I have spent the last two years learning this sourdough curve. There are times when it feels almost easy, and my loaves and other baked goods turn out fantastic! Other times, I want to just dump it all down the sink.
In high school, I worked at Great Harvest and remember thinking it was such a pain to feed the sourdough before closing every evening... but the loaves that came out of the oven three times per week made it SO worth it! Our sourdough was amazing.
When I had my gallbladder removed a couple of years ago, my brother's girlfriend at the time brought us some artisan-style sourdough that reminded me why I loved the stuff... and it was easier on my blood sugar than regular bread, so I jumped on Pinterest to learn all that I could!
I began my own starter after reading many blogs and sourdough websites. Ultimately, I came up with my own way of making it work that I feel is MUCH simpler. By trial and error, I give you how to make your own sourdough starter. I'll do another post about how I do my round loaves, waffles, and other baked goods.
My first time making a starter, I followed a tutorial that I can't find now, and it worked well, but the second time I made a start I adjusted after I noticed that my starter wasn't growing and smelling quite like it should (we had moved to a different city, so I blame the water and the air). There comes a point when you can tell by the smell alone whether your starter is "sour" (good) or "off" (bad). (My mother-in-law gags regardless of the smell, so I'm pretty sure that she killed the starter I gave her after the first week, but never told me. She's thoughtful like that. 💗💗)
If you want to read through the links at the bottom, go right ahead. Sourdough information is kind of a rabbit-hole. If you just want to jump right in, then here you go.
FIRST, the supplies
- A long-handled wooden spoon (don't use metal on sourdough, it will kill it)
- A LARGE glass jar or plastic bowl, with a NON-METAL lid that can sit loosely on top (I love this 1-gallon wide-mouth glass jar)
- A scale (just the first time, though not totally necessary)
- Measuring cups
- Patience
Day 1: In a clean, sterile glass jar or bowl (I'm talking at least a gallon size if not bigger), mix 4 oz (by weight) of flour (all-purpose is fine) with 4 fl. oz. FILTERED water. My tap water seems to make my sourdough kind of... blah... so I prefer the filtered water from our fridge. Mix it up with the wooden spoon, then set the lid on top and you're done. Ta-da! You don't want to seal the lid because the gases need to escape, but you don't want to introduce bacteria into your starter.
Day 2: Feed your starter. Add 4 oz (by weight) flour and 4 fl. oz. filtered water. Mix with a wooden spoon, place lid loosely on top.
Day 3: Same as day 2.
Day 4: Same as day 2.
Day 5: Same as day 2, you may start seeing bubbles or smelling the signature "sour" smell.
Day 6: Same as day 2, may see more bubbling.
Day 7: Same as day 2, should see bubbling by now, but don't give up if you don't!
Day 8: Same as day 2, almost there!
Day 9: Same as day 2 (Understanding why I said you needed patience?)
Day 10: You can use your starter! If you aren't seeing any bubbling yet, and you aren't seeing weird coloring (orange, green, or a rancid smell), then give it a couple more days of feeding.
If you DO have a nice bubbly starter, you can start using it in recipes! If you aren't ready to conquer bread yet, I suggest muffins, waffles, or pancakes.
You can feed your starter more than once per day, and during the two days leading up to making bread I will feed it every 12 hours, and as close to 8 hours before starting bread as I can. I typically feed the starter at 10pm, then start bread at 6am (or close). If I know I will be making waffles I'll do this as well, simply because a starter that has been fed 6-8 hours before use yields better baked goods.
To use your starter, measure out the amount of starter needed, and follow your recipe. I will feed my starter again after I have measured out what I need, then let it have a rest for the day. If you have a ton of starter, you can throw some out, share it, or dehydrate it. I keep a baggy of dehydrated starter chips in case something tragic were to happen to my starter (it is much faster than growing a brand new starter). I also share my starter frequently, and it makes me feel better than throwing some away.
That's a basic breakdown. Below are my favorite recipes to follow. When making bread, I strongly encourage using an enameled cast-iron pot (check the temperature rating, and make sure it can withstand AT LEAST 450*F). I get my best, chewy-crust bread with my cast-iron pot.
Artisan Bread (My favorite, and goes great with this Caulifower Potato Soup)
Sourdough Waffles
Sourdough Pancakes
Loaf Bread
How to dehydrate your starter (This website also has a lot of cool information about sourdough)
Let me know how your starter/bread turns out! I love comments. :-)
No comments:
Post a Comment