The Basics

my amusing take 

on this intimidating process

so many flours!? which one to use!?

Bottom line, you can feed your stash & make sponge/bread with any flour you want. AP, wheat, bread, etc. My preference is to use AP flour for feeding & sponge making, and bread flour for dough.  Why? Because feedings & sponge take a LOT of flour and AP is the most economical. Bread flour has a higher gluten content which gives the sourdough a wonderful chewy texture. It’s more expensive, so I reserve it for dough only. However, it’s not necessary and AP works just fine for dough.

who's got the hooch?

Seeing a layer of cloudy or dark grey liquid forming on top? THAT IS THE HOOCH! Get it now? Hooch & Stash?? This liquid is a by-product of active, reproducing, healthy yeast colonies during fermentation. You can use your hooch as an indicator for the health of your stash. Little-to-no hooch with lots of bubbles means your stash is still happy and doesn’t need feeding. NO hooch & NO bubbles could mean your yeast population is low. If your stash forms an excessive amount of hooch within a couple days, then your high yeast population is eating up your feedings too quickly. To correct this, reduce your stash by half and replace with equivalent amount of flour/water mix. This will reduce your volume population and resupply it with plenty of food to keep them happy. Don’t worry, they will repopulate very quickly and it will strengthen your starter in the process.

Pink, slimy, iridescent hooch means your starter is infected. There is no fix, throw it out. To reduce the risk of contamination, wash your hands, use clean utensils, and keep your fingers out of it! Once a month (or as needed) transfer your stash into a clean, fresh jar & lid.

power feeding to boost your stash

Your stash is nothing more than a colony of living micro-organisms waiting to multiply. To multiply it eats. To increase the vitality of your starter, “power feed” over a couple days on the countertop. You can also use this method to increase your stash for a big baking day, or to revive a poor performing starter.

Pour your stash into a large glass or plastic bowl & cover with plastic wrap & bring to room temperature. In a separate bowl, blend 1 cup flour/water food, then fold into bowl of starter. Recover & let it sit over night. In the morning, remove & discard 1c of stash.  Re-feed it this time with ½ cup flour/water & cover. Wait 8-10 hours then remove & discard ½ cup of stash & re-feed it another ½ cup flour/water. Repeat this process every 8-10 hours in ½ cup increments for 2-3 days keeping it covered. When finished, transfer your boosted starter back into a clean stash jar refrigerate for normal storage.

much like me...sourdough hates hot weather

Unlike your traditional bread dough, sourdough prefers longer, cooler rises. If you leave your starter out and its temperature climbs over 80 degrees, the yeasts will quickly die and your stash will be useless.

making sourdough is like dating in your 20's...keep your patience high & your expectations low

Stock up on lots of flour and get organized. Accept the fact that you will likely fail or be confused, disappointed in the beginning stages, and that you will toss a lot of flour. Hang in there. It’s worth it and it gets easier.  Start by reading all your materials and address any questions you may have before you get started – either to me directly – or with the countless YouTube and sourdough help blogs available on the net. Start the first batch with lots of time to conduct the “experiment”. As mentioned before, start creating the sponge the night before you plan on baking. Wake up ready to check on it and address any issues (like lots of hooch on top...which means your stash is highly active and ate thru the feed quickly – you’ll need to discard half of it and feed it again to get a good sponge.) Continue with your first bread-making session as a learning experience. Take your time, pay attention & make notes regarding how the ingredients behave at any given stage. This will allow you to learn everything you need to know about the behavior of this very unique process.

research, research, research
“I’m not a professional baker. I just play one on the weekends.”

Therefore, get on the internet and watch a few of the many “How-To” videos on YouTube. Check my blog for a few of my favorite links. Information on every step is available: how to feed a starter, how to proof a sponge, how to make a loaf, how to store in fridge, how to bake, how to make glazes, how to add spices, troubleshooting – the answers are out there is usually more than one correct solution to various bread making problems. Getting to a delicious loaf of sourdough may take a few tries – or you may luck out and nail it on the first try.  Either way, have fun with it and know that you WILL get the hang of it. The first attempt is always the trickiest. By the second try, you’ll already have an idea what to expect.

Starter can be an unpredictable beast. If you start to feel like throwing your bowl of stash across the kitchen – take a breath, calm down and remind yourself that 1) it’s only flour & water 2) you’ll get the hang of it and the pay off is amazing!

Pretty soon, you’ll be serving up gorgeous, magazine worthy sourdough rounds to all your jealous, bread loving friends who will marvel at your loaves & apologize for ever doubting your skills. Once you do, consider yourself a member of the culinary big leagues. You’ve just mastered one of the most intimidating, albeit mouthwatering, delicious recipes on the planet!