Sourdough starter care guide

Sourdough bread has become all the rage in recent years amongst the homesteading community, and beyond and while I myself just jumped on the trend about 5 years ago, the practice of making bread with a sourdough starter has been around for thousands of years.

If you’re not familiar, sourdough bread is bread that is proofed with a fermented starter culture that consists of bread and water. The natural bacterias and yeasts in the starter allow the bread to rise without the use of commercial yeast.

Many people procure sourdough starters from a friend, or even order them online. Some people have starters that have been passed down for generations and are many years old. Sourdough starters are living thing, so they do require some care to survive but it’s not as hard as it may seem.

If you don’t want to order a sourdough starter online, or you don’t know someone who has a starter to share, you can make your own, although this can be a little tricky.

If you are interested in making your own sourdough starter, start by mixing together equal parts of flour and water by weight, 100 grams is good to start with, then mix until a paste forms. Cover your starter loosely with a towel or a lid (not screwed on) and leave it out at room temperature. If it’s cold out, you may want to leave your starter in the oven (without turning it on) to help encourage faster rising.

The next day feed your sourdough starter again, equal parts water and flour by weight, this time 50 grams instead of a 100. Leave it covered for another day.

On day three you’ll feed your starter the same amount, 50 grams of water, and 50 grams of flour but this time you’ll discard half of your starter prior to feeding, so you don’t end up with too much starter.

Repeat this process of discarding and feeding everyday for a week at least, or until your starter begins to form bubbles and doubles in size in between feedings. In certain climates this can take more than two weeks.

I did not have much luck trying to make my own sourdough starter recently but it was the dead of winter in Michigan and I think it may have been too cold for my starter to survive, and grow. So, on the quest to find an active sourdough starter I set out on Facebook market place to find someone local in the area who had an active sourdough starter they were willing to share.

I found one, and we’ve been going strong ever since. I’ve had several sourdough starters in the past, some stronger than others but I’ve always unfortunately killed them for some reason or another.

This is probably the longest I’ve kept one alive, and she is thriving! I’ve even been fortunate enough to share some of my starter with some of my friends and family- the inspiration for this article.

So you’ve acquired a sourdough starter, how do you keep your sourdough alive?

Your sourdough needs to be fed regularly to stay alive and active. Your frequency of feedings depends on how often you bake, and where you keep your starter. If you bake every day or every other day, you will probably want to keep your start out at room temperature. If you only bake once a week or even less, you can keep your sourdough starter in the fridge. This will allow you to go more time between feedings. You can keep your starter in the fridge for several weeks without feeding and it will still survive. Your starter will be its most active bubbly self at room temperature, so when you are planning to bake, plan ahead by pulling your starter out of the fridge and feeding it 12 hours before you bake (times may vary depending on the season and how hot is. You may only need 6 hours in the summer, and maybe more in the winter)

Typically when you feed your sourdough you’ll want to discard any excess starer prior to feeding. You can compost this extra starter or you can save it in a separate jar and use it to make sourdough “discard” recipes. Sourdough discard is inactive sourdough starer so it doesn’t provide the same kind of rise as a regular sourdough starter, because it’s inactive it also doesn’t break down the gluten the same way your regular starter will, but you can still make some great stuff with it. However, if you don’t want to waste, or you worry about not being able to use up a whole jar of discard you can eliminate this step with a little strategic planning in your feeding.

You can save just enough sourdough starter in-between baking to be able to refeed your starter so that it grows enough to bake just what you need. I tend to save between 1/4-1/2 cup of sourdough starter after baking each week, and then it goes back in the fridge. When I pull it out to feed it the next week I feed it equal parts water and flour and the quantity of starter that this produces for me is just enough to bake what I need while still saving enough leftover to be fed the next week. This way I use just what I need and I don’t have an excess sourdough starter that has to be thrown out each week, and my jar isn’t overflowing with starter either.

It may take time to figure out the perfect baking formula for you, but it’s worth the experimentation.

When it’s time to feed your sourdough starter, you’ll need unbleached, unenriched flour, and tepid or slightly warm filtered water (I like to use warm water in the winter)

I like to use a kitchen scale, and a kitchen scale is the most tried and true method by most bakers, but it you don’t have a kitchen scale you can use measuring cups. I have done both.

Weigh or measure out your sourdough starter, if you are discarding some do that first and then weigh out and add it to a jar, bowl, cup, whatever container you like to store your starter in, (I use mason jars)

Then weigh out equal parts water, and equal parts flour. Mix until combined. You should have a thick paste like texture, like thick pancake batter. If you are measuring rather than weighing, you can use equal parts but you may find your sourdough starter is runny. If this is this case just add more flour. Leave your jar loosely covered (don’t seal it) for 12 hours, or into roughly doubled in size, with large bubbles. Then your starter is ready to bake with!

