Sourdough book kickstarter planning - October 7th, 2025

A few of the possible main Kickstarter images - which one do you like the best?

Reward level ideas so far (estimated prices in USD):

$1 Thanks!
• Sourdough discard recipes ebook
• How to make and care for a sourdough starter ebook
• Sourdough pizza ebook
• How to grow grain factsheet
• Baking for market factsheet
• Late summer chapter from “A Year in an Off-Grid Kitchen”
• (optional) your name thanked in a thank you thread

$10 ebook
• Everything in “thanks”
• Full ebook in PDF and EPUB formats

??? Not sure if I’ll have this there or not??? $20 budget black and white paperback
• Everything in “thanks”
• B&W paperback book

??? $25 ??? Not sure whether to have “homestead kitchen bundle? In ebook format.

$31 paperback
• Everything in “thanks”
• Paperback book

$41 Paperback + ebook
• Everything in “thanks”
• Paperback book
• Full ebook in PDF and EPUB formats

$51 paperback super supporter
• Everything in “thanks”
• Paperback book
• Full ebook in PDF and EPUB formats
• Exclusive forum access
• (optional) your name in the book
• (optional) custom dedication page at the front of the book

$52 hardcover
• Everything in “thanks”
• Hardcover book

$62 hardcover + ebook
• Everything in “thanks”
• Hardcover book
• Full ebook in PDF and EPUB formats

$72 hardcover super supporter
• Everything in “thanks”
• Hardcover book
• Full ebook in PDF and EPUB formats
• Exclusive forum access
• (optional) your name in the book
• (optional) custom dedication page at the front of the book

$90 homestead kitchen bundle - paperback
• Everything in “thanks”
• Paperback book
• A Year in an Off-Grid Kitchen, paperback edition
• Natural Small Batch Cheesemaking, paperback edition

$160 homestead kitchen bundle - hardcover
• Everything in “thanks”
• Hardcover book
• A Year in an Off-Grid Kitchen, hardcover edition
• Natural Small Batch Cheesemaking, hardcover edition

???Bulk buy, or give the gift of sourdough
• 5 or 10 copies (maybe at a reduced price)
• Everything in “thanks”
• Full ebook in PDF and EPUB formats
• Exclusive forum access
• (optional) your name in the book

I love the idea of sourdough bread, but I have killed more starters than I can count, while baking a handful of breads from it.  

Reflecting on it, my issues are:
1. I prefer to use Einkorn flour, which is finicky.  But that said, even normal wheat sourdough bread seems to evade me.  

2. I mill my own flour, so often I will need to adjust the amounts to suit, guessing as I go along

3. I seem to be constitutionally incapable of following a recipe.  I have read and watched countless things around sourdough over the years, so I have nuggets of wisdom stuck in my head that makes me want to adjust the recipe this way and that.  These are sometimes competing nuggets of information :), but I tend to just pick the nugget that I like at that specific moment.

BUT in saying that, recipes that just sort of give guidance doesn't work for me. "Just add flour until this" frustrate me no end, even though I understand the reasoning behind it.  Probably because I don't have the feel for the dough that needs to develop in order for that to work.

BUT ALSO, I want to get to a point where I can have a solid recipe with 600 gram of this and 500 gram of that.

4. I don't want a crispy crust.  I know it's all the rage for sourdough breads, but I prefer a soft crust, which also makes me want to adjust things.

None of the kickstarter covers particularly appeal to me, I think because it looks too much like what a normal sourdough book cover would look like and the particular bread in the picture does not look particularly appetizing to me.  However, when I scroll down and read through the information, that appeals to me a lot more.  
I am not sure what what other picture I would put on a cover ... I mean ... it's sourdough.  But something wonky or differently interesting might be better.  Or something with butter or jam or whatnot added (when I attempt baking it is with whole grain flour, so I know it's not dense and dry, but in that picture the bread looks dense and dry to me)

With a tag line of something like "Easy sourdough for messy lives" :)

I would love to actually get into and follow through with sourdough baking, so I would back your kickstarter regardless.  But I would not necessarily have stopped there to read the description if I was just looking at the picture.

