Sourdough Starter

Meet Mergatroyd.  She's my sourdough starter, and I figured if I had to feed her, she deserved a name.  I was a little late to the COVID-19 sourdough trend, and it's only now that we're into the second wave that I decided to jump on the bread truck. Up until now, I've been content to make my No-Knead Bread or traditional country style bread. But after a friend and I began chatting about starters and feedings and recipes, I decided it was time.

The starter itself only takes about a week to become active, and then you can start using it to make bread and buns. This recipe has been adapted from the Betty Crocker cookbook, but I've changed a few things as Mergatroyd and I have come to know each other better. While sourdough starter can be made using yeast naturally available in the environment, I've chosen the easier route by adding some yeast to get things going.

Sourdough Starter

This recipe has been updated as of November 2022 as I'm become better at working with sourdough. The easiest way to get started with sourdough is to get starter that is already active from a friend. I no longer feed and discard my starter. I keep about 2 tbsp in a plastic tub in my fridge and feed it the day before I want to use it. See notes added to the instructions below.

1 tsp. yeast (I used quick or instant)
1 cup warm water (previously suggested 1/4 c water + 3/4 milk)
1 cup flour (I used unbleached - do NOT use self-rising)

1. Dissolve yeast in water in a medium sized glass bowl.
2. Gradually add flour and beat with a wooden spoon until smooth. Cover with a clean tea-towel or cheesecloth and let stand in a warm place until starter begins to ferment, about 24 hours. Bubbles will begin to appear (see photo) and it will have a sour smell. If it hasn't, check your yeast to make sure it's active.
3. Stir well and cover with plastic wrap. Let stand in warm, draft-free place for 2-3 days until foamy. (I just left mine on the kitchen counter.)
4. When starter is foamy, remove and discard all but about 50 grams. Transfer remaining starter to a plastic tub or jar. Store in fridge.
5. NOTE: (new November 2022) Once the starter is active, only feed it about 12 hours before you plan to use it. Remove from fridge, add equal parts (by weight) flour and water and stir. (Hint: if the recipe calls for 1/2 cup/80grams starter, feed it the equivalent of 1/2 cup/80 grams flour and water.) Leave on counter.
   
6. When feeding the starter, the amount of added flour and water should be equal to or more than the weight of the starter in the container to replenish it sufficiently.
7. When ready to bake, add the amount of starter called for in the recipe. You will know starter is good if it is puffy and floats in the liquid. Once you have removed starter for baking, do not replenish, just put the lid on the container and put it back in the fridge.
8. Feed it again the next time you want to use it. This will result in a sourdough routine that does not have "discard." It's best to use it at least once every week to ten days, but starter will keep longer in the fridge. To revive it, feed it a couple of times until it gets puffy, discarding as needed.
9. Give your starter a stir every once in a while, just to let her know you care.

Sourdough Breads

I've experimented a little with breads made from the starter and will add more recipes as I come up with them. The easiest by far is the no-knead overnight bread, an adaptation of my no-knead recipe. The combinations of ingredients and methods will make breads of different textures and flavours. Feel free to experiment!

No-Knead Overnight Sourdough Bread

Makes one loaf.
Best started the night before baking.

​1/2 cup sourdough starter
2 1/2 cups flour (unbleached) plus more for shaping/dusting
1 tsp salt
1 1/3 cup water

1. The night before baking, or early the morning of, mix together all ingredients in a medium sized bowl until combined. Cover with plastic wrap and leave on counter 8-12 hours. Dough will be wet and will get bubbly. If it's too wet to handle, use more flour on the next step below.
2. Sprinkle a handful of flour on the counter and scrape dough from bowl onto the flour. Using a bench scraper (or hands), work dough a bit (don't knead out all those gorgeous bubbles!) by scraping and turning, making sure that any flour is incorporated.
3. Shape dough into a ball. Transfer to a piece of parchment paper (dust the parchment with cornmeal or semolina if you'd like), cover with a clean cloth and let rest 1 1/2 hours. Dough will not be stiff and will spread a bit when rising.
4. Place dutch oven into a cold oven and preheat to 450 degrees F. (I do this at about the 1 hour 15 min mark.)
5. Dust top of bread with flour and score. Transfer bread on parchment to preheated pot. 
6. Cover and bake 20 minutes
7. Remove lid and bake 20 minutes more.
8. Cool on a wire rack. Devour!

No-Knead Sourdough Rye

Makes one loaf
Best started the night before baking.

​1/2 cup sourdough starter
1 cup dark rye flour
1 1/2 - 1 3/4 cups unbleached flour (plus more for shaping/dusting)
1 tsp salt
1 1/3 cups water
optional - add caraway seeds to taste

Follow the instructions for the No-Knead Sourdough bread. The dough will feel and behave slightly differently because of the rye flour, and you may need a bit more unbleached flour so that it isn't too sticky to handle. Rye bread also takes a bit longer to rise than pure white, so give it at least 2 hours and make sure it looks like it's doubled. 

Scoring looks especially pretty on rye bread. Just before transferring to the pre-heated Dutch oven, dust the top of the loaf with flour. Using a razor blade or VERY sharp knife, score a pattern into the top of the loaf.

Betty Crocker Sourdough Bread

Makes two loaves.
Requires 8 hours for the sponge and another 1 1/2 hours rising time for dough, and 45 minutes to rise loaves.
​Best started the night before baking. I halved this recipe and made a single loaf so that I could use my stand mixer.

1 cup sourdough starter
2 1/2 cups flour (unbleached/all-purpose)
2 cups warm water
3 3/4 cups flour (plus up to 1/2 cup more for kneading)
3 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
3 tbsp vegetable oil

1. Mix starter and 2 1/2 cups flour with warm water in a large glass bowl and mix until smooth. Cover and let stand in a draft-free place overnight or 8 hours.
2. Add remaining ingredients and stir until smooth and flour is completely absorbed. If needed, add up to 1/2 cup more flour until dough is firm enough to gather into a ball, but isn't stiff.
   
3. Turn onto a floured board and knead for 10 minutes. Place dough in a greased bowl, cover with a clean cloth and let rise until double, about 1 1/2 hours. Dough is ready if you poke it and the indentation stays.
   
4. Punch down dough and cut (don't tear) into two equal portions. Shape into round loaves and place in opposite corners of greased cookie sheet. (I used a cast iron frying pan for my single loaf.) Make three 1/4" deep scores in top and let rise until double, about 45 minutes. 
   
5. Heat oven to 375 degrees F. Brush tops of loaves with a little cold water (for crispy crust). Bake in the centre of the oven for about 45 minutes. Loaves are done when you tap them and they sound hollow. 

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