Understanding your Sourdough Starter!
Before we jump into it, did you know most people name their sourdough starter? I’ll let you in on a secret, I have had my starter for nearly two years and have not named it… Don’t fret I will not turn my nose up at you if you can not think of a clever name. Well because I have not! If you need help, there are tons of lists on google, I’m sure you will find one. Or you could be like me and be a rebel with a nameless starter!
What makes Sourdough, Sourdough?
Sourdough is fermented flour and water. The flavor profile changes depending on the location the starter is created because the naturally occurring yeast and bacteria (all beneficial) contribute to your starter! These microbes consume the sugars in the flour and burp up carbon dioxide, creating the lovely bubbles you want in a starter!
Along with CO2, the microbes produce acids (contributing to the tanginess of your dough) and alcohol. If you forget about your starter long enough, it will create a brown liquid at the top, known as hooch!
Health Benefits of Consuming Sourdough:
Sourdough acts as a prebiotic, feeding the healthy bacteria in your intestines.
It has a lower glycemic index, meaning the sugars in the dough release slower into the blood. It doesn't create a massive spike in blood sugar levels!
Sourdough contains less gluten than that of white or whole wheat breads.
Tools of the trade, My recommendations!
The list can get pretty long once you get into the nitty gritty of artisan bread loaves. Depending on your goals, the items listed below will be beneficial!
Banneton basket (used for proofing loaves depending on the desired shape.)
Digital Scale (essential for feeding your starter and making most sourdough recipes)
Straight-sided glass jar with a lid that can be loose fitting. (When baking for my family, a wide-mouth pint jar is perfect.)
Cast Iron Dutch Oven (Used for baking loaves. If you like to be thrifty, you can sometimes find them on market place or wait for box stores to run deals on them!)
Scoring Lame (This is the knife used to create the beautiful cuts/designs on artisan bread loaves!)
Rehydrating your Starter!
I uploaded this video on my channel before I ever decided to sell my own starter. The basics of reconstituting your starter still apply from this video. So for my visual folks, I hope this helps!
The packet of starter you purchased from me is 40 g.
To rehydrate your starter, you will not need all of this! Meaning if you kill it, you'll have backups! To get started, you will need your starter, digital scale, a glass jar, water, and your flour (l use King Arthur all-purpose, but you can use whatever brand or even whole wheat if you'd like)
Day 1
Start by taking note of the weight of your clean glass jar in grams. Grams is the unit most commonly used when baking with sourdough. Write the weight of your empty jar down somewhere you won't forget it. Tare (zero) out the weight of your jar, add 5 g of starter and 25 g of water to the jar. Allow this to sit for about 15 minutes. So the starter can hydrate. It should be mushy when ready for the next step. Once ready, add 13 g of water and 25 g of flour. Mix well, and be sure to scrape down the sides of the jar if needed. Place a loose-fitting lid on the jar or cover it with a coffee filter and secure it with a rubber band. Let the mixture rest for at least 12-24 hours.
Day 2
Your starter will not be bubbly, but you may have one or two.
Do not discard anything. Dehydrated flakes may still be softening with water; that is normal. Add 25 g water and 25 g flour, and mix well. Allow to rest for 12-24 hours.
Day 3
Repeat day two instructions, adding 25 g flour and 25 g water.
Mix well and let rest till the following day.
Day 4
Morning: Add 36 g of water and 36 g of flour. Mix well!
Evening: You should be noticing your starter growing with bubbles present. You will now start discarding. This means that when your starter is domed at the top and very bubbly, active.
You can decide whether to toss leftover starter or use it in a recipe when you discard it at your starters peak activation; it's the most opportune time to utilize it. To discard, you can leave the starter you want in the jar, as little as a teaspoon. The less starter you have, the smaller portion of flour and water you will have to feed it.
Feeding Ratios
There are many ratios and thoughts as to the best feeding ratio. I will give you the basics to get you started, and once you are comfortable, feel free to play around with this!
