What is sourdough starter?

A sourdough starter is a mixture of flour and water that is made of naturally occurring wild yeast and bacteria. It’s used to leaven bread instead of instant, active or fresh yeast. Over time, the yeast and bacteria multiply, fermenting the dough and giving sourdough its distinctive tangy flavor and airy texture. 

How do I make a sourdough starter from scratch?

To make a sourdough starter from scratch, mix equal parts flour and water (I’d start with 30g each) in a clean jar. Leave the mixture in a warm spot in your house.  Once a day, take out 30g and feed it with fresh flour and water (30g each, do not save the discarded flour/water). After a few days, the starter will smell terrible, but keep going. Each day it will look stronger and smell better. If it smells nice and is (at least) doubling, you can use it. It can be ready by day 10, but can take up to a couple of weeks, depending on where you live and the natural yeast and bacteria that live in your air. You can also follow my tutorial here.

How often should I feed my sourdough starter?

If you keep your starter at room temperature, feed it daily, even twice a day. If you want to use it frequently, feed it each time it peaks. (Peaking is when it has risen as much as it will, and from there it will start to deflate and become less powerful and more acidic). If you store it in the refrigerator, before using it, it will need more feeds. I do not recommend using starter directly from the fridge, unless it was put in there within the last 4-6 hours and it was fed and active at that point. When using it for a recipe, make sure to bring it to room temperature and feed it 2-3 times in the 24 hours leading up to baking.

What type of flour is best for sourdough starter?

Whole grain flours, like whole wheat or rye, are best for starting a sourdough starter because they contain more nutrients and wild yeast. Once the starter is established, you can maintain it with all-purpose flour if you prefer, or bread flour to give it an extra boost of gluten strength.

How can I tell if my sourdough starter is ready to use?

A starter is ready to use when it doubles in volume within 4-6 hours of feeding a 1:1:1 ratio, has a pleasant sour smell, and produces bubbles. It should also be fairly elastic and show signs of active fermentation. But again, temperature plays a significant role in fermentation, which is what a starter is doing when it’s rising and becoming active. If you feed a starter ice cold water and leave it in a very cold room, it will take much longer to peak and be ready for baking than if you were to feed it with warm water and leave it somewhere that’s a comfortable living temperature or warm.  

How can I revive a sluggish starter, that doesn’t double when fed? It takes so long to rise!

The best thing you can do is try feeding your starter higher ratios. Ex: Take 10g of your starter and mix it with 50g flour and 35g warm water. Feeding a starter at a 1:1:1 ratio can produce an acidic starter. When bacteria to yeast balance is off it can make a sluggish and overly sour starter. You can also replace 10-20% of the flour you use to feed with whole wheat, rye, or other types of whole grain flours. The germ and bran of the grain is more nutritious and speeds up fermentation. 

Why is my sourdough bread dense or heavy?

Dense or heavy sourdough bread can result from several factors: insufficient gluten development, under-proofing (not allowing the dough to rise enough), or using a starter that isn’t strong or active enough. Make sure to fold the dough several times, let it rise long enough, and use a well-fed starter.

How long does it take to bake sourdough bread?

The total time for MAKING sourdough bread usually includes several hours for fermentation and proofing, and typically an overnight rest in the fridge, though an ambient bake is also possible. The actual BAKING time in the oven is typically around 30-45 minutes, depending on the recipe and the size of the loaf.

How should I store sourdough bread?

Store sourdough bread in a paper bag or bread box at room temperature for up to a week. Do not store your bread in a sealed plastic bag as it locks in moisture which can cause mold to grow. My favorite way to store my bread is to slice it, place a small piece of parchment paper in between each slice (to prevent sticking post freezing) and to put it in the freezer in an airtight plastic bag. This bag can be used over and over again for your bread. 

Why is my sourdough bread too sour?

If your sourdough bread is too sour, it might be due to over-fermentation or using a very active starter. In my experience, over-fermentation with a well balanced starter will result in a pleasant sour taste, whereas using an acidic starter results in unpleasant and acetone-like tang. To reduce this taste, try feeding your starter more frequently before using it in baking and at higher ratios. 

How can I make my sourdough bread crustier?

Using steam to bake your bread will give you a better crust, along with baking it until it’s a deep brown color. To help set the crust, and cool your loaf, you can place it in your turned-off, door-open, still-hot oven.

Why is my sourdough bread flat?

A flat sourdough loaf can be caused by several factors, such as inadequate gluten development (see my post on folds), insufficient proofing time, too much proofing time or a weak starter. 

Can I use sourdough starter in other recipes?

Yes! Sourdough starter can be used in a variety of recipes beyond bread, including pancakes, waffles, muffins, and even pizza dough. It adds a unique flavor and texture to many baked goods. The key to using starter in other types of baking is to give the dough or batter enough time to ferment the flour, so you get the benefits of eating a product that is a prebiotic. Simply mixing sourdough starter into a dough/batter and making it as normal will do one thing- use up starter- but it will not give you the benefits or the flavor of fermenting with a sourdough starter. 

