A sourdough starter is a fermented culture. It is also known as mother yeast or wild yeast and also sourdough leaven. The starter is used to make a bread rise without using commercial yeast. This recipe will help you to learn the beginner's process of making sourdough starter at home.
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- Lockdown Sourdough craze
- Video guide to make sourdough starter aka mother yeast from scratch
- How to Make a Sourdough starter with wholewheat flour from scratch
- What is a sourdough starter?
- Making sourdough starter in the Indian climate
- Naming the Sourdough starter
- Important things to consider while making sourdough starter at home
- Beginner recipe of Sourdough starter aka mother yeast
- Day-to-day development of sourdough Starter!
- Have you tried the Sourdough starter recipe from Debjanir Rannaghar!
- Here's the sourdough starter mother yeast Recipe Pin for your Pinterest Board!
Lockdown Sourdough craze
During the lockdown of 2020, amongst other things, there was a craze for making sourdough starters at home followed by sourdough goodies! The recipe-maniacs went crazy about it and I was no exception. I named mine "Chris" (after Chris Hemsworth!). Chris, my mother's yeast is still alive and it is 2021. What I can hope is to feed it year after year considering the situation now! Recipes will come and go; our lives will not! Take care as much as you can and wear a mask, not below your nose! Talking about the recipe, I wanted to have a simple one to help myself (and others who are like me; prefer something simple and easy to understand).
Dear Friends, let me share the simple sourdough starter recipe I learned and re-learned during this lockdown. I never thought of making a bread starter at home before. However, there was a craze I noticed on social media about making a sourdough starter at home. I have seen known and unknown people, friends, and acquiescence making sourdough culture at home and I followed their feed minutely. Once they were done with the process of growing the mother yeast, they started making various sourdough breads. Even then I was not ready to Sourdough Starter from scratch. I started when I was out of the last packet of yeast at home.
Here I must mention, that I have followed a proper course by Sujit Sumitran which was immensely helpful. This course is available online.
After all these, considering the weather of Kolkata, after a few trials and errors, I have come up with a recipe that works for me! Needless to say, it is similar to all I have found ingredient-wise yet it matches my requirements.
Video guide to make sourdough starter aka mother yeast from scratch
How to Make a Sourdough starter with wholewheat flour from scratch
The recipe I followed is a very basic recipe for a starter. I must mention my bread-baking skill is limited to yeast bread and no-yeast soda bread. Needless to say, I wanted to follow the easy sourdough recipe. I went through different recipes available on the internet and found one must use a thermometer and weighing scale for the first time while making the bread starter. News, news... my weighing scale was not working and Pasta lost the thermometer. Needless to say, I started searching for a so-called Grandma's recipe for making a sourdough bread starter without a thermometer and a weighing scale. It was then Maa told me that Boropishi's (my aunt's) recipe khata was a recipe! She mentioned while making the bread starter, I must use a bowl/ cup all through the process in case I do not have a weighing scale available.
What is a sourdough starter?
A sourdough starter is basically a fermented culture. It is also known as mother yeast or wild yeast and also sourdough leaven. The starter is used to make a bread rise without using commercial yeast. The bread inherits the sour taste of the starter and hence, the name. The starter is prepared by the process of fermentation of dough which forms lactobacilli and yeast within. the yeast produces carbon dioxide and lactic acid makes the culture sour. The history of breadmaking is centuries old and the first evidence of sourdough bread baking came from 3700 BCE according to the Encyclopedia of Food Microbiology. Talking about the process, it takes very basic ingredients (flour and water) to make the culture at home.
Making sourdough starter in the Indian climate
Well, there are thousands of simple sourdough recipes available. In Kolkata, considering the high temperature it is easy to grow the culture. Following this recipe, you can make your own sourdough starter if you are in a country like India.
Naming the Sourdough starter
You must be aware that it is a common culture to name a sourdough starter. This is because the starter is a living thing and hence. calls for a name. Whatever name you will give to your sourdough starter, the ingredients will not change! I have named my sourdough starter Chris after Chris Hemsworth! My sourdough starter is as strong (and cute) as Thor!
Important things to consider while making sourdough starter at home
- Use a container/ cup to measure the flour; do not change the cup;
- The use of un-chlorinated water is very important;
- Always use properly washed jars to store the starter;
- You may think the discard is much of a waste however, this is used in making bread;
- Do not forget to feed your mother yeast once a week.