The most basic feeding ratio is 1:1:1 (1 part starter to 1 part flour to 1 part water). For example, In a 1:1:1 ratio, you could mix 20 g starter, 20 g flour and 20 g water. With the 1:1:1 ratio, you must feed your starter at least twice daily. This is determined by the temperature at which your starter is stored. Sourdough likes a temperature between 70 F- 80 F, with 74 F being the sweet spot. The cooler it is, the slower the rise. The warmer, the faster the rise! When your starter is more mature, you can change the ratio to 1:2:2, 1:3:3, 1:4:4, and so on. Raising the amount of flour in the ratio compared to that of the starter will slow down the rise time. Eventually, you may even play with the hydration percentage. Most recipes are 100% hydration. When you feed your starter, add flour and water in equal parts. However, adding less water than flour (a lower hydration percentage), you'll get a stiffer starter with greater rise.
Where to store your active starter, Based on your baking goals.
This will also be an excellent time to determine how often you think you will bake sourdough. If baking a few times a week, you may consider keeping your starter on your counter. The air temperature and your feeding ratio will determine your feeding schedule. The alternative is to keep your starter in the fridge. This is better suited if you will be baking as little as once a week or occasionally. This is because you can store fed starter in the fridge for extended amounts without dying. When waiting to use, take it out of the fridge the day before and feed it 1-2 times to get it fully activated.
When left in the fridge, the cool environment slows down the rise. After an extended time, hooch may appear on top of your starter. It is perfectly normal as long as no fuzzy molds are growing. Scrape the hooch and top layer out to discard, place the leftover starter in a clean jar, and feed normally.
Consistency:
When adding a 100% hydrated starter to a recipe, you want the starter to have doubled in size and be domed! It should be bubbly, spongey, stretchy, thick and gooey! If it is super thin, do not worry; feeding will perk it right up!
Temperature:
Your starter will be the happiest/ most active at an ambient temperature between 70-75 F.
Lower temps will slow down the activation process.
You can keep a feed starter in the fridge to considerably slow the activation.
Higher temps speed up the process. However, if it is too high, you may cook the starter!
What could kill your starter?
Sometimes, you may forget about your starter for an extended time; do not worry, it happens! Hooch may appear, but this is normal in yeasts eating gluten; they release alcohol. If left for way too long, a few weeks, fuzzy molds may form. At this point, you may want to rehydrate new starter and toss this one. Larvae growth is another instance where you will want to toss your starter completely.
Heating your starter to extreme temps can kill the naturally occurring yeasts.
Extra Resources!
Finding a group on social media can help you work through any issues you may encounter! As well as give you ideas on how to utilize your starter! King Arthur Baking has tons of beautiful recipes!
BAKERS HYDRATION & BAKING TIMETABLE
My love in bread form (Where are my math people?). This recipe follows the bakers percentage:
X grams Flour (The rest of your ingredients will be based on the amount of flour you use!)
X grams Water (I use 80% for my recipes but, you can use anywhere between 70-80%. The lower % of water you use the less sticky and easier it will be to work with but hit won't be as airy! Feel free to play around with this!)
X grams of active sourdough starter (15%) You will want your starter to have at least doubled or be domed when using!
X grams salt (2%, add more or less depending on how salty you like your loaves.)
Determine how large to make your sourdough loaf with the amount of flour. After, multiple your grams of flour by the percentages separately for each ingredient following flour.
For example:
My loaf was 700 g of flour ( I mixed bread, whole wheat and all purpose flours)
to get my 80 % water in grams, take 700 and multiple it by 80%. 80% has to be made into a decimal to multiple it. You will move the decimal two places. So 80.% to 8.0% to .80 Take 700 and multiply it by .80 to get 560 g for the water percentage.
So,
700 g flour
560 g water (at 80% hydration)
105 g starter (15%, I think I used a bit more in this recipe. Just adds a bit extra sour taste!)
14 g salt (2% I also added a touch more salt.)
Depending on how active/mature your starter is, room temperature and the temperature of the water that you feed your starter will determine when you should feed your starter. Good rule of thumb is a room temperature around 72F/22C and luke warm water, your starter will take around 8 hours to be doubled/ active. Cold water will slow this process. At the same time of feeding your starter, you will autolyse (Combine your flour and water. I like to add my salt at this stage but you can also add it when you add the starter.).
