Make Your Own Sourdough Starter
If you’re feeling a bit adventurous, you may want to try creating your own sourdough starter from scratch. Baking bread from scratch is satisfying in its own right, but when you’ve also had a hand in the creation of one of the most fundamental components, the leavening agent itself, you’ll feel an even greater satisfaction and connectedness to the process.
Are there kids in your house? This little science project is ideally suited to sharing with any children you can convince to join in. Culture their budding scientific minds while creating your own bread culture.
This video outlines one simple method that worked for me the first time I tried it. In the video, I give credit for this technique to Peter Reinhart. It has since come to my attention that Debra Wink, a chemist and accomplished baker, is the mastermind and author of this Pineapple Juice Technique. A lot of research and testing went into developing and refining the technique. The choice of pineapple juice over other juices is from much trial and error. Debra was kind enough to email her essay on the Pineapple Juice Technique. Click here for a printable copy of it.
As I mention in the video, the wild yeast spores and lactic-acid bacteria that give your starter its leaving properties are all around you. You are simply creating the conditions ideally suited for them to thrive and multiply. I used whole wheat flour in this recipe because fresh whole wheat flour may harbor greater numbers of yeast spores than ordinary all-purpose flour and so increase your likelihood for success. It worked for me, so you might try the same. If, at any time, you wish to transition your whole wheat sourdough starter to a regular white flour starter, it’s super easy to do so.
I’ve listed the ingredients and approximate steps here to save you the note taking.
- Step 1. Mix 3 ½ tbs. whole wheat flour with ¼ cup unsweetened pineapple juice. Cover and set aside for 48 hours at room temperature. Stir vigorously 2-3x/day. (“Unsweetened” in this case simply means no extra sugar added).
- Step 2. Add to the above 2 tbs. whole wheat flour and 2 tbs. pineapple juice. Cover and set aside for a day or two. Stir vigorously 2-3x/day. You should see some activity of fermentation within 48 hours. If you don’t, you may want to toss this and start over (or go buy some!)
- Step 3. Add to the above 5 ¼ tbs. whole wheat flour and 3 tbs. purified water. Cover and set aside for 24 hours.
- Step 4. Add ½ cup whole wheat flour and 1/4 to 1/3 cup purified water. You should have a very healthy sourdough starter by now.
Notes: I do wonder if the fact that I bake all the time with a sourdough starter (and so theoretically have wild yeast floating around our house by the gazillions and covering everything we own) would increase the likelihood that I would have success creating my own sourdough culture from scratch. So I anxiously await feedback from anyone who attempts this process at home. (You’ll see a nifty little form below for comments and feedback. If you’re shy; you can use the Contact link at the top of the page. While I may report your (mis)adventures, I’ll keep your identity anonymous. 
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Greg, try increasing the temps (I have a reg old heating pad I use on low with some padding. It could be it isn’t expanding due to it being too cool for what it likes. I see less expansion of mine during the winter when it is colder. Just an idea.
I haven’t kept a sourdough culture for a few years but I recently got the itch to make bread again. I first became interested in sourdough I think in 2007, and even though I scoured the web I never read anything about the pineapple method, so I think at that time it must not have been well known yet. Reading up on it now explains a lot about the trouble I had making my own culture, with that initial rise from bacteria and then the appearance that the culture “died”. It’s not as easy as the books say it is! I ended up getting Carl’s Oregon Trail culture and it worked great for me. It gave me some experience in knowing what a culture should look like, etc.
Anyway, I don’t have that culture anymore but I thought I’d give another try at starting my own. Well, now two weeks later I’m pretty sure I have succeeded! I wasn’t sure for a while that I would be able to do it. I first started two separate starters, one using pineapple juice and the other just water so I could see the contrast and whether I could achieve it both ways. Those I ended dumping out after 5 days because I saw no growth, and a fruit fly got into one of them. I started again a week ago, again with two cultures. I started them so that I would check on them in the morning, which may have been a mistake because I was groggy before coffee and sort of messed up the pineapple one. I saw no growth after 2 days but added flour anyway, and messed up the pineapple one by using water! At that stage the water one had already done the initial bacteria bloom and was flat again, with stinky yellow liquid separating out.
