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It's ALIVE! And that's why it brings that lovely tang and flavor sourdough bread is known for. While it may take time, making a homemade Sourdough Starter could not be easier, and the results are well worth the wait!
**This post is being updated from the original publication in 2012. The recipe has remained completely unchanged from the original post with only the photos being updated. This article now also includes a video presentation along with a printable recipe card including nutritional information.
I have a true love for baking yeast bread and have for as long as I can remember. That said, I've never made sourdough bread before. Something about it always seemed a little scary to me.
But then a saw a tweet from Jen of My Kitchen Addiction about learning how to make your own sourdough starter.
I quickly hurried over to her site, read through her instructions on how the starter gets started, and realized that this was going to be a piece of cake bread. What was I waiting for???
2 cups lukewarm water 2-¼ teaspoons (1 package) active dry yeast 3-½ cups bread flour (I used all-purpose unbleached flour) 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
-In a non-metal bowl, combine the lukewarm water, yeast, and sugar. -Stir to dissolve the yeast completely and let the mixture rest for approximately 5 minutes. It will become quite foamy. -Add the flour to the yeast mixture and stir well to combine (the mixture will be a bit wet, lumpy, and sticky but that's what you're looking for.) -Cover the bowl loosely with plastic wrap. Be careful not to cover it too tightly as the starter requires some fresh air for the fermentation process to take place. -Leave the mixture on your kitchen counter at room temperature for 5 days, making sure to stir it thoroughly every day, at least once or twice each day. -You'll notice a strong yeasty, fermenting smell (I thought it smelled a bit like aging apples), and the mixture will bubble and rise and look like it's taking on a life of its own. THAT'S GOOD! This is exactly what you're looking for! -After 5 days time, you're ready to use your starter to bake any sort of delicious concoction you can think of that calls for sourdough starter (OR you can keep it in your refrigerator to use at another time). ***NOTE - When using the starter that has been kept in the refrigerator, make sure you take it out of the refrigerator the night before you plan on using it so the starter can come to room temperature. -ALWAYS stir your starter before use!
--To replenish the starter after you've taken some for baking, simply stir in 1 cup of flour, ½ cup of water, and a pinch of sugar and mix well before returning it to the refrigerator. -Each week, give it a few stirs and you'll be ready to bake scrumptious sourdough items at almost a moment's notice!
Thank you so much for visiting me today in my Kudos Kitchen. I hope you found something you'll love and that you will come back and visit me often. Please know that there is always room for you around my kitchen table!
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Comments
Anonymoussays
I live in Hawaii and the weather is very warm these days. We also have alot of ants and other critters that might get into the bowl over the 5 days. Any suggestions? Really appreciate your help.
Reply
Renee Goergersays
Hmmmm. Let see. The only thing I might suggest is to cover your starter tightly with the plastic wrap (where I know I said cover it loosely in my instructions)and also maybe cover it with a clean kitchen towel as well. Don't forget to stir it several times a day and then re-cover it tightly. Not sure this will work for you, but hopefully it will. Renee
Reply
SweetSugarBellesays
I will get you the recipe and ideas asap....actually send me your emailing addy in an email.
Red Star Yeast, I hope I inspire people to try the starter too. I'll be posting my sourdough breads soon so you can see how they turned out. I can't wait to bake more delicious items with my starter. It's so fun!!!
Reply
Reneesays
Callye, I've not heard of a fruit starter before but would love to know more about it. What do you use it for and how is it made? Sounds like something I'd like to try 😉
Reply
Reneesays
Paula, I've made two different recipes with my starter so far and both have been completely delicious. I'm glad you've decided to brave the unknown world into sourdough starter too. Guess we were scared for nothing, right?
Reply
Red Star Yeastsays
We hope you inspire more people to try sourdough!! Can't wait to see what you make with your starter.
Reply
SweetSugarBellesays
Oooh! What a good idea. I love how starter smells, lol. Have you ever tried the fruit starter, Renee?
Reply
Paulasays
I saw Jen's post on the starter and made my own for the first time. After five days I baked my first ever two loaves of sourdough bread and we've been enjoying it ever since. The fear of sour dough starter is gone. Glad you tried it too and are enjoying the bread.
Reply
Canterbury Cakessays
Wow - that's so straightforward. Thanks for sharing.
