Liquid Sourdough Starter

Sourdough Starter comes in many forms. A liquid sourdough starter is probably the most commonly used type - and for good reason. It's easy to get established, doesn't require a whole lot of technique, makes a really nice flavoured sourdough bread that isn't too sour, and it's very flexible too. What I mean by 'flexible' is that it can be used in regular yeasted bread recipes as well as pure sourdough ones, because it adds flavour and texture. It's also flexible because it can be rapidly increased or decreased in size to accomodate different numbers of loaves. It can also be fed in different ways to last for longer or shorter periods of time, depending on how often you bake.

So you're about to learn all about Liquid sourdough starter. It's where I usually begin my new sourdough ferments from. You can then also use this starter to make Old dough starter, Dry dough starter (also sometimes called Desem starter) and Powdered (dehydrated) sourdough starter. This last type can be utilised either to begin a starter, to store or share sourdough starter, or to enrich it later on. Sourdough geeks like myself often will maintain a number of sourdough starters simultaneously, to use for making different flavours and types of sourdough bread.

(Note: Old dough is a self contained method, and so the volumes made for dough are different. You can use them with this method here, but just don't reserve any dough. You'll end up with 150 grams more dough per loaf. Not a big deal with sourdough.)

For all the reasons mentioned above, liquid sourdough starter is probably the starting point for most people's sourdough breadmaking journey. That's because it's relatively fast and easy to establish. As mentioned earlier, it allows maximum flexibility, because it refreshes quickly, and can accomodate different volumes of dough without a problem. It can also be fed with a constant type of flour or flours, so when you are experimenting with new recipes, your starter doesn't need to be a variable. By the same token, if you really like the flavour of a particular grain, liquid starter can easily be made to work with that grain. You can feed it almost anything that will ferment, and it'll accomodate it!

All this flexibility comes at a small price, though. Liquid Sourdough Starter requires regular feeding, and if it's neglected, it will eat itself up from the inside quite quickly, making it a job to refresh and get back in balance again. And if this happens, recovering the natural balance can take quite a few feeds and uses, meaning that you will be making pretty ordinary bread from it for a few batches while it recovers.

I have written a number of articles about healing and maintaining your Sourdough Starter, and as I continue to learn more, I will no doubt write more of them. You can expect at least one sourdough starter disaster in a lifetime, so these articles will help you either get fixed, or avoid more of them.

Most people experience 'losing' their starter early on, and throw it away. Unless you intend to never bake again, I don't recommend this option, ever. All sourdough starters can be redeemed, especially so if you've maintained a backup copy. By maintaining the culture which is there already, the whole sourdough process running in your home bakery will become enriched and grow stronger. The more localised a sourdough culture, the better. And you just can't speed up the process of time - it's time that creates the strongest sourdough cultures.

Articles specifically about liquid sourdough starter in the site include:

• Introduction to Sourdough Starter
• Starting the Starter
• 7 Day Sourdough Starter Recipe
• Spelt Sourdough Starter.

There are also some directions through these articles which point you towards the other main methods of leavening, for sourdough bread, including:

• Old Dough Technique
  
• Powdered Sourdough Starter
• Maintaining your Sourdough Starter
• Making Dry (desem) Sourdough Starter

which over time you may wish to learn about. Each one of these are useful for different purposes, and produce quite different flavours of bread too.

You might also want to have a look at the SourdoughBaker Bookshop for more information about sourdough breadmaking. You can also purchase Breadmaking Kits and Ingredients right here. I also have supplies of Powdered Sourdough Starter available, which comes with a special printed instruction book. This Sourdough Starter can be established in only three days, and provides the strength of 20 years of Sourdough Culture right away - making it an excellent way to get you baking great bread very quickly. We can get any of these things to you anywhere in Australia in only a few days from payment being received.

I also have a quantity of fresh sourdough starter, which is capable of travelling. It is useable straight away.

Here's a complete list of articles in this section:

• Sourdough Starters

  • Liquid Sourdough Starters
    • Introduction to Starter
    • 7 Day Starter Recipe
    • Starting the Starter
    • Spelt Starter
    Dry Dough Sourdough Starter
  • Old Dough Starters
  • Powdered Starters
  • Maintaining a starter
  • Storing Sourdough Starter
  • Healing Your Starter

Here are some of the recipes which work the best with liquid sourdough starter:

Sourdough Recipes

• Basic Sourdough Recipe
• White Spelt Recipe
• Wholemeal Spelt Recipe
• Semi Leaven Recipes
  • Continental Bread
  • Light Wholemeal Bread
  • Light Rye SL Bread
• Porridge Bread Recipes
  • Brown Rice Bread
  • Linseed Bread
  • Sunflower Bread
  • Porridge Wholemeal
  • Oat Porridge Sourdough
  • Spelt and Rice Sourdough

So Happy Sourdough Baking!