I wasn’t getting yeast fermentation as quickly as the instructions here and elsewhere indicated. After day 4 still nothing. One thing I think is happening is that if there is no observable yeast fermentation it might be a mistake to add a big volume of water and flour. What seemed to happen to me, even with the pineapple one when I did this at day 4, was that it diluted the starter (raised the ph maybe?) and allowed the bad bacteria to act to a small degree. This was the case for each starter. On day 5 the starters were separating and I think the bad bacteria had pooped out again, so I added a few tablespoons of whole wheat flour but no water, to keep from diluting the ph as much. Now on day 7 both the pineapple juice and water starter have shown considerable yeast growth. The water starter was maybe 8 hours ahead of the pineapple one. I’m not sure why except maybe my fiddling with it slowed it a bit (I added a teaspoon of white vinegar on day 5 also to try to lower the ph).
So, I think both starters have been successful. Now I’m in the cycle of starting to feed them to build them up. To sum up my experience I would say 1) be patient!, 2) if you don’t see growth at day 4 with the pineapple, so long as there is no mold let it stand a while. You might add some flour but I would not do a major addition of water at that point or you might lower the ph, and 3) you can make a starter from water, just again don’t dilute it with water.
I’ll post an update n a few days to let everyone know how the new starters are doing.
Last week I began the process of making the starter. I started it in Iowa (where I live) and brought it along on a mini-vacation to Chicago. To my surprise, it turned out
I followed directions exactly, but doubted myself because I can barely keep my houseplants alive! I belong to a natural wellness class and brought it along to share tonite! My classmates were excited because they were looking for a way to make a starter. Thank you for your guidance! You have a wonderful website. I will be back to visit for more bread advice…I am hoping to start baking tomorrow 
I tried two times to prepare a Starter with other water based receipts but no success. Each time I started to get bubbles in the second day but they disappeared a day after and the starter basically ‘died’. I didn’t give up and tried the Pineapple juice solution. I looked after a juice w/o preservatives 100% natural and found one. I followed Eric’s instructions and everything worked by-the-book. I stored one portion in the refrigerator and also prepared a White Flour variant which worked perfectly as well. Thanks for the Video and all the comments from the forum, it helped a lot to see others experience and to be encouraged from others success either. I am going to prepare a loaf using my new born Starter localized at my home town
Thanks for the info, I’ll try it with a spoonful of honey. I did make a loaf of sourdough bread using the new starter as per your recipe and it turned out delicious. I’ll make some more. I enjoy this way of making sourdough bread.
I followed your instructions with the exception of the flour. I used regular white cooking flour. My attempt to create a starter was very successful. Thank you for the video and detailed instructions. I will attempt to make a loaf tomorrow. Cross your fingers. Thanks again.
Won’t be posting any more ‘starting starte postsr’ (the world heaves a sigh of relief!) as things have worked out well for this would-be baker by closely following the detailed instructions from Eric and others. If I may suggest, if you are brand new DIY starter person and anxious over how your yeast is faring at different points in time…then go to the blog link that follows…When I was stirring 2-3x a day I kept getting moral support (and some patience!) from this track : http://yumarama.com/blog/968/starter-from-scratch-intro/
His approach/recipe is basically the same as Eric’s (and Debra Wink’s) and it was really helpful to see his pictures of each day’s culture…and the side-by-side comparison of the progress of a water-based seed culture with the Pineapple Solution.
It is interesting to note that by keeping 100% hydration (50g starter-50g water-50g flour) I have vastly different textures in my three cultures. White flour culture is very soupy; whole wheat is more gluteny but still a degree of thick soupiness when stirred down and, finally, the rye is very gluteny, amost like a wet sponge…quite stiff. I am not sure if these differences mean anything in the long run if and when I weigh out the ingredients…but it is really apparent how much more dense the white flour is than the whole wheat and the rye is almost twice the volume of the white for the same weight….the whole wheat being in between. It has been a good demonstration of learning by doing…driving home the point that ingredients in this wonderful experience of baking are going to vary…and that’s one of the myriad aspects which make it so fascinating. And so appetizing!!
Cheers
All three cultures have been behaving well. I am on my 11th day from the start of the Pineapple Solution. Late in Day 3 is when the activity kicked in and, at first, I assumed that it was a ‘false’ start. But as I kept feeding it and stirring it 3x a day in 70F room, it continued to bubble and expand and the smell was that doughy, very mild yeasty aroma. On Day 4 I split the culture into three different containers for three different starters: white, wheat and rye sourdough starter.
