•  Be patient with fermentation – it makes all the difference.

• Use quality ingredients for the best results.

• Don't rush the shaping process – it's an art form, but don't overthink it!

• Keep your dough in a stable, draft-free environment during proofing.

• Be cautious with the room temperature; if the dough proofs too fast, it could affect its integrity and the rise during baking.

• Practice makes perfect – even the pros started somewhere!

These methods help develop strength, structure, and control throughout the sourdough process.

• Stretch & Fold - A dough-strengthening technique where one side of the dough is gently stretched upward and folded over itself. Repeating this around the dough helps build gluten strength without intensive kneading.

• Coil Fold - A gentle folding technique where the dough is lifted from the center and allowed to fold underneath itself. It strengthens the dough while preserving air and structure.

• Windowpane - A test used to check gluten development by stretching a small piece of dough thin enough to become translucent without tearing.

• Scoring - Cutting the surface of shaped dough before baking to control where the loaf expands and to help create proper oven spring.

Fermentation is the stage where wild yeast and bacteria create gas, flavor, and structure as the dough develops.

• Bulk Fermentation - The first major fermentation period after mixing, when the entire dough mass develops strength, flavor, and volume.

• Proofing - The final fermentation period after shaping, allowing the dough to continue rising before baking.

• Cold Proof - A final proof performed in the refrigerator, usually for several hours or overnight, to slow fermentation and develop flavor.

• Overproofed - Dough that has fermented too long and has lost enough structure that it may spread, deflate, or produce weak oven spring.

• Underproofed - Dough that has not fermented long enough and may bake with a dense crumb, uneven expansion, or excessive oven spring.

Shaping gives the dough its final form while creating the surface tension needed to support a strong, well-structured loaf.

• Preshape - A preliminary shaping step that organizes the dough and begins building tension before the final shape.

• Final Shape - The last shaping step before proofing, when the dough is formed into its finished shape and surface tension is established.

• Surface Tension - The tight outer layer created during shaping that helps the dough hold its form and rise upward rather than spreading outward.

• Banneton - A proofing basket that supports shaped dough during its final rise and helps it maintain its form.

These are foundational terms you’ll encounter throughout starter care, dough preparation, fermentation, and baking.

• Starter - A living culture of wild yeast and beneficial bacteria maintained with flour and water and used to naturally ferment sourdough.

• Levain - A portion of active starter prepared and fed for use in a particular dough or recipe.

• Discard - The portion of starter removed before feeding. It may be used in recipes that do not require a highly active starter.

• Hydration - The amount of water in a dough or starter compared with the amount of flour, usually expressed as a percentage.

• Feeding Ratio - The proportion of starter, flour, and water used during feeding, such as 1:1:1 or 1:2:2.

• Peak - The point when a starter has reached its highest level of activity and volume before beginning to fall.

• Crumb - The interior structure and texture of baked bread, including the size and distribution of air pockets.

• Oven Spring - The rapid expansion of dough during the first part of baking as heat causes gases and steam inside the loaf to expand.

• Ear - The raised flap of crust that can form along a score when a loaf expands properly during baking.