SourTube: Shaping a Boule Step-by-Step (feat. Baker Bettie)

📺 SourTube pick: This is a curated video — we didn't make it, we just love it and think you will too. All credit belongs to the creator below. Watch it, learn from it, then go show them some love.

Today's pick: Beginner Sourdough Bread Shaping Techniques & Tips for Sticky Dough

Creator: Kristin Hoffman of Baker Bettie
Watch on YouTube: Beginner Sourdough BREAD SHAPING Techniques & Tips for STICKY DOUGH
More from Kristin: bakerbettie.com and her Baker Bettie YouTube channel

If the embed doesn't load, watch it directly on YouTube here.

Why we picked this one

Confession time: my first attempt at shaping a boule looked less like bread and more like a crime scene. Sticky dough glued to my hands, a sad flat puddle on the counter, and me standing there wondering if sourdough was just a practical joke the internet played on me.

If that sounds familiar, this video is the one I wish I'd found before that disaster. Kristin from Baker Bettie doesn't just show you shaping — she starts with the REAL problem nobody talks about: what to do when your dough is sticky. She gives you practical ways to handle high-hydration dough without losing your mind (or your dough), and then walks you through three full shaping techniques: a boule, a batard, and a sandwich loaf. That's basically the entire sourdough shaping universe in one video.

My favorite part? She actually addresses pre-shaping — that in-between step most tutorials skip entirely — and shows you how to prep your banneton so your beautiful work doesn't glue itself to the basket. The boule section alone is worth the watch, but getting all three shapes means you'll finish this video able to handle whatever loaf a recipe throws at you.

What you'll learn

• Sticky dough survival tactics: how to work with tacky, high-hydration dough using the right hand technique and minimal flour — without deflating all the air you worked so hard to build.
• Pre-shaping, explained at last: what it is, why it matters, and how that short bench rest sets you up for a tighter, taller final loaf.
• Three shapes, one video: step-by-step shaping for a round boule, an oval batard (including her dough-stitching technique), and a sandwich loaf — so you can bake any style with confidence.

Our two cents to go with it

Two beginner things worth knowing before you hit play:

1. Your first few boules will be ugly. Bake them anyway. Shaping is a hands skill, not a reading skill — you can't learn it without doing it. An ugly-but-baked loaf still tastes like a win, and loaf number three will look dramatically better than loaf number one. The only way to fail at shaping is to never try.

2. Cold dough is your cheat code. Kristin shapes with room-temp dough in this video, but if yours feels unmanageably sticky, shape it straight from the fridge instead. Cold dough firms up, sticks less, and tightens beautifully — it's the beginner-friendly move nobody mentions enough.

If watching this gets you itching to bake but your starter is still sluggish and sour-smelling and stressing you out — that's literally why we dehydrate ours and ship it ready to wake up in a few days. No drama, just baking. Squirrelly Girl Starter is here when you need it. 🐿️

Loved this video? Go tell Kristin — like and subscribe on YouTube so she keeps making them.

#sourtube #sourdoughshaping #boule #sourdoughbeginner #sourdoughtechniques #bakerbettie