---
title: "Real Sourdough Starter & Our Three-Day Bread Process"
url: https://farmtocakebakery.com/real-sourdough-process-living-starter-farm-to-cake-bakery/
date: 2026-10-01
modified: 2026-10-13
lang: en
author: "Debi Hall"
description: "Real sourdough starts with a living starter and takes time. See how we make ours at Farm to Cake—and learn the difference between sourdough and “sourfaux.”"
categories:
  - "News from Farm to Cake"
word_count: 429
---

# Real Sourdough Starter & Our Three-Day Bread Process

A few customers have asked me, “Is your sourdough fermented?” and “Do you use a real starter?”

At first, I didn’t understand the questions. Of course we use a starter. Of course the dough ferments. I thought that was simply what *sourdough* meant. Then I learned why people ask.

Some bread sold as sourdough uses a little starter for flavor but relies on commercial yeast to make the dough rise quickly. Some gets its tang from added sour ingredients, such as vinegar. You may hear bread made with those shortcuts called **“sourfaux.”** The Real Bread Campaign describes genuine sourdough as bread leavened by a live starter, without another raising agent.

The difference is in **what raises the bread and the time the dough is given to ferment**. A sour taste alone doesn’t tell you how a loaf was made.

![a 5 gallon bucket of sourdough starter](https://farmtocakebakery.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/bread-with-the-bucket-reduced.jpg)

At Farm to Cake, we maintain a living starter right here in the bakery. We keep some of that starter—our *mother*—and feed it to prepare the levain for the next bake. We always make enough to bake our bread while keeping starter to feed for the following day. Today, we needed **five gallons of levain for Saturday's Bake!**

![bubbles in the bread itself comes from the fermentation](https://farmtocakebakery.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/slices-reduced.jpg)

Our sourdough bread is a **three-day process**. We mix the dough, work it, shape it, and give it time to ferment before baking. Our starter does the work of raising the bread. We don’t add commercial yeast to speed it along or vinegar to make it taste sour. The long slow fermentation is what creates this beautiful crumb... crusty on the outside, soft and chewy on the inside.

If you come by the bakery in the late afternoon, you may see dough tucked into proofing baskets and settled in for the night. We make so much sourdough that we sometimes run out of room in the back!

The ingredients in our sourdough bread are **flour, water, and salt**. The starter is made from flour and water, too. Different loaves may use different flours, but they all depend on that living starter and the time we give the dough.

If you want to know whether a loaf is made this way, ask the baker: **“What makes your bread rise?”** and **“How long does the dough ferment?”** Those questions tell you more than a sour taste or the word *sourdough* on a sign.

So, to everyone who has asked us: **Yes, our sourdough is fermented. Yes, we use a real starter maintained in our bakery. And yes, it takes three days to make your bread.**

Now I understand the questions. I’m glad you asked.

![Baked real sourdough bread](https://farmtocakebakery.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/just-bread-reduced.jpg)