Sourdough starter and sourdough bread has always been something that intimidated me. I’ve made homemade bread for years. Most homemade bread recipes are pretty straight forward, but not sourdough. Sourdough requires a starter, and I recently acquired a sourdough starter thanks to a good friend. And while it was a rocky start at first, I wanted to share everything I’ve learned about it so I can help someone else avoid the problems I was having.
What Is Sourdough Starter?
Sourdough starter is actually fermented flour and water. I know, it sounds gross. But it’s actually a leavening agent that uses the bacteria and yeasts from the ferment to make your breads, sweets, and other baked goods rise and get fluffy.
What Is A Mother Dough?
You’ll often hear about the mother dough when it comes to sourdough. I know I was a little confused at first, but I learned a lot about ferments may it be for bread or kombucha, there is usually a “mother”. I’m sure it’s all a little different, but it’s basically the original ferment that you use to continue making more.
Yes you heard that right. If you keep the mother dough and take care of it, you can have unlimited sourdough starter for years.
How cool is that!
How To Make Your Own Sourdough Starter
I didn’t make my sourdough starter, so unfortunately I’ve never done it, but I understand it in theory. So I’m not going to try to explain it here since I’ve never done it. But rather, I’m going to share some posts that should help you in this endeavor.
Where To Buy Sourdough Starter
So, I looked at buying sourdough starter years ago, and never did because I didn’t quite understand how to take care of it and I was afraid I’d end up ruining it. But there are a few places you can buy it.
The friend who gave it to me actually bought it off of Amazon. The one she bought is supposedly over 200 years old. Either way, it’s amazing, and one of the coolest gifts I’ve ever received.
Places to buy sourdough starter:
- This is the sourdough starter I have
- King Arthur Baking Sourdough Starter
I’m sure you can try other starters. You can find them across Amazon, Ebay, Etsy, and other websites as well.
What Is Sourdough Discard?
Before I continue I do want to explain what sourdough discard was. I didn’t quite understand what it was until I started taking care of my sourdough starter.
As you feed your starter, you make more and more of it. And as you feed it, it doubles and falls. Which means it is no longer fed and cannot be used for bread because it’s unfed and no longer bubbly.
When you feed it again, you remove some of it, and then feed it. It helps keep it healthy and your jar won’t get too full.
A lot of people throw this unused portion out, which is why it’s called the discard. But the discard can be used for a lot of things.
What Does Sourdough Taste Like?
That’s kind of a broad question honestly, because depending on the recipe, you may or may not taste the sourdough.
Sourdough is made from natural fermentation, and yes, you can taste that in the bread. It has a somewhat sour or tangy taste to it.
But if you’re making sweets with it, you won’t really taste it at all.
And if you’re using it for stuff like biscuits, it can change the flavor completely.
Taking Care Of Your Sourdough Starter
This is the tricky part…kind of at first. It took me a little over a week to really figure things out. Plus, it was fairly hungry when I received it. It shipped across the country and through the Texas heat, so it needed a few days of just feeding to get it going again.
I had done some research of what to feed it and how much. I did end up buying a couple different flours and filtered water.
I also bought multiple sized jars and rubber bands as well as some linen.
Starting To Feed My Starter
I was feeding my starter 1/2 cup flour and 1/2 cup filtered water. (I heard tap water could kill your starter because of the chlorine.) The flour I decided to use was unbleached all purpose flour. I had read that it was probably the best to use in a couple articles. The starter was definitely eating it, however, it wasn’t doubling in size.
I figured it was just hungry and that in a couple days it would be fine. Since I had left the starter on the counter I fed it everyday.
This went on for about a week, but it never really doubled and it created quite a bit of hooch within half a day which tells me it was going through it fast.
By the way, either pour off the hooch or mix it in for a stronger taste.
I also started keeping linen cloth over the jar secured with a rubber band so I didn’t have to keep burping the jar. If your jar has a secured lid, it has to be burped to let the gases out.
