Start a Sourdough Starter Today

Start a Sourdough Starter Today. There are so many delicious recipes waiting for you to try. In the back of my refrigerator, I have 2 sourdough starters going at all times. I keep the starters in two, 24 oz, wide mouth glass canning jars. I ordered my dried sourdough starter from: Carls Friends. This is for a free dried starter…you only pay for the stamps. This dried starter is activated with warm water and flour.  You then need to feed the starter over a period of days until it’s highly active and has a wonderful sour taste.

Second Sourdough Starter

In my opinion, sourdough starters are like Pugs, you can’t have just one! The next sourdough starter I ordered was from: Breadtopia, I think it was around $5.00. This starter was a damp, flour paste like disc when I received it. The starter needed to be activated with water and flour also. You feed the starter over a period of days and when it’s active, it’s ready to use. This is a very active starter with a great sour taste.

Third Sourdough Starter

You can also make your own sourdough starter from flour and water. Any of the sites I have listed here are excellent sources, with easy to follow “how to directions” to get yourself started. If you want to try a whole wheat sourdough starter or a rye sourdough starter, (I have one of each) you can get directions and recipes at: Weekend Bakery. A great place for information on sourdough and with many wonderful recipes.

Find Great Recipes 

More wonderful recipes can be found at: Sourdough Home. I have used their recipe for Rye Sourdough Bread and Whole Wheat Sourdough Bread many times. The recipes on Sourdough Home are great and the bread turns out every time. Another good place to visit is: Take Back the Bread. Great place for recipes, information and videos on how to make sourdough bread and how to start a sourdough starter.

Passionate About Bread and Bread Baking

All of the sites mentioned are passionate about bread, bread baking and sourdough. These sites offer wonderful information, recipes and are very knowledgeable when it comes to all types of breads and flours. I have had my starters for 4 months and they are both going strong. Every Friday,
if I haven’t used them during the week, I take them out of the refrigerator and line them up on the kitchen cupboard.

Start to Feed Starter Weekly

I then let the jars stand at room temperature for about 2 hours. Give them a stir, dump out half, feed each jar with 1 cup flour (white, whole wheat, rye) and 1 cup bottled water at room temperature. Stir again until well blended. Cover loosely with gauze or cheesecloth and let sit at room temperature for a few hours. Then, back in the refrigerator they go. I have found that every starter takes on it’s own personality too.

Use Your Starter Weekly

If I want to bake during the week, I simply take out my starter, let’s say on Wednesday morning, allow it to come to room temperature, give it a stir, dump out half, feed it by adding 1 cup flour and 1 cup bottled water, stir, cover jar with gauze or cheesecloth, securing with a rubber band and let it sit on the cupboard for 12 hrs or overnight until it’s nice and bubbly (active). Repeat if necessary.

Hungry for More?

Want to read more about sourdough? Check out our other articles on getting a start with sourdough here: Sourdough Love, Sourdough Coffee Cake Once you get your sourdough starter established you’ll need some dependable and delicious recipes to experiment with. Here are a few of our favorites. Classic Sourdough French Bread and Carrot Raisin Sourdough Muffins and Sourdough Corn Fritters.

So Easy!

Now that you are aware of just how easy it is to make your own sourdough starter and how easy it is to maintain your starter, the only thing left to do is make something with your starter. I have made many “mistakes” when I first started out. I can’t even count the number of bricks of bread and door- stopper loaves of bread I’ve made but I can say, that practice makes perfect. Try, try, and try again.

Sense of Pride and Accomplishment

To this day, when I open the oven door and see a perfectly formed,  golden brown loaf of bread, it’s truly a beautiful thing. I still get a sense of pride when I take a loaf of bread out of the oven. There are many different factors that make your sourdough starter your very own. The flour you use, the type of water used, temperature of your home, whether it’s summer or winter even the temperature of your refrigerator, all make a difference.

The More You Use Your Starter, The More Familiar You Will Become With It

When you become more familiar with your sourdough starter, you will how learn how what hydration level you like to keep your starter. Some bakers keep their starters the consistency of a thin crepe batter, while others like to keep their starters almost the consistency of a pancake batter. I prefer to use my starter at the consistency of a pancake batter. Either way is fine. It’s merely a personal preference.

Espresso n Cream Oatmeal Scones are truly unique and different. So delicious with a slight coffee flavor and a delicious creamy taste. It’s like a cup of coffee in a scone.