Everything has played along nicely as described in Eric’s video and also according to other web sources, including Debra Wink’s work.
The one thing that I did was to keep to a small amount of starter so that each day when I took out 1/2 of the starter, I didn’t need large amounts of flour or non-tap water at feeding time. The starters have taken up nicely each time and not been bothered by feeding on small volumes of fresh food!
Friday will be Day 14 and I will then start feeding larger amounts until I get a healthy set of starters for refrigeration storage. (My plan is to then try to get a way with a once a week changeout: toss 1/2 of each starter and add that much by weight back in)
Since the Pineapple Solution did work for me but seems to have failed for several others, I keep asking myself, “Why?”. Obviously, a definitive answer is not possible, but if someone were to ask for my thoughts on why it did work for me this time, I would say that 1) Stirring 3-4X a day the first few days might have been important to the get the right bacteria/yeast working early; 2) Room Temperature. We’ve had a cooler than usual stretch in the time I’ve been growing this batch. Inside temps (we don’t have central air) have been constantly in the 68-72F range throughout. For some reason, I sense that this is am optimal temp range for the process…maybe I read it somewhere. 3) No tap water at any time. Our water is not that great anyway, and at the end of the water pipe in California (San Diego area) the water is really packed with a lot of salts and minerals. Filtered water from our tap left overnight might reduce chlorine content, but not the other stuff. I’ve used distilled or other bottled waters exclusively. 4) Starting with rye flour seemed to really propel the process. From what I’ve read, it has been a common element of successful efforts amongst a lot of people.
Now that I’m nearing the 2 week mark, it might even be time to take one or two of the cultures out for a test spin….a loaf of white sourdough and one of rye might just be a good test for the weekend. Wish me luck!
And luck to all as well!
Myron, leaving it out for 5 to 7 days at room temp will increase the “flavor” of the bread. Try adding just a PINCH of sugar (honey or barley malt syrup–1 tsp) stir in and watch closely because this will increase the fermentation and the starter will bloom like crazy. AND, try making some bread! With practice, you’ll get the “feel” for the dough. Before you know it, you’ll be making and creating wonderful breads. I”ve been baking for many years and this is by far thye best bread I (and my friends) have ever tasted.
I made last week with no seeming success, but i put it in a jar and referigated it then made a second starter this time, Success. I haven’t tried making bread with it yet but wonder if I leave it for a few days will it get stronger?
i’d like to reiterate jackie’s question as i seem to be having the same issue. the starter has plenty of bubbles to it and seems to produce hooch, but no real expansion. should i start again from scratch? should i startover with a tablespoon of this starter and more pineapple juice? hoping to have everything in place in about 10 days time.
Hour 84 (Day 3-and-change) of my Pineapple Solution effort.
At the 48 hour mark, no visible change and I went ahead and added the prescribed amounts of pineapple juice and the rye flour I had used at the start.
Continued to stir ‘vigorously’ 3x a day.
Earlier in Day 3, the goop still looked the same…no activity that I could notice. The aroma was still a faint pineapple juicey smell, but that was it. My taste buds must be lousy, because I still could not discern any taste difference…a dab of the goop still had the mild tartness of…pineapple.
However, just two hours later I happened to walk by and observed that the volume of the goop had increased very slightly. No bubbles were apparent and I did not stir it.
Two hours later (84 hours from inception) the volume of my rye had nearly doubled. It was kind of funny, because there were no frothy bubbles as Ed has shown us in his video, yet the goop had jumped up a couple of notches in a very short period of time. Unfortunately, it still had no scent that I could discern other than the stubborn pineapple one that it has had all along.
This leads me to think that I lost the battle of acidity somewhere and that the bacteria had thrown off a lot of gas. But, from what I’ve read, the war is not lost. I decided to just keep on startin’….
If it was bacteria throwing off gas, (that caused this sudden volume expansion) then we simply carry on and feed the beast for a few more days…all the while, stirring ‘vigorously’ 3 x a day…until the ph of the solution starts coming into the range where our yeasties will wake up and take over.
