Start a Sourdough Starter
Posted on 09 September 2008 by joy
I always thought that sourdough bread baking was a bit of an ordeal. I’d heard rumors about a “sourdough starter” and instantly dismissed the bread as something too difficult for me to make.
Then one day my thoughts on sourdough changed with one simple bite of a sourdough pancake. Yes, sourdough pancake! With that one delicious bite, I thought I’d better take a harder look at sourdough.
Sourdough bread is simply bread made without the help of store bought yeast products. Instead, a starter, composed of wild yeast of your own creation, is used to leaven the bread.
The coolest thing about making sourdough bread and rolls and pancakes is that you get to keep something (other than old moldy veggies) alive in your fridge. A ’starter’ is a simple mixture of flour and water that is filled with living yeast and bacteria. Don’t be turned off by thoughts of yeast and bacteria in your fridge. We’re talking the good kind of yeast and bacteria- the kind that gives sourdough breads their distinct full flavor and allow them to rise to their fullest.
Think of your sourdough starter as a pet. Its something that needs to be cared for a fed every week. With the proper attention, you’ll have enough starter on hand to throw together some pancakes or a loaf of bread, the natural way, whenever you life.
There are loads of recipes and sites that describe how to start and care for a sourdough starter, but Sourdough Baking- The Basics by S. John Ross is the easiest and most straight forward.
I started my starter. Will you?
