StretchLearn Course

Bake an open-crumb sourdough boule from your own starter

Starter, hydration, autolyse, stretch-and-fold, cold retard, scoring, and Dutch oven baking, all anchored to numbers you can repeat.

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Beginner9 hr 25 minSelf PacedRegistered

Course Overview

What this course is designed to develop

Learn to bake genuine naturally leavened sourdough at home using the same fermentation control and dough handling that professional bakeries rely on, scaled to a kitchen oven. You will raise a starter from scratch, weigh ingredients by baker's percentage, run an autolyse, develop dough with stretch-and-fold instead of kneading, bulk ferment to a measured rise, shape a boule, cold retard overnight, score, and bake under a Dutch oven for steam. Every step is tied to a measurable target such as percent rise, dough temperature, or hydration, so you can diagnose a flat loaf instead of guessing.

Learning Outcomes

What the learner should be able to understand, build, or execute.

Create a sourdough starter from flour and water and maintain it on a reliable feeding schedule

Convert any formula to baker's percentages and scale a recipe to a target dough weight

Run an autolyse and develop dough to the windowpane stage using stretch-and-fold sets

Judge bulk fermentation by percent rise and dough temperature rather than by the clock

Shape a tight boule, cold retard it overnight, and score it for controlled oven spring

Bake a finished loaf in a Dutch oven and diagnose crumb faults from a sliced crumb shot

Curriculum Preview

Inside the curriculum: a structured path from fundamentals to execution.

Preview the course structure, see how the modules build on one another, and understand the path this program is designed to take you through.

Module 1

Module 1: The Starter: Building and Keeping Your Wild Yeast

Raise a sourdough starter from flour and water, learn what is actually growing in the jar, and keep it strong with a reliable feeding routine.

3 lessons

What a Starter Is and How to Build One in Seven DaysContent · 45 min

Preview Enabled

Daily Feeding, Ratios, and the Float TestContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Storing, Reviving, and Troubleshooting a StarterContent · 40 min

LMS Access

Module 2

Module 2: Ingredients and the Formula: Flour, Water, and Baker's Percentages

Choose the right flour, understand hydration, and learn to read and scale any sourdough formula using baker's percentages.

3 lessons

Flour Selection: Protein, Whole Grain, and BrandContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Hydration and Baker's PercentagesContent · 50 min

LMS Access

Building the Levain and Timing the BakeContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Module 3

Module 3: Mixing and Bulk Fermentation: Autolyse to Stretch-and-Fold

Mix the dough, develop strength without kneading, and judge bulk fermentation by what the dough is doing rather than by the clock.

3 lessons

Autolyse and the First MixContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Stretch-and-Fold: Building Strength Without KneadingContent · 50 min

LMS Access

Judging Bulk Fermentation by Rise and TemperatureContent · 50 min

LMS Access

Module 4

Module 4: Shaping, Retarding, Scoring, and Baking

Pre-shape and shape a tight boule, cold retard overnight, score for oven spring, bake in a Dutch oven, and read the crumb to improve the next loaf.

3 lessons

Pre-Shaping and Shaping a BouleContent · 50 min

LMS Access

Cold Retard and ScoringContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Dutch Oven Baking and Crumb TroubleshootingContent · 55 min

LMS Access

Built for Application

A complete learning path, not a one-off inspiration hit.

This program is designed around progression: focused lessons, structured modules, applied resources, assessments, and a course rhythm that turns information into usable capability.

sourdoughstarterbaker's percentageautolysestretch and foldcold retardscoringDutch oven baking