Sourdough Starter Recipe

During the lockdown of 2020, amongst other things, there was a craze for making sourdough starter 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 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; prefers 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 have noticed in 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 bread. 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.

Jump to:

• How to Make a Sourdough starter with wholewheat flour from the scratch
• What is a sourdough starter?
• Making sourdough starter in Indian climate
• Naming the Sourdough starter
• Important things to consider while making sourdough starter at home
• Beginners recipe of Sourdough starter aka mother yeast
• Recipe Card
• Video guide to make sourdough starter aka mother yeast from scratch
• 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!

Here I must mention, 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 working for me! Needless to say it is similar to all I have found ingredient-wise yet matching with my requirements.

How to Make a Sourdough starter with wholewheat flour from the 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) recipe khata is having 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 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;
• Use of un-chlorinated water is very important;
• Always use properly washed jars to store the starter;
• You may thing 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.

Beginners recipe of Sourdough starter aka mother yeast

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Recipe Card

Video guide to make sourdough starter aka mother yeast from scratch

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 dolonchttrj@gmail.com. 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!