Am I correct that there will be other recipes using sourdough in addition to loaves of bread?
If that’s so, perhaps if that was conveyed on the cover it might inspire more interest. Even if another “product” was included in the existing bread photo.

PS I like using einkorn too (but I do like a crunchy crust ). There’s not a lot of guidance out there. I’ve tried it in a variety of recipes, some written for einkorn, others not, and some work, others don’t.  I guess the lower gluten content makes it a wild card. Frequently I just substitute a portion of other  flours with einkorn. Usually that turn out ok, but not always. Perhaps it’s differences in hydration?
It might not be something you want to tackle in your book.
But if anyone has any tips I’d be happy to know them.

Thank you both for your feedback.

I got excited about that photo because I thought it would make a nice ‘normal’ sourdough book cover. It’s still obviously 100% wholegrain (a mix of wheat and rye), but it’s airy and crusty enough to hopefully appeal to people who wouldn’t normally like wholegrain bread too.

That is a good point about showing that it’s not all bread. I could try and do something similar to what I did with the cookbook and cheese book covers, and that way I could show some other photos to illustrate that it’s not just bread.

Which photos on this page do you find the most appealing? Either on their own for a cover, or as one of of 4-6 photos on a cover? https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/katedownham/sourdough-without-fail?ref=aulp1k

I have lots of other photos - for that page I basically picked one photo from each chapter, so there’s a lot more photos of treats and discard recipes I could use.

Here’s a current list of recipes - any thoughts on which ones people would most want to see on a cover?:

Simple same day wheat and spelt sourdough
Simple boule with many options
High hydration boule
Overnight dough
Soft sandwich bread
Simple spelt pan loaves
Sour spelt sandwich


Wheat and spelt breads made with preferments
25% preferment (my favourite)
45% preferment
50% preferment
Mostly preferment
Summertime sourdough
Sprouted multigrain


Rye
Pinch of rye
Dash of rye
40% rye
Simple dark rye pan loaves
50% rye
Bauernbrot
Rye and spelt
50/50/91
100% fine rye
Giant rye boule
Rustic
Rye crackers


Loaves with scalded flour and porridges
Scalded wheat
Overnight scalded wheat
Oat porridge
Swedish fullkornsbrot
Golden polenta
Milk-scalded sandwich bread


Bread with fruit and nuts
Oat, rye, fruit and seed
Walnut
Cinnamon raisin
Overnight cinnamon raisin
Olive bread
Sunflower
Bittersweet chocolate marble rye
Prune and hazelnut
Danish rye with seeds



Pizza and flatbread
pizza dough with preferment, plus spelt variation
Same day (or overnight) pizza dough
Focaccia
Turkish bread
Tortillas
Naan


Gluten free
Buckwheat, oat and rice bread
Chestnut and rice
100% buckwheat
Polenta and chia
100% quinoa
100% oat




Rolls, baguettes, pretzels, and buns
Wheat baguettes
Pretzels
Burger buns
Sweet milk rolls




Pastries and other sweet treats
Rustic apple tart
Cinnamon buns
Bun dough made with preferment
Chelsea buns
Hot cross buns
Danish pastries
Doughnuts





Anytime sourdough discard recipes
Simple crackers
Chocolate cake
Fluffy hotcake pancakes
Sourdough soda bread
Apple cinnamon skillet pie
Vegetable pancakes
Tea cake
Quick rolls
Chocolate cookies
Muffins
Pikelets/drop scones

I like the baquette picture (I like that it's not perfectly straight), as well as the burger buns.

I also really like the sweet things, like the buns that looks like cinnamon buns, but I think are not (the filling bit looks purple) and the pancakes.

