Sourdough Starter

Hello again! I know I'm usually a proponent of quick, easy, low-effort recipes, but ever since we bought a house and property that will eventually become our homestead, I've found myself wanting to slow down, to cook and bake from scratch, to plan ahead and lovingly put time and effort into the food we eat. We are on the road to a simpler life, raising and producing our food instead of shopping for convenience, and one of my goals along this road was learning to bake bread.

Of course, bread has been one of the things that I cut out of my diet when I began trying to lose weight and eat more healthfully. We've all heard that carbs are bad for you, and that yeast and gluten are causes of stomach upsets, etc. Yet nearly every culture on every continent of the world has included bread in their diet, usually as a nutrition staple. If we, as the human race, have survived on bread for so many centuries, why is it suddenly something that is bad for us?

The answer is that bread today, as we buy it in the grocery store, is nothing like the bread our ancestors ate! Our bread today is processed, bleached, and lacking most of the good nutrients that God put into plants. No wonder our bodies have a hard time processing it!

I decided to try my hand at sourdough bread. Of course, being home only a few days a week makes it difficult, but I managed to make a sourdough starter in 3 days that has now been alive for a few weeks. I have done more baking in the past few weeks than I have in the past several years - and I'm enjoying it! A lot of people have asked for the recipes that I've been using, so I will be sharing a series of recipes that have worked for me. I should also mention that I've been baking with honey to replace sugar lately, and I'm feeding my starter with all-purpose flour, I've been using whole wheat flour or a mix ratio of both in my baking. Also, you will want to use filtered water for your starter and baking, as the chlorine in plain tap water might mess with the good organisms in sourdough.

So, what's the first step in sourdough baking? A good starter, or sourdough mother. For this, you will need flour, water, and yeast, as well as non-metallic bowls and utensils and something to cover the bowl.

Ingredients:
1 package active dry yeast
2 cups flour
2 cups water, room temperature

Good bubbles!

Stir the ingredients together in a large bowl until combined, cover with a towel, and leave in a warm-ish place where it will not be disturbed. For three days (or more), feed twice daily with another cup of water and cup of flour, stirring gently until just combined.

By the second day, there should be bubbles and a pleasant sour smell. If the smell becomes sharp and unpleasant, or the starter turns any color besides the pale tan dough color (i.e., pink, green, orange), immediately throw out! On the third or fourth day, as long as there are plenty of bubbles and pleasant sourness, pour the starter into a container (such as a mason jar), but leave the lid loose enough to allow it to breathe.

If you're planning to feed and use the starter daily or every other day, then leave it on your countertop. If you will use it only once a week, like me, then keep it in your fridge and take it out only on weekends.

The internet has a wealth of information, recipes, and ideas for using your new sourdough starter. So far, I've used it to make bread (of course), dinner rolls, muffins, cupcakes...the possibilities are nearly endless!