Bucks &amp; Oxon


<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="1501" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/07/sourdough-elaine-copy.jpeg" alt="elaine boddy sourdough" class="wp-image-192629" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/07/sourdough-elaine-copy.jpeg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/07/sourdough-elaine-copy-533x800.jpeg 533w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/07/sourdough-elaine-copy-666x1000.jpeg 666w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/07/sourdough-elaine-copy-266x400.jpeg 266w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



<p>It’s officially Sourdough September – the month the nation rises to the occasion (sorry, couldn’t help it) and is encouraged to make some serious dough. In case you haven&#8217;t noticed, bread baking has been having quite the moment these past few years, in part thanks to the rise of the Gen Z baker who have taken to TikTok to spread the bread making love, with some videos amassing over a whopping 50 million views. Yes, it&#8217;s big business.</p>



<p>If there&#8217;s anyone who knows the power of bread, it&#8217;s Elaine Boddy who started her <a href="https://foodbodsourdough.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Foodbod Sourdough</a> blog back in 2013 out of her Milton Keynes kitchen. Safe to say she&#8217;s an absolute fountain of knowledge when it comes to bread. In fact, she has a book literally called <em>The Sourdough Bible</em> AND the loyal disciples to prove it. A whopping 94k <a href="https://www.instagram.com/elaine_foodbod/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Instagram</a> followers to be exact who can&#8217;t get enough of her no frills, simple recipes that don&#8217;t follow the traditional rules of sourdough. Yep, you can just call her the bad girl of bread making.</p>



<p>We caught up with Elaine to find out more about her sourdough, including a shocking baking confession that will leave you gasping. Consider us shook.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="1139" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/07/elaine-sourdough-2.jpeg" alt="sourdough recipe" class="wp-image-192687" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/07/elaine-sourdough-2.jpeg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/07/elaine-sourdough-2-702x800.jpeg 702w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/07/elaine-sourdough-2-878x1000.jpeg 878w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/07/elaine-sourdough-2-351x400.jpeg 351w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-so-what-exactly-is-sourdough-september">So, what exactly is Sourdough September?</h3>



<p>It&#8217;s an initiative set up by the Real Bread Campaign who are all about encouraging people to make their own bread without any extra preservatives or anything unnecessary in it. The focus in September is sourdough because it&#8217;s the most natural, healthiest form of bread you can make. And if you make it yourself at home as well, it&#8217;s even better. Even people with certain gluten intolerances will be fine with sourdough &#8211; it just depends on what flour you use.</p>



<p>A lot of people think sourdough is difficult to make or a lot of people have unnecessarily overcomplicated the whole process in the past. So, it&#8217;s an opportunity to undo that, raise awareness, and coach people to try it.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-did-you-get-into-baking-it">How did you get into baking it?</h3>



<p>Literally because someone challenged me to give it a go. I started a food blog years ago as I began teaching myself to cook my favourite foods, and as part of that, someone I met challenged me to make sourdough. I&#8217;d never even heard of it. I gave it a go and it kind of went from there really. My son was a huge bread fiend, and as soon as I gave it a try, he just wanted me to keep making it. I just kept making things in my kitchen and trying out different recipes and processes. Eventually, I started sharing them online and that was it. There was no big plan.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-baking-videos-have-blown-up-on-social-media-these-past-few-years-why-do-you-think-that-is">Baking videos have blown up on social media these past few years. Why do you think that is?</h3>



<p>Well, some people would link it back to lockdown to be honest. But the interest in sourdough was growing even before that with more interest in healthy eating. I mean, it&#8217;s been around for thousands of years. But when lockdown hit, it just went monumental. Sourdough was absolutely huge. People were giving something a go they&#8217;d always wanted to do. </p>



<p>But there&#8217;s also a lot more focus on the mental health side. Baking is a very, very mindful activity. Even more so with sourdough as it&#8217;s a much longer process. Just because it might take 24 hours to make a loaf doesn&#8217;t mean you&#8217;re working on it for 24 hours. It&#8217;s something you&#8217;ll come back to during that time. You stretch the dough, you pull it, you fold it, and it&#8217;s something that you can get lost in. It kind of grounds you. I get a lot of messages about how sourdough has assisted people on their journeys &#8211; whether its mental health, grief, illness. It&#8217;s something that doesn&#8217;t have to be expensive and can be made really simply.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-s-something-that-would-shock-people-about-your-baking-style">What&#8217;s something that would shock people about your baking style?</h3>



<p>I never preheat my oven. Everything goes in from a cold start. Don&#8217;t waste power, don&#8217;t waste money, don&#8217;t waste time &#8211; you don&#8217;t need to do it.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="1138" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/07/elaine-sourdough.jpeg" alt="elaine boddy sourdough" class="wp-image-192689" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/07/elaine-sourdough.jpeg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/07/elaine-sourdough-703x800.jpeg 703w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/07/elaine-sourdough-879x1000.jpeg 879w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/07/elaine-sourdough-351x400.jpeg 351w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-come-on-then-what-s-your-secret-to-the-perfect-sourdough">Come on then, what’s your secret to the perfect sourdough?</h3>



