Hey there, I’m Frithjof—welcome to SourdoughGuide!
I bake sourdough bread for the love of it—sharing loaves with family, friends, and now you. This isn’t a commercial bakery; it’s a home kitchen where imperfection is part of the charm. If you’re looking for industrial precision, I’ll happily point you elsewhere. But if you want to bake soulful, crusty bread with a side of learning (and maybe a few happy accidents), you’re in the right place.
A Little About Me
Baking runs in my blood. My great-grandfather had a pastry shop in Germany, my brother Ole is a certified master baker, and I? Well, I started during the pandemic when yeast vanished from stores. Those first loaves were… let’s call them “character-building.” But I kept at it, and in 2023, I combined my passion for teaching and baking to create Sourdough.Guide—a space for home bakers like you.
I live in Kelowna, British Columbia, on the unceded territory of the Syilx Okanagan people. I’m deeply grateful to live, work, and bake here, and I’m committed to learning more about the stewards of this land.
When I’m not shaping dough or writing recipes, you’ll find me at Okanagan College, hanging out with my wife, Michele, our dog, Pierre, and Stanley the cat (who definitely thinks he’s the head baker).
Why Sourdough?
There’s magic in this slow, messy process. No two loaves are identical, and that’s the beauty of it. Whether you’re here for my free recipes, courses, or just to nerd out over fermentation, I’m glad you’ve joined me. Let’s bake something unforgettable—floury hands and all.
Hydration
The hydration of sourdough is the amount of water to flour by weight. We enjoy lower hydration bread with a denser crumb and smaller holes. Most of my bakes will be at a lower hydration.
Units Of Measure
As mentioned, I am Canadian. We live in a strange mix of imperial and metric units. Our oven measures in Fahrenheit, and I have set my scale to grams.
As much as possible, I will provide conversions for you.
Kevin MacDonald
Coreen V
Lois B
“I absolutely love The Sourdough Guide! As someone passionate about home-baked bread, I’ve found this online platform to be a true gem. The variety of nutritious recipes—everything from simple whole-grain loaves to inventive ways to use oat milk pulp—has really inspired me to try new things in my kitchen. The educational articles don’t just share instructions; they dive into the fascinating history of heritage grains and offer super helpful tips for fixing common fermentation mistakes. Plus, the specialized workshops and digital courses make it so much easier for beginners like me to feel confident. What really stands out is the teaching style’s friendliness and approachability, and I appreciate the thorough list of recommended tools. The Sourdough Guide has become my go-to resource for baking delicious, artisanal bread at home!”
— Anonymous
Maybe We Have A Baking Gene?
I previously wrote the article below on my personal blog frithjof.blog but if you are interested, you can read it here:
I haven’t ever had much interest in exploring my family tree (sorry, future generations). As far as I know, the roots or biggest branches reach back into German history.
The one thing that is curious, though, is that there seem to be a lot of bakers in our family.
My great-Grandfather had a Hotel and Pastry shop in Pillau, a port city on the Baltic coast that is now part of Russia.
The family fled during World War II and settled in North-Western Germany. At the time, there was someone from another branch of the family tree already operating a bakery in Eastern Germany.
Here is a picture of my Grandfather Hans in his store in Flensburg, Germany.
Judging by the store sign, he only sold bread and didn’t necessarily bake it. According to my dad, his father also created personalized coffee bean blends based on the water people had in their area.
As you know from my site Sourdough.guide, I have been baking sourdough bread since the early days of the pandemic. But my Brother Ole and his lovely wife Rahel took baking to a new level and opened a very special bakery in Tiste, a small town in northern Germany. Both of them are now certified Master Bakers, recognized by the Guild.
I am very proud that Ole and Rahel have decided to pass on their vast knowledge by teaching the next generation of bakers as Trade School instructors.
Petsch-Brot specializes in baking products without artificial yeast or chemicals. What I find most amazing is that the products in their ever-expanding selection use flour and sourdough starter from the region the recipe is from. For example, if they bake a variety of breads from Northern France, they source the flour from a mill in that region.
If you ever go to Germany, make sure you visit this wonderful bakery!
