MAKING A SOURDOUGH STARTER
The desire to bake bread
If you love bread and have wandered into the ways of breadmaking eventually you may want to try making sourdough bread. One needs a starter to use in the bread. The starter is used in place of yeast to make the bread rise and has a sour taste. You can get a starter in multiple places. You can start your own, or you may know a friend or family member who has one in their refrigerator and would give you a dollop or two to feed and make your own sourdough mix. You can order a starter from multiple places online, I have always wanted to get one from King Arthur Flour as they say their starter is over 100 years old. King Arthur Soughdough Starter
What Is Sourdough?
It is a moist, and fermented starter you store until you use and it is also your baked goods. From your bread, rolls, cornbread, pizza, pretzels, to pancakes, waffles, and biscuits. You use the starter rather than yeast to make and bake. According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary,
Definition of sourdough
: a leaven consisting of dough in which fermentation is active
: a type of dough that is allowed to ferment before it is baked and that has a slightly sour taste
There is no wrong way to make sourdough. The type and amount of flour to the consistency of the starter based on the liquid to dry ratio is all a personal choice. Eventually, when I can find GMO free Cornmeal, I think I will make a cornmeal sourdough starter. The type of liquid can and will vary based on the recipes and guideline you look up on how to make a starter. I have seen milk, whey, to pineapple juice added to the starter liquid. An interesting video I watched in my search is of an old family recipe from a youtube channel called: Food Farmer Earth. Their highlighted family recipe uses milk as the liquid. I might consider making a milk-based sourdough starter also, but I would want to use raw milk.
You are surrounded by bacteria!
No matter where you are or where you live there are friendly bacteria surrounding you in and around your home. Wild yeast floating in your home and on the flour type you choose to use will combine and begin the fermentation process. The final result will be a sourdough starter that you store on your counter if you bake bread often or one you store in your refrigerator and feed weekly until you need it again. The cool environment slows down fermentation but does not stop it. I have heard tell of folks who forget to feed it and recover it back out on the counter adding in flour and water. It is as simple as setting it out to come to room temperature.
I made many attempts at making my own starter before I was finally successful. It wasn't because it was hard, but that I forgot I was making it and would forget to feed it. It would get pushed back on the counter and would dry out. One day I just had all the magic work, science and my memory and now I have a happy starter I use.
How do bacteria make bread?
Wild yeast is the bacteria that is all around us in our environment. it comes out to play in all countertop fermentations. Whether it is sauerkraut or sourdough wild yeast enter the mix and begin fermentation. In all fermentation Lactobacillus that is also in the air meet up with the wild yeasts and combine with the flour-water mixture and begin to eat the simple sugars that exist in flour. Over time the yeast feeding on the sugars creates the carbon dioxide bubbles that we begin to see. The sour taste is the regular feeding we give the yeasts and Lactobacillus as they create the carbon dioxide. Upon combining a portion of this bubbling mixture to your bread recipe you don't need yeast as you have captured the wild yeast from your home and put it to work. Once the loaf of bread rises, the yeast begins to die, but the carbon dioxide is still trapped and your bread has formed. Bake and eat!!!
Making Your Own Starter
When I finally made mine I opted for simple 1 Cup dry to a half a cup liquid.
I used 1/2 cup organic white flour and 1/2 cup organic whole wheat flour. You don't have to use organic, nor both white and wheat you can use 1 cup of either. I chose the 1/2 cup each.
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| Flour and Water |
Mix them well.
Then cover.
I used a 7-day method. 3 days at 24-hour fermentation, and 4 at 12-hour fermentation. For the first 3 days. Every 24 hours discard half the mixture. add back 1 cup flour and a half cup water. One day I might add white flour and the next whole wheat.
Mix well again.
After the first couple of days, you begin to see bubbles.
For the next 4 days discard half and add back 1 cup flour to 1/2 cup water every 12 hours. It is at this time you can start to use the discard and make biscuits or pancakes. Experiment with recipes you find online till you find one that will become your favorite. I am a firm believer in trial and error until you find something that works and tastes great.
Now that your starter is finished store in the refrigerator.
When you want to make something, take out the amount that your recipe needs and add back 1 cup dry to half cup liquid. Thus, keeping it fed. If you aren't using it regularly don't forget to weekly discard some or half and add back the 1 cup dry to 1/2 cup liquid ratios. I choose to keep mine at a high level in case I bake multiple loaves of bread. No way is the right way. Through time, study and finding what works for you, you will have a sourdough starter for the rest of your life. You could become the friend or family member giving out lovely dollops of sour joy!
