Introduction to Sourdough Starter
The thing about Sourdough Bread which makes it unique is the Starter it is made from.
Starters are living things - they eat, sleep, multiply and, if looked after correctly, can be very productive. Starter is tough too - in the case of my own starter, it has had a long life (over 20 years), and while it's had a few close shaves, so far it's lived to tell the tale. Some of them will eventually find their way into this website, I expect.
Sourdough Breadmaking Classes and Workshops
If you like the site, and would like to have me come to your venue or kitchen to conduct sourdough breadmaking workshops with your group, have a look at the options and ideas for breadmaking workshops and demonstration classes while you're here.
I've referred to Sourdough Starter in past articles as a pet which lives in your fridge, and for good reason - if you don't look after it, it will turn on you. Beware. But if it's well fed and housed, it will be an eternal thing which could live longer than you do. Oh, and it also helps you to make great tasting sourdough breads!
I love all these different terms used to describe a Sourdough Leaven. Being an Aussie, I'll just refer to it as 'Starter' from now on, because that's what it does - it 'Starts' the dough on the process of rising, which is essential to making any bread edible.
The story of my own sourdough starter
I began with a 'honey salt' method, which was popular with a local bakery in Glebe near where I lived at the time. It was essentially flour and water, with a complex way of including honey and salt in there, which seemed to be part of the recipe for some quite esoteric reasons I never really understood. Eventually I simplified it to plain old flour and water, which made more interesting flavoured bread anyway.
I've used all the grains in my starter - wheat, barley, rye, rice, spelt, oats, triticale, corn, millet and so on. I've also refreshed it with water from soaking raisins and sultanas too. In the main, these days it gets mostly wheat, though from time to time I'll treat it to some spelt or some cooked rice.
My starter has also been infused with some of the 'greats' over the past 20 years, including an Egyptian yeast that's over 2000 years old, a 'Cowboy' yeast (which is what the 'San Fransiscan' I mentioned earlier would have come from), as well as one of the original Australian Sourdough Bakers own ferments, by a guy called John Downes. He has a book called 'The Natural Tucker Bread Book', which can be purchased through this site, if there's one available at the time you need it..But in the main, I raised it myself from scratch and fed it regularly.
 My Starter has lived in many locations, with many different bloodlines - I've incorporated all of the above starters into my own as a kind of 'cultural exchange', and in the process I've discovered it's tough, this baby - you just can't kill it. It seems the older they get, the stronger they become. Even if I haven't fed mine for weeks, it'll come back to life within hours by just feeding it some flour and water.
I worked this starter commercially for about fifteen years - for many years I had it running at over 100 kg a day in terms of volume. It used to consume 50 kilos of flour, sometimes twice a day, and about the same amount of water too! Nowadays I just use it at home when I need to make bread, so I keep it small and manageable in my fridge. Versions of it can be found in many bakeries and homes around the world, in cities such as Berlin, Tokyo, New York, Ohio, Sydney, Colorado, Sydney, Gosford, LA, Melbourne, Dublin, and even Lawson (which really doesn't qualify as a city, but it's still there working in a small village bakery nonetheless).
Feeding and Keeping a Starter - Overview
A Starter can be fed on anything that will ferment - essentially carbohydrate. I've found that a varied diet will change the qualities, textures and flavours the Starter produces in the breads you make. If consistentcy is desired, feed it the same thing all the time. It will cope.
However, a varied diet breeds different microbiologies, and I believe variation breeds resilience too. That's why mine has continued to thrive - it has had various conditions throughout its life, and thus has become strong despite changes, rather than because of sameness. The same could be said for people - the most successful have had a variety of inputs and locations, and thus they thrive and are strong. Good in theory, I guess..anyway, I happen to know this starter is highly reilient, as it has thrived in many locations worldwide.
A lot of people struggle to establish a starter. Many others simply can't keep them going for very long. It has to be said that in the early stages, starter requires commitment, time and patience. For those without an abundance of these things, I will soon be manufacturing a powdered version of my own starter, which for many people will be a better and easier option from a practical point of view. But for those who want to give it a go, read on as I go into detail.
There are numerous articles following, about different aspects of making and keeping a sourdough starter. I suggest you read 'Starting the Sourdough Starter' for some background information, and then '7 Day Sourdough Starter Recipe'. This will provide you with a good recipe to begin with - or if you want to avoid wheat, check out 'Spelt Starter Recipe'. There is also an article on Healing your starter, if it gets neglected.
'I can't manage keeping a Sourdough Starter - I've tried!'
I can understand this. I would translate these words into 'I can't read Sourdough Starter and I don't have the confidence to keep going with it'. Otherwise, it could also be 'I rarely make sourdough, and I don't remember to feed it'. This website has the answer to this common problem which you can solve using either of two simple ways.
The first comes in the form of the 'Old Dough Technique' which is so simple you'll be amazed at how easy it all is. There are also recipes utilising and feeding the old dough, specifically designed so that you generate the right amount of dough to keep your old dough going successfully.
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The second method I'll be offering in detail will be the 'Powdered Sourdough Starter' technique. For some months now, I've been working on transforming my 20 year old sourdough starter into a dry powder which can be easily made into a starter again by simply feeding and adding water. So far, I've managed to get it working beautifully, making bread fit for a baker in only 3 days. Not only that, but the recipe I've been using to make the bread leaves you with your own 'Old Dough Starter' for next time, so it just keeps giving!
I'll be offering this product for sale, here on this site in the very near future. This will be for a limited time only, so stay tuned. Go to the SourdoughBaker Shop and see what we have in stock now. There is a range of organic flours and other ingredients specially selected for home bakers, sourced from the best grain country in Australia. There are also handy utensils and tools to make your home sourdough bakery easy and fun to use. There will soon be some kitchen equipment too, as well as complete breadmaking kits.
There are also a range of specialist Sourdough and Artisan Bread Books available through this site. Remember, every book you buy through SourdoughBaker helps me to build this free Home Sourdough Breadmaking resource bigger and better for you!
In the meantime, I hope there is plenty here to get you 'started'.
Here's a complete list of articles in this section:
- Here are some of the recipes which work the best with liquid sourdough starter:
Happy Sourdough Baking!
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