Your starter bubbles. It doubles. It triples.
That doesn’t make it bulletproof.
If your goal is to bake loaves with explosive oven spring, a honeycombed crumb and a crisp, crackly crust, a bulletproof starter is the only possible foundation.
Even a healthy-looking starter can still leave you with flat loaves, dense, gummy crumbs, and pale, leathery crusts.
By the 27th of July, you'll know exactly how to take your starter from bubbly to bulletproof.
"I never measured the rise, and almost certainly started many bakes with unready starters."
— Phil Thomas, Sourdough Unchained baker
Watch me prove it across four benchmark bakes.
The flat loaf you saw at the start of the video wasn’t an accident. It came from the exact starter I’m about to rehab, live, inside Sourdough Unchained.
Before every stream, I’ll bake a loaf and measure the same benchmarks: volume, oven spring, crumb, ear, crust and flavour. You’ll see exactly how each stage of the rehab changes the loaf.
- July 20, (Recording now available for 30 days): I show you what a bake looks like with a fully depleted starter, and walk through the Wake Up phase (temperature, flour, feeding schedule, percentages), feeding it live, right there on stream. Q&A.
- July 22, (Recording now available for 30 days): I'll show you a loaf from a starter at the end of the Wake Up phase, and what's changing going into the Supercharge phase, and why. Q&A.
- July 24, (Recording now available for 30 days): I'll show you a loaf from a starter at the end of the Supercharge phase, and what's changing going into the Bulletproof phase, and why. Q&A.
- July 27, Stream 4: I’ll show you the fully Bulletproof starter and the final loaf. Then I’ll show you how to transition the starter back to the fridge, maintain it long-term, and give it a quick booster feed before your next bake. Q&A.
All streams at the same time: 12 pm ET / 5 pm UK, every session.Â
Miss a stream? Don't worry, I'll upload the full recording. You won't miss a step.
The live rehab is built around the complete Starter Rehab course. You’ll watch me put every step into practice live, while the course gives you the feeding plans, temperatures, flour choices and step-by-step process to follow yourself whenever you need it.
A bulletproof starter isn't the finish line. Everything else in Sourdough Unchained builds on that foundation.
Designed. Tested. Proven.
During my professional chef career, nothing was left to chance, and nothing was done just because someone said it was the right way. Every process was tested rigorously until it worked at full capability and produced the same result every time.
I brought that same standard to sourdough: design, bake, diagnose, refine.
The rehab you're about to watch is a process, built and tested that way, and you'll see it prove itself at every stage: Wake Up, Supercharge, Bulletproof, each one backed by a real loaf, not just my word for it.
"No more huge jars of wasted sourdough discard. Instructions that are clear and to the point. And even a sourdough calculator for getting your ingredient proportions perfect. Phil's videos took away the endless guessing and contradictions found in other videos."
— Kim Steinle, Community Member
I'll be with you every step of the way.
The live Starter Rehab gives every bake the strongest possible foundation.
Then I'll be there to help you master every stage of the bake.
The Live Starter Rehab Cohort
Watch me turn a lifeless starter into a bulletproof starter, so you know exactly how to do it. Ask me questions and get my input for your own starter rehab.Â
Magnus 5Â
Get your hydration spot on for any flour blend. Quickly uncover the secrets behind successful recipes and copy them. And get your dough temperature spot on every time.
Sourdough Starter Rehab Program
Remove the doubt for good. Build a bulletproof starter in less than 14 days to maximise your oven spring, honeycombed crumb, and crisp, crackly crust.
Volume Tracking
No more guessing when your starter is peaking, or your bulk is complete. Volume tracking will move you through the fermentation confidently, maximising the volume of your loaf.
Dough-to-Basket Calibration
Match your dough weight to the basket and track the proofing stage with confidence and accuracy. No more "poke test", so no more guessing.
The Reboot Process
Strip away all of the unnecessary steps and use a tried and tested, simple baking process designed to maximise the spring and the crumb without being chained to the kitchen.
The Sourdough Clinic
Stop wasting hours scrolling and searching for fixes that don't apply to your recipe, climate or skill. Learn to diagnose your own bake and know exactly what to change next time.
The Sourdough Live Lab
The livestream gives you a two-way conversation with real bakers, where you can ask questions and work through problems. Live access to a shared skill pool like this isn't something that any video or recipe can give you.
The Sourdough Lounge
You won't find me helping bakers one-to-one anywhere else. In the Lounge, that's exactly what you get: direct access to me, every single day. No more posting and hoping.
Most courses only give you lessons.
In Sourdough Unchained, you get me helping you every step of the way.
The live Starter Rehab has begun.
But it's not too late to follow along.
Catch up with the on-demand recordings and join the upcoming streams.
I'll be on hand to help you every step of the way.
Unless cancelled, memberships renew automatically
"For 1½ years, I've baked rocks and frisbees, getting me frustrated and disappointed every time. Now I feel confident. Your instructions on starters and the Sourdough Reboot are well worth the price."
— Debra, Sourdough Unchained baker
7-Day Risk-Free Guarantee
 Join Sourdough Unchained now.
Explore the training, the Sourdough Lounge, Magnus 5, and the way the whole system works.
If it doesn't feel like the right fit within seven days, email me, and I'll refund you in full.
No awkwardness. No hard feelings.