I did, however, split up the goop into three clean containers and fed each one 2 T of water and then 2T into each container of rye, whole wheat and all purpose white flour respectively. By weight, the amounts that I fed were just a little shy of the weight of each container’s allotment of the 3+ day-old goop. I am still calling this ‘goop’ with the idea that it is aspiring to be a starter…but it must earn the right to acheive its status. Or have the yeasties gone to my brain….? It’s possible
Thanks for letting me post this Ed. I may not be as precise on my own as I try to be here on the forum. And it may provide some insights to others.
Also, it might be possible that maybe I’d been so attentive to the goop and/or the conditions may have been just right that the sudden takeoff I saw today was really the yeasties waking up. But without the yeast smell, I am discounting that for the time being.
Best to All
Chuck
If you gave me a pop quiz on what’s going on inside the goop that is sourdough starter (“The Early Days”) as described by Ms. Wink and a few others….I might get 5 out of 10 correct…including the one “How many Phases does a successful sourdough starter go through?) In another month or two…I might be up to 7 or 8 if you don’t ask me to name all the bacilli and yeasties. While not a thriller, by any means, it is still a mystery that is fun to figure out.
I just fed my two-day old starter it’s alloted Second Phase amount (per Eric’s suggested proportions). I am using rye flour for these first two stages and am considering splitting it into three bactches at the end of two more days. (It may be Starter Mania around one corner of the kitchen for a while… but if this initial batch survives and prospers,,, I’d like to see about splitting it into a whole grain starter along with rye and a white flour batch.)
So far, the temps in the kitchen have averaged just at 74 degrees with relative humidity varying between 80% (nights and mornings) and 40% (noon through early evening). Not sure if relative humidity is a factor, but since I’d been writing it down whenever I do a batch of dough…why not starter?
I have followed the recommendations from several sources and ‘vigorously’ stirred the primordial goop 4x a day. So far with the pineapple juice and rye mixture, it smells like pineapple juice and putting a drop on my tongue tells me it’s a shade tangy (?)…
There has been no separation of liquid or anything I’d call unexpected in this batch. It has had a yogurt-like consistence each time I’ve looked at it (48 hours from beginning)
My intention is to bring this along for the two-three weeks before using the starter(s) in recipes. On the other hand, it might be useful to make some NK for fun taste-test purposes. Maybe freeze these ‘baby starter’ rolls or loaves for later comparison with ones made from the more mature (R-rated!) starter?
Thanks to everyone for sharing your ideas, thoughts and recipes…the hits and the misses, the good and the bad. I’ve learned something from just about every post here, and even more from Eric’s words and pictures.
Sincere Regards to All
Hi all
I had a question:
What does it mean when your starter doesn’t increase in volume at all, but it always produces hooch? I have tried many times to create a healthy starter but it always ends with me disappointed 2kg of flour later =l Any tips in addition to the above method to help me out?
Thanks guys
From the inexperienced, beginner baker
Hi Eric,
I have followed your pinapple juice starter recipe but I dont have a water purifier or spring water. Am I able to just use plain tap water or does this have an adverse effect on the starter’s activity?
What is the ideal temperature that it should be in? At the moment here in Australia, it’s winter and the days are rarely above 15 degrees celcius, so I keep my starters in a room where there is a heater.
Also, how much activity should be happening each day? I have some bubbles at the end of step 4, but not that many. Also, it hasn’t doubled in volume. I take that perhaps I have to start again? This is my 4th try at a sourdough starter and I’m not having much luck haha.
Thanks =]
Michael, what type of Pineapple juice have you used for that?
My 8 year old daughter and I made this starter using whole wheat flour this past week. The recipe worked great. Today we have a very happy starter in the fridge. Hopefully it will turn into tasty pancakes on Sunday.
Hi Everyone,
First many thanks to Eric for being so insighful and detail with all the recipes and methods. I just want to share my experience in growing my own starter and finally getting it to work. My intentions of growing my own starter was motivated by pizzas! I love pizzas and many pizza enthusiasts speak of how flavorful and tasty their pizza crust is when using a starter but for months I failed in even brewing a healthy starter. At one point I gave up and tossed my starter in the fridge. Just to back track, my starter was indeed alive but somehow it just didnt work and it failed miserably in making a half-decent pizza crust. It always ended up dense and way too hard.
