So here I am, making it with white bread flour. Yes, you can make it with all-purpose white flour. I only stock white bread flour. Just giving you the heads up.
People need to understand that the starter we have you make in this blog post is a substitute for commercial yeast in the bread recipe included. Yes, you can make your own yeast substitute, and it works and tastes great when you make this delicious sourdough bread.
How To Make Sourdough Starter Day One Step One
You start with 1 cup of all-purpose white or bread flour and 1/2 cup of cool water (it must be filtered or reverse osmosis water). The tap water has too much chlorine for it to work, or at least at my house that’s the case.
Please start with a crock or quart glass wide-mouth mason jar. Add the flour to the jar with a canning funnel and then add the water. I use an 11-inch Danish Whisk to stir my starters. The 13-inch size doesn’t fit inside my wide mouth quart mason jars.
Stir the two ingredients until smooth and you can’t see any dry flour. Cover the jar with a cloth or a wide-mouth Ball White Lid, just barely turn the lid on the jar. It must have air to breathe and grow. Set it on your countertop.
Step Two
Here’s what it looks like. Please remember, the starter is alive and it needs air to breathe. Don’t tighten the lids, only turn slightly to close.
Step Three
You can see it looks lumpy and quite a bit like oatmeal. It’s not runny or dry. It will be a little stretchy and smell like bread dough. Place the jar on the counter in a warm (70 degrees or above) area for 24 hours.
Day Two
The jar looked exactly the same on the second day so I didn’t take any pictures. If you look at your jar you may or may not see any activity for the first 24 hours. That’s okay.
Discard (1/2 cup) of the starter in the jar and add 1 scant cup of flour and 1/2 cup filtered water to the jar.
Mix well and put the lid back on and turn only slightly. Remember, the starter needs to breathe. Now we wait another 24 hours. This is so fun! I love watching for the bubbles, the bubbles mean it’s alive and well.
Day Three
You can see that the sourdough yeast has doubled in volume, if not tripled.
This is a great sign, it’s alive and growing. If you are wondering how I remember the 24 hour time period, I set the timer on my phone for 2:00 p.m. every day.
Today, day three, you feed the starter every 12 hours, yes, twice during the 24 hour period. Now I have to set my timer twice a day. Remember we keep the jars at room temperature right now.
Here again (two times today), you discard 1/2 cup of the starter, add 1 cup flour and 1/2 cup of filtered water to the jar. Stir until you can’t see any dry flour.
Place the lid on the jar and turn slightly, not tight. They need to breathe.
Day Three View From Inside Jar
It’s working, you can see the bubbles, this means it’s alive and well.
Float Test
Okay, now if you’re wondering whether your starter is ready to make bread, pancakes, or whatever, here’s what you do. Grab a glass of filtered water and drop a teaspoon of your starter into the glass.
If it floats, it’s good and ready to use. No worries, if it sinks, it just means your starter needs to be fed again and let sit for another 6-12 hours at room temperature.
The black arrow shows my 1 teaspoon of starter is floating, yay! It’s good to go!
How often do I need to feed my starter that’s in the fridge?
Some people wonder if we have to feed the starter every day if it’s stored in the refrigerator. No, it doesn’t. It is suggested that feeding once a week is sufficient. Just set a timer on your phone or calendar app to remind you to feed it every week.
Do I store the starter on the countertop?
The problem with storing the starter on the countertop is the need to continue the “feeding” process every day. Unless you’re ready to put the starter to use and make some bread, then you should consider storing the starter in you fridge as outlined in the next topic.
Do I store my starter in the fridge?
As mentioned above, you are better off to store the starter in your fridge if you don’t plan to bake the bread when the starter is ready for use. You should plan to feed it weekly, but don’t worry if you miss a week from time to time.
When you need to feed the stored starter, just pull it from the fridge, throw out all but 25% of the starter, and then add one scant cup flour and 1/2 cup filtered water and stir as before.
Place the lid on loosely. Put this mixture aside for one to three hours before you put it back in the fridge.
This feeding step can be repeated for an extended period as long as you consistently feed the starter.
When you decide it’s time to use the starter by making the bread, pull the starter from the fridge and add the flour and water as with all your other feedings, but don’t throw any of the starter away.
You’ll want to wait for the starter to get bubbly again. Once it does, it’s ready to use.
The bubbles may take a few hours to appear, so be patient. Maybe you’ll want to pull it out in the morning or early afternoon with plans to make the dough later that day, and then plan to bake right before bedtime or early the next morning.
What do I do if it goes dark on the top of the starter?
Starter stored in the fridge for an extended period may end up having a layer of liquid on top in your container. Simply pour off the liquid and prepare / feed the starter as mentioned above.
If there is also a slight black color you should be ok to use it too. Be sure to scrape the black part off, feed the starter and use it or place it back in the fridge.
