The Best Sourdough Chocolate Cake Recipe - Home Grown Happiness (2024)

FAQs

Can I use regular flour to make sourdough starter? ›

If you do not have whole wheat flour, just use all purpose flour instead. The starter will be fine. I switch to all purpose flour for the feedings because it's reliable, inexpensive and practical for everyday baking (remember, a portion of your starter is removed, discarded, or used for something else).

If the mixture does not start to grow again by Day 6, add 1/4 tsp. apple cider vinegar with the daily feeding.

Some people like to add a little bit of lemon juice to help the process along. My recommended proportions are below. Third, stir the mixture in the jar until it become a thick paste. Finally, repeat every 12 hours for about a week.

Fed sourdough starter refers to a starter that has been fed flour and water (preferably by weight). You should feed the starter equal or greater than its weight after discarding a portion. You should wait at least 2-4 hours or until the starter is at its peak before you use it in your baking.

Whole wheat flour is an excellent choice for creating a sourdough starter due to its nutrient-rich composition and potential for fostering a robust microbial community. However, it's important to note that the quality of whole wheat flour can vary between brands.

Bread flour (or baker's flour) is a high protein, white flour that is milled specifically for baking bread and sourdough. You'll get the best results for your sourdough bread from using bread flour. The most popular bread flour in the US is King Arthur Bread Flour.

Peter's method calls for starting with pineapple juice as opposed to water because “the acidity in the juice helps shorten the time to get the process started.” I very much liked the sound of this. Let's back up: a sourdough starter is a fermented mix of flour and water containing wild yeast and bacteria.

There is no single best ratio, but I've found a ratio of 1:5:5 fed twice daily at 12-hour intervals to produce a sourdough starter that's strong and healthy. This ratio corresponds to 20% ripe starter carryover, 100% water, and 100% flour (a mix of whole grain rye and white flour) at each feeding.

Baking soda or bicarbonate of soda can be used in sourdough bread to create a less sour loaf. Added after bulk fermentation, but before shaping, it can help to create a lighter, more fluffy loaf of sourdough.

*If making sourdough is new for you, do not be discouraged if you starter takes longer to get active than mine – stick with it, it will happen! *Tap water is usually fine, if you are not sure, use boiled and cooled water, you can use it at room temperature or cool; do not use distilled water.

Why do you spray sourdough with water before baking? ›

Wetting the dough causes the surface to steam. Covering it traps the moisture. This partnership stops the bread from drying out on the surface in the hot air of the oven and forming a premature crust. Your bread rises more and produces a richer colour, becoming glossy on the surface.

It seems to make it much faster - within one day the starter become visibly active and frothy. But with just the white flour as starter it takes at least 3-4 days to reach to that state of activity. I have also tried this at home and very surprised how it becomes active in just 1 day!!

Can I leave my starter out overnight after feeding it? Yes, if you have just fed it. Since the night is rather long, feed it in a 1:4:4 ratio so that's not over fermented by the morning. If for example you use a 1:1:1 ratio, the starter would have peaked in the middle of the night, and collapse by the morning.

If you didn't discard a portion of your starter each time you feed it, two things would happen: Your starter would grow to an enormous, unmanageable size. Your starter would likely become more and more inhospitable to the bacteria and yeast we want as the mixture would become ever more acidic.

Past-Peak and Falling: If your starter/leaven is past-peak and is beginning to fall in height, it is beyond the optimal point to use it for baking, but it will still work. The only thing to consider is that once a starter peaks, it starts to become more acidic as it falls.

Plain flour is also rich in protein and has higher protein content than regular content which is great for making sourdough. The more protein you have in your flour, the more gluten can be developed in your dough. Low protein flours are more suitable for making crumblier textured goods, such as cookies or pastry.

You need to use unbleached flour to make a starter, preferably a whole wheat or whole rye.

Bread Flour Substitute

You can always substitute all-purpose flour for bread flour one for one in any recipe that calls for it. Your bread might not raise quite as high or have quite as much chew, if you are using all-purpose flour, but it will still be delicious and homemade and all the good things.

To Activate Your Sourdough Starter:

Place starter in a vessel. I love these deli quart containers for this purpose. Add 45 g each of all-purpose flour and room-temperature water. (Note: The consistency should look like a thick batter.)