Why Didn't My Sourdough Work?
Find your problem in 60 seconds. Fix it on your next bake.
71 full-colour pages · 47 problems and guides · Grams, °F and °C
Same guide, two ways to read it.
- ✓Instant download
- ✓Tap any page number or QR code
- ✓Free updates as the guide grows
- ✓Read on a tablet, computer or phone
- ✓Prints cleanly at home
Hardcover
- ✓Printed on demand and shipped to you
- ✓Sits open on the counter while you bake
- ✓Scan the QR codes with your phone
- ✓The same 71 full-colour pages
- ✓Makes a good gift for a baker
Every failed loaf is trying to tell you something.
Your loaf came out flat. Or gummy. Or it looked great until you cut it open. You followed the recipe, so what happened?
I've pulled plenty of loaves out of the oven that had no business looking the way they did. Every one of them was telling me something. This guide is everything those loaves taught me, laid out so you can read your own loaf, find the cause, and fix it on the next bake.
Proof Point Baking
Three steps, one fix at a time.
Find it
Look up what you're seeing in the Symptom Finder: flat, gummy, pale, sour, stuck.
Check it
Check the one thing the finder points to first, so you know which cause is yours.
Fix it
Turn to the page and change one thing on your next bake.
One problem per page. One fix to try.
- 47 problems and guides, one per page: starter, dough, shaping, oven, crumb and kitchen
- For each problem: what's happening, how to tell which cause it is, how to save this bake, and the fixes in the order to try them
- Photos from real bakes
- The 5-Question Check for when you can't tell where it went wrong
- Recipe guides: feeding ratios, baker's percentages, and fitting a recipe's timeline into your day
- Kitchen guides: hot, cold, dry and humid kitchens, high altitude, flour swaps, and baking without a Dutch oven
- Printable extras: the Fridge Fix-It Chart, a Bake Log, the Baseline Loaf and the Top Ten Mistakes
- QR codes to short video demonstrations, several opening right at the moment that shows the fix
- A 33-term glossary, and grams, °F and °C throughout
Try 6 pages free.
See how it works first: the cover, how to use it, the Symptom Finder and two full problem pages.
Download the free sampleBefore you buy.
Is it for beginners?+–
It's written for anyone who has baked a few loaves, or a few dozen, and wants to know why one didn't turn out. If you're just starting, there's a page on making a starter from scratch, plus a plain Baseline Loaf to learn on.
Does it help at high altitude?+–
Yes. There's a full page on baking at altitude: what changes, what to watch for, and how to adjust your timing.
Grams or cups?+–
Everything is in grams, with temperatures in °F and °C. There's a page on converting recipes, and a QR code to a free unit converter.
Can I read the PDF on my phone?+–
Yes. It's best on a tablet or computer, but it works on a phone. It's bookmarked by part and problem, and every page number in the Symptom Finder is tappable.
Where does the hardcover ship, and how long does it take?+–
Each copy is printed on demand and shipped directly to you. Shipping options, cost and delivery time for your country are shown at checkout.
Do I get updates?+–
PDF buyers get every new version at no charge. The guide grows as new questions come in.
What if my problem isn't in the guide?+–
Tell me about it through the contact page, with a photo of the loaf whole and sliced, your kitchen temperature and your bulk time. Questions like yours are how new pages get written.