How do I know when my sourdough starter is ready to be fed?

Your sourdough starter should be at its peak after feeding before you bake with it. Large air bubbles, doubled in size. It will be thick in texture with lots of air bubbles, and when you tilt your jar from one side to another it may appear stringy. This is a very active starter.

A starter that is past its peak after feeding will be deflated, and look thin like pancake batter. This doesn’t mean your starter is necessarily hungry, it just means it’s not at its peak for baking.

When your sourdough starter is hungry you will develop a darkish layer of liquid on the top of your starter. This is called hooch, and it’s produced by the wild yeast in the starter. If this has happened don’t worry! Your sourdough starter is going to be fine. In the fridge your starter can last quite awhile after this point before a feeding, however if your starter is at room temperature, it needs to be fed soon to prevent mold from growing on top. Once mold grows on top it is nearly impossible to get it to stop, and your starter needs to be tossed out.

If you have a layer of hooch on your starter you can either pour it off, or mix it into your starter before feeding. It can make your sourdough starter even more sour and add a more complex flavor to your bread.

What kind of flour should I feed my starter?

There are a ton of different flour brands out there and different options for feeding your starter. The most basic things I look for in a flour are unenriched and unbleached. Enriched and bleached flour is so devoid of natural bacteria and microbes that there really isn’t much of anything for your starter to feed off of.

Organic flour is better if you can afford it, but not necessary. My favorite brands for regular flour (both organic and non organic) are King Arthur and Bob’s Mills.

Now, if you really want to get into the nitty gritty you may know that our white flour that we bake with is not what flour used to be. The modern wheat crop has been so modified throughout the last several decades that it no longer resembles ancient wheat. So if you’re truly looking for the healthiest bread one can eat, with the best beneficial bacteria and the easiest digestibility, you may want to consider ancient grain flours.

Spelt and einkorn flour are two of the most popular flours for this purpose. Ancient grain flour is more expensive than regular flour and it does not bake quite the same way. The gluten content in these ancient flours is lower than your modern flour. This produces a less stretchy and elastic dough, as well as a less airy crumb and texture in the bread itself. It’s quite hearty and can be an acquired taste to some, but it actually has a very nutty flavor and a nice depth to it.

This is not for everyone, it’s not the most affordable option, and if you’re new to baking these flours take some time to get use to. They’re not your grandmas flours (they’re your great, great grandmas flours) but if health is of the highest priority, ancient grain flours are the way to go.

What kind of tools do I need to get started with my bread baking?

It’s very easy to get caught up in not thinking that you have the right equipment to do the job when in reality, you don’t need all the equipment instagram sourdough influences have. In fact, I’ve even brought my sourdough starter on vacation with me and baked bread in an airbnb without any of my regular equipment. So what do you really need to bake a loaf of bread?

Measuring cups, mixing bowls, an oven safe pan and potentially an oven safe casserole dish (if your oven safe pan is not a dutch oven)

The easiest thing to bake your sourdough bread in is a dutch oven. Dutch ovens are deep and trap the steam in the with lid on them which creates air bubbles, and a soft chewy inside during the initial baking process. However, if you don’t have a dutch oven, you can achieve this in other ways. My favorite way to do this at home is to bake my bread in a regular cast iron pan (or oven safe pan) and add a stainless steel mixing bowl on top to act as a lid, and trap in steam. This works great for me and is even easier than a dutch oven in some ways because it’s easier to drop my bread in my shallow cast iron pan, than in the dutch oven. If you’re going to use this method, make sure you’re using stainless steel bowls, or something that is oven safe.

The other way to bake bread is to add a tray of water on the oven shelf below your bread. This will also create steam for the bread. After 30 minutes of baking, remove the tray of water, just as you would your dutch oven lid, so the crust has a chance to become crispy.

Dehydrating your sourdough starer

If you’ve been gifted a sourdough starter from someone, or acquired it through some other way and you’re worried about killing it, this is how to preserve a little bit of your stater in case of an emergency.

Take your active starter and spread a thin layer over parchment paper or silicone baking mats, or a dehydrator tray. If you’re Using your oven, set it to the lowest temp you can and leave your starter in there until it’s completely dry. Alternatively, if you have a dehydrator, you can use that. I set mine to around 145 degrees.

Make SURE your starter is completely dry before storing. You can break it up into little pieces or even blend into a powder in a blender or food processor. Your starter will keep indefinitely and should something happen to your active starter, you can rehydrate this and have another active starter. It takes between 3-5 days of regular feedings before your starter is back to normal.

Making your sourdough bread

So your starter is active and bubbly, it’s doubled in size and you’re finally ready to bake your fist loaf of bread.

