Sourdough 101
What started as a test, ended up here. I tend to not keep hobbies for very long but yet, here we are. I have fallen in love with making healthier food choices for me and my family. I never knew how easy it was to keep it simple. I also never realized just how many chemicals and bad things are in the foods we eat everyday.
So, for my first blog, I wanted to share my experience on making sourdough with a starter and any tips and tricks I have learned along the way.
Sourdough is one of the most simple things anyone can make with ingredients you probably already have. A little secret, a starter is just flour and water. But I want to give you some tips on starting and keeping your starter alive and eventually give you a recipe I follow to make perfect bread every time.
FLOUR - Flour being one of the two main ingredients for this oh so complicated recipe, it does matter what type of flour you are using. Any flour will work in my experience, some take a little more effort and love than others. For instance, the easiest flour to use for obvious reasons is bread flour. This is going to give the fluffiest end result.
It is important to note than whatever flour you use to start a starter, you can only use that flour. Mixing flours can be achieved however, it is easier to keep it all consistent so you can better predict and measure the end result.
All purpose flour is the most common and it can be used. The proofing process does take a little longer I have noticed. Bread flour takes about an hour at room temp and all purpose will take about 2-3.
When starting a starter, use a clean glass container. I like to rotate mine every once in a while otherwise it can tend to get crusty. I started my starter about 6 months ago and she is still going strong.
2. Don’t be fooled by the fancy tools - If you are just starting to make bread, it can be easy to get into the rabbit hole of all the gadgets that are supposed to help. I will tell you right now, most of them do not to anything different that a few of the simple tools in your cabinets already.
When you are ready to start, measure out 50g of flour and 50g of water and mix in your glass container. This is my prime example. Everyone will tell you that you need a bread whisk. It is not necessary. I just use a fork and mix enough until there are no clumps of flour.
3. PATIENCE - I do not have any patience. Just ask anyone in my family. But, making bread from scratch does take time. After your first mix, you want to cover the jar with plastic wrap or lightly place the lid on and keep it out on the counter for a day or 2. Everyday, you will want to scrap the top layer off of the starter and do it again, add 50g flour and 50g water, and mix. Do this for about 2 weeks (again depending on the type of flour. If all purpose, I would do 10 days or so).
After about a week, you should see bubbles start to form on the top of your starter. This means it is alive. Now, you can start adding 100g of flour and 100g of water and repeat the process for another week!
Your starter at this point is ready to use for bread! However, you cannot forget about it. In order to keep making bread, you have to keep feeding your starter.
4. DONT STOP ADDING - One tip that I found helpful is when I am making bread, is to feed it right then and there. After a certain point, you can start to leave your starter in the fridge rather than on the counter and the feedings can happen once a week. I keep mine on a pretty tight schedule and do every Sunday. I make a loaf for the week, the feed my starter and put her back in the fridge for next time.
So, what exactly is the health benefit behind making homemade bread? Well, for the simple fact that it is simple. Sourdough is only 2 ingredients. Aside from all the fancy flavors you can make, sourdough is way more healthy than bread from the store. However, it is important to know, because there are not a lot of chemicals, it does not last as long. I actually got a dome cake stand to put my bread in. Store bought bread that comes in the bag can last weeks whereas sourdough only lasts a week max. Next time you are at the store, grab a loaf of bread and check out the ingredients. Let me know what you think is better.
Another health benefit is for people with a gluten allergy. I am not condoning someone allergic to gluten go eat a whole loaf, but because sourdough is a fermented food, the gluten properties that normally bother the stomach, are dying. There will be some gluten in all bread (again depending on the flour used) but sourdough does sit better for those more sensitive.
Let me know your thoughts and share your stories.
