This is for a few friends at the DANCE lab that are just getting started in their sourdough adventure and needed a few starting tips.

Introduction to ~fermentation~

Welcome to the amazing world of fermentation! That’s right! You have a bunch of lovely bacteria and wild yeasts that will help you make fantastic sourdough bread, rolls, and treats galore.

For a more technical definition, a sourdough starter is a leavening agent in baking. It has it’s own quirks just like regular yeast or baking soda. Because it’s technically a living thing, it tends to get more picky with what it eats and grows in. But what it does eat it turns into carbon dioxide which is the rising agent for baking. Sourdough starters have been used for thousands if not hundreds of thousands of years. Old starters have been found as far back as ancient egypt in 3700 BCE but it’s likely that fermentation practices started even further back (according to the Encyclopedia of Food Microbiology, 2nd edition, pg. 309) Only once baker’s yeast started to become commercially available as a by product of the beer business (roughly 1871) did sourdough practices started to die off.

It should be in glass most of the time (all plastic is permeable in some way or another) but should be given the ability to breath. My favorite method is to put it in a glass mason jar and secure the top with a towel and a rubber band.

PICTURE HERE OF MY BEAUTIFUL BABY BOY STERLING

Just like with any leaving thing you need to feed it. But, like a cat, it doesn’t need to be super consistent. If you’re not planning on using it anytime soon, feed it and pop it in the fridge for a few weeks. Starter is surprisingly resilient and will usually spring back after a few feedings outside of the fridge.

But what should you feed this wonderful conglomerate? A typical feeding as measured in grams (oh yeah, a scale will be your best friend in sourdough baking) is 1 part flour, 1 part water, and a bit of starter. How fast it ferments depends on how much starter you add, the ambient temperature, what minerals are in your water, etc. etc.

If you forget to feed your starter one day or leave it in the fridge to lay dormant for a while, it will probably develop a blackish water floating on top of your starter. FEAR NOT! That’s actually the sign of a healthy starter. It’s getting rid of stuff it doesn’t need as it lies sleeping. Just dump off the liquid and feed your starter as normal. It might need a little more water to get the consistency right but it doesn’t matter terribly.

Working with sourdough is a combination art and science. One the one hand, most recipes are measured in grams, starters can be sensitive to the most random things, and you tend to get the most consistent results if you yourself are consistent. On the other hand, there are many bakers who go purely by consistency and vibe of the dough and their creations turn out fantastic (I stand by the fact that it’s subconscious experience on their part but whatever). What ever you do, starters are strong and surprisingly resilient! If it looks or feels like you killed it, take a little bit of starter and try to revitalize it in a new jar with daily feedings.

Recipes

Here are a few of my favorite sourdough recipes I’ve tried over the past year or so.

• Chef John’s Sourdough Bread The most quintessential sourdough recipe, the basic loaf. Tho many call it “basic”, I call it delicious with everything that I pair it with. It works well in a loaf pan as well as round and on a baking sheet. Just make sure you get some steam in there to get a nice crackly crust. You also don’t need to use bread flour if you don’t have it. All-purpose is fine.
• Sourdough Monkey Bread A sweet treat with a lovely tang.
• Pumpkin Sourdough Bread Fall in bread form (especially when paired with maple butter). You don’t have to go the extra mile with the pumpkin shape, I just shape it like I do a normal loaf. Squash puree is a good substitute if you don’t want to buy canned pumpkin.

Reach out to me if you have any and all questions, I love talking about fermentations!