Then just a few days ago I stumbled upon this site and i watched how Eric prepared his starter but the most important part of all was i actually saw the consistency of the starter Eric was making. Immediately I ran down to the kitchen and took my starter out of the fridge. I fed it with more flour and a tiny bit of water. All this while the consistency of my starter was very watery. I got the recipe from another site and i’m really begining to wonder if that recipe works at all. So today i used it to make a pizza crust and it was awesome! the flavor was rich and the smell was just incredible. Now i’m trying to use it to bake a loaf of bread.
Good luck everyone!
Eric,
I am about to do step two of the pineapple starter method and my starter is thick at the top with a thin liquid on the bottom after just 48 hours from the start. Is this normal or OK? I didn’t see any comments about separation from other posts. I’m just trying not to poison anyone!
Thanks for a great website – my neighbor recommended it – I’m very excited about trying your NK method.
Eric,
Thanks so much for the beautiful recipes! I just made my first starter, the recipe worked great! Though, I have a few questions: just to confirm I understood everything correctly:
1. After step 4 is completed, do you let the starter stand out for a while, or put it in the fridge right away?
2. If I want to start working on a sourdough loaf, is it correct that I should add as much flower/water mixture to the starter as I will need to take out, and if the recipe requires more then 1 cup – add mixture in increments for two days instead of one?
3. And lastly – if I am planning to start a loaf tomorrow and I just fed my starter, do I leave the starter out, or put it in the fridge – is it ok to use cold starter when you are working on your bread?
Thanks so much, hope you are having a wonderful 4th of July weekend!
Erez-
The Feingold Association recognizes Dole canned pineapple juice as being free from preservatives.
Hi,
I see that you are using pineapple juice from a can. What about all the preservatives inside this can, you basically add them to the starter?
Please advice.
Thanks,
Erez
Step one worked well! never used sour dough here. Looks likes its working well so far, just did step 2, will keep you posted!
Dave,
Barley malt syrup (or extract) is great in breadmaking! Yeast just loves it, and it adds to the “keepability” of your bread. It is available in most helth food stores or online from Barry Farms or King Arthur Flour.
Thanks for the info! I was watching TV last night and on 1 of the “foodie” channels they talked about using malt barley syrup in the dough for flavor and the syrup provides a sugar that lasts londer than the carbs in the flour and you get a faster second rise. Maybe that was what I orginally read about.
Thanks for this video! I’m interested in making injera and wonder if it’s possible to make a starter with teff flour? Glad to hear that Wynn’s had success with a gluten-free flour blend, as this might be an alternative for me.
Thanks for the great starter recipe – it came out perfectly. But now what? Can I keep a little for next week’s bread? Is that correct I only have to put it into the fridge and feed it with some flour & water 1 day before I want to use it in a nother bread? How long can I keep it in the fridge? How often do I have to feed it? and how much of flour & water do I have to feed it with?
This is exciting. Thanks again
Found this online:
In 2009, Dan Buettner’s invesitgation of “blue zones” — regions whose inhabitants have much-longer-than-average lifespans — took him to the Greek island of Ikaria, where one in three people lives past the age of 90. Buettner identified 13 lifestyle factors that may contribute to the Ikarians’ longevity. Not surprisingly, more than half of these relate to diet. What may surprise you is that one of the dietary elements Buettner claims can contribute to a long and healthy life is sourdough bread.
This is a sound assertion; scientific research on sourdough offers several reasons why sourdough can be health-enhancing. These benefits are probably primarily derived from the acids produced by the lactobacillus bacteria that are an integral component of a sourdough starter and give the bread its sour flavor:
Sourdough bread has a lower glycemic index — a measure of how high and how quickly blood sugar spikes after eating a food — than bread made with commercial yeast. This makes it a better choice for people with, or at risk for, diabetes.
Sourdough makes certain minerals (iron, zinc, magnesium, and others) in whole grains more available for absorption by our bodies by facilitating the breakdown of phytic acid, a compound in grain bran that inhibits mineral absorption.
Sourdough shows promise for people with celiac disease, which renders people intolerant to gluten. Not only can sourdough improve the taste, texture, and overall sensory quality of breads made with gluten-free flours, but it may also act to degrade or deactivate proteins in gluten that adversely affect gluten-sensitive people.
