Sourdough for the Skeptic + Recipes

A Different Approach

In a sourdough impassioned culture that leans more towards strict regiments, I tend to have a more relaxed voice. If you've been overwhelmed by the idea of having to feed and care for a bubbly kitchen pet, I hope I can soothe your reservations to start the joy of a sourdough journey.

Sourdough entered our kitchen about 8 short years ago in a little rustic cabin by the ocean. Since that introduction, I've heard many excuses for not endeavoring to use sourdough. Many skeptical women I've talked with simply think it sounds like too much trouble amidst a busy life, especially with the complicated approach that is often portrayed. The current culture has made sourdough an intense sport instead of an ancient lifeforce. To look at sourdough through the lens of historic survival instead of a modern trend really helps to put it all into perspective.

A very special book was passed down to my husband about life in the Alaskan frontier. People were not even allowed to enter Alaska unless they had so many pounds of flour and a healthy sourdough starter. Sourdough was a survival food in the early days of populating the Last Frontier! This idea shaped my view of sourdough early on. The way I see it, if folks crossing thousands of miles in rigorous circumstances, poor weather and limited resources could keep a sourdough alive...so could I.

As a person that dives in headfirst to all that I desire to learn, I've problem solved a few things for the sourdough wary onlooker. If you desire to conquer sourdough with a scale, a business plan and profit, this may not be your resource, but perhaps it could still inspire a more lighthearted beginner's approach.

Keep it Simple

Over the years, when sharing a sourdough starter with a friend, I often provide a list of helps to encourage the starting process. I am going to share with you here as I have in the past. It's easy!

So, you have your starter. Now what? Let's dive in together.

Feeding Your Sourdough

Choose a flour that works with your family's dietary needs to "feed" your starter. We feed our sourdough about every other day and sometimes daily, depending on how much we use it. If I'm tired of keeping up with it or have enough goods to keep the family fed for a while, then I put it away in the refrigerator after feeding it. You can also freeze a portion of your starter for travel or if you anticipate forgetting about your countertop starter and accidently kill it.

Before feeding my sourdough, I usually use a portion of the starter in a recipe or pour half into a storage container for discard to keep in the refrigerator for later use.

For proportions: If you have about a cup of starter, feed it about a cup of flour and a cup of water. We use our Berkey water because Arizona's water is rough. I like the starter to be on the thicker side after feeding it so sometimes I end up adding more flour than water. Arizona is a drier climate than Alaska, so it just depends on where you live for water content. Cover your container lightly with cheesecloth, a rag, a loose lid or whatever you can find. I just like to cover it because it seems happier that way. Now let it sit on your counter for 8-12 hours. About every week, I move the starter to a fresh container.

Notes: Keep your starter in a glass container and stir with wood or plastic. They say not to use metal with sourdough and that's one thing I hold to.

Using Your Starter

There are two ways to use your sourdough after you feed it. The first way is to use the starter at its peak rise around 10 hours after feeding. If your kitchen is hotter, your starter will be ready sooner. If your kitchen is cooler, it will take longer for your starter to reach its bubbly peak. For readiness, it should be close to double in size from when you fed it. The second way to use your starter is more time friendly. Most people refer to the second use as discard. Depending on what your recipe calls for, you can use either one to get a great-tasting outcome.

Examples for a fed bubbly starter at peak rise would be for things that typically call for yeast in our modern world. These include, breads, buns, pastries and so forth. Discard is great for pancakes, my Chuck Wagon Biscuits, muffins and more.

Recipes to Try

3 House Favorite Sourdough Recipes

Sourdough Sandwich Bread - Farmhouse on Boone

Sourdough Blueberry Muffins - Farmhouse on Boone

Sourdough Hamburger Buns No Yeast

Why Choose Sourdough?

If you're on the internet reading about sourdough, chances are you have heard the health benefits of switching from standard yeast gluten to sourdough. Bottom line, if you can tolerate gluten, this is the best way you can consume it. The longer the ferment, the better for the digestion. When sourdough goes through the fermentation process after you feed your starter, it begins to convert to protein from just being carbohydrates. I love that!

Anyhow, if you're on the fence about considering sourdough, I say just go for it. Hopefully this encourages you try it out, if nothing else.

Blessings to you and your home,

Ashley