Honestly, in my opinion, this is the easy part. There are hundreds of different recipes on the internet for how to make a loaf of sourdough. Bakers more skilled than myself have experimented to find the perfect amount of salt, flour and water for their particular kitchen setting. You could pick any one of them and probably have success if you follow the instructions, and have an active starter.

This is the recipe I’ve been following over the last few months: Homemade Sourdough bread

If I’m using all ancient grain flour, sometimes I adjust it depending on how the dough is behaving but the reason there are so many different recipes is because everyone’s sourdough starter, and kitchen climate are going to be different. A very old sourdough starter in a very warm climate may not need nearly as much time to rise and develop as a newer starter in a colder climate. For this reason you may even have to adjust your recipes based on season.

I’ve been baking sourdough bread for five years and really only got consistent (and consistently good) within the last year. It’s not necessarily hard, but it does take time to learn what methods work best for you.

Making homemade bread that is free of all the preservatives, fillers, and nonsense in conventional grocery store bread, and not having to pay and arm and a leg for it, like you would at the farmers market, is a great way to begin taking steps towards a healthier lifestyle for your family.

Why Sourdough is Better Than Regular Bread, and My Favorite Ways to Use Sourdough

Sourdough baking is a method of baking that has been around for centuries. We’ve been baking bread, in some form, for thousands of years (at least). The first record we have of the sourdough baking method dates back to around 1500 B.C. in Egypt.

With the use of modern store-bought yeast, sourdough is not as common as it used to be, but it has made quite the comeback in recent years. People have discovered the benefits of sourdough as they discover the problems with regular bread.

I use sourdough starter in much of my baking; I’ve used it to make pie crusts, bread doughs, hamburger buns, and pizza doughs.

What is Sourdough?

The key ingredient in sourdough bread, what it gives it its texture and sour taste, is the sourdough starter. Sourdough starter is a mixture of flour and water (usually 50/50) that has been fed enough to develop its own collection of yeast, bacteria, and lactic acid. Sourdough starter has its own microbiome made up of bacteria and wild yeast collected from its environment. No two sourdough starters are exactly the same. Each one develops its own unique microbiome that gives it a unique smell and taste.

Sourdough is also unique from other yeasts in the way it develops the gluten in bread. The wild yeast and bacteria in the sourdough starter begin to digest the gluten in the bread during the fermentation process. The longer the dough ferments and the more it rises, the more gluten is broken down. Many people who have previously had problems with gluten have found that, after fixing the gut, they can occasionally enjoy sourdough bread.

Storebought sourdough bread is not the same as homemade sourdough. When you buy sourdough from the store, you have no idea how long the bread fermented or if it’s even real sourdough. If you do want to buy your bread, I recommend looking at a small local bakery or a farmers market where you can ask questions about the baking process.

I’ve linked my favorite sourdough recipes below and given a brief description of our favorite way to use them.

Artisan Sourdough Bread

This is the classic sourdough loaf of bread.

I get all of my sourdough recipes from Baking Sense, but generally, I don’t follow an exact recipe. I prefer to experiment. I follow this recipe’s measurements, but usually, I mix up the type of flour I’m using. I like the majority of the flour I use to be all-purpose flour, and then I add a little bit of rye flour, bread flour, or einkorn flour (or a mix of all three). Adding a variety of different flours can add nuttiness to your bread that would be lacking if you just used all-purpose flour.

The most important thing, in my experience, is making sure that your sourdough starter is very active, (the recipe I linked goes over this) before baking. Otherwise, you’ll end up with a loaf that doesn’t properly rise.

We like to make sandwiches with sourdough bread. Generally, we’ll use whatever we’ve got on hand, but whatever we do, we always throw on lots of different vegetables. I’m a fan of caramelized onions with bacon, greens, tomatoes, mustard, and a fried egg. Homemade pesto is also great on sandwiches or plain on toast. This bread is so good, it doesn’t need much else, though.

Hamburger Buns

I have not eaten storebought hamburger buns since I made my own for the first time. I can’t imagine going back (not to mention regular storebought buns are terrible for you.) I use this recipe from Baking Sense for my hamburger buns. I just skip the sugar and use goat’s milk instead of cow’s milk.

We don’t eat burgers often, but when we do, we eat organic grass-fed ground beef from a local farm and our sourdough buns. Personally, I like to add caramelized mushrooms and onions on top, with tomatoes, greens, cheese, homemade mustard, and an egg. Eggs are a staple. I’ll put eggs on pretty much anything.

