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· collected 2026-08-24 · by Peter Burke
Kate Freebairn, a sourdough recipe developer and food blogger from Western Australia, claims that one of the main barriers to making sourdough bread is the misconception that it requires a lot of time and effort. According to Freebairn, only about an hour of hands-on time is required over the course of three days to make a loaf of sourdough. She also notes that sourdough has potential health benefits due to its natural fermentation process, including lower blood sugar spikes and prebiotic content beneficial for gut health. Her new cookbook, "Easy Sourdough on Any Schedule," aims to help busy people fit bread baking into their daily lives without requiring a lot of specialized equipment or time.
Written by the local model on 2026-08-24,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Kate Freebairn, a sourdough recipe developer from rural Western Australia, claims that one of the main reasons people are intimidated by making sourdough is the misconception that it requires an enormous amount of time. However, she argues that while a loaf of sourdough can take up to three days to make, most of this time is spent waiting for the dough to ferment, rather than actively working with it. Freebairn suggests that even busy people can fit in some sourdough baking by simply feeding their starter at night, mixing the dough over morning coffee, and shaping the loaf later in the day. She has written a cookbook called "Easy Sourdough on Any Schedule" to help readers incorporate bread baking into their daily routines.
Written for “Sourdough Baking Simplified” on 2026-08-31,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
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No political leaning scored for article 1996 · logged 2026-08-28
A loaf of sourdough can take three days to make.
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loaf → take → days
That doesn't mean you'll spend three days making it.
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you → mean → it
That's the distinction Kate Freebairn wants busy would-be bread bakers to understand.
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bakers → want → ?
Freebairn, a sourdough recipe developer and food blogger in rural Western Australia, says one of the biggest barriers keeping beginners away from sourdough is the perception that making it will take over their lives.
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making → say → lives
"I think that people think that sourdough is really difficult and that it takes a lot of time, but really, even though a loaf of sourdough might take three days to complete, the actual time that you'll have your hands in the dough might only be an hour
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you → think → dough
," Freebairn told Fox News Digital.
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Freebairn → tell → Digital
Her debut cookbook, "Easy Sourdough on Any Schedule," is built around fitting bread baking into everyday life rather than fitting life around bread baking.
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cookbook → build → baking
For someone working a typical weekday, Freebairn suggests feeding the starter before bed, mixing the dough over morning coffee and tending to it while the kids are having breakfast.
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kids → work → breakfast
The dough can ferment while its baker is at work, then be shaped and refrigerated that evening.
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baker → ferment → work
The next morning, "you can wake up, pop the oven on, make your coffee and bake a fresh loaf of sourdough," Freebairn said.
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Freebairn → wake → sourdough
"So, the actual time that you have your hands in the dough is very minimal."
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you → have → dough
Freebairn also points to potential health benefits as another reason to choose sourdough.
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Freebairn → point → sourdough
Because it is naturally fermented, she said, "the microbes in the sourdough starter, they're already doing some of the digestion for you," adding that sourdough "tends to not spike your blood sugar" and "has lots of prebiotics, which are really good for gut health.
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which → ferment → health
"Probably the best thing is it really does taste better," she said.
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she → taste → ?
Beginners don't need a kitchen full of specialized equipment, either.
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Beginners → need → equipment
Freebairn said an old pickle jar can hold a starter, and an ordinary bowl can substitute for a proofing basket.
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bowl → say → basket
"I literally still to this day use a $30 Dutch oven I bought from Aldi," she said.
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she → use → Aldi
Freebairn recommends beginners expect their earliest loaves to be imperfect and says it may take five to 10 attempts to start getting the hang of the process.
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it → recommend → process
"There's a lesson in every loaf," she said.
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she → be → loaf
It's advice that captures her approach to sourdough: Start with what you have, fit it around the life you're already living and don't worry if the first loaf isn't perfect.
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loaf → capture → life
"Easy Sourdough on Any Schedule" hits bookshelves in September.
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Sourdough → hit → September
