In this step-by-step guide, I’m showing you how to make a 100% hydration sourdough starter from scratch. All you need is 2 easy ingredients and anyone can harness the power of natural yeast and cultivate a sourdough starter!
Like all ferments, sourdough breadmaking requires you to harness the cultivation of natural yeast. There is natural yeast on the grains and in the air!
100% sourdough starter means that it is made from equal parts flour and water;)
Sourdough Starter is Made by Cultivating LIVING Yeast That’s Already Around Us!
First, let me show you how to establish and maintain a healthy starter with only 2 ingredients, flour, and water. Sourdough starter can be used to make a variety of bread… I’ll show you how!
Sourdough starter can be cultivated and maintained forever. Families pass down their sourdough starters from one generation to the next.
Once you feel the magic of sourdough bread making, you’ll want to try new recipes with it! You’ll be able to use your starter to create the bread of your dreams!
Commercial Yeast VS Wild Yeast
Yeast is a fungus to make bread rise and get fluffy. The difference in the yeast that you buy at the store, and the yeast that you can harness and cultivate around us, is its purity.
“Pure” yeast was made commercially available in the 1870s and is only a few selected strains of yeast. Wild yeast in grain, and all around you in the air, is biodiverse with several strains and other microorganisms.
How To Make Sourdough Starter From Scratch:
First things first… Let’s make a sourdough starter! Sourdough starters are easy to make. It’s as simple as mixing equal amounts of water and flour in a bowl and leaving it on the kitchen counter for a few days.
The work is the maintenance of your starter. The sourdough starter requires regular feeding to develop and live.
Every day stir into your starter a couple of tablespoons of fresh flour and fresh water. Then, stir the mixture several times a day as you pass by. This is the process I use:
Step By Step Instructions To Make Sourdough Starter
- In a small glass bowl mix, 2 tablespoons of unchlorinated water with 2 tablespoons of any type of flour. TIP: Use cooled-off potato water instead of tap water (water used to boil potatoes in) is full of nutrients that natural yeasts love and will help your starter to thrive!
- Cover your bowl with a thin cloth (like cheesecloth) that will allow air to circulate but will also keep flies out.
- Store your bowl in a room temp area of your kitchen with good airflow. (If you have granite counters, store your starter bowl on top of another washcloth. Granite seems to keep it too cold.)
- Stir your mixture a few times each day to mix the yeasts that are developing and stimulate the process.
- Every day scoop out half your mixture and through it out. (You only do this till starter is active). Then add 2 tablespoons fresh non-chlorinated water and 2 tablespoons fresh flour and mix vigorously.
- . After 3-5 days, you will see small air bubbles at the top of your mixture (that aren’t caused by your mixing). This is how you can tell that your starter is coming to life!
- Continue this process till your sourdough starter becomes frothy. (As pictured in the 3rd glass cup pictured above!)
***After you’ve grown a thick bubbly starter, it’s ready to use – I’ll show you how! Make sure to SAVE A LITTLE of the starter when using it. Mix the saved starter with the same amount of flour and water that you removed to make bread, and maintain it for the next time you make bread!***
Test To See If Your Sourdough Starter is Active
If you haven’t used your sourdough starter in a while, or if you left it on the counter and forgot to feed it… You may be wondering if your starter is still alive!
To test your starter, just put 1/2 a cup of sourdough starter in a cup and stir in 1/2 a teaspoon of baking powder. If it starts rising and becomes frothy and airy… It is alive and well! If the starter does not react within 5 minutes, you should start a new batch!
How To Maintain & Store Your Starter!
Sourdough starter can live forever if you maintain it. If you plan on using it daily, you can store it on your kitchen counter as before, with regular feeding of water and flour.
If you don’t plan on using it as frequently, STORE IT IN THE REFRIGERATOR. Store your starter in the refrigerator to slow yeast activity, and you’ll only need to feed and water it 1ce a week.
Take your sourdough starter out of the refrigerator the day before you plan on using it. Put your starter on your kitchen counter and feed it. If you do this the day before using it, your starter yeasts will be active and ready to work.
If you forget to feed and water your starter it will go acidic. You will see a watery substance on the top of your starter. You can save your starter up to a point. To revive your starter, first, pour the watery substance off, then feed and water it.
If neglected sourdough starter first goes acidic, and then it goes rancid. If this happens, you’ll have to start over. Your sourdough starter will last forever however if it’s fed & maintained!
What Kinds Of Flour Can You Use In Sourdough Starter?
- Wheat Flour
- White Flour
- Rice Flour
- Rye Flour
- Einkorn Flour
What If Your First 1 Batch Of Bread Isn’t Fluffy
If you start making sourdough bread before your starter is fully ready… The loaf will be dense and heavy. DON’T STOP!
Your sourdough starter will be better every day! Keep it on the counter, and continue to feed it! You will notice it becomes frothier, and each loaf of sourdough bread will get fluffier and better every time!
Sourdough Starter
7 easy steps to a sourdough starter that can last for generations!
Ingredients
- Equal Parts Flour
- Equal Parts Water
Instructions
- In a small glass bowl mix, 2 tablespoons of unchlorinated water with 2 tablespoons of any type of flour. TIP: Use cooled-off potato water instead of tap water (water used to boil potatoes in) is full of nutrients that natural yeasts love and will help your starter to thrive!
- Cover your bowl with a thin cloth (like cheesecloth) that will allow air to circulate but will also keep flies out.
