sourdoughmaths

Sourdough glossary

Sourdough has its own vocabulary. Recipes throw around terms like "autolyse", "windowpane", "ear" and "levain" without ever defining them. Here is every term you'll meet in a sourdough recipe, with a plain-English explanation and no jargon.

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Autolyse
A 30-to-60-minute rest after mixing just flour and water, before adding starter and salt. The flour absorbs the water and gluten begins to develop on its own, which means less kneading later and a stretchier dough. Optional but useful, especially for higher-hydration doughs.
Baker's percentage
A system for writing recipes where every ingredient is expressed as a percentage of flour weight. Flour is always 100%, water at 72% means 72g of water per 100g of flour, salt at 2% means 2g per 100g. Lets recipes scale cleanly to any size. Full guide.
Banneton
A round or oval proofing basket, usually rattan, where shaped dough rests during the cold proof. Dusting with rice flour stops the dough sticking and leaves the characteristic ringed pattern on the crust. A tea-towel-lined bowl works as a substitute.
Bench rest
A 10-to-15-minute rest between pre-shaping and final shaping, with the dough uncovered on the work surface. The gluten relaxes, which makes the final shape easier to do cleanly.
Boule
A round loaf, French for "ball". The default sourdough shape. Distinct from a batard (oblong/oval) or a baguette (long thin).
Bulk fermentationalso: Bulk, Bulk ferment, First rise
The first long rise at room temperature, after mixing starter and salt into the dough. Usually 4 to 6 hours at 21°C. The dough is "done" with bulk when it has risen by 50–75%, looks smooth and domed, and shows visible bubbles on the surface and along the sides of the bowl. This is where most flavour develops.
Cold proofalso: Cold retard, Retard
An overnight (or longer) rest of the shaped dough in the fridge. Slows fermentation to a crawl, develops a more complex flavour, and firms the dough so it's easier to score. Typically 8 to 24 hours.
Crumb
The inside of the bread — the texture and pattern of holes you see when you slice. "Open crumb" means large irregular holes; "tight crumb" means small even holes. Sourdough bakers obsess over this.
Crust
The outer shell of the loaf. Good sourdough crust is deeply browned (almost on the edge of burnt-looking), crackles when squeezed, and is the result of a hot Dutch oven and steam during the first half of the bake.
Discard
The portion of starter you remove before each feed so the jar doesn't grow indefinitely. Discard can be thrown out, baked into pancakes or crackers, or saved in a separate jar for discard recipes. Not waste — just under-fed starter.
Dutch oven
A heavy lidded cast-iron pot used to bake sourdough. The lid traps steam during the first half of the bake, which is what produces a crisp crust and good oven spring. A combo cooker or any deep, lidded oven-safe pot works.
Ear
The lifted, flared ridge of crust along the score line. Forms when the dough bursts open at the score during oven spring. A good ear is a sign of a properly scored, well-proofed loaf baked in a hot enough oven.
Float test
Dropping a spoonful of starter into a glass of water to test whether it's ready to bake with. A starter full of gas floats; a flat, under-active starter sinks. Useful but not infallible — a heavy starter can sink even when it's perfectly active.
Hooch
The dark liquid that sometimes pools on top of an under-fed starter. It's alcohol — the byproduct of yeast that has burned through its food. Harmless. Stir it back in if it's light brown, pour it off if it's dark, then feed.
Hydration
The weight of water in the dough as a percentage of the flour weight. 72% hydration = 72g water per 100g flour. Higher hydration → more open crumb, more difficult to handle. Lower hydration → tighter crumb, easier to shape. Full guide.
Inclusions
Things you mix into the dough during bulk — seeds, nuts, dried fruit, olives, cheese, herbs. Typically added at the second or third stretch and fold so they're evenly distributed. Express as a percentage of flour weight (e.g., 20% walnuts means 20g per 100g flour).
Lame
A specialised scoring blade, usually a razor blade in a holder. Cuts cleanly through the cold dough surface without dragging. A sharp serrated knife works as a substitute, but a lame gives a cleaner score and a better ear.
Levain
A portion of starter fed specifically for a bake, usually built the night before. Lets you keep a small jar of mother starter and build only what each recipe needs. Some recipes use a stiff levain (lower hydration) for a milder flavour.
Maillard reaction
The chemistry that browns the crust — proteins and sugars in the dough surface react at high heat to produce the colour and flavour we associate with well-baked bread. Needs both heat (220°C+) and time. Underbrowned crust = not enough Maillard.
Oven spring
The rapid expansion of the loaf during the first 10 to 15 minutes of baking, before the crust sets. Good oven spring requires a properly proofed dough, a sharp score, and a hot enough oven (and Dutch oven). It's where the dramatic lift in a sourdough loaf comes from.
Poolish
A 100%-hydration preferment, usually made with commercial yeast rather than sourdough starter. Common in French baking. In sourdough recipes, the equivalent is the levain.
Preferment
Any mixture of flour, water and leaven (starter or yeast) made hours before the main dough — to develop flavour and reduce the work of the main mix. Levain, poolish and biga are all preferments.
Proofing
The second rise, after shaping. Can be at room temperature (final proof) or in the fridge (cold proof). Distinct from bulk fermentation, which is the first rise. Underproofed dough = dense crumb; overproofed = flat loaf.
Score
The deliberate cut made on top of the loaf right before it goes into the oven. Controls where the dough expands during oven spring — if you don't score, it bursts somewhere unpredictable. A single decisive cut at about 30° gives the cleanest ear.
Shaping
Building surface tension on the dough by folding and rolling it into a tight ball or oval. Good shaping = a loaf that holds its form during cold proof and rises tall in the oven. Weak shaping = a loaf that spreads sideways instead of up.
Sourdough starteralso: Starter, Mother
A live culture of wild yeast and lactic-acid bacteria, kept in a jar and fed regularly with flour and water. The leavening agent in sourdough bread. Most home-baker recipes assume a 100% hydration starter — equal weights of flour and water. How to make one · How to feed one.
Stretch and fold
A gentle technique for strengthening dough without kneading. Wet your hand, grab one side of the dough, stretch it up and over to the other side, rotate the bowl a quarter turn, repeat. Most recipes call for 3 or 4 sets, 30 minutes apart, during the first half of bulk. Full explanation.
Windowpane test
Stretching a small piece of dough between your fingers to check gluten development. If you can stretch it thin enough to see light through it without tearing, the gluten is well developed. Useful at the end of bulk and after shaping.

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