Speak fluent sourdough

Sourdough Glossary

A categorized reference of core sourdough and bread-baking terminology — 57 terms, explained the way I'd explain them in class.

Starters & Leavening

Sourdough: Bread leavened not with commercial yeast but with a naturally occurring culture of wild yeast and lactic acid bacteria, cultivated in a flour-and-water mixture called a starter. The wild yeast produces the rise; the bacteria produce the characteristic tang. It is a way of leavening (or rising) bread, like commercial yeast.
Sourdough Starter: A living culture of flour and water that's been fermented over time to capture wild yeast and lactic acid bacteria from the environment and the flour itself. Once established, it's maintained indefinitely through regular "feedings" of fresh flour and water, and used to leaven bread in place of commercial yeast. Here is a guide on how to make your own starter from scratch.
Seed: A small amount of an existing mature starter culture used to "seed," or begin, a new batch — either when initially creating a starter from scratch or when building it up for a specific bake. In some usage, "seed" refers to the very first flour-and-water mixture left to spontaneously ferment before it becomes an established starter. Can be used interchangeably with the word "starter".
Inoculation: The act of introducing a starter (or other leavening agent) into a dough. "Inoculation rate" or "inoculation percentage" describes how much starter is added relative to the flour weight in the final dough — a higher inoculation rate speeds fermentation, while a lower one slows it down and extends flavor development. It's a percentage expression instead of a ratio. Example: I used a 20% inoculation in this recipe. That means I used 20% starter to total flour or a 1:5 ratio.
Mother Dough: A general term for an established, ongoing sourdough starter that's maintained long-term and used repeatedly as the base for future bakes — as opposed to a one-off preferment made fresh for a single loaf. Sometimes used interchangeably with "starter" or the French "levain."
Starter Ratios: The proportion of starter, flour, and water used when feeding or building a starter (commonly expressed like 1:1:1 or 1:5:5, referring to starter:flour:water by weight). A tighter ratio (like 1:1:1) means more starter relative to fresh flour, producing faster fermentation; a looser ratio (like 1:5:5) means less starter relative to fresh food, producing a longer rise. Ratios do not have to have equal parts of water to flour, though most recipes seen online refer to a 100% hydration starter, which means it has equal parts.
Stiff Starter: A sourdough culture maintained at a lower hydration than a typical liquid starter — usually around 50-65% hydration (meaning less water relative to flour), giving it a firm, dough-like consistency you can knead or shape, rather than a pourable, batter-like texture. This lower moisture content tends to favor yeast activity over bacterial (acid) production, resulting in a milder, less sour flavor and often a stronger, more predictable rise compared to a wetter starter.
Levain: A levain is a small offshoot taken from your mother starter and freshly fed with flour and water specifically for one bake, rather than the ongoing starter itself. It's built to peak at just the right time for that recipe's mix, then used up entirely in the dough. This leaves the mother culture (your starter) untouched and ready for next time. If you see this term in a recipe, it just means "active, risen starter".
Sweet Stiff Starter: A very low-hydration starter developed by baker Ian Lowe, built through several rapid back-to-back builds and then mixed with a precise amount of sugar to create a stiff, hand-kneadable culture that ferments 10-11 hours before use. The high sugar content creates osmotic pressure that kills off most of the lactic acid bacteria while sparing the yeast, so fermentation becomes almost entirely yeast-driven. Why it's used: This gives enriched, high-sugar doughs like brioche and panettone a reliable rise with virtually no sourness and better shelf-life — something regular starters struggle to do since sugar, eggs, and fat normally stress out their microbial balance. The article that taught me all about this technique is here.
Liquid Levain or Liquid Starter: A starter that is kept at or fed equal amounts, by weight, of flour and water.
Sourdough Discard: Sourdough discard is the portion of starter you remove and set aside before feeding it fresh flour and water, done to keep the starter at a manageable size and maintain a healthy ratio of flour to culture. It is not necessary to keep your starter healthy - it's mostly a way to manage the size of your starter. It's still active fermented dough, just not "fed" or ready to leaven on its own, so it's often repurposed into recipes like pancakes, crackers, or muffins that don't rely on it for rise, using baking soda or powder instead. It is also often used in bread recipes that also rely on commercial yeast to leaven or make your dough rise.

