How To Make A Sourdough Starter

Sourdough was all the rage this spring! If you haven’t jumped on board yet, this post will teach you how to create and care for your sourdough starter. It’s super easy and requires very little work. Grab your flour and water and let’s get fermenting!

Sourdough to the Rescue!

In high school, I started breaking out in hives for no apparent reason. We had been to every doctor in town and nobody knew why I was so itchy. I eliminated foods and eventually discovered that gluten set off the hives. I changed my diet to permanently remove gluten. It was a hard breakup. Tears were shed. 

I had never enjoyed cooking, therefore I didn’t know much about it. Cooking just about anything required a research paper first. During that research I stumbled upon sourdough. I read all about the benefits of fermented food, how to make it, and amazing looking recipes. 

Then I found something interesting about gluten in connection to sourdough. The article stated that people that are sensitive to gluten can oftentimes handle sourdough because of the fermentation. I was immediately curious and did what any nerd would do. More research! 

That led me to creating a sourdough starter. After a week, I set out to make all things sourdough. I failed a lot. But I also learned a lot. I eventually mastered sourdough waffles. They became my breakfast staple. I kept waiting for the hives to show up or my stomach to hurt, but I never had either. So I kept practicing recipes so that everything could be sourdough. 

Then something crazy happened. I was in a situation where I had to eat gluten to avoid being awkward. Going home that night, I was preparing myself for the worst. I knew that hives and a stomach ache lay ahead of me that night. I just hoped that it would wait until I was safe in my own house. The hives never came. My stomach didn’t hurt. So naturally I ate gluten again a week later. No side effects! 

That was about a year ago. I eat sourdough at least once a day, if not more. If I’m baking something at home, I always try to ferment it. I can then eat all the gluten I want without getting sick or breaking out in hives. Sourdough totally changed my life and eating habits. Despite the bad breakup, gluten and I have gotten back together and have a wonderful relationship, as long as sourdough is there. 

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Why Sourdough?

Sourdough was used by people to leaven bread before they were able to go to the store and buy those little yeast packets. Sourdough is the old fashion yeast packet. 

Grains contain phytic acid, but our bodies don’t really process it well. Phytic acid prevents our bodies from absorbing the nutrients from our food. Fermentation gets rid of most, if not all of the phytic acid, in the grains before we eat them. The fermentation process also helps break down some gluten, so although the bread isn’t gluten free it does have a lower gluten content. This allows people like me, who are sensitive to gluten, to eat sourdough. It also acts like a probiotic, which makes it great for gut health. Sourdough has prebiotic characteristics as well, which simply means that the good bacteria in your gut enjoy eating the fiber.

Sourdough Starter Recipe

Day 1: Combine equal parts flour and water in a mason jar. I used ¼ cup of each. Cover the jar with a paper towel or tea towel. Then let it sit in a warm place on your counter.

Day 2: Add ¼ cup of flour and ¼ cup of water to the jar and mix well. Then cover the jar back up and place it in the warm place on the counter. 

Day 3: Add ½ cup of flour and ½ cup of water. Then cover the jar back up and place it in the warm place on the counter. 

Day 4: Discard half of the starter. Then add ½ cup flour and ½ cup of water. Then cover the jar back up and place it in the warm place on the counter. 

Day 5: Discard half of the starter in the morning. Then add ½ cup of flour and ½ cup of water. Then cover the jar back up and place it in the warm place on the counter. Repeat this same process in the evening.

Day 6: Discard half of the starter in the morning. Then add ½ cup of flour and ½ cup of water. Then cover the jar back up and place it in the warm place on the counter. Repeat this same process in the evening.

Day 7: Discard half of the starter in the morning. Then add ½ cup of flour and ½ cup of water. Then cover the jar back up and place it in the warm place on the counter. Repeat this same process in the evening.

Now your starter is ready to use for quick bread. This means anything with baking soda or baking powder. It will take a couple of weeks of feedings before it can leaven a loaf of bread. Continue to discard or use half and feed it twice daily.

Using Sourdough Starter

You can use your sourdough starter to make baked goods. My go to is waffles and pumpkin roll. Stay tuned for some sourdough recipes! Pinterest has some great sourdough recipes, but my favorite place to look is Farmhouse on Boone. Lisa has some amazing sourdough recipes!

Tips for Making Sourdough Starter

You do not have to continue to discard after the first week. Simply use half and feed again.

 As a general rule, when you feed the starter double the amount of starter. So if I have a cup of starter, I need to feed it half a cup of water and half a cup of water.

Discard can be used to make quick breads. If you do not want to throw it out, but do not have enough to make anything, save it. You can put in a jar in the fridge until you have enough to use. 

Once your starter is up and going, it can be stored in the fridge for weekly use. If you intend to use it daily, keep it on the counter and feed daily. 

City water will kill your starter. When I started, I used distilled water or well water from my mom’s house. Now, I have a Berkey water filter and that seems to clean my city water enough that it doesn’t kill my starter. 

The black liquid at the top between feedings is called hooch. It is a by-product of fermenting yeast. It means that your starter is hungry.

Disclaimer

I am not a doctor, therefore this is not medical advice. Talk to your doctor before making changes to your diet.