Sourdough for Beginners
A sourdough starter is a living organism that requires care and feeding to stay healthy, much like a pet. My own starter is six years old and going strong, thanks to a simple routine.
How to Keep Your Sourdough Starter Alive and Thriving
To get started, get your hands on some active sourdough starter. Here’s how you can maintain your starter and keep it thriving for years to come:
Storage and Feeding Schedule
Refrigerator Storage: If you don’t bake regularly, storing your starter in the refrigerator is the best way to slow down its activity and extend the time between feedings.
Feeding Frequency: Feed your starter every two weeks to keep it healthy. However, you can stretch this to 6–8 weeks in a pinch if you’re not using it often. If you bake frequently, you can feed it more often to keep it active and ready to use.
How to Feed Your Starter
Remove and Discard: Take your starter out of the fridge and discard all but 50 grams. This prevents the starter from becoming too acidic over time. Though the word “Discard” sounds like a bad thing, it’s just an inactive starter that needs to be fed. Go to the King Arthur Flour website and search for “discard” recipes. You’ll find a treasure trove of yummy recipes. I’ll share an easy Sourdough Boule recipe below using discard, it’s the only bread recipe I make since it’s no-fail. Another great use for the discard is to share it! Simply take the discard, feed it, and pass it on!
Feed It: Mix equal parts sourdough discard, all-purpose flour, and filtered water by weight, 50g of each. Mix until smooth. If you want to make multiple loaves, discard left and feed what you have remaining. The key is to feed it in equal amounts so you could be saving 100 grams of starter so you will feed it with 100 grams each of all-purpose flour, and filtered water. The ratio will always be 1-1-1.
Let It Activate: If you’re going to be making bread the same day, leave the starter on the counter at room temperature for a few hours (ideally 4–6 hours) until it becomes bubbly and active. OR if you don’t plan on baking bread for another day or two,I feed it and then immediately return it to the refrigerator and let it double, it usually takes 12-24 hours.
Tips for Long-Term Health of Your Starter
Consistency Matters: Stick to feeding the same type of flour you typically use (e.g., all-purpose or whole wheat) for feeding. This keeps your starter stable. Always use filtered water.
Check for Signs of Life: A healthy starter will have a pleasant, tangy aroma and produce bubbles when fed. If it smells off or has mold, dispose of it. If your starter has sat in the refrigerator for two weeks or so, there may be water that has separated and on the surface, just stir it into the starter before you stir it.
Reviving a Neglected Starter: If you forget to feed it for more than 8 weeks, don’t worry! Remove any discolored top layer, feed it a few times at room temperature, and watch for signs of revival.
Don’t over-think it! Itt’s not as scary as you think it is.
A sourdough starter is surprisingly resilient when given proper care. Whether you bake weekly or only occasionally, following these steps will ensure your starter stays alive and ready to create delicious bread, pancakes, granola, or other sourdough delights!
Sourdough Bread for Beginners - Unloaf Method
Ingredients
165 grams flat, unfed, sourdough discard
400 grams filtered water, room temperature
650 grams bread flour
15 grams salt, use less if you’re watching your sodium intake
Instructions
Measure ingredients into a large mixing bowl, mix until combined, do not knead it.
Bulk ferment on the counter, covered. This can take anywhere from 3-12 hours, depending on the temperature of your home. I mix mine at night and let it rest overnight and bake in the morning. Or you could mix in the morning and bake in the evening.
Remove from the bowl with a scraper and shape into a round loaf or whatever shape you prefer. Dust with rice flour to prevent sticking.
Prep a large Dutch oven with a layer of parchment paper at the bottom and sprinkle about 1 cup dry rice on top of the parchment paper, you can pick up a large bag at Dollar Tree or another option would be to use pie beads. Place your dough on a sheet of parchment paper and carefully lift it into the Dutch oven and place on top of the rice or pie beads. Trim and tuck the parchment paper around the outer edges, be sure to leave enough paper to lift the bread out of the Dutch oven after baking!
Score the loaf with at least one long diagonal slice about 1/4 inch deep and at a slant, not straight down. There are lots of fancy ways to score the dough, I suggest searching this on YouTube.
Place the lid on the Dutch oven. Place into a cold oven (no preheating).
Set oven to 450 degrees and set a timer for 1 hour.
Once the timer goes off, set the oven to 425 degrees, remove the lid, bake uncovered for 10-15 minutes until the top is browned.
Remove from the oven, and immediately remove the bread from the Dutch oven and place on a cooling rack. Allow to cool completely before slicing.
Tips
After mixing up the ingredients to make a loaf of bread you can place it in the refrigerator overnight and all day (15 or more hours), when you’re ready to bake it, remove from the refrigerator, and let it rest on the counter, covered for 1 hour. Then pick up at instruction #3.
For a healthier option you can use half white bread flour and half whole wheat bread flour, or any other variation. I recommended making it with white bread flour starting out, so you get a feel for the consistency. Then play around from there with future loaves. Using whole wheat flour may require a little more water, start with the required amount and then add more water1 tablespoon at a time. If you happen to add too much water, just add a little bit more flour to balance it out.
If this is too much bread for you to eat within a few days, slice it, then freeze and thaw as you need it.
