Sourdough starter: Where to begin

The sourdough baking craze that began in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown was not the bread’s first moment of fame. From Egyptians in 1500 BC to gold miners in the 1890’s, fermented bread has been a staple of culinary delight and necessity. 

Sourdough bread is the bread that Caroline Ingalls, “Ma” to Laura Ingalls Wilder, used to sustain her pioneer family while living far from towns with yeast supplies. Laura gave an account of the process in her novel, By the Shores of Silver Lake. 

“But how do you make the sourdough?” Mrs. Boast asked.

“You start it,” said Ma, “by putting some flour and warm water in a jar and letting it stand till it sours.” 

“Then when you use it, always leave a little,” said Laura. “And put in the scraps of biscuit dough, like this, and more warm water,” Laura put in the warm water, “and cover it,” she put the clean cloth and the plate on the jar, “and just set it in a warm place,” she set it in its place on the shelf by the stove. “And it’s always ready to use whenever you want it.” 

Getting the starter started 

The Little House Cookbook by Barbara Walker documents how to create a sourdough starter but cautions that it’s not quite as easy as Laura made it seem. Walker writes, “She [Laura] had patience, experience, favorable climate, and the warmth of a ‘shelf by the stove.’ If you want to make a starter exactly as she did, without such helps as sugar, yeast, or milk, you may have to try several times.”

Luckily for the modern-day baker, the internet has no shortage of how-to blogs documenting beginning a starter from scratch, maintaining the starter, and sharing crowd favorite recipes from sourdough loaves to baking with the sourdough discard. 

One helpful blog called The Clever Carrot (with some incredible recipes to boot!) takes the sourdough newbie by the hand and walks them through creating a starter from scratch. With tons of pictures, day-by-day descriptions, and positive encouragement this website is an incredible resource for beginning the journey into the world of sourdough. 

Another resource that a sourdough novice may find invaluable is Farmhouse on Boone. With more recipes than one could imagine (this woman must put sourdough in everything she touches), there is no shortage of inspiration for ways to use up sourdough discard, fresh takes on baking a sourdough loaf, and tips for storing and maintaining your starter. 

Skip a step and get sourdough starter from a friend

Still feeling overwhelmed? You’re not alone. Many sourdough bakers get an already made and ready to go starter from a friend or neighbor. There’s a special connection that forms when you share the same sourdough starter with someone you know. 

And believe it or not, sourdough starter can be bought all over the internet! From major retail stores to a seller on Etsy peddling a historic 225-year-old French sourdough starter there is no shortage of sourdough starter to go around. 

Once you have an active starter, it’s time to bake and maintain! 

Maintaining the starter

Sourdough starter maintenance will vary depending on how often you choose to bake. A sourdough starter will either be kept in a glass jar on the countertop with a loose lid or cloth secured with a rubber band or closed with a lid in the refrigerator. 

When I was just beginning sourdough baking, a friend told me that unless I was baking bread daily or multiple times a week then I should keep the starter in the refrigerator. The Clever Carrot blog provides a detailed look into maintaining your starter with a consistent feeding and discarding schedule. She also gives tips and tricks for deciding whether to keep the starter in the refrigerator or on the countertop. 

The beauty of the starter is that once it’s established, it’s quite easy to maintain! Some weeks just keep it on the countertop if you are baking more regularly. Other weeks pop it in the refrigerator if you know it’ll be too busy for baking more than once or if you’ll be traveling. 

Sourdough starter is forgiving 

In full disclosure, I went a couple of weeks without feeding my refrigerated starter during a tough season and it survived my neglect. You simply pour off the liquid “hooch” that has formed at the top, which is the sign of a very hungry sourdough starter and proceed as normal. Or, if you want a slightly tangier loaf, simply mix it in. Resilience is its middle name! 

And what is all this about sourdough discard? The reasoning behind discarding part of your starter daily or weekly is to rejuvenate the acidity while also keeping it from growing unmanageable. It can feel incredibly wasteful to toss out part of a perfectly good sourdough starter. But if you incorporate the discard into other baking the discard may very well become your favorite part about sourdough! 

Baking with sourdough discard

Here are a few crowd-pleasing sourdough discard recipes:

1. Homemade Fluffy Sourdough Pancakes
2. Sourdough Cinnamon Crumb Cake
3. Chocolate Sourdough Discard Cookies
4. Sourdough Cheddar Biscuits

Making the sourdough loaf

We haven’t even discussed the crown-jewel of sourdough starter – the sourdough loaf! Entire books have been dedicated to the art of sourdough loaf baking. There are many methods, tips, and tricks to perfecting the loaf. 

A well-loved recipe is from the book Tartine Bread by Chad Robertson. What is particularly nice about this recipe is that two loaves come from it (and sourdough freezes beautifully!). The worldwide web is also jam packed with detailed recipes on how to get an all-star sourdough loaf that even a beginner can triumph. 

Don’t let the maintenance process of sourdough bread baking overwhelm you. Once you get going, it can become a fun and delicious creative hobby. Grab your mason jars and kitchen scale and get ready to join the ranks of Caroline and Laura Ingalls as a sourdough bread baker.