Sourdough from Scratch
Like Duolingo, but for Sourdough from Scratch. Tomo turns the whole topic into a game you play five minutes a day, until it actually sticks.
For the part of you with thirty open tabs that never became anything.
101 levels across 9 sections, about 202 minutes end to end, roughly 40 days at five minutes a day. It moves through Your First Loaf; The Life of the Starter; From Flour to Dough; Building Shape and Strength; Mastering the Oven; Flour, Water, and Ratios; The Art of Troubleshooting; Flavor and Variety; and The Science of the Crumb. It starts from scratch.
Free forever · No credit card · iPhone & Android
Key ideas in Sourdough from Scratch
- Sourdough relies on a fermented flour-and-water starter rather than commercial yeast packets
- Gluten strands align themselves naturally over long periods of hydration
- Salt is necessary for flavor and controlling the fermentation rate
- Time allows the enzymes in the flour to break down proteins without manual labor
- Identify the essential ingredients for a basic sourdough loaf
- Sugar and oil are common in sandwich bread but unnecessary for traditional sourdough
- The lid traps moisture escaping from the dough to create a steamy environment
- Steam keeps the crust soft longer, allowing the bread to expand fully before setting
- Professional ovens use steam injectors to achieve the same 'oven spring' effect
- The dough must be pulled upward to create tension without tearing
- Understand how time replaces physical kneading in no-knead recipes
- Folding the dough over itself traps air and builds layers of strength
- The primary goal of the first bake is understanding the fermentation process, not photography
- Recognize the purpose of using a Dutch oven in home baking
- Visual flaws like 'ear' shape or perfect browning are advanced skills that don't affect edibility
- The sequence of the stretch and fold technique
You've tried the other tabs
Thirty open tabs. Four facts you actually kept.
You watched. You nodded. By Sunday it was gone.
One answer, then back to scrolling.
Eight weeks. You meant to finish. You didn't.
Tomo gives Sourdough from Scratch the Duolingo treatment: levels, streaks, and quick quizzes that test what you just learned. That game loop is what the tabs above never had, so it's the one you actually finish.
Here's what playing it feels like
A real question from this course. Take your best guess.
What is the special bubbly engine that makes sourdough bread rise without using store-bought yeast packets?
Get it right to open this lesson and 100 more in the app.
Where Sourdough from Scratch takes you
Master the ancient art of wild yeast baking. From cultivating your first starter to achieving the perfect open crumb and blistered crust, this course covers every technical detail of the sourdough journey.
- 1
Your First Loaf
- The Beginner's No-Knead Entry
- 2
The Life of the Starter
- Creating Life from Flour
- Feeding and Maintenance
- Reading the Signs of Activity
- 3
From Flour to Dough
- The Autolyse and Mixing
- Bulk Fermentation
- Temperature Control
- 4
Building Shape and Strength
- Pre-shaping and Tension
- Final Shaping Techniques
- The Final Proof
- 5
Mastering the Oven
- Scoring for Expansion
- The Magic of Steam
- Judging Doneness and Cooling
- 6
Flour, Water, and Ratios
- Flour Types and Impact
- Hydration Mastery
- 7
The Art of Troubleshooting
- Diagnosing the Crumb
- Crust and Surface Issues
- 8
Flavor and Variety
- Managing Acidity and Tang
- Incorporating Add-ins
- Using Sourdough Discard
- Focaccia and Flatbreads
- 9
The Science of the Crumb
- The Sourdough Microbiome
- Gluten and Enzyme Activity
- The Physics of the Bake
9 sections · 24 units · 101 levels. Built to play, not to enroll.
You pick the voice
Sourdough from Scratch is taught in the Explain Like I'm 5 style: no big words. promise.. Want a different feel? In the app you can spin up the same topic in any of Tomo's teaching styles. Same facts, totally different vibe.
More Food & Drink on Tomo
Mastering Sourdough at Home
Stop buying expensive loaves and start baking your own tangy, crusty bread. Learn to keep a starter alive and bake your first masterpiece using just flour, water, and salt.
Sourdough Bread from Scratch
Master the art of wild yeast. Learn to keep a starter alive and bake your first crusty, tangy loaf using the power of time instead of effort.
Sourdough from Scratch
Stop buying yeast and start a lifelong partnership with a wild starter. Learn to bake crusty, tangy loaves using nothing but flour, water, and time.
Sourdough Bread from Scratch
Stop buying bread and start growing it. Learn to manage a living starter and bake your first crusty, tangy loaf using the power of wild yeast.
Sourdough: Baking with Wild Yeast
Stop following rigid recipes and start understanding the living ecosystem of wild yeast to bake crusty, tangy bread at home.
Bake Your First Great Loaf
Stop settling for store-bought slices and start making bakery-quality bread at home. Learn the simple secrets to a perfect crust and a soft, airy center using just four ingredients.
Start Sourdough from Scratch today.
Download Tomo, search Sourdough from Scratch, and play your first lesson in under a minute.