The pizza picture also speaks to me (again, because it's not perfect).

Of the bread pictures I quite like the first one (with the bread not cut).  I think it's because it looks like it's not quite risen to full height.  Or maybe because it's a little lighter (I don't like the grey look of rye breads, and I really love the yellow look of Einkorn).

And then the two sandwich loaves from above with a few slices cut.

... :) reading through this, apparently I like everything that's sort of sourdough-adjacent vs the normal sourdough picture.  

If I were to group some pictures together I would do all of the ones I just mentioned.  I don't think any of them by themselves would pull me in as much as all together (although I am a sucker for sweet things, so those by themselves might :) )

Reading through the list of recipes, golden polenta and sweet milk rolls caught my eye.  

Thank you. I'll have a tinker around with some other cover ideas and post them here in a couple of days.

Ohhh - reading the list of recipes — I’m already in love.

Regarding the photos: I like all the breads - any one of them would be great.
I also like the photo of the buns. They are beautiful and just begging to be eaten.
As are the pancakes. I really really like that one. To me, it shows something really different. Something you eat with a knife and fork, not your hands. Something you can build a delicious meal around without too much trouble. Something you can’t just pick up at the bakery, or even a restaurant. Something that isn’t often found in sourdough books.

In summary, my vote: 3 items (everything comes in 3s, right?):
Bread of your choice, sandwich buns, and pancakes.

I love sourdough and will definitely be backing if the timing is right for my social security check. I have to pay bills first. Nice to see the loaves are not the dark brown burnt looking bread so many are proud of because the crust is so crispy. I have never liked the look of those.

Would love to see a golden brown sandwich loaf. Something to show it doesn't "have" to be the dark, crispy crusted round loaves and that you don't need a big cast iron dutch oven to bake good sourdough bread.

PS, regarding the titles, I like the last photo.

And yes - I will definitely be backing the kickstarter.

No since repeating what others have already said. I agree with what has been said. I will be growing 7 varieties of wheat, one of rye and triticale. Can't wait to try these with your recipes. I will be backing at the $90 level

Will definitely back at 10 dollar level.

In addition to appreciating all your recipes mentioned , I’m interested in making just small amounts of sourdough - there is just me currently- and no more than once a week or so  

Prefer not to use wheat unless Kamit , einkorn etc
Simple and easy , perhaps could keep usable amounts in fridge for each day flat bread/ pancakes etc.

‘Artisan’ , no  knead perhaps.

Hi Kate

I love your books and have backed your previous kickstarters

Does your recipes include the starter method without the waste? I've not done any sourdough, partly because the regular waste of starter doesn't feel right. I realise that you have recipes for the waste, but we don't really eat much bread (maybe a loaf a fortnight or so) and likely too much for us with the waste

I had seen a recipe for no waste starter a while back. But was unable to find again since. Very happy to support again, if you have the no waste method to support our modest bread requirements

Love your work

I love the rustic look of the cover.
I prefer the first choice in your second email.
And I believe you shouldn't put any other pics on the cover, but include them on the back cover. You have the words on the front cover of the additional recipes.
Sandi

I’ve been tinkering around with some new cover ideas - which one do you like best?

I think the one with the extra pictures looks too busy. I might be able to put some of these on the back cover though.

The other two have a similar format to my off-grid cookbook cover, with two larger photos down the bottom, and three smaller ones at the top. I like how this looks. It’s hard to fit photos in any other way with this size book, because the box in the middle ends up being way too big, or I end up having to put in an extra row of photos.

I really like how these 5 picture ones have turned out, I’m leaning towards the original one (not the solid text one). I’ve put it in a new kickstarter image to give an idea of what it looks like there.

Would you like to see any of those five pictures replaced with a different one?

Anything else that could be changed to make it better? Or any other feedback?

