Whole Wheat Sourdough starter basics*
Sourdough Starter Instructions
Sourdough starter is simply flour and water left to ferment. But, when you look closer, it’s a medium teaming with wild yeasts, enzymes and lactobacilli. This culture leavens, conditions, flavors, and partially breaks down complex substances in the dough. In fact, the lactobacillus actually predigests the gluten in the dough, making bread baked with sourdough easier to metabolize. Michael Pollan argues, “what sourdough starter is, is the traditional way that bread was made until only about 100 years ago.”
Your sourdough starter will be hyper-local to your home because it will pick up yeast unique to your home. No other sourdough starter will be exactly like yours. It takes some effort the keep sourdough starter because it needs to be fed. You’ll find that you begin to develop a relationship during these daily feedings. Some people name their starters. A friend in London named her sourdough starter after me, I guess that’s almost like having a child named after you. I’m flattered.
Note: read these instructions all the way through because the process takes a few days and assumes you already have sourdough starter. It you don’t have starter, contact us.