Sourdough Starter
All your sourdough dreams come true…
Sourdough can be an intimidating and rather frustrating endeavor if you don’t have the right tools and information necessary to begin. The internet is saturated with information and all of that can become a bit overwhelming. But please let me tell you, with the right understanding of the process, sourdough is actually pretty low maintenance. I started my sourdough journey 8 years ago and counting and I can confidently share this recipe with you now in hopes that you too will be able to reap the wonderful digestive and gut healing benefits of sourdough. If you are unfamiliar as to the pros of sourdough baking, I will explain it to the best of my ability. All grains contain phytic acid- a compound that prevents our bodies from properly absorbing the benefits of the grains. Fermenting grains not only makes them easier to digest but causes that phytic acid to be broken down, making the grains nutrients more bioavailable. Many people with gluten intolerances have found sourdough to be an acceptable alternative (This does not include those with celiac. That is way more serious, and I will encourage you to do the research there). Less than 100 years ago sourdough was what most people still used. Commercial yeast did not come into development until the 1860’s and most people didn’t truly start to use it until the late 1920’s. This is not to say that all yeast baking is inherently bad, (anything homemade is usually better than anything you can buy at the store) its simply to say it might not be as nutrient dense as sourdough. Now that you are a little more familiar with sourdough baking, (if you were not already) let’s get started! In this excerpt I will tell you how to cultivate a starter from day one onto how to maintain a starter for years to come. Starters can actually last hundreds of years through many generations and were commonly passed down by family members. If you are curious at all about how to maintain your starter, I have answered all those questions at the bottom of this post. Also, I will refer to sourdough starters in this post as “culture” and “starter”.
YOU WILL NEED
Rye flour– rye flour is high in protein which forms gluten easier, this is why it makes for perfect sourdough fodder as we are just getting started. You can always feel free to attempt cultivating a starter with different flours, but I have found Rye to be foolproof.
Filtered water– filtering your water first is important because things like fluoride can be harmful to our starter and we don’t want to waste flour.
Clean Glass Jar– I like using glass as we are working with a ferment here and we don’t want any plastic leached into our starter.
Cheesecloth– for covering. We want our starter to be covered and untainted by pesky bugs, but we still want it to breath and capture those delightful wild yeasts.
Ingredients
Instructions
- DAY 1: In a clean glass jar combine 1 cup of rye flour with 1 cup of filtered water. Stir to combine and then cover with cheesecloth (You can secure your cheesecloth with a piece of string or rubber band) and set in a warm dry place to begin fermenting.
- DAY 2: Add 1 cup of rye flour and 1/2 cup filtered water to your starter, then transfer to a new glass jar. This keeps any yucky bacteria from developing. Cover with cheesecloth and set aside. You will repeat this process for seven days. By day three or four you should begin to notice your starter forming little bubbles. By the eighth day, you should have a very bubbly and ready to use starter.
- To maintain your starter if you are leaving it at room temperature each day, you will want to feed it once every 24 hours. If you are storing it in the fridge, simply pull it out 16 hours before you intend to use it and feed it generously 2-3 times; this should get it nice and bubbly again.
Notes
- What flour works best for this recipe? I like using Rye Flour as it is high in protein and has proven time and time again its failproof nature in starting a sourdough culture.
- Do I need to change the jar out each day? Yes. Only while you are cultivating a new starter. After feeding it each day, you will want to store your starter in a fresh glass jar until your starter is mature by seven days.
- Once my starter is mature can I keep it in the fridge? Yes. When I am not using my starter or I simply don’t have time to maintain it, I store it in the fridge for months at a time. To revive a dormant starter, you simply pull it from the fridge and feed it generously 2-3 times and within 16-24 hours your starter should be bubbly and ready to use again.
- What is the dark liquid that sits at the top of my starter after it has been refrigerated? This is called hooch, and while super suspicious looking, I promise it is harmless. Many people see this and think they have killed their starter- rest assured this is completely normal and you can either pour the hooch off the top or stir it back in. Sourdough starters are way more resilient than most people think.
- My starter has developed mold. What do I do? If your starter has developed mold this is either due to rancid ingredients or going too long between feedings. If it is tiny white mold spores, you can skim all of them away, transfer your starter into a clean jar and feed it. If by the next day, it has not developed more of the white mold it is saved. If your starter has developed green or black mold spores it is too late to save it- toss it and start new.
- How often do I need to feed my sourdough starter? If left at room temperature a sourdough starter typically demands to be fed once every 24 hours. If left in the fridge I have let mine go up to 4 months without feeding it.
- Once my starter is mature can I feed it with different flours? Yes. I actually only use rye flour to develop new starters and once they are mature, I like feeding them with bread flour because of its high protein content. All-purpose flour works well too. If you continue to feed your starter with rye flour, be prepared, rye starter tends to produce slightly denser baked goods.
