need to know about swapping your starter for yeast
    How to make fluffy sourdough pancakes
    Q&A
    1652454477-c11544aa69c950d6
Mastering Sourdough: Three-part series
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