You brought your sourdough starter home and now what do you do with it? I will show you how to store your sourdough starter, what is sourdough starter and how to feed sourdough starter! Also, some frequently asked questions.
The most common thing you can do with starter is to make sourdough bread! It is beautiful and crunchy on the outside, but so soft on the inside. I will walk you step by step on how to make bread in my post How to make sourdough bread. This post will focus on the basics of sourdough starter.
What is sourdough starter?
Sourdough starter is a mixture of flour and water that is fermented by naturally occuring bacteria in our environment. It replaces store bought yeast in bread recipes.
Why would I want sourdough starter?
Sourdough is fermented. If you are new to the sourdough world or healthy living world, fermented foods are super healthy for our guts. Sourdough specifically, is easier for our bodies to digest, has less gluten, and is more nutritious. AND IT IS DELICIOUS!
Can I only use sourdough starter once? it is called discard when you dont use it for making bread
No, I will show you below how to keep your starter alive and well and hopefully be able to pass down to generations!
Sourdough starter FAQ:
Why wont my starter rise? It is probably cold, put it in a warm place or put it in the oven on a plate with the oven light on.
What does it mean when the starter needs to rise? Your starter will double in size after you feed it.
Feed a starter meaning? You give it the mixture of flour and water it needs. I have found that 3/4 cup water and 1 cup of flour is the appropriate amount. If your house is dry, add 2 tablespoons of water when feeding on top of the 3/4 cup of water.
What do I do with my starter when I am not making bread? Feed it, let it rise, put a tight fitting lid on it and put it in the fridge.
Directions for when I take my starter out of the fridge? Let it come to room temperature, feed it at least once, but sometimes it may need a bulk feed to come back to active state.
What does it mean to have an active starter? In short, it means that it needs to double in size within 12 hours and it is bubbly and stretchy.
Bulk feed starter meaning? That means you feed your starter, give it time to rise (usually 6 hours or so), then feed it again. It usually only needs this if you haven’t used it in a while.
This is not an exhaustive list, but it should give you good insight in the world of sourdough.
Now onto the good stuff….
What to do with sourdough starter
You received your sourdough starter and now have no idea what to do with it! Let me help you! I will make this easy!
Materials
- 1. quart sized mason jar
- 2. jar of sourdough discard or 2 tablespoons
- 3. long stirring utencil
- 4. cling wrap/shower cap
Instructions
- dump your sourdough starter into a mason jar
- add 3/4 cup water into jar with starter and stir together
- add 1 cup of flour and stir (it will be thick and sticky)
- mark with sharpie, a line of the height of sourdough starter. (You will want to see it double in size within 12 hours)
- cover with shower cap/plastic wrap and put in a warm area. If your house is cooler, put mason jar in the oven with oven light on. Put a plate under the mason jar in case it bubbles over.
- DO NOT GET RID OF ANY SOURDOUGH STARTER OR RINSE JAR AT THIS POINT, YOU WILL REUSE JAR AND STARTER LEFT IN THE JAR.
When it has doubled in size, you are ready to make bread!
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Important info:
If you want to make bread, you have to have fed it the day before, preferably within 12 hours and use the starter before it starts sinking back down.
If you arent making bread just feed the starter and put a tight fitting lid on it and put it in the fridge.
Thank you friend
Thank you so much for stopping by. I hope you enjoyed your time here, if this was helpful please share, like or comment!
Want to buy sourdough starter from me, visit my shop at http://sugarcreekfarmco.com
If there is any way I can pray for you please email me at ministryofthehomemaker@gmail.com
Tiffany
Thank you so much this is a huge help💜 for all this information!
Thank you so much for your comment! I am so glad it is helpful! Stay tuned for how to make sourdough bread with the starter!
Great ideas! I’ll be coming back to this one. Thank you for sharing your wisdom ❤️
Thank you! It is the best way I have learned to make it and I am so happy to share my knowledge on it!