I like both of the 5 picture ones

Apparently I am not too focussed on the text, it took me forever to realize that the difference between the two pictures are the font in the middle :)

Dragan Smith wrote:Hi Kate

I love your books and have backed your previous kickstarters

Does your recipes include the starter method without the waste? I've not done any sourdough, partly because the regular waste of starter doesn't feel right. I realise that you have recipes for the waste, but we don't really eat much bread (maybe a loaf a fortnight or so) and likely too much for us with the waste

I had seen a recipe for no waste starter a while back. But was unable to find again since. Very happy to support again, if you have the no waste method to support our modest bread requirements

Love your work

My initial creation and building up of a sourdough starter method generates a cup or two of discard (but there is a whole chapter of tasty recipes for using that in). Once the starter is established, a small amount can live in the fridge for a week or two, and then it can come out, get fed, and then most of that feeding is used in the bread, and a small amount is returned to the fridge, so there's no waste once the starter is being used for bread.

Gilly Burke wrote:Will definitely back at 10 dollar level.

In addition to appreciating all your recipes mentioned , I’m interested in making just small amounts of sourdough - there is just me currently- and no more than once a week or so  

Prefer not to use wheat unless Kamit , einkorn etc
Simple and easy , perhaps could keep usable amounts in fridge for each day flat bread/ pancakes etc.

‘Artisan’ , no  knead perhaps.

I've been working with an ingredients table system, so all the recipes have a 1 loaf, 2 loaf, 3 loaf, and 4 loaf options (and the pizzas, rolls, pastries etc have 4 different batch sizes as well), so you'll be able to make small amounts of all the recipes.

Awesome, thanks Kate. Look forward to backing at the paperback + book level

The proposed covers look all look good to me. I'm somewhat aesthetically challenged, so other people will be able to to provide more useful feedback there. But I imagine I'm not the only one. I tend to go more by the blurb on the back, online synopsis, or recommendations from others

Here’s the draft Kickstarter video script - what do you think?

Do you bake bread as often as you’d like?

My name is Kate and this is my fourth Kickstarter. I bake bread every day for my family, I used to run a farmers market bakery, and now I would like to share my recipes with you.

Have you ever tried to make sourdough and been overwhelmed with the strict timelines, finicky instructions, expensive gadgets, and hard to find ingredients?

It doesn’t have to be that way at all.

Sourdough can be approachable, everyday, simple bread that fits in with your life.

You can make great breads with minimal hands-on time. You can make 100% wholegrain bread that’s not a brick. You can make great bread without wasting any sourdough starter or using any plastic.

Sourdough without fail is a book that breaks the boundaries of sourdough baking, showing you how to work with what you have to make great bread at home.

This is a book suitable for the complete beginner, and experienced bakers alike.

There are over seventy recipes, from basic everyday breads made from wheat, spelt, and rye, to the best ever cinnamon raisin bread, walnut bread, olive bread, and sandwich breads.

I’ll share my failproof pizza crust recipes, and how to make great pizza in a home oven.

I’ve included a chapter of recipes for gluten-free breads using only organic, natural, ingredients.

You’ll learn how to make great baguettes, burger buns, and rolls.

If you have a sweet tooth, you won’t disappointed. From rustic apple tart, Danish pastries, cinnamon buns, doughnuts, chocolate cake and more, you can make sourdough treats that are healthy and delicious.

So are you ready to start baking great sourdough bread? Choose a reward from the list below to help create this book.

I hope you don't mind me asking what might be a dumb question, but the last time I clicked on a kickstarter (it might have been one of Paul's actually), which was a couple years ago I guess, the only way to pay was via an Amazon account, am I remembering correctly?  I hope I'm wrong here, but I seem to remember that was the reason I didn't support that kickstarter:  I don't have an Amazon account (nor do I want one).

G Freden wrote:I hope you don't mind me asking what might be a dumb question, but the last time I clicked on a kickstarter (it might have been one of Paul's actually), which was a couple years ago I guess, the only way to pay was via an Amazon account, am I remembering correctly?  I hope I'm wrong here, but I seem to remember that was the reason I didn't support that kickstarter:  I don't have an Amazon account (nor do I want one).

