The Sourdough Whisperer: The Secrets to No-Fail Baking with Epic Results

by Elaine Boddy

All Your Sourdough Questions Answered Plus 40 Endlessly Versatile Recipes

In the sourdough world, where recipes and methods can get really complicated really fast, Elaine Boddy keeps it simple. This all-in-one handbook shares her best tips, tricks and troubleshooting tools for showstopping sourdough success. With practical solutions to every obstacle―whether it’s a busy schedule, slow-to-grow starter or overproofed dough―Elaine proves that everyone can bake beautiful, delicious sourdough with confidence.

Once you’ve got a handle on all things starter, dough and timing, dive into baking with 40 delicious recipes. Learn to use your starter in dozens of different ways, from buttery jam-filled rolls to crusty seed-studded loaves. Try foolproof formulas for ciabatta, baguettes and pizza, and enjoy flavorful creations like Turmeric and Onion Seed Sandwich Loaf or Apricot and Almond Babka Loaf.

Elaine’s practical approach shows how you can manipulate a few simple master recipes to create any kind of shaped, filled or seeded bread you wish. Gorgeous photography with every recipe means inspiration for your next loaf is only ever a page-turn away. Allow Elaine to guide your sourdough journey, and, along the way, you can even become your very own sourdough whisperer.

Genres: Cookbooks, Food, Nonfiction, Cooking

192 pages, Paperback

Published February 15, 2022

About the author

Hi, I’m Elaine from Foodbod Sourdough, I am a sourdough baker, cookbook writer and teacher, but mostly a sourdough ‘simplifier’. The key focus of everything I do, and share, is to show how truly simply sourdough can be made. I remove the complication and unnecessary steps, and often the fear, that can come with making sourdough. I show bakers all over the world how they can easily make their own healthy, tasty bread, week in, week out, in their home kitchens, to suit their lifestyle and timings.

If I can help in anyway, get in touch.

Elaine

Reviews

[Meylin Muniz · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book gave me the confidence to start my sourdough journey! It is very detailed while not overcomplicating the process for people whose lives don't revolve around bread.

The master bread recipe has detailed instructions with pictures for every step, scheduling tips and time-tables, how to approach common mistakes, and an FAQ section. Starting with the master recipe helped me internalize all the dough wisdom this book has to offer, so I could then jump right into the rest of the sourdough recipes that follow the same basic flow and principles without overthinking it. I really like how this book sets you up for success even when you forget, make mistakes, change plans, your dough doesn't look like the pictures, etc.

While the book is not a complete sourdough resource, I would highly recommend using it once you have an active starter to learn how to read your dough and bake some lovely brea! We can get very attached to doing things in an exact way, especially in the beginning, so the author has some sage advice: you gotta watch the dough, not the clock!

[Margaret · Rating 4 out of 5]

My first book about sourdough baking. I really appreciate the author explaining the reason behind keeping a smaller amount of starter. This approach is quite different than most bakers, at least what I have encountered. Though I was confused about using 100 grams of starter in a recipe using a Bundt pan while most of her recipes used 50 grams. I would have liked an explanation on that particular one. A very good starter book on the subject.

[Alicia Shaddix · Rating 5 out of 5]

Her master sourdough recipe is the simplest I’ve found in regards to both ingredients and method. It’s so easy. I’m hooked!

[Katy St. Clair · Rating 5 out of 5]

This could easily be subheaded "Sourdough for Dummies" because her instructions are thorough, clear, and demystifying. If creating artisan loaves is daunting for you, then prepare to feel like a rock star because if you follow her instructions, your bakes will look like you bought them at a professional European bakery. She mentions the "mindfulness" of tending your sourdough starter and of course the time it takes to create a loaf, but she includes schedule suggestions which are very helpful and can meld into anyone's daily routine. She makes a point that you are the queen or king of your dough, it shouldn't rule you or your time. She shows you pictures of every single step and also what under-proofed and over-proofed look like, among other troubleshooting topics. Once I mastered the basics I dove into her extensive recipes... she even showed me how to make sourdough in Bundt pans, which creates festive shapes suitable for gifting. If you really get into the hobby, next comes experimenting with different flours, hydration levels, oven temperatures and jeez, squid ink. Why not. Thank you very much, Ms Boddy.