Preferments

Preferment: A portion of a dough's flour and water (with a small amount of yeast, or a piece of starter) that's mixed and left to ferment in advance of the final dough. Preferments jump-start fermentation, build flavor, and improve dough handling. Common types include poolish, biga, pâte fermentée, sponge, and sourdough starter itself.
Poolish: A liquid preferment made with equal weights of flour and water (100% hydration) and a small amount of yeast, left to ferment for 8–16 hours. Originally French (with Polish roots), it produces a mild flavor and improves dough extensibility. It is often used instead of starter to deepen the flavor of the dough.
Biga: The Italian counterpart to poolish — a preferment made with flour, water, and a small amount of yeast, but typically at a much lower hydration (often 50–70%), giving it a stiffer, more forgiving texture. Ferments for roughly 8–16 hours and is common in Italian breads and pizza doughs.
Pâte Fermentée: French for "fermented dough" — literally a piece of fully mixed, salted bread dough (flour, water, salt, and yeast/starter) held back from a previous batch and used to inoculate the next one. It's the only common preferment that contains salt, and it ferments faster than poolish or biga since it uses standard dough-level yeast quantities. It's using old dough to ferment your new dough!

Mixing & Dough Development

Formula: A bread recipe expressed in baker's percentages rather than fixed weights. It lists each ingredient as a percentage of the total flour weight, which makes it easy to scale up or down while preserving the same ratios.
Baker's Percentages: A system where every ingredient in a formula is expressed as a percentage of the total flour weight (which is always 100%), regardless of how many types of flour are used. For example, a formula with 700g water and 1000g total flour has 70% hydration. If that same recipe also had 100 grams of butter, you could say "my recipe is 70% hydration with 10% butter".
Hydration: The percentage of water relative to flour weight in a dough (total water ÷ total flour × 100). Higher hydration doughs are wetter and stickier, generally producing a more open, irregular crumb; lower hydration doughs are firmer and easier to handle.
Autolyse: A resting step, pioneered by French baking professor Raymond Calvel, in which only flour and water are mixed and left to sit (typically 20–60 minutes) before starter, salt, or other ingredients are added. This hydrates the flour, kickstarts natural gluten formation, and activates enzymes. This reduces the mixing time needed later and improves extensibility. Personally, I think an autolyse is only necessary when trying to achieve a very open crumb and if you're going the extra mile, you do not have to do it.
Fermentolyse: A variation on autolyse where the starter (levain) is included in the initial flour-and-water rest, rather than added afterward. Because the starter is present, fermentation begins immediately during the rest. This combines the hydration benefits of autolyse with an earlier start to bulk fermentation. It refers to adding salt and often more water later in the mixing process.
Bassinage: Also called "double hydration." A French mixing technique where a portion of a dough's total water (typically 5–20%) is deliberately held back at the start of mixing, then gradually incorporated once the gluten has developed. This allows a dough to reach a higher final hydration than could be efficiently mixed all at once, and tends to produce a more open crumb. This is because it's easier for the gluten to form and strengthen with less water.
Slap and Folds: Also called the "French fold." A hand-mixing technique for developing gluten, especially in wetter doughs, where the dough is repeatedly lifted, slapped down onto the work surface, stretched, and folded over itself. It builds gluten strength quickly and incorporates aeration.
Rubaud Method: A gentler hand-mixing technique, popularized by French baker Gérard Rubaud, in which the dough is scooped and lifted with a cupped, wet hand in a circular motion directly in the mixing bowl — mimicking the motion of a spiral or diving-arm mixer. It's especially well suited to very high-hydration doughs (75%+) that are too wet to slap-and-fold effectively.
Straight Mix (Straight Dough Method): The most basic mixing method: all ingredients are combined and mixed together in a single step, with no preferment and no separated hydration steps.
Intensive Mix: A mechanical (so using a mixer) mixing method using high speed and prolonged mixing time to fully develop gluten quickly, often used in commercial bread production. It produces a very white, oxidized crumb but can strip some flavor and color compared to slower methods. It also organizes the gluten into a tight matrix which often tightens the crumb.
Spiral Mixer: A commercial/artisan mixer design where a spiral-shaped hook rotates while the bowl itself also turns, gently developing gluten with relatively low friction and heat buildup — well suited to high-hydration and whole-grain doughs. My favorite spiral mixer for the home baker is the Ooni, which you can find on this link. They have two sizes available now, which is really cool!
Planetary Mixer: A standard stand mixer design (like a KitchenAid) where the mixing attachment (paddle, hook, or whisk) both spins on its own axis and orbits around a stationary bowl. Less efficient than a spiral mixer at developing very wet doughs, but versatile for general baking.