No, you can pay with credit or debit card also. Or Paypal account.  I've never paid with an Amazon account for anything and I've backed a number of Kickstarters

Kate Downham wrote:Here’s the draft Kickstarter video script - what do you think?

Do you bake bread as often as you’d like?

My name is Kate and this is my fourth Kickstarter. I bake bread every day for my family, I used to run a farmers market bakery, and now I would like to share my recipes with you.

Have you ever tried to make sourdough and been overwhelmed with the strict timelines, finicky instructions, expensive gadgets, and hard to find ingredients?

It doesn’t have to be that way at all.

Sourdough can be approachable, everyday, simple bread that fits in with your life.

You can make great breads with minimal hands-on time. You can make 100% wholegrain bread that’s not a brick. You can make great bread without wasting any sourdough starter or using any plastic.

Sourdough without fail is a book that breaks the boundaries of sourdough baking, showing you how to work with what you have to make great bread at home.

This is a book suitable for the complete beginner, and experienced bakers alike.

There are over seventy recipes, from basic everyday breads made from wheat, spelt, and rye, to the best ever cinnamon raisin bread, walnut bread, olive bread, and sandwich breads.

I’ll share my failproof pizza crust recipes, and how to make great pizza in a home oven.

I’ve included a chapter of recipes for gluten-free breads using only organic, natural, ingredients.

You’ll learn how to make great baguettes, burger buns, and rolls.

If you have a sweet tooth, you won’t disappointed. From rustic apple tart, Danish pastries, cinnamon buns, doughnuts, chocolate cake and more, you can make sourdough treats that are healthy and delicious.

So are you ready to start baking great sourdough bread? Choose a reward from the list below to help create this book.

I like that, it's good

G Freden wrote:I hope you don't mind me asking what might be a dumb question, but the last time I clicked on a kickstarter (it might have been one of Paul's actually), which was a couple years ago I guess, the only way to pay was via an Amazon account, am I remembering correctly?  I hope I'm wrong here, but I seem to remember that was the reason I didn't support that kickstarter:  I don't have an Amazon account (nor do I want one).

I've never had to use an Amazon account - I've just put my card details in to Kickstarter and it uses that.

So Kate, to emphasise how much I appreciate your work- have bought and been gifted several of your books- could I ask if its doable to mix up a small batch of dough and leave in fridge to daily make a  pancake, flatbread  over a few days?

Also,  are you plannning on using all the wonderful recipes you have listed. Appreciate how innnovative some are!

Gilly Burke wrote:Will definitely back at 10 dollar level.

In addition to appreciating all your recipes mentioned , I’m interested in making just small amounts of sourdough - there is just me currently- and no more than once a week or so  

Prefer not to use wheat unless Kamit , einkorn etc
Simple and easy , perhaps could keep usable amounts in fridge for each day flat bread/ pancakes etc.

‘Artisan’ , no  knead perhaps.

Gilly Burke wrote:So Kate, to emphasise how much I appreciate your work- have bought and been gifted several of your books- could I ask if its doable to mix up a small batch of dough and leave in fridge to daily make a  pancake, flatbread  over a few days?

Also,  are you plannning on using all the wonderful recipes you have listed. Appreciate how innnovative some are!

Thank you : )

Definitely you can mix up a batch of starter and just leave it in the fridge, and make all of the discard recipes from pancakes, to soda bread, rolls, cookies, cake, pie crust, and more. This week I've also been testing out most of the discard recipes using buckwheat flour, to give a gluten-free option to each one, and they are working out really well.

You can also mix up bread dough, keep it in the fridge, and use it for pizza, focaccia, and flatbread during the week too.

All the recipes in the above recipe list are going in, plus also I've tinkered with my pie crust from the off-grid cookbook and made a new version that uses more starter (and is just as tasty) and that is going in too. Depending on time and recipe development, I may end up putting a couple more in after this too.

