Homemade sourdough starter
Are you tired of paying high prices for bread and buns? If so, this sourdough bread starter is the perfect solution for you! You'll have never-ending dough to create delicious homemade bread!
Were you aware that sourdough starters improve with age?
You can keep your sourdough starter alive for many years, and as the starter ages, the flavors intensify.
Just by following the following steps. Plus, you'll never have to buy yeast ever again! This dough can be fed daily, kept alive literally for years, and passed down to the following generations. The sourdough is truly that remarkable!
Homemade sourdough starter:
Ingredients:
2 cups of bread flour.
1 active dry yeast package
2 cups of warm water.
Note:
I prefer using yeast in my starter due to the fact that using yeast makes my bread less sour. Typically, using just flour and water will make the bread have a natural, strong sourness. If that's what you prefer, just start making the starter with flour and water. After about seven to fourteen days, your starter will start forming bubbles and rising (because it will make its own natural yeast).
Instructions:
In a large glass bowl, add one package of yeast, two cups of warm water, and two cups of bread flour; mix well, then cover loosely with plastic wrap.
Set the mixture in a warm, safe place to ferment. Fermentation will take anywhere from three to ten days. The temperature and humidity factors will make the times vary. Usually, a temperature of around 75-80 degrees is ideally the best. That's normally the temperature that my kitchen stays at.
You don't have to watch the starter constantly, but do check on it at least once a day. If the starter is close to bubbling over, stir it. You may want to lay paper towels, or a sheet pan, underneath the starter, in case of mess.
Once the starter is completely bubbly, it should be refrigerated. When you get ready to use it and make your bread, rolls, etc., take it out of the refrigerator the evening before and feed it. Then, the next day, make your bread. After taking what you need out of the starter, remember to replace what you use, cup for cup, and always add about one teaspoon of Splenda, or sugar, each time to help feed your starter. Always stir it well each time you feed it. Leave the starter out on the counter until it gets all bubbly again. Once it is, the starter needs to be placed back in the refrigerator again. Continuing to do this every time.
Note:
So, if you remove half a cup of the starter, add half a cup of flour and half a cup of water, along with a half teaspoon of Splenda or sugar; mix well.
If you use one cup of starter, replace it with one cup of flour and one cup of water, with one tablespoon of Splenda, or sugar; mix well.
Each time you take it away from the starter, make sure to keep replacing the ingredients, and always leave it out on the counter until it gets all bubbly again, then place it back into the refrigerator. (I know that I am repeating myself here, but it's very important.) You'll want to feed the starter the night before you plan to make the bread.
If you go a few days without using the starter, try to remember to keep feeding it. (Add equal amounts of flour and water, with a pinch or two of Splenda, or sugar.) The starter needs to be fed at least twice a week. Personally, I try to remember to feed mine once a day.
Is your sourdough starter active?
To see if your starter is ready to use, fill a glass halfway with water, then drop half of a teaspoon of starter into the water. When the starter floats to the surface, it's ready to use. If it falls to the bottom of the glass, it's not ready and needs more time. If it should fall to the bottom of the glass, feed the starter. Wait until it's fully active.
What can be done with an excess of sourdough starter?
If you feel overwhelmed by the amount of starter that has accumulated, simply freeze cupfuls in small ziploc bags. Or you can always share the starter with a friend, neighbor, or family member.
Remember that you can also use your starter in various bread and bun recipes, etc. You're not tied down to making only one type of bread.
If you forget to feed your starter, do the following:
Don't be in despair, and don't throw your starter out. There's a way to revive it! Should you happen to forget to feed the starter and the yeast doesn't appear active any longer, you'll need to take it out of the refrigerator and feed the starter several times to make it active again. I promise you, it will come back to its bubbly self.
If your starter has a brownish tint at the top of it, this means it needs to be fed. Once it's fed, you'll begin seeing it bubble again. It may take a day or two, but it will liven back up again.
Now, if the starter looks pink or orange at any time, throw it out! This means it's formed a mold, and the starter is past the point of salvaging.