The art of working with sourdough can be a difficult one to master. Whether you’re trying to replicate that traditional sour taste or throw a spin on a family favourite, we’re taking a step back to the basics to ensure your recipes have the best chance at success.
The Starter
Materials:
1 Wide Mouth 32oz Mason Jar
To begin your starter:
60 grams (1/4 cup) of Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
60 grams (1/2 cup) of cool tap water
To feed your starter:
60 grams (1/4 cup) of Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
60 grams (1/2 cup) of lukewarm tap water
At the core of every good Sourdough recipe is a well-fed Sourdough starter. Now, you might be thinking – “I have to feed the recipe? It’s supposed to feed me!” – which is an understandable concern. Unlike other yeast bread, Sourdough gets its rising properties from wild yeasts in the environment. However there’s a careful balance to be made to ensure your starter is well maintained, and so here we’ll walk you through everything you need to always have a perfect starter at your disposal.
“I’ve got just one starter that I’ve intuitively learned to care for now. I would say it’s more like getting used to having kids and not worrying about the little things,” said Sami Alonso, Home Baker of 15 years.
Day One
Combine your initial flour and water inside the mason jar and stir well. Then cover your jar loosely, and let it sit at room temperature for roughly 24 hours.
Day Two
At this stage, there’s a chance you may see some activity within the jar (bubbles, growth, etc.) but don’t be concerned if you don’t. Either way, discard half of it and feed your starter 60 grams of flour and water. Mix well, and cover for another 24 hours at room temperature.
Day Three
You should hopefully see some activity at this point assuming you’re storing and feeding your starter correctly. At this point, we want to increase the feeding schedule to twice daily. For each feeding, weigh out 60 grams, or roughly 1/4 cup of starter, and discard any remainder.
Add 60 grams (1/2 cup) of unbleached all-purpose flour, and 60 grams (1/4 cup) of water to 60 grams of starter. Mix all of the ingredients until well combined, then cover and let it rest for 12 hours. Ideally, you should be timing your feedings as close to 12 hours apart as you can.
Day Four
Weigh out 60 grams of starter and repeat day three.
Day Five
Weigh out 60 grams of starter and repeat day three. By the end of the fifth day, your starter should be almost double in size with a pleasantly tangy aroma, but not an overpowering one. If your starter hasn’t risen much and isn’t showing signs of bubbling, continue your feeding schedule every 12 hours for a sixth or seventh day.
Now we can give the starter one last feeding and it’ll be set. Cover again for roughly 8 hours, and now you can begin to use the discard in your recipes. If you ever need more starters than what you have ready, just hold off on discarding any starter while you continue your feedings – until you have enough for your recipe plus the 60 grams needed for feedings.
If you’re using a screw-top mason jar, refrain from tightening it completely so it’s not airtight. At this point you can transfer it to the fridge as it’s a permanent home, feeding it roughly once per week.
Basic Whole Wheat Sourdough Bread
Now that you’ve learned the ins and outs of Sourdough starters, now’s the time to incorporate it into an actual bread! Here’s what you’ll need to get started:
Ingredients:
Sourdough Sponge
90 grams (1/3 cup) of starter
85 grams (2/3 cup) of bread flour
60 grams (1/4 cup) of water
Mix the above ingredients, and leave to rest overnight. Now we can move on to the rest of the recipe while knowing our starter will be as ripe as possible.
227 grams (1 cup) of ripe sourdough sponge
300 grams (2 1/2 cups) of Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
50 grams (7 Tbsp.) of Whole Wheat Flour
200 grams (14 Tbsp.) of lukewarm water
7 grams (1 heaping Tsp.) of salt
“Sourdough’s relationship with temperature has been my number one fascination this year. You might think that your entire project is a dud, only to realize that the feeding process is moving at a snail’s pace, and a 5-degree increase in temperature would cut your fermentation time in half. Harnessing temperature frees you up to go do other things, like sleep,” said Thomas Hall, a Sourdough enthusiast in Texas.
In a large bowl, mix the starter, flours, and water until all of the ingredients are combined and the dough is tacky.
Cover and let it rest for 20 minutes. This period, known as an autolyze, gives time for the water to be absorbed by the flour and allows for gluten formation within the dough.
“The biggest thing I’ve incorporated so far is during the bulking phase, making sure to use dry hands instead of wet. I found using wet hands increased the hydration factor more than ideal. This made the proofing stage a bit messier as the dough would stick more to the cotton or linen fabric lining my bannetons,” said Sami Alonso
Add the salt and knead until smooth, but still moderately soft and tacky again. Once it’s fully kneaded, cover the dough again for another hour.
Using a bowl scraper on a floured surface, turn out the dough until it’s somewhat flat and then fold into thirds like a letter. Turn 90 degrees, carefully flatten until you have enough room to fold, and repeat the letter fold. Cover, and let the dough rise for another hour.
Shape the piece into a tight loaf without compressing too much, then place the loaf into a bowl lined with a floured cloth. Cover for about 2 hours or until light and airy.
“During the folding stages once the 4 sides are folded in, make sure to flip the dough so the last fold you make is facing the bottom of the bowl. Simple, but has led to better bulking,” said Sami Alonso
Preheat your oven to 450º when the loaf is just about done rising.
Once the loaf has risen, gently flip it onto a lightly greased baking sheet or baking stone. Slash the top with a knife and place it directly into the oven.
Bake for around 35 to 40 minutes, or until golden.
Contact Ethan Andruchuk at @ethandruchuk on Twitter