Sourdough Baking with Kids

Full disclosure- I didn’t read this book for my kids. I love sourdough but a starter has always scared me. I figured a book for kids may be easier for me to follow. Not as overwhelming. I was right. The author talks you through each day and what your starter should look like. Also how to troubleshoot if there’s an issue. (Though starters are temperamental you may just have to start over on day 6)

After figuring out your starter (go you) the author includes different loaves and different recipes to use with your starter. (Sweet & savory) I also learned English muffins and crumpets are not the same thing. The more you know.

This book would be wonderful for kids (hello science lesson & yummy treats) but it’s also terrific for people that need sourdough spelled out for them step by step.

This book shouldn't be limited to kids. There's a ton of good info and recipes in here for anyone who wants to do more baking with sourdough starter and discard.
The book starts with how to build and maintain a starter. Then there are recipes for various types and flavors of sourdough loaves and other dough recipes using starter, savory and sweet recipes using discard, and a chapter on yeast baked goods.
My favorite part of this book is the charts along with the bread recipes (and some of the others) showing a sample schedule - this is a part I always try to figure out on my own, and it is really nice to have it already there.

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is a thorough book!

I didn't get on the sourdough train early in the pandemic because I found the process confusing. This book is really helpful in understanding how it works and what to do! The book has a guide that is based on either weight or volume to make a starter along with information of how to keep your starter alive, a timeline of feeding your starter for the first couple weeks, and suggestions for using your discards.

The recipes include sweet and savory breads. There's some unique ideas I hadn't heard before. While there is some complicated language and things that younger kids may not understand, the book is generally pretty accessible and has a good variety of recipes.

Overall a nice find!

Having relocated to be close to my grandchildren, and having baked sourdough myself, this book was a perfect introduction to teaching them about sourdough, how special it is, how fun it can be, and helping them make great loaves for the family. I highly recommend this book. Thank you to NetGalley for an e-ARC of this title in exchange for my honest review. I have also purchased my own hard copy.

A very well presented guide to creating a sour dough starter. Contains many recipes for sweet and savory bakes. Although this is presented as a guide for children, it is very appropriate for the novice to the proficient bread baker. Complete information on the science behind sourdough and yeast organisms as well as equipment, ingredients, and safety procedures needed in the process. Directions for creating the sourdough starter are clear and concise. Excellent photos accompany the text illustrating the entire process. Highly recommend for all ages. Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for this advance copy. Perfect for future bakers as well as experienced bread makers.

I was super impressed with Sourdough Baking for Kids. Having read it, it feels like a book I will refer to time and time again. I've always been put off by attempting Sourdough bread, as it seemed really complex. However with a massive love of fresh bread and a ten year old who LOVES to make bread, I set off on a sour dough adventure.
There is a wealth of information at the beginning of the book including an interesting introduction abou the author and the origins and history of bread. The instructions about making the sourdough starter are very in depth which felt overwhelming at first glance but when I actually read it, they are clear and easy to follow instructions which give you daily tasks and examples of when things have worked and when they haven't. I was impressed they give you alternative instructions to speed up your starter, ready to go in just 48 hours. When you have your starter ready to go. there's handy instructions on how to prep it for baking.
Any then my favourite part - the recipes! I never knew you could make so many different things with a sourdough starter! Savory or sweet, there is something for every possible occasion. We'll be trying the smores bread first and then likely every other recipes. They all look scrumptious!
It's a fantastic, clear, useful , inspiring book for anyone and guaranteed to be a brilliant addition to any kitchen.

This book is nicely laid out and illustrated with a good range of recipes. I am not suitable how useful it is for kids though as the processes involved are long and I think would not be appealing to a child. Also, much of sourdough involves dealing with an extremely hot oven.

My main difficulty with this book, and why I cannot give it 5 stars, is the over-complication of the starter creation and ongoing feeding process. I made my first sourdough starter in April 2020 as I was unable to buy yeast due to covid. Due to the nature of the creation process you end up with more flour/water mixture than you can use as the starter is not mature for 2 to 3 weeks.

Once mature you have no need to feed it frequently and certainly no need for discarding any. I keep 50g in my fridge and when I do feed it I simply add 50g of flour and 50g of filtered water.. When fully risen, that 100g added is the starter I use in my recipe and the remaining 50g goes back in the fridge goes back in the fridge for 1 day, 1 week or 1 month. Some leave it even longer and it is fine without being fed. The fridge temperature stops the fermentation process so ongoing feeding is not required if you are not using the starter. Also, no need to add a mixture of flours - white and wholegrain - just feed it a wholegrain flour if possible as there is more goodness in that flour to keep your starter lively..

