Our Sourdough
Starter - Tilly
We've been caring for our starter as if it were our own child. In fact our son asks if he has to feed "Tilly" when we go out of town. That being said, I always keep some discard in the fridge and some dehydrated starter in the pantry. You never know when you're going to push your whole jar of starter over the island counter and need a backup (true story). Hence, dehydrating some on a regular basis.
We sell our dehydrated starter for $10 for anyone who wants to tip their toes in the sourdough pond. With your order you'll receive your choice of our original sourdough, or our sourdough sandwich bread recipe - just indicate which you would prefer with your order! Click the link below and go to the "Starter" section.
Hydrating Your Starter
Day 1: In the jar provided, measure out and stir to combine 1 ½ teaspoons dehydrated starter and 1 tablespoon room temperature bottled spring water, or filtered tap water with chlorine removed, and let sit for 10 minutes. Stir in 1 tablespoon unbleached high protein bread flour (I prefer King Arthur bread flour), place the inner lid on top, but don't screw the outer top on (just set it aside), and let the starter sit at room temperature for 24 hours.
Note: Store the starter you didn't use in Ziploc bag or food safe envelope in case you need to make another batch at a later date. Our typical jar contains enough for three batches. You can put it back in the jar after day 5 for storage if you'd prefer.
Day 2: Stir in another 1 tablespoon of flour and 2 teaspoons of spring water. Cover and let sit another 24 hours. You may see signs of life through bubbles and maybe even a bit of a rise.
Day 3: Stir in another tablespoon of flour and 1 teaspoon of water. Cover and let sit overnight. You should begin to see spongy bubbles and your starter should be doubling in its rise by now, if not, repeat Day 3 again.
Day 4 (before bed): Transfer your starter to a larger jar (I recommend a wide mouth mason jar for beginners not baking more than 2 loaves at a time) and stir in 1/3 cup flour and 1/4 cup of spring water (give or take a tablespoon or so - you're looking for a thick pancake batter consistency). Mark the level on the jar with a dry erase marker or band. Cover your jar lightly without screwing the cap on. The starter will produce added air in the jar and without a way for the air to escape... well, pop goes the weasel, and you have a mess to clean up.
Day 5 (morning): By the next morning you should be able to see that your starter has doubled (and maybe started going down again). "Feed" your starter 1/3 cup flour to 1/4 cup spring water every 12 hours or so until you have enough in the jar to begin baking.
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Important: this is not the process for growing your own starter from scratch. That takes more time and care to get to the point where you can use it to bake! (Here's a link to how to make your starter from scratch. It's on The Perfect Loaf website - Maurizio Leo's book was my beginner's bible to sourdough).
Continued Maintenance
Now that you have an active starter, join all the other sourdough bakers who have birthed a starter baby and give that baby a name! We have our girl Tilly, but some creative one's I've seen are Lady Wistledough, Madoughnna, Albus Dumbledough, Ron Yeastly, and Fro Dough Baggins for those Lord of the Rings fans out there. The possibilities are endless.
Store unused starter in the fridge if you aren't baking every day. Take it out the night before baking and feed it the amount of flour and water needed for your recipe. Typically, I use about 2/3 cup flour to 1/2 cup water (give or take a tablespoon or so) per loaf of bread I plan to bake. Alternately, you can continue feeding with equal WEIGHTS of flour and water - you should use a scale and measure in grams for this feeding approach. The most common feeding ratio is 1:1:1 (sourdough starter: flour: water) also known as a 100% hydration starter to get new starters going. For example: If you have 40 g of sourdough starter in a jar. To feed it, you would add 40 g of flour and 40 g of water. 1:1:1 is standard for new starters. Once you have an established starter most will move to a 1:3:3 ratio, or 40 g of starter, 120 g of flour, 120 g or water. Whichever your approach, look for that thick pancake batter consistency, mark your jar and make sure it at least doubles before using it.
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For more on starters and other sourdough aids, here are some helpful resources:
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Flour Water Salt Yeast by Ken Forkish
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Starter Sourdough by Carroll Pellegrinelli
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The Bread Bible by Rose Levy Beranbaum
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The New Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day by Jeff Hertzberg, M.D. and Zoe Francois
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You can put your starter in the fridge
​If you have to go on vacation, go. Your starter will be fine in the fridge for weeks and weeks. You'll notice a greyish liquid on top when you get back. It's just your starter's natural alcohols. Just mix it back into the starter, feed it a 1/3 to 1/4 blend once, then when doubled, feed it again for what you intend to bake. Now if you're gone a real long time, you may have to repeat your 1/3 to 1/4 blend a couple times to really wake her up from her winter nap.​ -
You should clean your starter jars regularly
Transfer your starter into a clean jar every few times you use it. Always use clean jars and utensils in your starter, or you risk mold. Mold on a sourdough starter can appear as fuzzy patches, discolored spots, or streaks. It’s often black, green, blue, or pink and typically grows on the surface or edges of the starter. If you notice this, toss it & start over. -
You can use a stiff starter oppose to a liquid starter
Yes, you can use a stiff starter, it's just not my preference. Just lookup "stiff sourdough starter" online and you'll find tons of information on how to grow, maintain and use a stiff starter. -
The age of your starter doesn't really matter
We got our Tilly originally from a package of decades-old dehydrated starter at a cute little shop in Hermann, MO, but "The age of a sourdough starter does not inherently determine its quality or the quality of the bread it produces. Instead, the key factors that influence a starter's performance are its care, the ingredients used for feeding, and the consistency of feeding practices. While older starters may develop more complex flavors and textures, they require regular attention to avoid spoilage and maintain their health. The true essence of a sourdough starter lies in the craftsmanship and dedication of the baker, rather than the age of the starter itself." - King Aurther Baking Company -
If you add yeast, it's not sourdough
A topic debatable by many. but we believe to be true. We do not add commercial yeast to any of our sourdough products. "Technically, sourdough cultures made from yeast are not real sourdough starters. A true sourdough starter relies on the natural yeasts and bacteria present in the flour and the environment. Adding commercial yeast to the mix may speed up the fermentation process, but it won't produce the same complex flavors and textures that come from a naturally fermented starter. Technically a sourdough starter made from commercial yeast is referred to as a Poolish and is really just a commercial yeast culture." - The Pantry Mama
Additionally, "as sourdough sits and ferments, the mixture of flour, water and salt is fermented by naturally occurring lactic acid, bacteria, and yeasts. When you use yeast to make your bread rise faster- you're not allowing this process to happen."- Sunrise Flour Mill
I found this article by The Fermenter's Kitchen to be a really good one to give you a holistic view of this topic.
Happy baking friends! Don't hesitate to call us for pointers or if you throw your starter off the counter and need to pick up an emergency replacement from our starter, Tilly :-)