- Store your bowl in a room temp area of your kitchen with good airflow. (If you have granite counters, store your starter bowl on top of another washcloth. Granite seems to keep it too cold.)
- Stir your mixture a few times each day to mix the yeasts that are developing and stimulate the process.
- Everyday scoop out half your mixture and through it away (you only do this till starter is bubbly)
- Then, Every day add 2 tablespoons fresh non-chlorinated water and 2 tablespoons fresh flour and mix vigorously. Set back on the counter and cover with a light towel.
- After 3-5 days, you will see small air bubbles at the top of your mixture (that aren't caused by your mixing). This is how you can tell that your starter is coming to life!
- Continue this process till your sourdough starter becomes frothy. (As pictured in the 3rd glass cup pictured above!)
What To Do With Sourdough Starter: Sourdough Bread & Sourdough Pancakes
Fresh sourdough breads and pancakes are soooo much better than plain yeast or baking powder breads, sourdough waffles, and pancakes! The sourdough gives your breads a depth of flavor and satisfaction you can’t get anywhere else.
Your active starter can be used to make all kinds of bread, except the commercially produced kind in grocery stores.
It’s funny how bread is synonymous with spiritual & physical sustenance! For example, Jesus is the “bread of life”. We nicknamed money “dough”… And then there’s the nickname for cute butts, “buns”.
Bread is more than just food… It represents LIFE and the WORK of civilizations…
In Genesis 3:19 Adam was told, “by the sweat of thy brow shalt thou eat bread all the days of thy life.” Bread represents hard work: The work of farmers who grow the wheat or gain, those that work to ensure sources of water, and the work of those hands that knead, form, and bake bread.
After you’ve got your sourdough starter going, learn how to make sourdough breads and pancakes that you are going to LOVE!
Why Sourdough?
- Sourdough predigests grains making them more bio-available to absorb into our bodies, and easier to digest! Hence, sourdough bread is more nutritious!
- Lower gluten in sourdough bread. – Many folks with IBS, gluten intolerance, and gluten sensitivity can tolerate sourdough bread because it is predigested by probiotic bacteria!
- Fermenting bread reduces the phytic acid in grains.
- Sourdough bread has a lower glycemic index than regular bread.
- You don’t need to buy commercial yeast!
- It’s probiotic!
- Depth of flavor you can’t get anywhere else!
- Sense of satisfaction making with your own hands!
Use Your Sourdough Starter in these Sourdough Recipes
- Sourdough Bread For Beginners
- Dutch Oven Sourdough Bread
- Flat Bread
- Soft Sourdough Rolls
- Buttery Sourdough Dinner Rolls
- Fluffy Sourdough Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls
- Sourdough Pumpkin Bread
- Tortillas
- Sourdough Apple Fritters
- Easy Sourdough Starter Waffles
- Sourdough Biscuits
- Pizza Crust
- SOURDOUGH PUMPKIN STREUSEL COFFEECAKE!
- The Most Popular types of Sourdough Bread & Recipes
- Sourdough Pancakes
Making Sourdough Starter…
Oh, the joy of making sourdough starter
It’s a task that’s sure to make you a little smarter!
But the end result, oh it’s a wonder
A loaf of bread, that’s truly a plunder!
First, you’ll need some flour, water, and time
Mix it all together, it’s not a crime
Let it sit, and ferment, it’s not a mime
Soon enough, it’ll be ready to chime!
The smell of sourdough, it’s not for the faint
But for the true bread lover, it’s a saint
The taste of homemade bread, it’s simply quaint
It takes patience and practice, it’s true
But the joy of making sourdough, it’s worth the ado
As you mix and knead, you’ll feel anew
And soon enough, you’ll have bread that’s a view
Spread some butter, or make a sandwich so grand
Sourdough bread, it’s not just a trend, it’s a brand
It’s a treat that’ll make your heart expand
The joy of homemade bread, it’s simply so grand!
So if you’re looking for a culinary adventure…
If you want to make bread that’ll leave you in rapture, Consider sourdough starter, it’s a capture! It’s a treat that’ll make your heart beat faster!
Sourdough production can be considered one of the oldest biotechnology processes because it has been used in bread manufacture for thousands of years.
Today, sourdough baking involves the improvement of flavor, texture, and microbiological shelf-life of bread. Fermentations are based on the unique symbiosis of certain lactic acid bacteria and yeasts. Sourdough appreciation has grown worldwide, but mainly in artisanal bakeries due to the difficulties and costs of maintaining a live microbial culture (sourdough starter) in industries.
To reduce the need for sourdough starter maintenance, researchers have evaluated drying techniques, such as freeze-drying and spray-drying, to preserve high fermentation capacity and cell viability after reconstitution. The main idea of the present review is to identify how drying processes can help to obtain a shelf-stable sourdough starter whose microorganisms are in an inactive state but could be reactivated at fermentation time.
As drying technologies can strongly influence microbial viability, the flavor, and the shelf life of the final product, distinct specifications are required in each technique. Freeze-drying, for example, requires the presence of a cryoprotectant to prevent cell damage during the freezing moments. In spray-drying, the inlet and outlet temperatures are critical parameters that affect microorganism survival.
The conditions and solvents used for dried powder rehydration are an important step to recover dried cells of the sourdough starter, as well as the starter activation before fermentation. Freeze-drying and spray-drying show great potential to increase the widespread use of sourdough on an industrial scale.
https://pubag.nal.usda.gov/catalog/7415111