Sourdough makes people happy, thereby diminishing stress, which is good for all-around wellness. (Okay, this one is anecdotal, but I completely believe it, don’t you?)
So grab your sourdough starter, get baking, and be healthy. Don’t have a starter? Grab some flour and water and make one.
Hi Dave,
I don’t know how one form of sugar varies from another from the starters perspective, but unless you’re trying to accelerate the fermentation process, there’s no need to add any sugar at all. The starter will break the carbs in the flour down to sugars and feed on that.
I’ve also read that sourdough leavened breads have a lower glycemic index than commercial yeast leavened bread but don’t think I’ve ever seen any scientific documentation to back it up. Haven’t looked for it though.
I recently got into sourdough bread and I LOVE it. The taste is unbeatable. I read that sourdough is better for diabetics–something to do with the acids in the bread. Anybody have information on this? Also, I read that you shouldn’t use granulated (regular table) sugar when feeding your started because it doesn’t (can’t?) use it—you need to use a simple sugar like glucose. Comments? Help?
Hi Lee Ellen,
Once your starter is going, you want to use purified water. The best thing is either spring water or tap water with the chlorine removed. You can remove the chlorine from tap water easily with either a charcoal filter or letting it sit out overnight for the chlorine to evaporate. Don’t continue to use pineapple juice.
You can use whatever starter you want in the recipe, it just won’t end up exactly as the recipe intended. I frequently use a white starter in whole grain recipe that calls for whole wheat starter. The end result is a bread that is lower in whole grain than it’s supposed to be.
sorry, but i went back and watched your video again and realized that you didn’t start seeing activity until close to the 4th day so i’ll wait and hopefully see something tomorrow or the next day. i do have a couple of questions though. 1) can i use a whole wheat starter for a white bread recipe and vice versa? or do i have to have the same starter as the recipe i’m making? in other words can i use a wheat starter but use white flour for the bread making? 2) After the starter gets going do i feed it using pineapple juice, distilled water or regular tap water? thanks.
well, i wonder if it is because you have a lot of wild yeast from baking so much because im at 24 hours into the process and don’t see anything happening at all. i have tried several times using a different recipe and had no luck with them either. i saw my uncle do it several times and he didn’t have a bit of trouble. i don’t get it. i want to make my own starter so bad but can’t figure out why it won’t work.
The coffee cake and biscuits sound wonderful, but I have a limited choice of ingredients at the moment.
I actually baked my first sourdough bread today. I think I overproofed because I was too busy making tortillas at the same time. It’s a little more sour than ideal, and not quite high enough. The bubbles at the top of the crumb are really big, and the bubbles at the bottom are really small.
Good enough to eat myself, but not good enough to share with anyone. And a little inconvenient for making sandwiches.
I have another sponge rising right now to bake another loaf tomorrow—without any distractions or interferences. Now, it’s time to experiment and have fun.
Bob, you have discovered the secret…Baking bread on a regular basis and feeding your sourdough keeps it healthy, wealthy and wise. Those wild yeast organisms will party constantly. I have posted some ideas for using the starter you throw out when feeding. Try them. Cranberry Coffee Cake and Sourdough Biscuits are our favorites.
Bob, you have discovered the secret…Baking bread on a regular basis and feeding your sourdough keeps it healthy, wealh\thy and wise. Those wild yeast organisms will party constantly. I have posed some ideas for using the starter you throw out when feeding. Try them. Cranberry Coffee Cake and Sourdough Biscuits are our favorites.
I think I figured it out. I did step 4 tonight. After about 4 or 5 hours at room temperature, the starter hasn’t quite doubled in size so it’s probably not quite active enough yet for making a good loaf of bread.
I put it in the fridge so it won’t fully consume tonight’s feeding and die back before I feed it again tomorrow. One or two more feedings and I will have the volume of starter I would need, and hopefully it will be active enough by then too.
But by then, it will be pretty much a week since I started so I expect that’s where the week comes from.
Go bake and have fun!!! I don’t know what this ‘wait a week’ is about. I gave birth to my starter in December using instructions from this website. As soon as it looked like starter I was baking and have been baking every since. I’ve even fed my starter and used it right away. Have fun!
Hey! This is fun!