Beginner recipe of Sourdough starter aka mother yeast
Sourdough Starter Recipe
A sourdough starter is basically a fermented culture. It is also known as mother yeast or wild yeast and also sourdough leaven. The starter is used to make a bread rise without using commercial yeast.
Equipment
- 1 Spatula
- 1 glass jar
- 1 Bowl
Ingredients
Day 1 of making a simple sourdough starter
- 1 Cup Wholewheat Flour
- 1.5 Cup non-chlorinated Water
Day 2 of making starter
- 1 cup All-Purpose Flour
- ½ cup non-chlorinated Water
Day 3 of making sourdough starter from scratch
- 2 cup All-Purpose Flour 1 cups each for morning and evening
- 1 cup non-chlorinated Water ½ cup each for each feeding
Day 4 of making the ultimate sourdough starter
- 2 cup All-Purpose Flour 1 cups each for morning and evening
- 1 cup non-chlorinated Water ½ cup each for each feeding
Day 5 of making the simplest sourdough starter at home
- 2 cup All-Purpose Flour 1 cups each for morning and evening
- 1 cup non-chlorinated Water ½ cup each for each feeding
Day 6 of making mother yeast at home
- 2 cup All-Purpose Flour 1 cups each for morning and evening
- 1 cup non-chlorinated Water ½ cup each for each feeding
Instructions
Day 1
- Day 1
- The recipe for sourdough starter calls for only three ingredients; wholewheat flour, all-purpose flour, and non-chlorinated water.
- Try to start the recipe at the night on the first day of making the starter.
- Take a clean and sterilized bowl to make the starter.
- Take 1 Cup of Whole Wheat Flour in a sterilized Jar.
- Add 1 cup of non-chlorinated water to it.
- Take a clean fork (or spoon) and mix both.
- Now add another ½ cup of water and mix.
- Cover it and place it in a warm place without disturbing it for 24 hours!
Day 2
- Day 2
- After the first 24 hours, you may or may not see bubbling! Fortunately, Chris was good to me and I saw the perfect bubbling after 24 hours. The is because of the temperature of the area you are living in. In case there is no bubbling, you may wait for another 24 hours and check in between. If nothing happens you have to start again!
- Discard half of the mixture.
- The remaining will be enough for the next step.
- Now we will use All-purpose Flour.
- Take the mixture in a bowl and add ½ cup water and also 1 cup all-purpose flour and mix.
- transfer this to a clean jar and place it in a warm place without disturbing it for another 12 hours!
Day 3
- Day 3 Morning
- Day 3 Evening
- You will see the mixture rising and also a typical aroma after 12 hours.
- From day three feed the starter two times a day
- Take half a cup of the mixture in a bowl and add ½ cup water and 1 cup all-purpose flour and mix.
- Transfer this to a jar for 12 hours.
- By this time start doing the water test.
- Take one spoon mixture and drop it in a bowl full of water.
- If the starter is ready it will float on the top; else you need to continue the same process after the interval of 12 hours until you receive the perfect mixture.
Day 4 till Day 7
- It took me to feed the mother yeast till day seven morning 2-times a day to get the perfect sourdough starter.
- I got mine on the 7th day morning.
- Day 7
Next week onwards!
- You have to keep the starter in a sterilized bottle in the refrigerator.
- You must feed it once a week with 1 cup all-purpose flour and ½ cup water.
Use of Sourdough Starter
- This starter is being used in making baked goodies such as varieties of bread.
- Needless to say, you will get discard (or remaining starter) every week which will be used in making bread.
Sourdough discard
- After every feed (after day 3) you will get the discard which can be used in making bread or other products.
Video
Nutrition
Day-to-day development of sourdough Starter!
Have you tried the Sourdough starter recipe from Debjanir Rannaghar!
I would love to see a picture if you are making it following my recipe which you can share here on [email protected]. You can use my hashtag #debjanirrannaghar and share it through Instagram as well. and in addition, you can tag me at @foodofdebjani.
Here's the sourdough starter mother yeast Recipe Pin for your Pinterest Board!
About Debjani Chatterjee Alam
I am Debjani Chatterjee Alam. A CSR specialist by profession and a food writer, food blogger, and food photographer as well. I live in Kolkata along with my Husband Mehebub who is an architect by profession, my daughter Pasta, and also my dog daughters Coffee and Luchi.
Raj says
good blog/progress. Have you published anything about the bread making progress/recipe?