Sourdough content is all over the internet, but most of it is buried under a billion ads nobody wants to see. This blog post is a Sourdough Starter care tutorial perfect for the lazy cook (like me) who loves the flavor of fermented bread but does not have all day to devote to baking bread for dinner.
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How much flour?
Good news: It doesn’t matter that much! Bad news: That means there’s no straightforward “correct” answer, which is confusing.
For the sourdough enthusiasts, you can experiment with 1:2:2 or 1:3:3 ratios (flour:water) and, hypothetically, increase the flour and water nearly 5x as long as the numbers remain equal. But it is the microorganisms that create the bubbles, so you need more yeast than flour to get that bubbly, active starter which takes longer when they are outnumbered.
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Does it take a lot of time?
You will want to feed it every few days if you keep it at room temperature but it can be used just about every time it is fed. This is perfect if you are wanting to use it as a leavening agent more than 3 times a week. Keep the lid loose or cover with cheesecloth because the yeast do produce air and can pressurize a container when active.
A method that involves even less time is to keep your starter in the fridge so you don’t have to feed it daily. You can forget about it for weeks or even months, but use good judgment! As long as it smells fermented and alcohol-y (not rotten), shows no visible signs of mold, and isn’t dried out, you’re probably good. I recommend putting the starter in the fridge when it is inactive and sealing the lid to keep out contaminants, but I do open it periodically to prevent pressure buildup. The weird gray liquid that forms on top is normal—just pour it off if there’s a lot, and add that much water back to keep your starter from drying out. This is ideal if you want to cook with your starter less than once or twice a week.
The sourdough starter always has that distinctive flavor, even when it’s not actively bubbling. You can use it as a flavoring in quick breads by adding baking powder or another leavening agent, since the starter alone won’t give your bread enough lift to create the iconic bread texture. This is also a great use for the “discard” you have to skim off to make room in the jar every time you feed your starter. You will have a lot of discard, so I actually use that more than the actual starter!