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I just fed my starter. Why is it runny?
Not all flour is the same - even if you always use the same brand. This can be incredibly frustrating.
A just fed starter should be stiff and not move - even if you tip the jar upside down.
For a starter to be stiff, the flour needs to contain 12-13% protein to build the gluten network.
If you find yourself in this predicament, adjusting the flour, water ratios should do the trick. In my feeding and preparing to bake instructions, my feeding ratio’s are 20 grams of starter, 50 grams of rye flour and 75 grams of spring, filtered or distilled water.
Adjusting the feeding ratio’s to 30 grams starter. 60 grams rye flour and 60 grams water, may bring that under control.
If in doubt, add the starter and flour first. Slowly add half of the water. Stir it in to test the stiffness. Slowly add more water, stir in and test. It should be the consistency of peanut butter.
How do I know if my starter is active enough to bake with?
An active starter is dependent on weather and humidity. It can take anywhere from 4 hours (in warmer months) to 12 hours (in winter) depending on the warmth and humidity of your home.
When you feed your starter, place an elastic band around the jar where the starter currently sits and leave it on the bench. This helps gauge when the starter has doubled in size.
Stages of growth and what to look for
It will double in size and bubbles starter to appear in the jar
A dome shape will appear on the top of the starter - it’s not quite ready. Check again in an hour
It’s ready and active when the dome flattens out and bubbles and craters start to appear on the top. See Preparing your starter for baking for images and more information.
What is levain?
It’s a preferment which essentially is a mixture of flour, water, and a leavening agent - our sourdough starter - left to ferment before mixing into our dough flour.
Preferments help bring flavor, aroma, and texture to your bread. The extra fermentation contributes additional byproducts of fermentation to your dough such as organic acids and alcohol.
Each sourdough bread recipe, will have instructions on how to make the levain and how long the preferment process is.
What is proofing and why is it important?
Proofing is the final step in preparing your dough for baking. It takes place after the dough has been shaped into its final form and resting in the banneton (proofing basket) before baking.
Some bakers and recipes suggest that at this stage, your dough should double in size and that’s how to tell if your dough is ready to bake with. This has not always been my experience. My dough will rise but not double, so it’s not the best way to tell if it’s ready or not.
Your dough will tell you when it’s ready by how it feels when you gently press into the dough. Here is a great video from Challenger Breadware that demonstrates what to look for.
How to tell when your loaf is cooked?
There are 3 ways to work out if your loaf is cooked through:
It should look golden brown and feel light when you pick it up.
Turn the loaf over and tap on the base. If it sounds hollow, it’s baked.
Insert a thermometer into the center. The internal temperature should be between 96-98 degrees Celsius.
Can a sourdough starter really be 107 years old?
The short answer is yes, but it needs proper care to keep a starter alive for a century or more. The type of flour used needs to remain the same, water levels need to be consistent, and regular feedings need to be on time.
My sourdough starter has its roots in Southern France and was born out of necessity during World War 1 and was lovingly cared for by a French family before making its way to Australia.
I feed my starter with Australian rye flour and distilled water and is fed every 7 days.
One of the oldest sourdough starters still in use today is at Boudin Bakery in San Francisco, California. Their sourdough starter dates back to 1849.
A brief history of sourdough starters
3000BC - Earliest sourdough bread in Egypt where ‘sourdough’ was discovered by accident when dough was left out and colonised by wild yeast spores.
800BC - Ancient Greeks and Roman Empire adopted sourdough bread processes from Egyptian society. Romans further developed the bread making process and oven building technologies.
300 - 700 AD Barbarian period saw the disappearance of bread baking and bread technology.
1100s - Profession of ‘baker’ reappeared in France and ‘Barm’ used in Northern Europe as a substitute for sourdough leavening.
Mid 1800s - Commercial Yeast or baker’s yeast (saccharomyces cerevisiae) discovered by Louis Pasteur (started to decrease the need for the wild yeast of sourdough starters).
1849 - Gold miners in California nicknamed ‘sourdough’ because they carried and used sourdough starters to make bread during the Northern California Gold Rush.
1849 - Boudin Bakery Established by French Immigrants in the US (birth of San Francisco Sourdough Bread).
1906 - Louise Boudin saves famous Boudin sourdough starter from being lost in the Great San Francisco Earthquake.
1896 - Sourdough used by miners in the Klondike Gold Rush in Western Canada and Alaska.
1980s/1990s - San Francisco Sourdough Bread proves immensely popular and becomes a tourist attraction.
2020 - Sourdough has enjoyed a resurgence in popularity after COVID-19 pandemic had people searching for hobbies and yeast while locked down in 2020.
Why do bakers name their sourdough starters?
It’s a a long-standing tradition for bakers to name their sourdough starters. In fact, it’s considered bad luck if you don’t!!
So, what will you name yours? Need some inspiration? How about Bun Jovi, Bready Mercury, Puff Daddy, Adam Levain, Bread Sheeran, Breadney Spears, Doughly Parton, Madoughna…
Still unsure what to call yours? Use this sourdough name generator.
Why do we throw away so much starter?
This is the number one question I’m asked by beginner bakers.
If you don’t discard what’s left after you have fed your starter, you’ll end up with unused jars of starter in your fridge. Also, if you feed your discarded starter, you will waste a lot of expensive rye flour for a starter you will never use.
That being said, there are recipes that call for discarded starter such as my Anzac biscuit recipe.
The discarded starter is not strong enough to make a loaf of bread (because we haven’t fed it) but it is strong enough to use in discard recipes. If you search the internet for ‘sourdough discard recipes’, you will find a plethora of recipes to use up some of your discard.
Is it mould or hooch?
Mold often starts off white, turns green to black and has a fuzzy growth on the side of the jar or on top of the starter. Bad bacteria can also appear as an orange tinge or pink streaks.
Hooch, is a brown or grey liquid sitting on top of your sourdough starter. It often forms a grey ring around the top of the jar. It's not dangerous but is a sign that your starter is hungry. Some bakers recommend stiring it in but I pour or scrap it and then feed it. See Feeding your starter for instructions.
Kahm yeast is something else you might find on your starter but it is not really a kind of mold. It often looks white and powdery. It's a normal result of growing natural yeast from wheat and is a sign of yeast over-growth and is harmless. However, the taste can be foul. It isn't harmful and can be removed by scraping it off the starter's surface.
What is sourdough starter discard and what can I use it for?
Sourdough starter discard is the unfed portion of your sourdough starter - so, the starter you would normally throw in the bin or ‘discard’ after you’ve removed 20 grams and added it to your new jar. Because of it's unfed state, it's not strong enough to bake a loaf of sourdough bread. Instead of throwing it away, you can store it in the fridge for up to 2 weeks and use it in sourdough discard recipes like pancakes, pizza dough and in my ANZAC biscuits.
If you don’t discard the unfed portion, you will end up with an unmanageable amount of jars of starter you many never use.
How to refresh a 2 day old sourdough loaf
Set your oven to 160 degrees Celcius. If you have a spray bottle, spray your bread with water or wet your hands and rub your bread with water. Wrap your bread in foil, and place it in the oven for 10 minutes.
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