Sourdough Starter

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Experience the taste of San Francisco with your own sourdough bread.

I don’t know what took me so long in trying to make sourdough bread. Maybe intimidation but it really is a piece of cake. LOL! No pun intended….well maybe a little.

I don’t know very many people who have sourdough starter. Matter of fact I don’t know a soul that has a starter except myself.

And why is that? I don’t quite understand because making homemade bread is so rewarding, beneficial and let alone the aromatic smell of fresh-baked bread lingering in the kitchen is heart warming.

What You Can Make With Sourdough Starter?

Did you know you can make more than bread with a sourdough starter?

Yeah, you really can. Imagine making your own baguettes, dinner rolls, English muffins, pizza crust, pancakes and I have this recipe for some awesome, out of this world, waffles!

How To Get A Sourdough Starter:

You may not realize it but most of your bread bakeries use a sourdough starter that they have used for years and it was probably handed down from their grandparents and great grandparents.

Don’t count on getting your sourdough starter from the local bakery. It would be like them giving you their ancient family secret recipe. And that ain’t happening! No way, no how.

First things first. Get a sourdough starter. Obtain a sourdough starter from friends or family, culture one from scratch or you can make one from a kit (see PRODUCTS WE LOVE below). You will only need about 1/2 cup starter to get you going. Now, what’s next?

Supplies Needed:

You will need a glass jar like this to house your starter. I like this container because it has a plastic lid and the little flip cap that will allow your starter to breathe.

Other items needed include a wooden spoon for stirring, unbleached flour for feeding your starter to keep it “alive”, warm tap water and a plastic kitchen funnel (optional). That’s it!

Feeding Your Sourdough Starter:

Place your new starter into a glass jar. Now you will need to feed it, so place your funnel on top of the jar and add 1 cup flour (you may need to use a knife to help the flour pass through the funnel) then add 1 cup warm water.

Remove funnel and stir until well mixed. Your mixture should be the same consistency of pancake batter (not too thick and not to thin).

Once you have it all mixed together put the lid on and pop the cap. Keep the glass jar on the counter and watch the starter come alive.

You should begin seeing chemistry taking place and the yeast will begin farting off CO2. The more bubbles you have the more active your starter which leads to a successful rise in your dough.

Don’t leave the starter on the counter for a long time because it will bubble over and grow right out of the jar you have it housed in.

Caring For Your Sourdough Starter:

So, you’re not ready to make anything yet? That’s okay You can put your starter in the refrigerator after you feed it.

Your starter will need to breathe so when you put it in the refrigerator it’s best to put a cloth over the top and secured it with a rubber band.

Feed It

If you are not going to be using your starter for a while you will need to feed it at least every other week using the same directions above. But before adding the flour you will first want to remove a couple of spoon fulls of the cold starter, and as much as I don’t want to say this, you can wash it down the drain then proceed with feeding it.

Make sure to clean off any of the starter that comes in contact with the opening of the jar and anywhere on the outside of the jar because if left on there it will dry rock hard.

If your starter has been in the refrigerator for an extended period of time and you see a grey watery liquid on top- that’s ok. Just pour out the liquid into the sink and discard about two heaping tablespoons of the starter and then proceed to feeding it.

Some recipes will call for using unfed starter. When you see this you can take your starter out of the refrigerator let it sit on the counter for a while and remove however much the recipe calls for. Then you will need to feed your starter.

Congratulations, you now have a healthy sourdough starter. I have had my same starter for around two years. It’s not hard to maintain.

As long as you continue to feed it, it will be around for a long time to come.

I AM SO EXCITED THAT YOU ARE REVIEWING THE SOURDOUGH STARTER INSTRUCTIONS. IF YOU SHOULD MAKE A SOURDOUGH RECIPE PLEASE SHARE HOW IT TURNS OUT!

MAKE SURE TO USE THE HASHTAG ON SOCIAL MEDIA!

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RECIPES USING SOURDOUGH