Feeding My Starter Twice A Day
After a while I did more research and I saw that using bread flour or rye flour was apparently an even better option for your sourdough starter because of the high protein, high minerals and microbes. So, I decided one day to try something.
I didn’t want to use my sourdough discard yet for baking and I didn’t want to throw it out, so I experimented.
I fed the sourdough starter a mixture of unbleached all purpose flour and after a few hours I saw that it had eaten through it and so I made a mixture of water and unbleached bread flour. It actually rose some! It didn’t double, but it was bubbly and actually rose!
Using The Starter Discard To Make Sourdough Recipes
So, I ended up using it to make breakfast. Yes, I made sourdough pancakes, and they were delicious.
But eventually I tried to use the starter to make bread. It came out pretty, but it was more dense than I wanted. I haven’t perfected it, because sourdough bread takes a hot minute to make, but I will let you know when I actually perfect it.
I figured it was probably because my sourdough starter was still not doubling as well. Trial and error!
Cleaning My Sourdough Jar and Starting Over
I ended up putting my starter in a new jar to clean the old jar and I took out quite a bit leaving about 1/4 cup of the starter. I fed it 1/2 cup unbleached bread flour and a little less than 1/2 cup of water so it was less water and a little more thick and I mixed the 2 together.
IT GREW! It was super bubbly and doubled! I was so excited!!
Side note: When you clean your jar make sure it is thoroughly dried. We don’t want any leftover soap or chlorine from the water to hurt your sourdough bacteria.
Keeping Sourdough Starter In The Fridge
Since it was still hot in Texas, the sourdough starter was still going through the food fairly quickly and would create hooch and smell like alcohol. Which isn’t bad, but not ideal.
So feeding it and putting it in the fridge will keep it from eating so fast. Which helped! You can actually keep it in the fridge and only feed it 1-2 a week. Useful if you don’t use it everyday.
When I do want to use it I’ll generally take out 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup and place it in a new jar and feed it. I keep the 1/2 flour mixture and a little less than 1/2 cup of water. My starter seems to like a thicker mix. But if you need a thinner mix you can add more water.
If I need more starter I’ll also do 3/4 parts of each.
Keeping Your Sourdough In A Large Jar or Bowl
This is something I’ve also learned. Don’t use small jars, especially when you need about 1 cup of sourdough starter. When you feed it…sometimes it gets bigger than your jar…and it is a little messy to clean up.
I learned this when I was attempting to make sourdough biscuits. Which turned out fluffy and delicious by the way!
To Sum Up The Dos and Don’t When It Comes Up To Sourdough Starter
Do’s
- Feed Your Starter 1-2 Times A Day If Left On The Counter
- Feed 1-2 Times A Week If Left In The Fridge
- Use Your Sourdough Discard For Other Recipes
- Cover Your Sourdough With Paper Towels or Cloth and Rubber Bands
- Throw It Out If It Smells Pungent Or Has Mold
- Drain off Hooch or Mix It In For Stronger Flavor
- Stir When You Feed It
- Do make sure your house is somewhat warm when trying to get your starter to rise. It enjoys temperatures in the 70s and 80s
Don’t’s
- Don’t Leave Your Jar Uncovered, The Top Will Get Hard
- Don’t Use Tight Lids Unless You Are Going To Burp It
- Don’t Use Tap Water
- Don’t Use If Your Starter Is Discolored
- Don’t Throw Out If Your Starter Smells Like Alcohol Or Acetone (needs more food)
Sourdough Starter Isn’t Nearly As Intimidating As It Seems
I always thought sourdough was finicky and that I’d kill it off easily. Turns out, it is pretty hearty and can be messed with and experimented with quite a bit. Once you have it well fed, and once you find out what works best with your starter, you’re going to have so much fun making stuff.
It really is worth it and the flavor is amazing. Even in sweet!