Basic Sourdough Bread

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I've seen a lot of reviews of this recipe complaining about dryness in the resulting bread. There are two hard and fast rules about baking bread...1. Your measurements must be precise. 2. You never, ever dump the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients all at one time. Never. Ever. (DISCLAIMER: probably doesn't apply to bread machines. I baked up a loaf of this today. I got a great crust and moist interior. Start with a cup of flour added to the starter to get the ball rolling, then added the second cup a little at a time, checking after each addition for elasticity. You can always tighten up a sticky dough with a little more flour; it's really hard to take flour out once you've added too much. I also recommend putting the shaped loaf on the stone or baking sheet for the second rise...moving the loaf after the second rise can cause it to fall. Good result aside, I'm taking one star away from Emeril for not mentioning the "no dumping everything at once" rule.

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Love, love love this recipe! I was intimidated by "bread" and especially "sourdough" bread... There is no reason to be! My family is really behind the whole starter process! We even named our starter (recommended on another website dedicated to bread so that we won't forget to feed him! We love Fi-dough, the Sourdough!! The texture of my first sourdough bread was perfect. The flavor was good, and I am really looking forward to Fi-dough maturing and giving the baked goods a more "sour" taste. Thank you, Emeril, for sharing!!

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I'm new to the bread making scene and this recipe was perfect! I'm lucky to have a 70+ year old starter! After a few times working the bread by hand I decided to try it in the bread machine. It came out OK, but I have found the sourdough has the best flavor when I do the first cycle in the bread machine (mix/knead/rise and finish it off by hand. I have been shaping my bread into french baguettes with (/ / / top slices and letting the dough do a slow rise in the fridge overnight (about 12 hours. I also knead just a little bit of flour into the dough before the second rise. I think the additional flour and longer rise time gives the bread a better flavor because the starter is still at work.

Like those below I reduced the bake time to about 25 minutes... Delish!

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Rather dry, even after adding extra starter. Tossed it out.

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@locowoods_12406796, I was having the same problem. Decrease the baking time - 25 minutes works great for me. I brush the crust with olive oil, instead of water, for a softer crust.
You can let it rise, then refrigerate overnight, let it rise again the next day - it will be a slower rise - you may be happier with the texture, etc. Hope this helps.

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I need help. I have made this 3 times now, and results are terrible! Crust needs a chainsaw to cut thru it and the bread is dense, dense dense, even though it does double in size before I bake it. Everyone else has given great reviews, so I know it is me not the recipe!! I am new to bread baking - what am I doing wrong?

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I'm new to bread making.This was awesome bread but not at all sour.

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quick and excellent for soup bowls

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My dough came out a little dry, so I just added a couple more tablespoons of starter and it had the right consistancy. This is a nice recipe to build off of to make your own truely tasty creations.

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We have a sourdough starter that is 2 1/2 years old and when used with this recipe it produced the best sourdough bread we've baked so far. Emeril gets most of the credit for this basic and easy recipe, but we can't underestimate the hard work of our famous one-celled San Franciscian friends that live in a mason jar in our fridge.