As of 13 August 2026, AI can learn to make sourdough bread.

What to actually do

1. Hand it to a person

   The route this page recommends

   A person who owns the outcome does this end to end, worth it when the failure is dear.

2. Do it yourself

   Second choice

   A chat interface, no skill needed, and roughly 30 minutes until you can act on the result.

   How to actually do it

   1. Open ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini and gather your flour, salt, water, starter, digital scales, jar, mixing bowl, scraper, proving container and baking vessel.
   2. Paste the prompt and replace each bracketed slot with your actual ingredients, equipment, room temperature and available times.
   3. Follow the generated starter-feeding and dough timetable, recording the time, amount and visible changes after each feed and fermentation stage.
   4. At each stage, compare the dough's rise, bubbles, elasticity and texture with the cues in the instructions, then ask the chatbot to adjust the next step if your timing or room temperature differs.
   5. Shape and bake the dough using the instructions, checking the oven temperature with your oven controls and letting the loaf cool before cutting it.
   6. Describe the crumb, crust, flavour and any problems to the chatbot, then compare its suggested change with the troubleshooting table before starting the next loaf.

   Prompt

   Teach me to make sourdough bread as a complete beginner in the UK. Use the ingredients and equipment I list below, and do not assume I have a mature starter unless I say so.
   
   My ingredients: [list flour, salt, water and starter, including flour types]
   My equipment: [list scales, jars, bowls, scraper, proving basket, Dutch oven or other baking equipment]
   My room temperature: [temperature if known]
   My available schedule: [times when I can feed, mix, fold, shape and bake]
   My experience: [none or brief description]
   
   Give me:
   1. A clear plan from starter preparation to cooling the loaf.
   2. Ingredient weights and baker's percentages, explaining what each ingredient does.
   3. A timetable adapted to my room temperature and schedule, with observable signs to use if the dough develops faster or slower than expected.
   4. Exact instructions for feeding the starter, mixing, folds, bulk fermentation, shaping, final proof and baking.
   5. Safe, practical advice on storing the starter and recognising contamination or mould. Do not claim that a photo proves food is safe.
   6. A troubleshooting table for a flat, dense, gummy, sour or burnt loaf, linking each problem to likely causes and one change for the next attempt.
   
   Separate measured facts from estimates. Ask me one essential question before giving the plan if my information is insufficient. Do not invent equipment, timings or starter strength. Keep the first attempt manageable and explain the visual and tactile cues in plain language.

   Open it prefilled in ChatGPT or Claude, or copy it into Gemini, which takes no prefill link.

3. Use a tool built for this

   The distant third