Dough Strengthening Techniques

Stretch and Fold: A dough-strengthening technique performed during the beginning of bulk fermentation (rather than at initial mixing): the dough is stretched upward and folded over itself, usually from all four sides, then left to rest. Repeated at intervals, it builds gluten strength without the vigorous action of kneading.
Coil Fold: A specific, very gentle stretch-and-fold variation where the baker lifts the center of the dough, letting the sides fold underneath and "coil" beneath the raised middle, rather than folding from the edges inward. It's especially good for high-hydration or fragile doughs later in bulk fermentation, when the dough needs strengthening without being deflated.
Windowpane: A test for gluten development: a small piece of dough is gently stretched between the fingers. If it stretches thin enough to become translucent (letting light pass through) without tearing, the gluten is considered well-developed and done mixing.

Fermentation & Baking Stages

Bulk Fermentation: The first rise. The period after mixing during which the entire mass of dough ferments together (before it's divided and shaped into individual loaves). This is when most of the dough's flavor, structure, and volume development happens.
Cold Proof: A slow, refrigerated fermentation (typically 8–24+ hours) performed after shaping, in place of — or in addition to — a shorter room-temperature final proof. Cold temperatures slow yeast activity while allowing continued flavor development from bacterial fermentation, and make the dough firmer and easier to score. There is mixed science on this, but anecdotally, this is why people who are sensitive to gluten claim sourdough bread is easier for them to digest.
Ambient Bake: Baking (or proofing) that occurs at standard room temperature, without refrigeration. Many bakers think sourdough bread must be put in the fridge after shaping, but ambient baking is absolutely fine, you just have to get the hang of it. Scoring warmer dough is harder, and judging when it is ready to bake is a skill that has to be developed.

Dough Types

Lean Dough: A dough made from the basic bread ingredients only — flour, water, salt, and leavening — with no added fats, sugars, eggs, or dairy. Most rustic sourdough and baguette-style breads are lean doughs.
Enriched Dough: A dough that includes additional ingredients beyond the lean-dough basics — such as butter, oil, eggs, milk, or sugar. These additions soften the crumb, extend shelf life, and slow fermentation somewhat, since fats and sugars interfere with gluten development. Brioche and challah are examples.

