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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!
Should you have any questions or comments regarding anything you've seen on my site, please don't hesitate to reach out to contact me. It is always my distinct pleasure to get back with you just as soon as I possibly can!
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Reader Interactions
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.
Sourdough starters should be fed a minimum ratio of 1:1:1, meaning equal WEIGHTS of starter to flour to water. If you feed your starter this way and keep it at a consistently warm temperature 78ºF, your starter should peak and become active/bubbly in about 3-4 hours.
All-Purpose Flour: All-purpose flour, which is a blend of hard and soft wheat, is a popular choice for feeding sourdough starter. It provides a good balance of protein and starch, which promotes a healthy fermentation process. Bread Flour: Bread flour has a higher protein content compared to all-purpose flour.
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.
Not an ideal environment for a starter - they like it above the 68 degree range. If you don't have a warm house, I would suggest using warmer water when feeding and also being creative on something to keep it warmer.
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.
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.
If you have too much starter compared to the additional flour and water you're adding, your hungry starter consumes all the nutrients and then it's not as bubbly.
*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.
Once your starter is established, you can transition to feeding it 100% bread flour or all-purpose flour. An established starter (e.g., 14-30 days after creation) has a robust microbial population, and the feedings from that point forward are primarily providing the food, not additional microbes.
If you do not have whole wheat flour, just use all purpose flour instead.The starter will be fine. I switch to all purpose flour for the feedings because it's reliable, inexpensive and practical for everyday baking (remember, a portion of your starter is removed, discarded, or used for something else).
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.
If you don't get rid of the excess, eventually you'll have more starter than your feedings can sustain. After a few days, your daily 1/4 cup flour and water won't be enough to sustain your entire jar of starter, and your starter will be slow and sluggish, not much better than discard itself.
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).
Try reducing the water in your next feeding and see if you have different results. Also, the type of flour you are using can impede the rise of your starter. All-Purpose flour, for example, will not rise as robustly as a blend of bread flour and whole wheat flour.
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.
Introduction: My name is The Hon. Margery Christiansen, I am a bright, adorable, precious, inexpensive, gorgeous, comfortable, happy person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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