Sourdough: The Tips, Tricks, and Recipes that Work Best for Us
Shannon and Katie share their favorite pieces of advice for baking with a sourdough starter and the recipes that have worked best for them.
Feeding time
My starter, Fred, just as he’s beginning to outgrow his jar.
Emma Christensen’s Artisan Sourdough Boule
Butter Top Sourdough Loaf
Katie’s Thoughts:
In my piece, Baking Bread: The Joy of Developing a Craft, I mentioned that I have only just begun my sourdough journey. I have come late to the game, considering Chad Robertson published his incredible book, Tartine Bread, almost ten years ago. That book is famous because it makes professionally baked sourdough bread attainable at home. Of course, the more interesting thing to discover is that sourdough “starter,” and the process of developing a dough from leaven seeded with that starter, is as old as the hills. This is encouraging when one encounters the seemingly intimidating process and list of instructions included in most sourdough bread recipes. It is not as complicated as it seems and once the baker develops a simple routine, the starter will produce much more than just bread.
Tips and Tricks
Here are some tips I’ve learned and some information I wish I had when I first started:
If you don't have a scale, it's no big deal. Remember, use equal parts water and flour. I think I started with a cup of water and a cup of flour, but it would probably be better to start with half that.
At the beginning, feed at the same time each day. Once your starter is strong and active, this won't matter quite so much, but in the beginning, same time every day. This develops a nice, even consistency and flavor to your starter.
Not too warm, not too cold. Find a temperate spot in your kitchen. Between 65 and 70 degrees is good. You'll find a sweet spot and will learn your own starter. If it doesn’t seem to be growing and you think it should be, try a warmer spot to encourage the yeast to grow.
Keep it simple! Once you've got the starter active and happy, just feed using a 1 - 1 - 1 ratio. 1 part starter, 1 part flour, and 1 part water. No, this isn’t the only ratio you could use, but it’s an easy place to start.
If your starter develops a "hooch", the liquid on top, it is supposed to be there! It just means your starter is “hungry”, not active. Before the liquid forms, you might see little white circles develop on top of your starter. That is fine. If it smells good and there aren't any spots that are clearly moldy, you're fine. Those white circles are just bits of bacteria and bubbles. When your starter is active, it'll be all bubbly and beautiful - no liquid.
Use a clean bowl to mix starter, new flour and water together when feeding. I rinse out my starter container at this time and then pour the new fed starter back in. I don't use soap to clean it out (I don't like introducing soap to the environment.) By doing this, I just ensure that the container stays nice and clean and this is probably the best method to prevent mold because any of the starter that doesn't end up in the bowl when you're feeding it is washed away and isn't given a chance to "grow" something you don't want.
“Discard” recipes are your best friend. Find four or five that you like and use them often. For some reason, I originally thought discard recipes were not useful. I think I was too focused on just bread. Here’s the tip: discard recipes make it possible to feed your starter regularly so that it’s strong enough to make really good artisan bread without wasting a whole lot of flour. Also, you’ll start using your starter multiple times a week and dinner will actually become easier.
Stick it in the fridge! Whenever you’re ready for a break from baking, just stick the starter in the fridge. It will live, it will survive. You can leave for a few weeks, even. No worries.
Developing Your Own Starter
Here are a couple good recipes and guides for growing your own starter. There are about a million out there and they vary in their instructions. Find what works best for you.
What I originally used: How to Make/Keep Sourdough Starter
This one is probably better and more simple: How to Make Your Own Sourdough Starter
I love this and basically everything on her site: How to Feed Your Sourdough Starter for Successful Baking
And her GREAT guide: Demystifying Sourdough
Two (Very Different) Bread Recipes
The artisan recipe that I recommend beginning with: How to Make Sourdough Bread
- A note: I have made Chad Robertson’s Basic Country Bread recipe a number of times. It is beautiful and lovely and I will come back to it again and again. But it is difficult, at least for a bread baking novice like me. It is truly an art and completely worth the challenge, but you might not want to start with it. The artisan recipe above was developed by Emma Christensen from Robertson’s recipe. It is very similar but has a few little changes that make it the perfect place to start if you want to learn and practice the authentic process but also want to succeed. She also includes a lot of pictures and information that are perfect for a beginner like me. All of that to say, if you have the means to purchase the Tartine Bread book, do so. His simple advice, instructions and methods, and descriptions of the dough impart a great deal of baking wisdom even if I don’t quite know how to use or follow them all yet.
2. This is the loaf recipe I love and make once or twice a week (she has a version of this for cinnamon raisin bread and it is divine!): Butter Top Sourdough Sandwich Bread
- Another note: One time, I accidentally let the dough rise too much and it spilled out of the loaf pan. I scooped up the extra, formed it into a ball, put it in a cast iron skillet and stuck it in the oven with the loaf. It was an amazing roll, like a dinner roll. I’m definitely doing that again.
My Favorite Discard Recipes That You MUST Try:
Make these biscuits. They're delicious even though they don't ferment. It's the only recipe I use that doesn't have the long fermenting time. I just can't help it. They're too delicious. AND SO EASY.
Bagels! When your starter has developed and you’re starting to think, “What am I going to do with all of this?” make these bagels! They use two cups of starter and are easy and delicious. The recipe works best if you make them the night before and let them ferment out on the counter. But you can also follow the shorter timeline she uses.
Pancakes! The consistency will vary - sometimes thick, sometimes thin, depending on how active your starter is. But they’re always delicious.
Cinnamon Rolls! Sometimes I use half maple syrup and half honey. Do what you want. Everything works.
Pie Crust! Wow, I love this crust. I have used it for fruit pies and for quiche. It works great!
Pizza dough! I’ve used this dough many times. I’ve baked it in the oven (don’t be afraid to turn the temperature up and don’t be afraid to just use a cookie sheet), and we’ve cooked it on a Big Green Egg at very high temperatures. It’s versatile and has worked great every time.
Shannon’s Input:
My story with sourdough is a little different than Kate’s. I actually have not yet started my own sourdough starter! Instead my husband and I were given two starters within the span of about six months and felt the need to quickly figure out how best to use and maintain them. One of the coolest things about sourdough is that you can preserve the same culture indefinitely. One of the starters we were given (its name is “Mel”) has been in the family of the man who gave it to us for 150 years! Every time we feed or bake with Mel we get to participate in history, which is such a neat experience.
I will only add one piece of advice and two recipes to Kate’s far more in-depth work:
If you don’t already have a Dutch oven, I strongly recommend getting one or saving up for one. It really does wonders for your loaves. It creates the perfectly balanced, moisture-capturing atmosphere for your bread to rise as beautifully and completely as possible and have an excellent crust.
This is one of the tastiest sourdough recipes I’ve encountered: Pain au Levain. We use it frequently, but it’s a little on the high maintenance end, so often my use of this recipe will reflect our schedule. But when I have the time (or make the time) it is more than worth it.
Kate already recommended a pizza dough recipe, but here’s another just to have at your disposal. Because, really, the delights of baking a pizza with everything you want on it is one of the best experiences in cooking. Extra points if you’re baking for a family and this means your kids have the chance to choose what they want on a pizza.
Pain au Levain