Long before I got hooked on sourdough, I made yeast-based Italian slipper bread using Patricia Wells’s Trattoria. I used the recipe from the 1993 edition of her book without changes because it is so good.

Once I started into sourdough, I fell for the flavor and texture of long-ferment loaves, and Sourdough Cabin Bread, aka Auntie Julie’s Special Bread, became my go-to recipe. But one day I flipped passed the slipper bread recipe and was inspired to create a version that could use sourdough starter.

Wells describes Italian slipper bread, or ciabatta, as “ideal for those who want great flavor in a hurry.” This sourdough version takes a little more time to build than a yeast loaf but far less than long-ferment doughs that spend hours to days in the fridge. It’s definitely a high-hydration dough: expect it to be wet, sticky, and hard to shape. Your final loaf will look different every time, with lots of holes inside, and will cool and be ready to eat more quickly than denser loaves.

Ready to give it a try? Full details are in the recipe below, but here are the basics:
You just need your Sourdough Starter, some all-purpose flour, and some kitchen staples.
1. Mix the ingredients.
2. Briefly stretch and fold the dough, and then go back to whatever else you were doing. Repeat, repeat, repeat—the quick folds are also your body’s stretch break for the next couple of hours.
3. Shape your loaf.
4. Bake, cool, and enjoy.
Still need sourdough starter? Get it from me for free through January 31, 2021!

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Twice as Tasty

This may come as a surprise, but I truly am a lazy cook. I recommend a kitchen scale for sourdough because it’s more accurate than measuring by volume, but what I really love is that all I need to dirty are a bowl and a fork: no cemented sourdough on every measuring cup and spatula I own. Overall, I rely on an arsenal of basic recipes, like my improv, ratio, and master recipes, that I can adapt to my available ingredients and mood.

The same is true of sourdough: I use just a few recipes regularly to make many breads. I’ve shared some variations as their own recipes, but there are many other ways to alter your creations. With a handful of easily mastered recipes, you can make every batch of sourdough look and taste unique. Here are some of my favorite adjustments.

Change the Shape

You can bake Sourdough Ciabatta into many shapes. One large, irregular loaf is easiest, but you can use a dough scraper to split and shape the dough into two long loaves. Those loaves can even be divided into smaller, equally sized pieces and shaped into squarish rolls.

The same applies to many other dough recipes. I bake a two-loaf batch of Sourdough Cabin Bread as 3–4 smaller loaves for gifts. Dough for just one loaf can be shaped into 1 oblong with tapered ends, 6 slightly flattened Kaiser-style rolls, or 10–12 crusty dinner rolls. Rolls are especially nice if you forgot the dough in the fridge and it overproofed: Pry it from its container, divide it, shape each piece, and let it sit until you can preheat the oven.

I bake smaller loaves at the same temperature as the original recipe but knock off 5–10 minutes. I bake rolls made from any dough in the same way as Sourdough Brioche Buns.

Swap Ingredients

Doughs made with sourdough starter can be adapted to many flours, liquids, and other basic ingredients. For flour, I recommend starting small, swapping out 1/3 to 1/2 of the type called for in the recipe, to see how it affects the texture and rise, or making some hydration calculations. That’s how I moved from white flour to rye.

It pays to be cautious with liquids too, but you may end up replacing all the liquid with a variation. If you use milk, expect the final dough to have a softer crust and finer crumb. Whey can have a similar effect with more tang. Fermented pickle brine gives tang and flavor.

Other ingredient swaps include flavored salts, infused oils, and herb butters. Replace these at a 1:1 ratio and then add more flavor as desired.

Add Flavors


You can add an unexpected range of ingredients to your breads. Everything from citrus zests, to fresh or dried herbs, to spice blends, to cheese, to nuts and other chunky ingredients can be easily folded into the dough. I generally add powders and oil-based ingredients when I work in the salt and loose ingredients in the final double letter fold. Denser doughs are best for large ingredients, like roasted garlic, olives, sundried tomatoes, and crumbled cheese. Try adding flavors with these recipes:

• Sourdough Pizza Dough. Sprinkle the dough with 3–4 tablespoons of Italian Seasoning Blend or other dried herbs, or to taste, during the first kneading.
• Sourdough Ciabatta. Add 2 cubes of Basil Pesto Base when mixing the starter and water, leaving out the recipe’s oil and as much water as needed to keep the total liquid weight (280 grams) the same.
• Sourdough Cabin Bread. For a single loaf, chop 1/4 cup each Kalamata olives and Roasted Garlic and sprinkle it, along with 1/4 cup grated Parmesan and 2 teaspoons fresh rosemary, onto the stretched dough before the final fold. Alternatively, stretch the dough, spread on 2 tablespoons Basil Pesto Base, and then sprinkle on 2 tablespoons toasted pine nuts, 1/4 cup chopped sundried tomatoes, and 1/4 cup grated Parmesan; instead of folding, roll the dough into a long loaf, tucking in the ends.

Like what you’ve learned but don’t have a sourdough starter? Now’s your chance! The 4th Annual Sourdough Giveaway runs through January 31, 2021. Learn how to get your free sourdough starter here.