Kate,

How about things like '5 min, artisan, no knead'.

I also don't currently have a  plumbed in cooker (gas), am using skiillets and dutch ovens on electric table top stove

Gilly Burke wrote:Kate,

How about things like '5 min, artisan, no knead'.

I also don't currently have a  plumbed in cooker (gas), am using skiillets and dutch ovens on electric table top stove

Many breads only take 5 minutes of hands-on time, and most are no-knead. I find with 100% wholegrain it's better to treat the dough gently, and to do lots of resting, and maybe a little stretching and folding here and there rather than kneading.

I really like the dutch oven method and use it a lot.

I've made a poll to help choose the cover: https://permies.com/t/358038/Poll-Kate-choose-sourdough-book

Also changed a couple of things on the "notify me on launch" page: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/katedownham/sourdough-without-fail?ref=aulp1k

1 month to go before launch day now! It will be launching on October 7th, 3pm mountain time.

I made a video yesterday for the Kickstarter. Some guinea fowl made an appearance.

The Kickstarter is now ready to preview - cover images not what they will be, and the reward images are not ready, but the text is done (I think), please let me know if there are any errors, or if there's anything else I could add to make this really good.

I might put some quotes from recipe testers in it too.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/katedownham/sourdough-without-fail?ref=8ow4dc&token=55a95884

Reward prices are only showing in Australian dollars at the moment I think - 1 AUD = around 65 us cents.

Forgot to ask, can some bread recipes be baked ok in a slow cooker? I realise temperature may not be high enough for some - if not all- breads. I have an old electric one and an off grid one. This is the off grid one:

https://mrdscookware.com/product-category/thermal-cookers

Gilly Burke wrote:Forgot to ask, can some bread recipes be baked ok in a slow cooker? I realise temperature may not be high enough for some - if not all- breads. I have an old electric one and an off grid one. This is the off grid one:

https://mrdscookware.com/product-category/thermal-cookers

I don't think it would be hot enough to get a decent crust on bread, but you could still maybe do rolls, cakes, and pies, and possibly the sandwich bread recipe that has lots of butter and milk. The instructions in the book are for typical oven temperatures, so you'd need to allow more time too.

Thank you. I will experiment down the line. I need to check out the temps of  my  thermal one.  I looked up my old  electric -Cordon Bleu 525 Ceramic Auto Slow Cooker one  - and it says   the high temp- one of two  preset temps offered , no variable settings- is 98-99°F (36.7-37.2°C), so significantly lower than  that suggested for bread baking!  Have had the electric one for over 25 years and it was second hand when I bought it. It was a revelation at the time and such a delight to come into a hot meal from work.

Kickstarter have now verified that this is all ready to go! The Sourdough Without Fail Kickstarter will begin on the 7th of October, 3pm mountain time!

Here's the link to the preview, if you want to see the exciting 3d reward images and pick up on any errors or things I could fix before it goes live: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/katedownham/sourdough-without-fail?ref=8ow4dc&token=55a95884

quote=Zellie Potgieter]

3. I seem to be constitutionally incapable of following a receipe.


I still don't know how to do quotes. Please forgive. Anyways, this is me too

You can count on me at the $72 level. I would do the $90 level but that changes my book from hard cover to paper back and I already have the cheese book

Saralee Couchoud wrote:You can count on me at the $72 level. I would do the $90 level but that changes my book from hard cover to paper back and I already have the cheese book

I'll be offering my other books as add-ons, so if you just want the cookbook and the sourdough book, it will be easy to set that up - the add ons screen will pop up once you've chosen your reward level. I don't think it shows up in preview mode though.



Is anyone else having trouble seeing the images of rewards? I got a comment on Kickstarter saying the images are showing up as whirling things rather than as 3d mockups of the ebook, paperback, and so on.