<p>The first thing is there&#8217;s no such thing as perfect. One person&#8217;s perfect is another&#8217;s imperfect. There has to be more of a focus on the joy of eating it and what you&#8217;re creating than the aesthetic. I&#8217;m not interested in what it looks like, I&#8217;m interested in what it tastes like. But there are key elements to getting the loaf that you&#8217;re to be happy with. </p>



<p>You need to understand the flour you&#8217;re using (my go to is <a href="https://cotswoldflour.com/?srsltid=AfmBOooS_Ujr0vQwzR7_ChKYVpMbECX7cnYOqXdOzrbPJiBt1twYud71" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Matthews Cotswold Flour</a>), the water that it needs, but also understand about the sourdough starter. So, by understanding how those things are going to work in your kitchen, how temperatures affect them, you can create great bread. When you first start, it sounds complicated, but it&#8217;s not. Just think of your sourdough like me, as a menopausal woman. When it&#8217;s going to get too hot, it&#8217;s going to melt in a puddle and you&#8217;re going to lose any kind of structure. When it gets cold, it&#8217;s going to be a bit stiffer. It works very similar to how you do. But the key thing to understand at the beginning is not all flours are created equal. It really helps.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-could-a-cheeky-great-british-bake-off-appearance-be-on-the-cards-at-some-point">Could a cheeky <em>Great British Bake Off</em> appearance be on the cards at some point?</h3>



<p>Haha! Highly unlikely. I don&#8217;t have enough of an overall all-rounder knowledge of baking. I can tell you everything about sourdough, I can make anything with a starter, but I couldn&#8217;t make a macaron, I don&#8217;t have that kind of knowledge. So, no, no, not me!</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-if-you-weren-t-a-sourdough-extraordinaire-what-would-you-be">If you weren’t a sourdough extraordinaire, what would you be?</h3>



<p>It would have always been something creative. Probably working for myself in something food. My other key interest is that I&#8217;m a vegetarian and love spices. I&#8217;m very keen on being creative in the kitchen and encouraging people to just chuck things in a pan. So, it probably would be food in some way.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-fave-place-you-like-to-eat-out-locally">Fave place you like to eat out locally?</h3>



<p>We have a lot of brilliant Middle Eastern restaurants in <a href="https://bucksoxon.muddystilettos.co.uk/travel/travel-guides/insider-guide-best-things-to-do-milton-keynes/">Milton Keynes</a>. Honestly for me, if you want a decent place to go, I like Mowgli&#8217;s at The Bell in Beachampton &#8211; fabulous Indian food. Or Zouk Lounge in Wolverton for Lebanese. I used to live in the Middle East, so I can tell you, it&#8217;s good food.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-top-tips-for-someone-making-a-sourdough-for-the-first-time">Top tips for someone making a sourdough for the first time?</h3>



<p>Stop reading everything. Get off the internet, because this is how people get overwhelmed. Choose a single source that you like and stick with it. Then, if you have questions, go back to the person that has created it. That&#8217;s the best way to move forward. But also just remind yourself it&#8217;s a simple thing. People made sourdough before they had kitchens full of all this equipment. It&#8217;s just flour and water at the end of the day, and you will have bread. So, really, the biggest tip is not to get overwhelmed by it all.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="667" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/07/elaine-sourdough-3.jpeg" alt="how to make sourdough bread" class="wp-image-192686" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/07/elaine-sourdough-3.jpeg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/07/elaine-sourdough-3-800x534.jpeg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/07/elaine-sourdough-3-400x267.jpeg 400w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-make-the-recipe">MAKE THE RECIPE</h2>



<p>Fancy giving it a go yourself? Try your hand at the fail-proof formula to gorgeous sourdough Elaine swears by. See the recipe <a href="https://foodbodsourdough.com/the-process/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">here</a> or if you&#8217;re more of a visual learner, there&#8217;s a step-by-step video <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3hN28RAQhT0" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">here</a>. For instructions on making a sourdough starter, click <a href="https://foodbodsourdough.com/how-to-make-a-starter/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">here</a>.</p>



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<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-in-the-mood-for-more">IN THE MOOD FOR MORE?</h2>



<ul>
<li><a href="https://muddystilettos.co.uk/home/dining-at-home/new-cookbooks-autumn/">5 new cookbooks to cosy up your kitchen this autumn</a></li>



<li><a href="https://bucksoxon.muddystilettos.co.uk/home/dining-at-home/recipe-nadiya-hussain-date-swirled-cookies/">How to make Nadiya Hussain’s date-swirled cookies</a></li>



<li><a href="https://bucksoxon.muddystilettos.co.uk/eat-out/best-bakery-buckinghamshire-oxfordshire/">Local bakeries we love</a></li>
</ul>



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Muddy meets sourdough queen Elaine Boddy

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