My starter was a little hoochy yesterday afternoon then started starting last night. I did step 3 last night and today it looks just like starter–elastic and bubbly. The CO2 is popping the top off my container.
I’ve read one should wait a week before using new starter to bake bread. Is that a week from last Sunday when I first started? Or a week from tonight after I complete step 4?
Can you tell I am eager to put it to work?
How do i replenish the starter when i make pancakes? Do i use it full strength then mix in just plain flour and water in equal parts to compensate for the loss of batter volume? if i refrigerate this stuff, will i have to do something to it (wake up the dough) before i can use it?
In reply to Wynn from May 22,
If you google “Debra Wink” you will see the pineapple juice creates an acid environment to prevent an initial bloom of leuconostoc bacteria. Once you have your starter established, the lactobaccillus in your starter produces plenty of acid to prevent leuconostoc blooms. Adding pineapple juice to an established starter won’t really do anything except add a pineapple flavor to the starter.
Leuconostoc isn’t even dangerous really. It’s used to make sauerkraut. It just smells bad and can delay the establishment of your yeast and lactobaccillus colony.
Beyond that, I know nothing–my first started hasn’t even started yet.
Yes. Into the fridge it goes. Probably good to feed it again the day (or so) before you plan to bake.
Neat…I guess I made a starter! Thanks so much for the super quick response! So, into the fridge now?
I’m confused. I started a seed about a week and a half ago now, and I’m not sure what’s going on. I definitely have bubbles, but I don’t have the quadrupling in size that Debra Wink et al over at The Fresh Loaf say is a sign that your seed has really arrived. I get a doubling in less than 12 hours, but if I don’t feed it and wait for 24 it falls. It’s always bubbly though, there’s definitely SOMETHING alive in there =). It’s been out at warm room temperature the whole time (78ish). It is elastic-y when I go to stir it. Maybe it actually *is* ready and I just don’t know it? Any ideas?
Hi Georgia,
Doubling sounds great to me. Starter falling after it’s peaked is normal too as it depletes its food supply. I think you’re good to go.
78 degrees is a very warm room temp when it comes to proofing your dough so be alert to the likelihood that you’ll have to shorten the proofing times or when you go to bake, you won’t get much oven spring and your bread may end up denser than you like.
Sal, the coffee cake sounds absolutely delicious. I can’t wait to try it. I can’t thank you enough for sharing your recipes also. I love to cook and this sourdough experience has been tremendous. Something new to what I usually do adds so much variety. I especially like making recipes that others have tried and loved. It saves me time and energy. I always try to get favorite recipes from people. It reminds me of them first of all, and adds great dishes to my collection. I hope you never leave this website!!!!!
Ann, that was a recipe I posted. You are right that using your starter keeps it healthy. Our Memorial Day picnic was fried chicken, potato salad, baked beans and those sourdough biscuits. Dessert is another freat way to use what you would normaally throw away. Here is the recipe for you”
Cranberry Sourdough Coffee Cake
Ingredients¬
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup Sourdough Starter (recipe also in Recipe Finder)
• 2 packages (3.4 ounces each) instant French vanilla pudding mix
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 3 eggs
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 to 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 cup dried cranberries
•
TOPPING:
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Directions
• In a bowl, combine the first 14 ingredients; mix well.
• Fold in dried cranberries. Pour into a greased and sugared 10-in. tube or fluted
• Tube pan. Combine topping ingredients; sprinkle over batter. Bake at
• 325° for 65-75 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
• Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack to cool
• Completely. Yield: 12-16 servings.
Sal, I’m pretty sure the recipe I found on this website belonged to you for Golden Sourdough Biscuits. They were THE BEST biscuits I have ever had! I have tried to backtrack and could no longer find that recipe here so I’m glad I wrote it down. They are truly just as good reheated in the micro as they were fresh. Thanks for sharing that. Was it your recipe by the way??? I love using alot of starter just because I like adding to it all the time.
You will never go wrong replacing what you have used.
I use rye flour for my sourdough starter and have had better results than whole wheat. I refresh with whatever flour I plan to use for my bread. Perhaps rye flour has more variations of yeast spores in it?
The video was very helpful but can you substitute white flour for the whole wheat from the start? Would that speed up the process? And after the 5 days, once you transfer it to the jar, how do you maintain it? Thanks!
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