Can I use sourdough starter directly from the fridge?

It’s best to bring the starter to room temperature and feed it 2-3 times before using it in a recipe. This ensures that the yeast and bacteria are active and ready to leaven your dough effectively. It also reduces the unpleasant acidic flavor that refrigerated starter has, which carries over into the taste of the bread. 

What is the difference between a levain and starter?

A starter is the culture that you maintain in order to make bread. It is what you use to build a levain. A levain is the portion of the starter that you use to make a particular recipe. You can keep only a small amount of starter, and feed that every time you bake, using this to make your bread. Or, you can take some starter from your container, weigh it out and feed it the exact amount you’ll need for a recipe, and that makes a levain. Starter = ongoing culture that you maintain. Levain = specific mixture you use for one baking session.

What do I do with my starter when I go on vacation?

Your starter will last indefinitely in the fridge. Right before leaving, feed it 1:10:7 ratio (1 part starter, 10 parts flour and 7 parts water). Let it sit at room temp for an hour or so, then put it in the fridge. Depending on how long you are gone, there might be a layer of grey liquid on top of the starter. Simply discard that and take 10g from the bottom of the jar, and feed it 50g flour and 50g warm water. It will need 2-3 more feeds before it is ready to use. Make sure it smells nice, is at least doubling, and has good bubbles before you use it again to bake. 

How do time and temperature factor into making sourdough bread?

A quick explanation is that warmer temperatures encourage more yeast growth, which speeds up fermentation. Cooler temperatures slow fermentation, and yeast growth and speed up bacteria (more acid growth). Dough AND starter will rise faster in warm temperatures, and slower in cold temperatures. Here is a more in-depth explanation of how time and temperature affects sourdough baking. And here is the link to The Sourdough Journey website by Tom Cucuzza, giving you a baseline guide of time and temperature. This website is a treasure chest of tools and guidelines to sourdough; you will see the chart in the middle of the top of the first page. You can also google “The sourdough journey sourdough chart” and it’ll show it to you. Do not underestimate how much temperature affects your dough.

What is bulk fermentation?

Bulk fermentation (also called the first fermentation) is the time from when you add your starter to your dough (not when you mix only flour and water together, that is an autolyse) until it gets shaped and put into the fridge. This is a crucial step in the bread making process, as it’s the time that the dough undergoes its initial rise. During this process, the yeast eats the sugars in the flour and converts it into gas (CO2) that causes the dough to rise, making a risen and pleasant-to-eat loaf of bread. 

What is the difference between fermenting and proofing?

Fermenting is the time between the dough being mixed and shaped. During fermentation, the dough can be handled roughly, by being heavily mixed and folded. During proofing, and during shaping, the dough should be handled gently, so it doesn’t cause the gluten to tear and degas the dough too much. Once it is shaped, it begins to proof, or get ready for baking. This final proofing time can be done at room temperature. Most sourdough recipes call for the final proofing to be done in the fridge for an extended period of time (usually overnight, or up to 2 days). Many people prefer to do the final proofing in the fridge because it is easier to score the bread cold. The longer time allows the gluten to breakdown aiding digestion, and it helps create a more complex flavor.

What tools and equipment do I need to bake good bread?

I personally think you can bake sourdough bread with very few special tools and equipment, but I do think you need a good scale. A cheap and extremely useful multi-use tool is a bench knife. To aid in cleaning dough bowls and mixing dough, I often use a bowl scraper. The last tool I recommend if you’re going to bake regularly, is a lame, which is a holder for the razor blade you’ll use to score the dough right before going into the fridge. 

What flour and water should I use for baking?

While I don’t think you need any special water or flour, I encourage you to use water that you’d drink and flour that isn’t bleached or bromated. Buying flour that is local to you is even better, and using reputable brands like King Arthur, Bob’s Red Mill and others is great because they’re used often and trusted by the baking community. However, buying flour from local mills and buying grains from local farms will get you the best tasting and highest quality flours. Central Milling, (which is where I get my bread flour and all purpose flour), Cairnsprings, Camas Mill, Janie’s Mill are all examples of smaller mills that you can buy high quality flour from, but doing a search and finding your local millers is the best way to go. You can even buy your bread flour at the grocery store and just buy the whole grains and specialty flour from mills. It makes a huge difference in taste and texture, plus you’re supporting small businesses. 

What are baker’s percentages? How do I calculate them?

Baker’s percentages are the language that bakers use to write and share recipes, with the absolute rule being that flour amount always equals 100%. To calculate the percentage of another ingredient in a recipe, divide the weight of that ingredient by the weight of flour, then multiply by 100.

For example, if you use 1000g flour and 600g water, divide 600/1000 which equals .60. Then multiply that by 100 and you get 60, so that recipe is 60% water. You can use the same formula to calculate amounts of any other ingredient. When scaling up, simply keep the percentages the same. Here is a link to a formula calculator that easily lets you change the amounts of each ingredient when making a dough with flour, water, salt and starter.