A loaf of sourdough can take three days to make. That doesn't mean you'll spend three days making it.
That's the distinction Kate Freebairn wants busy would-be bread bakers to understand.
Freebairn, a sourdough recipe developer and food blogger in rural Western Australia, says one of the biggest barriers keeping beginners away from sourdough is the perception that making it will take over their lives.
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"I think that people think that sourdough is really difficult and that it takes a lot of time, but really, even though a loaf of sourdough might take three days to complete, the actual time that you'll have your hands in the dough might only be an hour," Freebairn told Fox News Digital.
Her debut cookbook, "Easy Sourdough on Any Schedule," is built around fitting bread baking into everyday life rather than fitting life around bread baking.
For someone working a typical weekday, Freebairn suggests feeding the starter before bed, mixing the dough over morning coffee and tending to it while the kids are having breakfast. The dough can ferment while its baker is at work, then be shaped and refrigerated that evening.
The next morning, "you can wake up, pop the oven on, make your coffee and bake a fresh loaf of sourdough," Freebairn said. "So, the actual time that you have your hands in the dough is very minimal."
Freebairn also points to potential health benefits as another reason to choose sourdough.
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Because it is naturally fermented, she said, "the microbes in the sourdough starter, they're already doing some of the digestion for you," adding that sourdough "tends to not spike your blood sugar" and "has lots of prebiotics, which are really good for gut health."
Her favorite benefit, however, is simpler.
"Probably the best thing is it really does taste better," she said.
Beginners don't need a kitchen full of specialized equipment, either. Freebairn said an old pickle jar can hold a starter, and an ordinary bowl can substitute for a proofing basket. Her own Dutch oven isn't an expensive status piece.
"I literally still to this day use a $30 Dutch oven I bought from Aldi," she said.
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Perhaps the bigger investment is patience. Freebairn recommends beginners expect their earliest loaves to be imperfect and says it may take five to 10 attempts to start getting the hang of the process.
"There's a lesson in every loaf," she said.
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It's advice that captures her approach to sourdough: Start with what you have, fit it around the life you're already living and don't worry if the first loaf isn't perfect.
"Easy Sourdough on Any Schedule" hits bookshelves in September.
