Basics of Sourdough Part 1

First of all, I want to make it clear that I am no expert when it comes to sourdough. That being said, please also note that if I can do it--so can you. It may take a bit of experimenting, but if you've always wanted to try your hand at making a yummy sourdough loaf, then go for it! It can be a fun adventure that helps you gain skills which not only give you a healthier bread today, but will prepare you for whatever may come in the future. So read on.......

Bread has been considered the "staff of life" of civilization for centuries. Bread had it's humble beginnings with just flour and water. But as time went on, mankind came to learn that if you allow the dough to sit, something magical would happen. Collecting natural yeasts from the air, the dough became bubbly. When baked the product would rise and give a lighter, tastier bread than the flat breads of the past.

No one knows for sure when sourdough got its start (no pun intended!) but it has been around at least since 1500 BC in Egypt. European bakers have perfected sourdough through the centuries. It was a common way to bake bread in early America, being especially popular with trappers, gold miners, and Ma from Little House on the Prairie.

The yeast we know today got its start with leftover brewery from beer making. This type of yeast still required the baker to allow the dough to sit with several risings, thus allowing some breakdown of the gluten and starches in the bread. Modern bread raised with commercial yeast is rather new on the baking scene, mainly since WWII.  It makes sense from a marketing perspective. This allows the commercial baker to create a dough that can go from creation to oven to the store's shelf in a short amount of time. However, this bread for the masses lacks many of the nutritional benefits of the old-timers ways, and may even create some health problems.

Enough with the history lesson.....

This blog post will include the basics of creating your own starter. Part two will outline health benefits to using sourdough, as well as a few recipes--and perhaps a couple of other things thrown in for good measure.

To make your own sourdough bread or biscuits or pancakes or whatever, you first need to have a bubbly active start. There are two basic ways of achieving this.


Sourdough Basics Step 1:

Making your own Starter:

Your basic ingredients are just flour and water. You may use unbleached white flour, but keep in mind that rye, spelt, and wheat give great results....in that order. If you live in Utah County, a great resource for organic grains of all kinds is Greg Hall at khorasanmills@gmail.com. He does frequent group buys for grains such as spelt, kamut, different types of wheat, emmer, and einkorn. I've learned a lot more about grains from Greg. The quality can't be beat.

Remember, this starter is only a portion of your bread, so you can always combine other flours when you actually make the bread. The reason rye and spelt give excellent results are because they contain more wild yeasts and natural sugars than plain wheat. Experiment and see what works for you. I've actually enjoyed using kamut as well.

As for water, try to use filtered water, as the chlorine will not be a welcome ingredient in your starter, as it may kill the natural yeast you are trying to cultivate. If tap water is your only resource, measure out your water toasty warm, and let it sit on the counter for 10 minutes to allow the chlorine to dissipate.

In 6 easy steps, here's how to get started.

1. In a clean glass bowl, put 1 cup of flour and 1 cup of room temperature or luke-warm water and mix well. Also, a large clean glass jar works well too.

Flour and water just starting to ferment

Bubbly sourdough ready for cooking

2. Cover with plastic wrap, or a clean cloth.

3. Let it sit in the warmest reasonable place possible in your kitchen. On top of the refrigerator works well for many. You want to keep it between 70 to 85˚. Don't let it get about 90˚. I like to put mine in the microwave with the light on. Just don't cook while your sourdough is in there!            

4. Sourdough starter at room temperature like be fed twice a day. Some people tell you you can do it  only once a day, but you insure a healthier start if done twice daily. Also, make sure you are feeding it enough. If you are giving 2 cups of starter only 1 Tablespoon of flour, it will starve to death. (I learned this one the hard way.) Each feeding of the starter should be enough to double it in size. How much the organisms eat depends, in part, on how much food is available. If you keep doubling the size of your starter, in 10 days you'll have enough to fill your living room. To avoid this awkward situation, each time you go to feed your starter, take half it out and set it aside. You may discard it, feed it to the chickens, or use it in pancake batter. Each feeding should be equal amounts of water and flour. A nice rule of thumb is 1 part starter, 1 part flour, and 1 part warm water. If it seems too thin, you can add a little more flour. It should have the consistency of thin pancake batter.

5. By day 3-4 it should start getting bubbly and yeasty smelling, perhaps like beer. This is the desired effect, and indicates an active ferment.

6. After one week, if the starter is very bubbly within an hour or two after feeding it, you're ready to make your first batch of bread from it! If it is not bubbly or "rising" at all, you will be disappointed and discouraged at any bread-making efforts, and it would be best to let it sit for another week (or see my *cheating hint below). However, keep feeding it as directed.

If your starter develops a yellowish or brownish-blackish liquid on the surface, simply stir it in. It is called hooch, and is perfectly normal. You may want to slightly decrease your liquid-flour ratio so the starter becomes thicker and less watery.

Don't be alarmed at any beery, yeasty odors coming from your starter. If it seems too strong, replace the lid or plastic wrap with a clean cloth and a rubber band. This allows it to "breathe" and sometimes helps.

A dark crust may also develop, especially if you run a starter on the thick side or if you forget to stir or feed it for a few days. Just lift the crust off or if it's not bad, or stir it in. If it looks or smells moldy, carefully clean it off the top and discard. Sometimes if the starter is smelling bad and just isn't working it is best to throw it away and start again.

*Cheating: Once my starter just didn't seem to have enough umph. So I tried an experiment. I added a sprinkle of probiotic powder I had in my fridge. Sure enough! Within a few hours my starter was bubbly and active with a very pleasant sourdough aroma. The bread turned out excellent as well.

Once your sourdough start is bubbly and can be used for your recipes, you can take 1 cup of the start (or more if you’d like), put in a covered jar in the fridge. Then you can pull it out the night before you want to make your bread, feed your start, put it in a warm place, and it should be bubbly and ready to use the next morning. (Just make sure you take out your start to save for the next time.)

If, for some reason, you are not going to use the start for an extended period of time, just pull it out of the fridge and feed it every 1-2 weeks or so. Let it get bubbly, and then put it back in the fridge. If you know it will be longer than a couple of weeks until you get to it, you can also freeze your starter. When you are ready to bake again, pull it out and let it thaw. Begin to feed it as outlined above, and you should be good to go.

Another way to preserve it would be to dry some. Spread some active sourdough start thinly on a plate. Allow to air-dry, then take the flakes and put them in a ziplock bag in the freezer for good measure. When ready to use, mix in with your flour and water, and watch it grow.

Another example of a beautiful bubbly start ready to bake with

Sourdough Basics Part 2

Someone gives you a start

This is the easiest way to go, as someone else has gone to the trouble of growing the lovely organisms for you. The truth is, after a few weeks of sitting on your counter, the organisms that are in your sourdough are the ones from your own environment. But it always makes things easier when someone else gives you the start.

Once you have a start, feed it at least daily if on your counter, and every other week if in your refrigerator. Experiment with it and have fun.

If you are wanting a real in-depth class on doing sourdough, check out a class being held in Highland, Utah on May 3rd called "Natural Yeast and Grains for Health Summit" put on by Caleb Warnok. It's $39 per person before April 25th, so if you are interested, register now. To contact him, or learn more information go to:
http://calebwarnock.blogspot.com/2014/04/natural-yeast-grains-for-health-summit.html