Sourdough Pizza Dough

I use this pizza dough recipe. I don’t even remember what regular pizza tastes like, but I’m almost positive that it’s terrible compared to our pizza. When we do pizza night, we like to do one pizza with pesto sauce and one with tomato sauce. We’ll top the pizzas with cheese, tomatoes, Italian sausage, fresh basil, purple onions, artichoke hearts, sundried tomatoes, and olives. To each their own when it comes to pizza, but we recommend more vegetables, more variety, and less meat and cheese.

Sourdough Pie Crust

Sourdough pie crust is, in my experience, the best pie crust ever. The crust is flakey and buttery, but because it uses sourdough starter instead of water, you end up with a much more flavorful pie crust. I’ve also found that throughout my experimentation with different flours, including gluten-free flours, all-purpose flour still makes the best pie crust.

Add 2.5 cups of your flour and a pinch of salt (I recommend Bob’s Red Mill organic all-purpose flour) to a bowl, and then add 1 cup of ice-cold butter. Begin to break up the butter and combine the flour and butter with your fingers into smaller pieces, until you have a mixture resembling kraft parmesan cheese (This is a tip from my Sister Pie cookbook. After lots of experimentation, I can confirm that this is the way to achieve the best pie crust.) Then add half a cup of active sourdough starter and mix until combined. Use your hands to bring the mixture together into a dough. You’ll want to refrigerate this dough for at least two hours or up to two days. If you’re not planning on making pie anytime soon, you can freeze the pie dough.

Conclusion

I generally only eat sourdough once or twice a month. It’s a nice treat, but I wouldn’t recommend it every day. If you’re still sick, you should avoid gluten completely until the gut is healed, and then eat it only in moderation.

Learning how to make sourdough bread can be a great way to incorporate more “normal” foods into your diet, while still knowing exactly what’s going into your body.

I’ve really enjoyed the process of learning how to make sourdough bread and I love sharing it with other people! It’s not only a treat for me, but for others as well. When I cook sourdough for people who don’t eat as healthy as I do, they’re always impressed!

Chipotle Removing More Unnatural Ingredients – Sourdough Culture to Replace Tortilla Preservatives

Chipotle made waves earlier this year when they announced that they would be eliminating GMOs from their menu. After eliminating GMO cornstarch from its tortillas, the company is now further streamlining its tortilla recipe in an attempt to offer its customers a product as close to a homemade tortilla as possible. From an admittedly short list of eleven ingredients, Chipotle’s downsizing its ingredient list even further to a mere four: whole-wheat flour, oil, salt, and water.

Mass-producing this tortilla presents a number of problems, chief among them taste, shelf life, and logistics. Early test runs have created tortillas with the elasticity needed for burritos and a nutty taste most likely be attributed to Chipotle’s decision to use more health-conscious whole-wheat flour. But when a company is serving upwards of 800,000 tortillas a day, taste and texture are not the only concerns. It needs to produce a product that is consistent and always available. The typical means to increase shelf life would be the addition of preservatives to the product. Being health conscious, Chipotle said no to preservatives and found a solution both simple and elegant: sourdough.

The Oldest Leavened Bread

Fermentation is one of the earliest forms of food preservation. Sourdough has rich history as the first leavened bread, and its use of naturally occurring yeast has made it accessible to anyone since it was recognized. Using this time-tested method for insuring its bread would last longer, Chipotle is able to keep the shelf life its tortillas without lab derived chemicals and provide a healthier product that appeals to the informed consumer.

Lactobacilli bacteria is responsible for the unique sourdough flavor as it ferments the bread, breaking down gluten and other proteins. The bacteria also acts as a probiotic. This breakdown makes sourdough easier to digest than breads made with conventional yeast, making sourdough bread a potential option for those who are unable to easily digest modern bread products.

Of course there are logistical issues, as sourdough requires a consistent temperature, a quiet place to develop, and the time to properly ferment. Starting and maintaining a sourdough culture can be a daunting task. A tortilla factory is accustomed to expanding commercial dough balls with yeast and then immediately pressing, baking, and packaging tortillas for sale. So far Don Pancho Authentic Mexican Foods in Salem, Oregon, which is serving as the test factory, is dealing with the logistics needed for fermentation by designating a separate room where the sourdough cultures can ferment before being shaped and baked. Chipotle plans on perfecting the process then expanding it throughout the entire chain, region by region.

Our Food Conversation

Chipotle’s commitment to serve “Food with Integrity” is the culinary equivalent of the canary in the coalmine – can fast food be both healthy and profitable?

Though the average diner may not have entered the conversation about what’s in our food, where it’s coming from, and what our planet can actually sustain, there is a growing number of people who want quality, healthy dining options.

This conversation needs to continue on an increasingly larger scale. Though Chipotle has always been a part of this conversation due to their transparency, they entered it in a big way when they banned GMOs. It’s up to us to reward this business for its courage and integrity. Remember, as always, we vote with our dollars.