Texas A&M AgriLife, MCC Offer Sourdough Basics Class in Waco

Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, McLennan County, together with McLennan Community College Continuing Education, has been running a hands-on Sourdough Basics class in Waco designed to help home bakers start and maintain sourdough starters and bake simple loaves. The class aims to demystify fermentation, teach feeding schedules and leave participants with take-home handouts and samples.

Sessions have been offered periodically at the McLennan County AgriLife Extension Office, 4224 Cobbs Drive in Waco. Past offerings include a November 7, 2024 session that ran 5:30–7:30 p.m. and a September 30, 2025 session from 5:00–7:30 p.m. Organizers have also listed an upcoming session on Thursday, March 12, 2026, scheduled for 5:00–7:30 p.m.; that March session carries a $25 per person fee and a registration deadline of March 10. Space is limited and the course is open to the public.

Hands-on instruction focuses on starter basics, feeding routines and simple loaf techniques for the home kitchen. Local extension educators “ran a community-focused introductory sourdough class that covered starter basics, feeding schedules, and simple loaf techniques for home bakers,” and participants typically leave with printed guidance and samples to practice at home. In similar AgriLife classes held in Matagorda County, instructors provided flour, water, a coffee filter, a rubber band, a wooden spoon and measuring cups so attendees could begin building a starter on site, and they distributed recipes for pancakes, rolls, cinnamon rolls, waffles and pretzels to show sourdough’s versatility.

Family and Community Health Extension Agent Dianne Drennen, who spoke about the Matagorda classes, highlighted what to watch for when nurturing a starter: “As your starter is growing, you’ll see bubbles on the top of it and that’s a good thing,” Drennen said. “It has a fruity aroma, and this process will help it rise. Some sourdough bread will use a little bit of commercial yeast - which helps it rise faster.” She added that a well-fed starter can be reused repeatedly: “If you keep the starter and feed it, you can use it over and over,” Drennen said. Drennen also explained the basic science behind bubbling and rise: “This wild yeast that’s floating around in the air that’s going to get in our jar consumes the carbohydrates in the flour,” she said. “That produces alcohol and carbon dioxide gas which causes your starter to bubble. That carbon dioxide gives the bread it’s airy structure.”

To register or get details about a specific session, contact Rachel Esquivel at (254) 757-5180 or Rachel.esquivel@ag.tamu.edu. Registration is also available through MCC Continuing Education by phone at (254) 299-8888 or online via MCC Continuing Education. The $25 fee covers instruction, handouts and samples; check session-specific deadlines and start times when you register.

For home bakers, the class is practical primer, it turns the mystery of sourdough into repeatable steps, shows how to read a healthy starter, and supplies recipes that stretch a starter beyond a loaf. If you’ve been meaning to coax a wild starter into a reliable daily loaf, this is a low-cost, hands-on way to get started and bring sourdough into your regular baking rotation.