This article walks you through some of the most frequently asked questions about sourdough bread and how/why the magic of sourdough bread works.
Sourdough starter, what is it?
A sourdough starter is a mixture of water and flour, that has a cultured bacteria in it, yeast. Yeast can be found in most grocery stores as a dehydrated bacteria colony. Many people add yeast to their breads to allow them to rise and be fluffy. Sourdough starter is a wild yeast, cultured in a controlled environment, and not shelf stable. If you left your sourdough starter out, at room temperature, and did nothing with it the yeast would die. Sourdough starter must be fed to avoid death.
What do you feed your sourdough starter?
To feed sourdough stater you add flour and water. I highly recommend using filtered water and unbleached flour. Regular tap water contains many chemicals and bacteria. It is not necessarily bad for you to drink, but it can interfere with the development of your yeast. The Berkey water filter is what I use and love! The chemicals can inhibit yeast growth and the bacteria can compete with the yeast, stunting the yeast colony’s growth. The flour should be of the best quality you can find. If that is bleached all purpose flour it will work fine. Just note, that all the health benefits from wheat berries have been removed when flour is bleached. I use King Arthur unbleached all purpose flour, and hope to one day own an electric flour mill, to mill wheat berries myself. When you feed your sourdough starter you want the flour, water, starter mixture to have the consistency of thick pancake batter. You don’t want the stater to be so thin it runs off the spoon, nor do you want it to be so thick it plops off the spoon. I use organic unbleached all purpose flour in equal parts to filtered water, ex. 3TBSP water to 3TBSP flour. It’s a good starting place, you will eventually get a feel for the right consistency and develop your own feeding preferences.
How often should I feed my sourdough starter?
This varies greatly and depends on how often you use your sourdough stater. I typically keep 1/2c-1c of starter on hand at all times, that works best for me. Some people keep more and some keep less. I personally store my stater in the refrigerator and cook with it 1-3 times per week. Some people store their starter on the counter, because they use it everyday. When you store your starter on the counter, you feed it more often than storing it in the refrigerator. Storing in the refrigerator slows down the yeasts growth and, if necessary, the colony can go months without eating. If left on the counter, you should feed your sourdough starter daily. To prepare my starter for my favorite sourdough loaf I feed 3-4TBSP water and 3-4TBSP flour the night before I want to bake bread. The goal is to have about 2 cups of starter, after growth, to have enough starter for the bread and for further uses. You need to keep back at least 1/4c of starter for your next batch. The starter typically multiplies by about half. Add in 1c flour you should get 1.25-1.5c active starter. Allow 5-8 hours for the stater to get truly active.
What is this brownish liquid on top of my stater?
That, my friend, is called hooch! It is not a sign of death or something to fear. It is alcohol that is created as the wild yeast ferment. Hooch simple means that your yeast are hungry and you should feed them. Pour off the hooch, feed your stater, and you are ready to go!
Did I kill my sourdough starter?
Probably not. I have heard stories of people leaving their starter on the counter for weeks, even months, and still being able to salvage some. The thing about bacteria, that is important to know, is they reproduce asexually. Given the right conditions and time, they can multiply into mass tons of yeast. All you need is one yeast to keep your colony going. So, I say scrape off all the yucky looking bits, find a salvageable teaspoons worth, add it to a new container, and feed it. See what happens. When in doubt don’t assume the worst!
Why should I go through the effort of making sourdough bread or maintaining a sourdough starter?
Simply put, sourdough bread is delicious and so versatile! While it might seem daunting when a recipe says it takes 12 hours, like my tasty rustic sourdough bread, sourdough is easy once you’ve done it a few times. Sourdough is also a great source of gut healthy bacteria. While not specifically healthy for you, it is a simple carb, sourdough can be a great support for your gut health. If you are more interested in supporting your gut health, I recommend looking into my fermented foods. Sourdough is also a good option if you are sensitive to gluten. The long fermentation times mean that the proteins are easier for our bodies to digest, not completely eliminating but limiting the gluten. My sister-in-law doesn’t tolerate gluten well but is able to eat my sourdough bread! A sourdough starter can also be used for much more than bread!
What can I make with sourdough stater? Or is it just bread?
You might be asking yourself, how is sourdough versatile? Sourdough starter can be used for almost anything in your life that calls for flour and water. You can make biscuits, pancakes, waffles, bread, cake, or even DUMPLINGS.
I don’t know how to knead! I cant make bread!
False! If you can play with play dough you can knead bread! Of course, there are more complicated kneading techniques, but you do what works best for you! I personally have never watched a professional knead bread and been able to mimic them. I learned what the point of kneading was, then I just finagled a technique.
Kneading, what is the point?
Simply put, kneading works the dough to encourage the formation of gluten strands. Gluten is the protein in flour that wants to be in long stands. When you are kneading dough, you are moving the gluten around, until it finds friends to hold hands with and form a longer chain. This is a super simplified version, but I think you get the point. What you don’t want to do while kneading is rip the dough. When you tear the dough, by pushing too hard, you are breaking the gluten strands and then the gluten has to work harder to reform those bonds. These long strands of gluten make up the bread structure and trap gases released by the yeast, carbon dioxide. The containment of carbon dioxide is what allows the bread to rise and have a light texture.
Why does sourdough bread rise?
When you have long, strong, gluten strands they form a structure that is able to trap gases. Why would you want to trap gas? In short, gas is what allows your bread to rise without baking soda or baking powder. While the gluten is forming into strands, the yeast, your starter, are eating simple sugars and secreting carbon dioxide. The amalase enzyme found in flour breaks down starch into a digestible simple sugar, for the yeast. When you have successfully kneaded your dough enough to form long gluten strands, and allowed enough time for the yeast to eat the sugar provided, you get a beautiful tall tasty rustic sourdough bread. The holes in your bread, the crumb, are caused by the carbon dioxide released from the yeast when they are killed with the application of heat.
Why does this recipe take so long? Can I shorten the rise times?
You can shorten the rise time, but you will sacrifice sour flavor and height. The rise times are there to allow enough time for the yeast to eat the flour available and provide enough carbon dioxide for the bread to rise appropriately in the oven. So you can shorten the rise time but there is always a trade off.
Does the temperature of my house matter?
That is an excellent question! I’m so glad you asked! Yes, the temperature at which bread rises is very important. Typical room temperature is about 73F (23C) and has yielded excellent rises in my house. If your house runs colder, you might need to extend the time, even to overnight. If your house runs warmer you might need less time. With time and experience you will recognize when your yeast are moving faster than you expected or slower. Yeast really loves to be in a warm environment, they move slower in cold rooms and faster in warm rooms.
What do I do if I don’t have all day, but still want delicious tall bread?
I would assemble the bread in the evening, do any stretch and fold that you can before bed, and then place the bread in the fridge. This will work as the bulk fermentation portion of any recipe. In the morning take the bread out and let it rise a bit more on the counter. You can bake it that morning or around lunch time! Bread is much more forgiving than it seems, I promise!
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