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I’ve had my sourdough starter for about a year now and I use it at least three times a week! It has become a staple in my family’s kitchen.
What is sourdough and sourdough starter?
Simply put, sourdough is a mixture of fermented flour, water and salt.
Sourdough starter is a colony of symbiotic bacteria that act as the leavening agent used to bake sourdough bread.
Before yeast was isolated and sold in convenient packets that you can find at your local supermarket, families used the naturally occurring yeast in sourdough starter to make their bread products rise.
Like a family heirloom, this starter would be passed down from generation to generation.
Sourdough starters require a lot of love and attention in order to maintain the colony of yeast and bacteria. This is because the bacteria is ALIVE!
What is in the sourdough starter?
Two main components that make up the microbes in your starter are lactic acid bacteria and wild yeast.
Lactic acid bacteria is what gives the sourdough bread its sour taste. Lactic acid bacteria creates an acidic environment for the wild yeast to thrive off of.
Wild yeast is found in the air of our environment and produces the enzymes amylase and maltase.
These enzymes break down starches into simple sugars that the lactic acid bacteria feed off of.
The yeast also works by fermenting simple sugars and producing gas in the form of carbon dioxide. The enzyme responsible for this process is invertase.
This process helps to leaven the dough.
Health benefits of sourdough
Phytic acid is an antinutrient, which means that it decreases the absorption of nutrients when we ingest them.
This acid is naturally occurring in grains, beans and nuts. Research suggests this is to prevent the grains from spoiling.
Our bodies were not meant to handle large amounts of phytic acid. Traditionally, we would soak and ferment our grains, seeds and beans.
This process allowed us to eliminate most of the phytic acid.
Unfortunately, this method of preparation has gotten less and less common. Thus, our consumption of phytic acid has increased.
This may be the reason why more and more people are finding that they can not tolerate grain products.
Interestingly, these same people find that they can tolerate sourdough. Why?
Because sourdough utilizes the enzyme phytase.
Phytase breaks down the phytic acid in the grains, which helps to improve digestibility and bioavailability of nutrients.
How To Make A Sourdough Starter
Let’s break the process down day by day!
Day 1: In a glass bowl or container, mix one cup of warm water with one cup of unbleached flour. Let it rest on the counter.
*Make sure that you do not use a metal utensil because it can react with your starter.
Day 2: Discard half of the mixture. Add an additional cup of flour and an additional cup of water. Mix well. Let it rest on the counter.
This is called “feeding your starter”.
Days 3-7: Repeat the process from day 2.
By day 7, your starter should be bubbly and ready to use in recipes. If it isn’t, you may need to repeat the process a few more times before you can use it.
A mature starter really takes about 1-2 months, but the 7 day mark is around the time you can use the starter in recipes instead of discarding it.
Keeping your sourdough starter happy
If you don’t plan to use it everyday, you can store your sourdough starter in the refrigerator and feed it once a week or whenever you are ready to use it.
For example, if you are looking to bake something Monday morning, take your sourdough starter out Sunday night and feed it.
If you do want to use it everyday, you will have to feed it everyday to ensure that your bacteria has enough beneficial bacteria and yeast.
Do you need to feed your sourdough starter every 12 hours or every 24 hours?
I am not the kind of person that follows hard rules, so I just feed my starter whenever I think she’s hungry.
Some things you want to look for to see if your sourdough starter needs a feeding is:
- Smell: Starter should smell like sourdough bread. If your starter starts to smell like vinegar or nail polish, it needs to be fed.
- Hooch: Hooch is a light brown liquid that will sit at the surface of your starter. If this happens, pour it off and feed your starter. You may need to increase the amount of flour you’re using if this is a recurring event.
- Warmer temperature: Bacteria love warm environments, so the warmer your environment the more often you need to check in on your starter.
Troubleshooting Some Problems
Your starter isn’t bubbly
A lot of sourdough starters go dormant on days 3-6 of the sourdough starter process.
This is totally normal so please don’t give up.
Just keep feeding it and it will bounce back. And please DO NOT throw out your perfectly good starter.
Your starter smells like feet
I mentioned this earlier but if your sourdough starter does not smell like sourdough bread, that means she is hungry and needs a good feeding.
Common Questions
Can I use any flour?
Personally, I’ve used unbleached flour and it didn’t kill my starter. However, I did notice a decrease in the quality of my starter.
Therefore, I would not recommend using unbleached flour.
Unbleached all purpose flour, whole wheat flour and einkorn flour have all worked out for me thus far.
Can I use any container?
Right now, I am using a large glass bowl like this one. Another popular option is to put it inside a wide mouth mason jar like this one.
If you’re using sourdough starter often, you will need to upgrade to a larger vessel, such as a half gallon jar.
Conclusion
I want to point out that I am still learning the very intimidating craft of baking.
My goal with my sourdough starter isn’t necessarily to make artisan quality bread. I am more interested in the actual health benefits of sourdough.
That being said, I am excited for you to begin your journey with your sourdough starter!
If you loved this post, be sure to check out my recipe for Sourdough Pizza. It uses sourdough starter and requires no prep ahead of time!
NOW I WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU!
Did your family grow up with a sourdough starter?
Do you have a fun recipe to share using discarded starter?
Let me know by leaving me a comment down below!
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