Making sourdough is like creating magic in your kitchen — mix together flour and water, give it a bit of time, and suddenly the slurry is alive. And it makes food that tastes amazing.

If you haven’t tried making sourdough recipes before, it can feel intimidating; even more so if you’ve tried and failed. Don’t give up! The benefits to making sourdough are many (see below), including breaking down the gluten protein, keeping you full for longer, and stabilizing your blood sugar.

While you may gravitate toward bread for your first project with sourdough, it’s not the easiest. Instead, try some other recipes that don’t rely solely on sourdough for a great tasting result. The recipes below are listed in order of difficulty — start with the first recipe to learn how to make a sourdough starter.

After a while, you’ll be whipping up sourdough goodness in your kitchen, and it will seem so easy.

Is sourdough healthier?

Making sourdough bread has a bit of a learning curve, so knowing why you’re doing it in the first place helps keep the motivation up. Besides being so delicious, sourdough recipes are healthier than regular flour recipes – with benefits ranging from improved nutrient absorption to enhanced immune health.

Find out the reasons sourdough bread is healthier here.

How to make a sourdough starter

To make sourdough, you need a sourdough starter. It’s filled with healthy microbes like yeast that will make gas to leaven the dough and bacteria that contributes to that tangy, sour flavor.

What can seem like wizardry is actually pretty simple. Mix flour and water, let it sit, and voila, a bubbly mixture that makes bread rise. Oh, how long? How much? How often? All those questions are answered in this tutorial on how to make and keep a sourdough starter going.

Learn how to make a sourdough starter here

3 easy sourdough recipes for beginners (and our favorite sourdough bread)

This list of sourdough recipes starts with the easiest to ensure success, ending with sourdough bread. With patience, you’ll soon become a sourdough expert!

Sourdough pancakes

Sourdough pancakes are a great way to start using a sourdough starter and are less tricky to flip than crepes. Making sourdough pancakes is less work than normal pancakes because the work is divided — make half the batter the night before and add the rest in the morning. Sourdough pancakes make a favorite weekend treat.

Get the recipe for sourdough pancakes here.

Sourdough lemon poppyseed muffins

The recipes are increasing in rising power! With muffins, though, the rise is dependent on baking soda, while the sourdough provides acidity for the baking soda to act. These muffins are super moist, just sweet enough, and — to make them even better — they won’t spike your blood sugar. Sourdough muffins have a bit of a different texture than regular muffins, but taste just as delicious.

Get the muffin recipe here.

Sourdough pizza crust

With a sourdough pizza crust, the success of the final product depends on your starter. It just needs to rise a bit, enough to be soft. Because sourdough has increased satiety (makes you feel full longer), with your choice of toppings a sourdough pizza is an easy but filling meal by itself. There is not much actual working time with the dough, so sourdough pizza is a great choice for those busy days — you just need to plan ahead!

Get the recipe here.

No-knead sourdough bread

No-knead bread is the easiest bread to make. No kneading, no waiting between various rises that you have to punch down. Just mix together the ingredients, leave it to work its magic for up to eight or so hours while you do other important activities (like sleep). Then form the dough and bake. The result will rival any artisan bakery’s bread.

Try the recipe here.

Not ready to try your hand at making your own? Read this post to learn how to spot the ingredients in real sourdough bread.