Fall Sourdough Recipes (2024)

FAQs

Is sourdough starter supposed to rise and fall? ›

This rise is expected and is a good indicator of strong fermentation activity. However, depending on the type of flour you are using to feed your starter, it may not rise all that high and fall all that far—and that's okay.

Essentially making a sourdough starter is not an overly difficult process, but it does require a commitment of time and patience, as well as some dedicated equipment. Sometimes there are factors which mean making sourdough starter could be difficult. Perhaps you're working long hours or go out of town regularly.

The World's 'Oldest' Sourdough Starter Was Made With 4,500-Year-Old Yeast. There's no bread quite like sourdough.

Sourdough needs time to ferment and develop flavor and rise, so you can't really decrease this time (without sacrificing oven spring) but you can do things to decrease your "hands on dough" time. My best tips for making sourdough less time consuming are: Use a stand mixer to reduce your hands on time right down.

It is important that you stir the sourdough starter every day in the morning and in the evening. Feed the starter. Add 60 g flour and 60 g lukewarm water, stir well to combine, and let sit out for 24 hours.

What Causes Sourdough Bread To Deflate When Scored? More often than not, sourdough bread deflates when scored if it's been over proofed. What is this? If you shape the dough and then place into the fridge for cold fermentation (or proofing as it's sometimes referred to), the dough will continue to ferment.

As you can see (or smell!), a sourdough starter should have a sour, tangy, and yeasty aroma, with subtle undertones depending on the type of flour used. However, offensive or foul odours such as rancid, putrid, or mouldy smells are signs that something has gone wrong with the starter.

For most bakers, the answer is a clear no. Maurizio Leo, author of the award-winning bread cookbook The Perfect Loaf, still uses the first starter he ever made; it's now 12 years old. And while he's sentimental about that starter, he says its age doesn't really impact his bread.

If your starter gets completely covered on top with bubbles but does not rise, it is healthy but may just be a wet mix. Try reducing the water in your next feeding and see if you have different results. Also, the type of flour you are using can impede the rise of your starter.

The best flour blend for creating a new sourdough starter is 50% whole-meal flour (whole wheat or whole rye) and 50% bread flour or all-purpose flour. I recommend a 50/50 mix of whole wheat flour and bread flour. Why do you need to use these two types of flour?

Can you keep a sourdough starter alive forever? ›

Dried sourdough starter lasts indefinitely, and can be brought back to life with water and flour when you're finally ready to bake again.

If you don't get rid of the excess, eventually you'll have more starter than your feedings can sustain. After a few days, your daily 1/4 cup flour and water won't be enough to sustain your entire jar of starter, and your starter will be slow and sluggish, not much better than discard itself.

The secret to sourdough is simple: water. The more water you add to your dough will affect how open the crumb (bigger holes and softer texture) will be once it's baked.

If your kitchen temperature exceeds 70°F (21°C), you may need to refrigerate the dough for 8-10 hours. Since this dough rises gradually overnight, you won't be tempted to rush the process or constantly check its progress. Simply let the dough work its magic while you sleep. The dough should double in size.

It may stay at peak for a little while as the yeast slow in their gas production. Once they've consumed all the sugars in the jar, the yeast and lactic acid bacteria will be starving. The bacteria will start to break down the gluten network, allowing the gas to escape. This is what causes your starter to fall.

If your starter floats, it's ready to bake with, if your starter sinks to the bottom of the cup, you want to feed it and then bake with it when it's at its peak.