When starter is at peak activation, add it and salt (if you haven't already). Pinch starter into shaggy dough. Cover again.
For the next two to two and half hours, every 30 mins, stretch the dough and fold it onto itself. Turn bowl 90 degrees and stretch and fold again. Do this 4 times. The dough will begin to resist stretching on the fourth fold. This step helps develop the beautiful bubbles. Cover dough after each stretch and fold.
When you feel the dough is keeping a good structure, holding the bubbles, allow to bulk rise. The time for this can vary, so keep an eye on it. It can take anywhere between 2-6 hours. You want the dough to have at least doubled.
On floured surface, pre-shape your dough. Allow this to rest for 30 mins.
Then you will do your final shaping. Depending on the shape of loaf you are aiming for the technique for shaping can be different. Flour your work surface. For a round banneton, I like to cup the dough, with my pinkies grazing the countertop, gently push the dough towards yourself. This technique can take some time to get right. but essentially you are creating tension on the top of the loaf, you don't want this tension to break. When creating oblong loaves, I spread the dough into a rectangle. Folding in thirds, take the bottom and fold into the center. Then take the top and fold it on top of the last fold. Then turn the dough 90 degrees and repeat those folds. Both cases take the dough and place in well floured banneton seam side up. Pinch the seam closed. Cover dough.
Let your dough proof. Meaning when you poke the dough (only needs to be poked about half an inch deep) does it spring back at you quickly (under-proofed), slightly bounces back (perfectly proofed), or doesn't bounce back at all (over-proofed)? Check your dough every 30-45 mins, room temperature again can affect this time.
When your dough is about proofed. place dutch oven with lid in the oven and preheat to 500F/260C for about 45 mins.
Gently, flip your dough onto parchment paper or baking mat (make sure it can withstand the heat!). This is why we had seam side up in the banneton! Now if you want you can use a bread lame, or a knife and cut a design into the top of your loaf. Carefully place your loaf into the dutch oven, replacing the lid. Allow to bake at 500F/260C for 20 mins. Lower the oven to 450F/232C, remove dutch oven lid (marvel at your beautiful loaf). Bake for another 20-30 mins. Here you get to decide how dark you would like crust. The longer you bake the darker and more cartelized the crumb will become.
When at desired color, remove and allow to cool completely or break the rules and enjoy a warm piece of delicious bread!
My favorite Chocolate Chip Cookies!
Servings: about 32- 100g cookies
Prep Time: 25-49 hours
Cook Time: 20 mins at 350 degrees F
Ingredients:
4 Sticks of unsalted butter
450 g white granulated sugar
340 g light brown sugar
6 egg yolks
1 TBSP vanilla extract
480 g 100% hydration starter
764 g bread flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
2- 10oz bags chocolate chips or 1- 10oz bag of chocolate chips and your choice of nuts!
Directions:
Brown the butter till amber in color. Keep an eye on it so it does not burn! Allow to cool to room temp, about 74 degrees—cream together sugar, brown sugar, egg yolks, starter, vanilla extract, and cooled butter. In a separate bowl, sift flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder. Incorporate into wet mixture slowly. Once thoroughly combined, fold in chocolate chips and or nuts! Form cookie dough balls and place them on a lined baking sheet. Wrap and allow to cool in the fridge for 24-48 hours! When ready to bake, preheat your oven to 350 F. I like to bake for 10 minutes, then turn the sheet for the final 10 minutes, Giving the cookies an even bake! ( Although this may be unnecessary if you have a convection oven.) Allow to cool or not (I love cookies straight out of the oven!) and ENJOY!
Want easy cookies for another day? Before baking, save the dough balls in the freezer for another day! be sure to wrap dough to protect against freezer burn. Typically good for 3 months. Take dough out of the freezer an hour before then bake as usual.
Happy baking Friends!
Tag me in your sourdough pics @gardening_suburbia on Insta!