Flour & Gluten Science

Gluten: The protein network that forms when wheat flour is hydrated and mixed (or kneaded). It gives bread dough its elasticity and structure, trapping the gas produced during fermentation so the dough can rise and hold its shape.
Gluten Proteins and Their Different Kinds: Gluten is formed from two main storage proteins found in wheat: glutenin, which provides elasticity (the dough's ability to spring back and hold its shape), and gliadin, which provides extensibility (the dough's ability to stretch without tearing). When flour is hydrated and worked, these two proteins link together to form the gluten network; the balance between them determines how a given flour's dough will behave. Some flour, such as einkorn, has high protein, but doesn't have the type of protein that produces strength, which is why it can be harder to work with.
Hard Wheat: Wheat varieties with higher protein content (generally 11–15%), which produce more and stronger gluten. Hard wheat flours — often called bread flour or high-gluten flour — are preferred for yeasted and sourdough breads that need strong structure and chew.
Soft Wheat: Wheat varieties with lower protein content (generally 6–10%), producing weaker, more delicate gluten. Soft wheat flours are used for cakes, pastries, and other baked goods where a tender, crumbly texture is desired rather than chew.
Whole Wheat: Flour milled from the entire wheat kernel — including the bran, germ, and endosperm — rather than just the starchy endosperm used in white flour. It's higher in fiber, flavor, and nutrients, but its bran content can interfere with gluten development, often requiring a longer autolyse or hydration adjustment. The bran and germ in whole wheat flour also contain enzymes which speed up the breakdown of complex starches into simple sugars. Simple sugars are what yeast consume and what helps ferment bread. The by-product is gasses, which are the air bubbles that make our bread rise and have a nice texture.
High Extraction (Flour): A term describing how much of the whole wheat kernel remains in a flour after milling, expressed as a percentage of the original grain's weight. White flour has a low extraction rate (mostly endosperm only); whole wheat flour is 100% extraction. "High extraction" flour sits in between — retaining more bran and germ than white flour but less than full whole wheat — offering more flavor and nutrition than white flour while remaining easier to work with than 100% whole wheat.
Lactic Acid Bacteria (LAB): Naturally occurring bacteria in a sourdough starter that ferment sugars into lactic acid, contributing to the tangy flavor and helping balance the culture alongside wild yeast. The bacteria is what makes sourdough "harder" to learn, because it is alive and changes depending on the temperature, how often the starter is fed (or refreshed) and where you live.
Acetic Acid: A sharper, more pungent organic acid produced by certain bacteria in a starter (especially under cooler, stiffer, or less frequently fed conditions), giving sourdough its more vinegary, "sour" edge as opposed to the milder tang from lactic acid.
Preshaping: A gentle first shaping step done after bulk fermentation and before final shaping, where the dough is loosely formed into a round to build surface tension and make it easier to handle during final shaping. Often done only when making more than one loaf of bread because cutting the dough into several pieces can end in a mess, so preshaping helps the baker for the final shaping.
Shaping: The final step of forming the dough into its baking shape (boule, batard, etc.), creating enough surface tension to help the loaf hold its structure and rise upward rather than spread out during proofing and baking.
Scoring: Cutting slashes into the surface of the dough right before baking, which controls where the loaf expands ("oven spring") and prevents it from tearing randomly at weak points in the crust.
Dutch Oven: A heavy, lidded pot used to bake sourdough by trapping steam released from the dough itself, mimicking the humid environment of a professional steam-injected oven in a home kitchen. The thick iron material holds heat well and disperses it evenly.
Steam: Essential in sourdough baking because it keeps the crust soft and pliable during the first several minutes of baking, delaying crust formation so the loaf can fully expand with oven spring; without it, the crust sets too early, trapping the dough's expansion and limiting rise, and results in a duller, thicker, less blistered crust rather than a shiny, crisp, well-developed one. Too high heat, even in a dutch oven, can prematurely cause crust formation due to lack of steam.
Tangzhong: A flour-and-liquid paste cooked to a pudding-like consistency before being mixed into the dough, used to pre-gelatinize starches so the bread holds more moisture, resulting in a softer, fluffier crumb with a longer shelf life.
Yudane: Similar to tangzhong but made by pouring boiling water directly over flour (rather than cooking on the stovetop) and letting it sit, gelatinizing the starch and boosting moisture retention and softness in the final bread.
Scald: A general term for pre-cooking a portion of a recipe's flour with hot liquid to gelatinize its starches before mixing it into the main dough, improving moisture retention, shelf life, and crumb softness (tangzhong and yudane are both types of scalds).
Porridge: A cooked mixture of grains (often whole or cracked) and liquid added into bread dough, contributing extra moisture, texture, and flavor while also extending the bread's freshness. This is a great way to add gluten free ingredients (like buckwheat or oats) without compromising on the dough's strength.
Open Baking: Baking sourdough directly on a baking stone, steel, or sheet pan (rather than in an enclosed vessel like a Dutch oven), typically requiring an external steam source — like a steam oven, water pan, or ice cubes — to replicate the humidity needed for good oven spring and crust development.
Boule: A round, classically shaped sourdough loaf — the French word for "ball" — one of the most common shapes for freestanding or basket-proofed bread.
Batard: An oval, torpedo-shaped sourdough loaf, sometimes shaped with tapered ends; a middle ground between a round boule and a long baguette.
Lame: A tool that holds razor blades in place used for scoring bread. It helps control the cutting and reduces safety hazards. My favorite brand of lames come from Tyler, who hand makes them at Wiremonkey.
Banneton: A basket, often made of coiled cane or wood pulp and sometimes lined with linen, used to hold shaped dough during its final proof; it supports the dough's structure and, if unlined, leaves a decorative ridged or floured pattern on the crust once baked. My favorite bannetons are made by Brod and Taylor and Rosehill Sourdough. The Brod and Taylor ones are thinner and take up less space, but I love the moisture wicking on the Rosehill Sourdough ones.