Sourdough Starter FAQ's

Sourdough Starter FAQ’s

Types of Flour:

Rye Sourdough Starter= Rye Flour

Alaskan, San Fransisco, Wharf, and Classic Sourdough Starters= White Flour/ All purpose

White Wheat Sourdough Starter= Whole White Wheat Flour

Wheat Sourdough Starter= Whole Red Wheat Flour

Spelt Sourdough Starter= Spelt Flour

Einkorn Sourdough Starter= Einkorn Flour

Classic Gluten Free Sourdough Starter= Gluten Free All Purpose Flour

What if I do not have enough sourdough starter for my recipe?

If you need more starter than you currently have just keep building it up by not removing any starter prior to feeding and feed the starter an equal 1:1:1 ratio until you have the amount you need. It builds quite quickly. Most recipes for a loaf or two call for 60-100 grams of starter. Make sure to leave enough to make your next batch of starter.

How often should I feed my sourdough starter?

You should be feeding your starter daily. Schedules can be anywhere from every 24 hours to every 8-12 hours depending on how often you decide to bake bread. If you cannot feed your starter you can feed the culture with the 1:1:1 ratio and let sit for an hour then place in the fridge. Doing this you can stretch your feeding to once weekly and when you decide its time to bake, take out desired amount of starter and weigh it. Feed it its weight in equals parts water and flour. For example: 100 grams of starter will need to be fed 100 grams of water and 100 grams of flour. Let ferment for 5-8 hours and use in recipe.

How to tell when your sourdough starter is ready to use

When your starter has doubled or tripled in volume its ready to use. Alternatively, you can do the float test. To run the float test fill a glass with water and place a spoonful of starter on the surface of the water. If it sinks its not ready and ferment longer. It it floats its ready. CO2 is a byproduct of fermentation. Its this C02 that gets trapped inside the starter and causes it to float.

I need to take a break from baking

Short term storage:

Placing the sourdough starter in the fridge slows the fermentation process. What you will need to do prior to placing it in the fridge is to feed it. Feed the starter a 1:1:1 ratio of water:flour:starter. Let ferment in a warm spot for about an hour and then you can put it in the fridge for up to a week before feeding it again.

When you need starter for a recipe all you need to do is take it out, feed, it, and let it ferment until it doubles in size or passes the float test. This may take 1-2 feedings.

Long term storage:

Sourdough starter can be dried and stored in the pantry or refrigerator for YEARS! Here is what you will need to do to prepare the sourdough starter prior to drying. Feed the starter and once the starter is at its peak (at least doubled it size), spread the starter as thinly as possible on a piece of unbleached parchment paper. Let dry until completely dry and brittle. You will know its dry when it is pulling away from the paper and it snaps apart easily. This can take anywhere between 1-4 days depending on the environment. Next break up the pieces and place in a mason jar covered with a lid or a ziploc bag, You can store it in the fridge or the pantry and it will stay viable for a very long time. Sometimes YEARS.

A small note concerning GLUTEN FREE sourdough Starter. Gluten free starter does not respond well to long term storage. If you do decide to store it long term just know it will need some extra TLC and patience.

There’s a liquid on top of my starter?

This is called HOOCH and is actually quite natural. This usually means your starter is hungry. Either pour it off or stir it in and feed the starter.

My starter STINKS

This can happen if you neglect your starter but don’t despair you can possibly save your starter. First off, if it smells like nail polish remover or acetone its hungry. Feed the starter. If it smells more along the lines of um **cough** **cough** farts or something equally as pungent that means its far past the point of hungry and its STARVING and/or contaminated. You can try feeding it for a few cycles. If the smell doesn’t go away after 3 consecutive feeding its probably dead. The best thing to do is to start over with a new culture. Your starter should smell slightly yeasty/slighty sour.