There is no single best ratio, but I've found a ratio of 1:5:5 fed twice daily at 12-hour intervals to produce a sourdough starter that's strong and healthy. This ratio corresponds to 20% ripe starter carryover, 100% water, and 100% flour (a mix of whole grain rye and white flour) at each feeding.
A 1:2:2 feeding ratio would consist of one part existing starter, two parts flour and two parts water. For example, if you have 30g of existing starter, you would feed it 60g of flour and 60g of flour. The most common feeding ratios for daily maintenance are 1:1:1 or 1:2:2.
Whole wheat flour is an excellent choice for creating a sourdough starter due to its nutrient-rich composition and potential for fostering a robust microbial community.
The most important sign of sourdough starter readiness is that your starter is doubling every single time you feed it. A sourdough starter needs to at least double its volume, but could even triple if it's really active and happy.
It would be best if you discarded some portion of your starter each time you feed it unless you want to continue to let it grow. Eventually, you need to discard the used “food” (flour and water) that's been used to sustain your starter during the last fermentation period.
If you didn't discard a portion of your starter each time you feed it, two things would happen: Your starter would grow to an enormous, unmanageable size. Your starter would likely become more and more inhospitable to the bacteria and yeast we want as the mixture would become ever more acidic.
Have you ever wondered whether you have to clean your sourdough starter jar? The simple answer is you don't need to clean your sourdough jar. It's just not necessary to clean your jar all that regularly, unless it's super crusty or you can't get your starter out or fresh flour and water in.
The most common feeding ratio is 1:1:1 (sourdough starter: flour: water). This is also known as a 100% hydration starter. For example, let's say you have 40 g of sourdough starter in a jar. To feed it, you'll add 40 g of flour + 40 g of water.
*If making sourdough is new for you, do not be discouraged if you starter takes longer to get active than mine – stick with it, it will happen! *Tap water is usually fine, if you are not sure, use boiled and cooled water, you can use it at room temperature or cool; do not use distilled water.
Distilled water might seem like a good option, but it's actually not great for your little yeasty friends. They need some minerals and stuff that are usually filtered out in the distillation process. So go for filtered or bottled water instead, and your starter will be living its best life in no time.
Adding whole grain flour: Whole grain flour, particularly whole rye flour (pumpernickel), tends to promote more sour flavor in bread for two reasons. First, the type of sugars available in whole rye (or whole wheat) flour encourage a shift toward acetic acid production.
Just a note here - it is normal for a sourdough starter to be stiffer when you first feed it and then thin out a little as it ferments. It should however be mousse like and aerated when it peaks. It may become runnier if you then don't feed it and let it go back down.
As long as your starter is doubling (or even tripling) in a timely manner after being fed, the size of the bubbles don't really matter too much. What you're looking for is activity and fermentation. Bubbles of any kind are an indication that this is happening inside your jar.
You can keep a “peaked” starter in the refrigerator for about 12 hours (sometimes more), and still use it directly in your mix. You do not need to let it come up to room temperature. If your starter is well past peak (a few hours) and visibly falling, you can give it a “refresh” feeding to reactivate it.
A 100% hydration sourdough starter is a culture which is kept and fed with water and flour at equal weights. Like for instance 5 oz water to 5 oz flour. A 166% hydration starter is fed with equal volume of flour and water, which most typically is one cup of water (8.3 oz) and one cup of flour (5 oz).
Place your starter in a warm spot to rise and activate, ideally 75-80 F. Temperature is really important. The warmer it is, the faster it will rise. Your starter is active when it shows the following signs: doubles in size, small and large bubbles appear, has a spongey or fluffy texture and exhibits a pleasant aroma.
While the age of your starter won't make your bread any better — turns out, only good sourdough practices can do that — it's a link in the long legacy of sourdough, one of the oldest forms of baking that exists. Whether your starter is a week or a decade old, you can become part of that lineage as well.
Flour with more protein and nutrients make sourdough starter more active, so consider feeding your starter with bread flour, whole wheat flour, rye flour (or a combination of these) to increase fermentation activity and rise.
Introduction: My name is Gregorio Kreiger, I am a tender, brainy, enthusiastic, combative, agreeable, gentle, gentle person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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