[hannah cottrill · Rating 5 out of 5]

|| 4.5 ⭐️ ||

As a sourdough beginner, this is a great reference book! Elaine is very concise and clear in her explanations and recipes, going into plenty of troubleshooting tips and fixes, and offering various substitutes for equipment and ingredients alike. Reading through the first half of this book made me feel a lot more confident in my bread-making and gave me several new methods to try in the future to enhance my bread, and the second half of the book had all kinds of recipes that have inspired me to get creative and experiment. And if anything goes wrong, I feel like this book has my back.

[Clwseattle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I believe Elaine Boddy, the author of The Sourdough Whisperer when she says "No-Fail Baking".

The Sourdough Whisperer is detailed and comprehensive. There are no questions left unanswered in simple terms that are easy to understand, as are the detailed step by step instructions in every recipe. There are both informative pictures and those that achieve the goal of making your mouth water.

I love that throughout The Sourdough Whisperer Elaine Boddy refers to the readers making “my recipes". It's as charming as her big, open smile.

5 stars

[Jessica MacDougall · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is great for beginners. A good chunk of this book is about establishing your starter, feeding it, etc. With some recipes to get you started. I would say this is a good book to read before or as you're starting your starter. I got 2 extra copies to give away with my starter as Christmas gifts.
I like that the author tells you how much to feed your starter for each recipe to avoid wasting starter. There is also a lot of trouble shooting in this book to perfect your starter and loaf.
Please note this book does not require a Dutch oven. Wish I got it back before I purchased my dutch.

[Adam Bonner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this for not only the troubleshooting and FAQs but mostly for the timeline AND pictures!!! So many guides just stop at ‘when it feels right’ or ‘it depends’ but this gives you all the extras of what it depends on and how to adjust. Also the time table really puts in perspective when to take certain steps instead of ‘after a few hours’ like so many other guides. Lastly, it’s only 160ish pages of reading, the rest is recipes!

[Kali Londa · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s a super helpful book to get started on making sourdough. The recipes are overall good, but I wish there were more. She also is all about not having any discard, which is great because I don’t want to waste either. However, there are times when you just will have discard and it’d be nice if the book had some discard recipes.

[Judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good comprehensive book for beginners about sourdough cooking, but it also goes into a lot of interesting variations. I just baked my best sourdough loaf to date based on her basic recipe, and I'm looking forward to trying out some of the other interesting ideas.

[Elizabeth Simon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exceptional. She makes everything clear and easy to understand. Sourdough can work around your schedule and be manageable. I love her baby master wedge loaves so much that I take them with me when I travel for work for a healthy snack.

[Julie Palmer · Rating 2 out of 5]

There was a lot of repetition in the book which I wasn’t a fan off. I was confused by some of the photos too. Some showing the dome shape mentioned and that being a bulk fermentation issue but then showing a shape like that for something else?! I didn’t care for any of the recipes.

[Amelia Lipsky · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was so good!! I learned so many CRAZY facts about sourdough. It also helped me make my first beautiful loaf. Can’t wait to continue to get better and try all the awesome recipes at the end of the book!

[Vanessa Fuller · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you're looking for an informative book on all-things sourdough, with loads of bread recipes, this is a great book.

[Jess · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very detailed. A lot of helpful information. Not new to sourdough but learnt a fair bit.

[Dina_s · Rating 4 out of 5]

No nonsense and straight-forward. Master loaf is manageable and flexible. Finally a baker that addresses heat and humidity and how it affects hydration and inoculation percentage.

[Tonja, · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cannot wait to start my baking adventure!

[Louise King · Rating 5 out of 5]

So many wonderful tips and recipes. Buying my own copy!

[Sharon G · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good guide on sour dough from starter making to inclusion loaves.

[Tracy Reed · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my second book of hers to read and I’d recommend it anyone who wants to try making sourdough but thinks it’s too hard or too long of a process or that it doesn’t fit in around a busy schedule. It doesn’t have to rule your life, and it IS doable, even around a day job.

I sent her website to my mom to nudge her to try sourdough again, and come to find out she no longer had starter so she used Elaine’s instructions to make her own. She said “What? It wasn’t hard. I just did exactly what she said and 10 days later I had my starter.��� 😆 I was shocked because I know others have had a much harder time getting theirs going… for months even. And now my mom’s starter (that she made following Elaine’s instructions) is the one I use because it outperformed mine! 😮 So here I thought I was going to help my mom out and she helped me out! 👏

All of this is to say, if you want to make sourdough, you CAN. After reading the book you’ll understand how it works, and how to work it around your life. 👩‍🍳

[C · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book made sourdough process clear, easy, stress free. Highly recommend.

[Fabien · Rating 5 out of 5]

Let,s make bread at home , a new hobby