The first 2/3 weeks when I was creating my starter I had 'discard' but have never had any since. What a waste of flour and/or making things from 'discard' you don't really need. If you are teaching a child, or yourself as an adult, you are best to practice and get used to how a risen (fed) starter looks and how long it takes rather than follow the prescriptive timings and temperatures in this book.

Sourdough Baking with Kids by Natalya Syanova is a great book for the whole family. I think this book is probably best for older elementary students and above. There is a lot of information in this book, especially concerning how to make a starter. It is laid out well, even better than I have seen the information for adults. I think adults would especially love this book, to be honest. Great book overall. I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher with no obligations. These opinions are entirely my own.

I believe this book isn't just for kids but adults who also want to learn how to make a starter from scratch with its well stepped out guide and then delicious sourdough recipes that will excite the palate.
It is well set out, with pictures accompanying the detailed text that is written for both child and adult to understand and follow easily.
I love that it outlines the importance of the stretch of dough (the picture accompanying was sweet) and the variety of loaves and other dough recipes look scrumptious and so inviting to make. It makes even the least confident bakers (yep me) feel that creating this type of yumminess is possible.
Perfect for the bookshelves of young and old, I highly recommend.

Delicious! And how fun that it is geared toward kids! This is such a fun and basic way to get kids in the kitchen and hands on.

Sourdough Baking with Kids is truly an uncomplicated beginner's guide to baking with sourdough. This cookbook is full of recipes made simple enough, and yet interesting enough that even children will be excited to try baking with sourdough with these recipes. I love that this book brings something so traditional to this day, making it exciting for the children to try.

It is definitely "baking WITH kids" because it is very complicated for kids to go through (both on paper and in real life) alone.
While the descriptions of how everything works, especially the steps of checking the starter are simplified as far as possible and the pictures are helpful, the introduction is hard even for adults, let alone children.
So this book needs to be worked through with adult and child together for every step.
The recipes however are nicely explained and beautifully illustrated with real images.

Easy to follow day by day instructions and great explanations of the science behind baking. Baking timetables were especially helpful.

Sourdough Baking with Kids by Natalya Syanova is full to the brim with useful information for how to create all kinds of sourdough. From creating a starter to making different kinds of bread. This shouldn’t be limited to just kids, this would be useful for adults too.

5☆ Easy to Follow, Informative & Beautifully Illustrated.

Wow what a fantastic little cook book for kids.
It literally covers everything you need to know from start to finish about making a sourdough starter and using it to make delicious bread.

I would love to make sourdough but I find it extremely daunting. We make our own bread everyday using a bread machine. I'm so glad I came across this amazing book as now I might feel more confident to try a sourdough starter.

What I absolutely loved about this book was that not only is it aimed with young bakers in mind but anyone can use this book, from novice bakers to confident bakers as there is an array of delicious recipes to put the sourdough to good use. From loafs, bakes, cakes etc...

The book is fully illustrated and it even gives you a handy schedule so you can see when and what you should be doing daily to enrich and feed your sourdough.

There is an extensive list of information covering equipment you need, to types of flours and ingredients etc..it even shows you how to fold, knead, score and prove the bread using step by step instructions and pictures.
One thing I need to point out is that the ingredients are measured mainly in cup sizes but do feature grams too. So you may want to look into investing in some cup measurements.
Also some of the ingredients will be different in the UK ie, all purpose flour in the UK is plain flour. So before you start double check the ingredients.

I have to say this is one of the best books I've seen when it comes to sourdough baking. It's definitely a book I would recommend, a perfect gift for a budding Baker.

This book is fantastic. It’s a great starting point for kids to learn baking. My son made a sourdough from scratch perfectly. He really enjoyed it and can’t wait to try the other recipes. Thanks.

This is a great book for all the family, it provides lost of information as well as teaching children the joy of feed your starter - we used to call it "mother" - which encourages responsibility and patience, to finally making some wonderful sour dough bread, and learning how to adapted to other wonderful table sou dough and sweet breads. The information is easy to understand and keeps children interested with the various tips and explanation regarding bread. What a wonderful experience to actually making the starter, kneading the dough, watching it rise and baking in the home oven and finally eating the wonder warm bread from the oven.
Easy for the whole family and so worthwhile.