October 4, 2019 Baking

Sourdough Starter Recipe

Here is a super easy way to make your own Sourdough Starter Recipe! Once your sourdough starter is ready you will be on your way to making your very own sourdough bread, cakes, muffins and more!

When the temperatures drop and the days are shorter, I love to experiment in baking. It’s finally the time for me to explore new bread recipes. And let’s face it, nothing brings more cheer to a home the aroma of freshly baked bread! It was time to get back to my beloved Sourdough Starter Recipe.

So let's talk a little about sourdough! This may seem like a simple and not so glamorous post. But a sourdough starter recipe could be the impetus for some very delicious baking recipes. A starter is also referred to a poolish or a levain. In Italian it is lievito madre. Or as my mother-in-law and grandmother-in-law simply refer to it as: il lievito (the yeast).

So there you have it. You are making a fermenting dough that is like the texture of a batter to create breads and other recipes. The starter imparts a slightly sour flavor. Now it is a delicious kind of a sour. It’s mild and wonderful so don’t wrinkle your noses in disdain if you’ve never tried it.

How To Make Sourdough Starter

Making a starter is easy! Yes, it is easy. In professional bakeries and probably some very active bread baking home kitchens, there is plenty of natural yeast cells around the environment to help cultivate the flour and water. I find that it helps to add commercial yeast to my starter. There are some bakers that are probably completely against using any commercial yeast. There are also bakers that add an onion or grapes to the flour and water. I’ve even heard of adding raisins or just using rye flour instead of all-purpose purpose. I’m not familiar with any way other than this way and it really works for me!

It is a tradition in many communities to hand down starters from generation to generation. Some families maintain starters for decades or for even over a century. In my grandmother-in-law’s town in Calabria the neighbors share starters for the weekly bread baking.

SOURDOUGH STARTER WITH YEAST

I’ve been experimenting with sourdough starters over the last 10 years. There is still so much to learn. Every summer when we are in Italy, I jot down as many notes watching my mother-in-law bake her magical breads. But this starter is a no-fuss recipe. It is an easy sourdough starter made with yeast. It is the first starter recipe I learned and I mean no offense to the bread baking pros (my mother-in-law!!). There is the true version made without yeast and I promise to share that soon. In the meantime, for the beginners, this is foolproof and will help you make so many great recipes!

SOURDOUGH STARTER RECIPE

1 There are just four ingredients needed to make sourdough starter: all-purpose white flour, yeast, sugar and warm water.

2 We like to use ceramic or glass bowls and our very old wooden spoon. Acids react to metals and you shouldn’t take a chance using a metal bowl. We did use a metal whisk and spoon and had a perfect starter come together. To be extra safe, use glass or ceramic bowl and wooden spoons.

3. Next thing is to make sure you work with warm and not hot water. The temperature should be between 95-100 degrees.

4. Let the starter sit covered for 24 hours. Find the warmest corner in your kitchen and keep it away from any thing that could tumble on top of it.

5. During that first day, stir together the starter a couple of times.

6. At the end of that 2nd day, there is a film with bubbles that will form on top and liquid settled on the bottom. Stir it until it is combined again. Cover it again with your kitchen towel and set it in the corner to ferment some more.

7. On the 3rd day, the sour smell will be very strong and acidic. Separation has occurred. Stir your starter again. Remove about 1/2 of the starter (mine equaled about 1 cup)and it is ready to bake with. Add into your starter another cup of flour and one cup of cold water. Whisk it together and put it into a plastic container with a lid. The consistency should be like a thick pancake batter. Place the starter your refrigerator.

WHAT TO FEED SOURDOUGH STARTER RECIPE
It's important to feed your sourdough starter weekly if you don't use it often. All you need to do to keep it alive is feed it weekly with equal amounts of flour and water. Once your sourdough is refrigerated, you must take it our of the refrigerator 24 hours before you are ready to bake with it. Just mix it together, then wait for it to bubble. Sometimes it may not bubble and all you have to do is feed the starter with equal amounts of water and flour.

Making a sourdough starter will be a different experience for each baker. You can find a plethora of different ways to make a starter online. You may want to try to make yours without the addition of commercial yeast. Choose the method to make a sourdough starter that is more suitable for you. Making a wonderful starter takes some patience and a little TLC.

There are some wonderful recipes you can make with your sourdough starter. I recently made a sourdough pizza Margherita. We really enjoyed this sourdough pie crust with a blueberry-limoncello filling. This sourdough banana bread is just what you need for a coffee break!

TIPS TO MAINTAIN A SOURDOUGH STARTER

Set your alarm to remind you once a week that it’s time to check in with your starter. When I remember, I beat mine on medium-low speed with the mixer. The oxygen does it plenty of good. Every week discard half of the starter (but I never actually discard mine. I bake with it). It's important to replace the volume of you what you removed with more flour and water to make a thick batter again. I usually take out a cup of starter at the end of the week to make pizza.

The next thing I do is replace it with a cup of flour and about 1/2 cup filtered water. If you take out the cup of starter in the morning, replace it with the flour/water and let it ferment again on the counter for the day. Put in the refrigerator again that night. My mother-in-law usually keeps hers more like a dough texture and then only needs to feed it every couple of weeks.

You can also check out King Arthur’s Flour for some more sourdough starter tips.

*Since we live in Florida most of the year and my oven is always on, it was easy to find a warm corner. I found a spot next to my mixer in a corner that is not disturbed usually by anyone but me.

On the next day (see photo “Day 1”), you will start to smell a sour smell. At the end of that 2nd day, whisk the starter until it is combined again. There is a film with bubbles that will form on top and liquid settled on the bottom. Cover it again with your kitchen towel and set it in the corner to ferment some more.

On the next day (see photo “Day 2”), the sour smell will be very strong. The smell will permeate throughout your kitchen. If you are a lover of yeast and fresh bread, you can’t help but smile at the smell. Breath it in. Stir your starter again. The part on top may be a little thicker. Cover again with kitchen towel and set aside to ferment some more.

Day 3, whisk together. Separation will have occurred again and the smell may be more acidic and pungent. Remove about 1/2 of the starter (mine equaled about 1 cup). Add into your starter another cup of flour and one cup of cold water. Whisk it together and put it into a plastic container with a lid. The consistency should be like a thick pancake batter. Place the starter in your refrigerator. Don't forget to follow the tips above on feeding it and how to bake with it.

PIN for later!

slightly updated from August 2012

More sourdough recipes:

sourdough starter

sourdough pie crust

sourdough banana bread

sourdough pumpkin coffee cake

sourdough einkorn bread

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