In this post and the accompanying video, I’m going to walk you through what I’ve learned are the essentials of creating and maintaining a healthy sourdough starter. By the time you finish, you’ll know exactly what you need to do to get your sourdough starter up and running.
Hi, Old Fuzz Face here. Let’s pick up where I left off in my post Sourdough Bread for a Practical Man. – There I made two simple statements: “Give me a good loaf of crusty bread.” – “Okay, if you can’t give me what I want, then I’ll make it myself.”
That’s just what I’ve been doing since April 12th, 2023. – But I couldn’t have made that first loaf of bread without Mrs. Patmore, my sourdough starter.
Sourdough baking has become popular, but people find the whole starter process mysterious and intimidating. Since I’m a practical man I had to break through the mystery, find the simple truth, and build my confidence. – A year ago, I did just that. – I did it by reading, viewing YouTube videos, and lot’s of practical practice.
What’s a Sourdough Starter?
“So, what’s a sourdough starter? – Answering this question is as simple or complex as you want to make it. – But I’m a practical man. I just want to make a good loaf of bread. So, all you really need to know is:
A sourdough starter is a mixture of flour and water that has been fermented by naturally occurring wild yeast and lactic acid bacteria. It serves as a natural leavening agent in bread baking, providing flavor, texture, and rise to the dough.
Creating Your Own Starter
Folks, the bottom line is: There are many ways to get your own sourdough starter. If you’re a practical person like me and you don’t have time to waste, call up one of your friends or go to a health food store to get what you need.
That’s why, after two miserable failures, Chef Blondie and I bought a San Francisco Sourdough Style Starter Culture made by Cultures for Health.
We began making the starter on March 28th. We followed the instructions precisely. By April 11th we had sourdough starter mature enough to make this loaf of bread.
It wasn’t very pretty, to be sure. But that loaf was tasty. – Since that day, Mrs. Patmore has served us faithfully. We have shared her with several friends. She’s a great companion in the kitchen.
Sourdough Starter – Feeding & Maintenance
There are many different regimens that can be used to feed and maintain your sourdough starter. Your requirements concerning the number of loaves per week, additional sourdough recipes, such as muffins, crackers, etc. will determine how much starter you need. For example, I’m a more casual baker and I only need one or two cups of starter per week. So, much of the time I can store my starter (Mrs. Patmore) in the refrigerator.
Here’s the basic five-step feeding and maintenance cycle I use with Mrs. Patmore and my master sourdough bread recipe when I’m baking only one loaf per week:
Step 1: Remove from Refrigerator
On the day when the dough is to be prepared, remove the starter from the refrigerator. (There is usually less than a cup of starter in the container.)
When we get to step 5, you will find out that this starter was fed just before it was stored in the refrigerator. So, once the starter gets to room temperature, it will reactivate and begin to grow in volume.
Step 2: Feed & Allow to Develop
Two or three hours prior to preparing the dough, feed the starter with a quarter cup of flour and about the same amount of filtered water. Now that Mrs. Patmore is warm and fed, she’s really ready to get to work.
Step 3: Use in Bread or Other Recipe
By the time you’re ready to prepare your bread dough, your starter should be full of big bubbles. It should smell milky sweet and slightly sour. Now you have a vibrant starter.
Step 4: Refresh Your Sourdough Starter
Soon after using your starter, refresh the starter. That is feed it as you did earlier in step 3.
Step 5: Store in Refrigerator
Return the starter to the refrigerator and store until your next baking day.
As I said earlier, if you are a more casual sourdough baker like me, you can keep your starter in the fridge. If you do, you should feed it once a week. Then, on the day before you want to bake, give it one or two feedings at room temperature before using it to bake.
Now, watch the video and learn just how easy creating and maintaining a good sourdough starter can be.
Resources
For a really in-depth understanding of sourdough starter read:
Calvert MD, Madden AA, Nichols LM, Haddad NM, Lahne J, Dunn RR, McKenney EA. 2021. A review of sourdough starters: ecology, practices, and sensory quality with applications for baking and recommendations for future research. PeerJ 9:e11389 https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.11389
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Looks and sounds delicious! I’m hungry now even though I just ate.