If the starter is dark black, brown, white, or red spots there is a chance you’ve developed mold in the starter. That seldom happens if properly stored in the fridge.
If there is any question if mold is present, you’ll want to throw all the starter out and start over. This is seldom a problem, but can happen from time to time.
What container is the best to store the starter in?
A crock or glass quart mason jar. I use the Ball White Lids and just barely turn the lid, not too tight, not too loose.
Let’s Make Sourdough Bread Now Step One
Stir the starter with the water, add the honey, and the flour, one cup at a time. Mix or knead until the bread pulls away from the mixing bowl sides.
Step Two
Grease a large mixing bowl, (I used butter) and place the ball of dough in it.
Step Three
Cover with a wet towel. Let it rise (ferment) for 6-12 hours.
Step Four
If you want to use a Dutch oven then you will use a 6-quart Dutch oven. Place a sheet of parchment paper (greased in the middle) at the bottom of the Dutch oven. This is the Lodge Dutch Oven I used.
Take the dough out of the bowl that it’s been rising in and place the dough ever so carefully onto a floured countertop.
You will gently remove a few air bubbles and place the rounded dough in the Dutch oven on top of greased parchment paper. You grease the parchment paper in the area where you will put the dough so the paper doesn’t stick to the dough during the baking process.
Place the lid on and let the dough rest 20-30 minutes. Preheat your oven to 450 degrees. Use a sharp knife and make a few slices on top of the dough. Bake the bread in the Dutch oven with the lid ON.
Bake for 30 minutes. Remove the lid and bake it another 20 minutes or until the top is golden brown.
Step Five
Finished product.
Sourdough Bread w/White Flour Print Sourdough Bread w/White Flour by FSM Course Bread Cuisine American Prep Time 10 minutes Cook Time 30 minutes Rising Time 12 hours Total Time 40 minutes Servings 6 people Author Linda Loosli Ingredients 3/4 cup sourdough starter (do the float test first-1 tsp. of starter in a glass of water, if it floats it's ready to use) 1-1/4 cup filtered water 1 tablespoon honey (optional) 3-1/2 cups white bread flour Instructions Cookie Sheet Instructions: I used my Bosch but you can make this by hand if you like in a large mixing bowl. Stir the starter with the water, add the honey, and the flour, one cup at a time. Mix or knead until the bread pulls away from the mixing bowl sides. Sprinkle the countertop with a little flour and mound the dough into a round ball. Grease a large mixing bowl, (I used butter) and place the ball of dough in it. Cover with a wet towel. Let it rise (ferment) for 6-12 hours. When the dough is ready, form it into a round circle and place the mound on a greased cookie sheet and let it rise 2 hours. Cut a slit with a sharp knife on top to give it some character. Bake at 425 for 30-40 minutes. After baking lather butter in the top if you like a soft crust. Otherwise, leave it as it is. Dutch Oven Instructions If you want to use a Dutch oven then you will use a 6-quart Dutch oven. Place a sheet of parchment paper (greased in the middle) at the bottom of the Dutch oven. Take the dough out of the bowl that it's been rising in and place the dough ever so carefully onto a floured countertop. You will gently remove a few air bubbles and place the rounded dough in the Dutch oven on top of greased parchment paper (the area where you will put the dough) in the Dutch oven. Place the lid on and let the dough rest 20-30 minutes. Preheat your oven to 450 degrees. Before baking use a sharp knife and make a few slices on top of the dough. Bake the bread in the Dutch oven with the lid ON. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove the lid and bake it another 20 minutes, or until the top is golden brown. How do I store the sourdough bread after it’s baked?
I use bread bags and set the bread on the countertop.
How long will the bread keep on the counter?
Because there are no preservatives in the bread its best for 2-3 days only.
Can I freeze the loaves after baking?
Yes, you can freeze this bread after baking in a tightly wrapped bread bag or container. It will keep up to 3 months in your freezer.
Can I use Gluten-Free Flour?
Just a note about cup for cup King Arthur Gluten-Free flour, they don’t recommend it for making bread. It’s perfect for cakes, cookies, and brownies.
You can make sourdough flatbread, but not the typical loaves of bread you may want. Sorry, It’s not going to work. It’s not designed for bread or at least bread as you and I know it. Here is their sourdough flatbread recipe: King Arthur Sourdough Flatbread
Final Word
A few years ago, I had the pleasure of helping Melissa Richardson (The Bread Geek), author of “The Art Of Baking With Natural Yeast,” teach a few classes in St. George, Utah.
She put herself through college making freshly ground whole wheat bread made with natural yeast (no commercial yeast). She has been a great friend for many years.
I learned how to make natural yeast from her. I learned how to make sourdough bread using a sourdough starter from Chef Brad. Life has been good to me and I know God wants me to teach the world how to make sourdough and natural yeast bread. We can do it, I promise. May God bless this world, Linda
The post How To Make A Sourdough Starter + Bread appeared first on Food Storage Moms.
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