5 Sourdough Myths Busted
When I first started working with sourdough, I watched a ton of videos on YouTube and did a lot of research. To be quite honest, I was overwhelmed! After actually having a sourdough starter for a while, I realized there were 5 sourdough myths I had, that after some time using the starter, I busted!
Some by accident, some by frustration! I wanted to share these with you in case you have the same thoughts about Sourdough!
Now, to be fair, you can do these 5 things with your sourdough and it will turn out just fine, but, in my opinion, why would you if you didn’t have to! I want a streamline process when I make sourdough bread. If you do as well, read on for 5 things you may thing you have to do or stick to with your sourdough, but, definitely don’t have to!
- You need to weigh your flour and water when you feed your starter.
Almost every video I watched had me weighing the flour and water for each feeding. First off, at the time, I didn’t even have a kitchen scale. Right then and there, I had to purchase a piece of equipment that I would only use for one thing.
So, very early on, I gave up on that and just took my chances at just feeding the starter some flour and some water until it was the consistency that I wanted. And you know what? It turned out just fine! My starter is super vigorous and healthy and I NEVER weigh my feedings!
2. You shouldn’t interchange flours in your starter.
This myth I busted very early on. I have used almost every flour known to man in my starter and it has always been just fine.
Three flours I have not and will not ever use are: Bleached, Self Rising, or Gluten Free. Other than that, I’ve used them all. From Kamut, Einkorn, Unbleached All Purpose, Freshly ground Whole Wheat, Spelt, and store bought Whole Wheat. It always works great.
Your sourdough starter isn’t biased about which flour you use, I promise!
3. You need to feed your starter several times before making a loaf of bread to “build it up”.
Okay, to be fair, I have NEVER actually done this, ha ha! It seemed so wasteful to me to keep discarding starter and feeding it over and over again.
I just put some starter in my dough and it rises perfectly!
I really don’t have the foresight to plan that far ahead of time for a simple loaf of bread!
4. You shouldn’t use your starter straight from the fridge in your recipe.
Well, this myth I busted by accident. I really needed to make a loaf of bread one day and I realized my starter had been in the fridge for a couple of days. So, I took my chances! And, guess what? IT ROSE! No problem!
Since then, I always use my starter straight from the fridge. I feed my starter, let it get active and it goes in the fridge. I literally just grad a 1/2 cup straight from the jar in the door of my fridge until it needs fed again.
5. Sourdough bread is a long, complicated process: Weigh, Autolyse, Stretch and Fold, etc….
I am here to tell you that sourdough bread is actually a very simple process. Very hands off and it just takes time.
You don’t have to fuss with it, just put the dough together, cover, put in a warm place, and wait! That’s it!
I am going to link my most popular sandwich bread recipe right here: https://therosehomestead.com/sourdough-sandwich-bread/ I have had so many people comment on my YouTube video that this recipe is one of the easiest they have made and they have consistently good results! And, there is no stretching and folding, no autolyse, no weighing ingredients, or kneading! I hope you will give it a try!
Well, that’s all I have for you today and I sure hope you found this blog post helpful!
If you are having problems with sourdough, I urge you to keep it simple! Step back and realize this is just bread! It doesn’t have to be rocket science!
I’m getting ready to try the bread- you make me feel like I can do it!😘
I’m excited for you. And watch the video of her doing making this the bread. You will pick up other helpful hints to encourage you in many ways. And you get to watch her technique like how she rolls out her dough, and what it looks like while it’s actually in a mixer. Mary is a very calm and patient teacher. I love her style.
Do you feed your starter every time when you take it out? Or just when you are running out?
I only feed it when it gets low.
I’m making starter for the first time and I’m on day 5 where I put it in a quart jar and fed it. It’s been 12 hours but it has NOT doubled in size. Now what do I do?
Does it have bubbles?
My starter is about 2 months old now and was doing wonderful, now I can’t get it to stop smelling like acetone – should I start over? I have extra fed it but it doesn’t seem to help for very long..
No, that is the smell you should expect when your starter is hungry. It just means it needs more food. I would feed, let it get bubbly and put straight in the fridge to slow the process down and use it straight from the fridge.
Hi Mary,
I use your recipes because you make it easy for me.
I do have a question about a starter I’m trying to establish. It’s 100% Rye and at day 10 it stopped bubbling or rising. It’s only on day 13 so I know it’s not ready for baking, but is this normal for this to happen? It never did with my white stater.
Thank you.
That is not normally what will happen. I would try adding a bit of whole grain flour to the mix to see if that picks it up. Or, if you would rather stick to 100% rye, try adding a few raisins to start things back up again. You can remove then when it gets bubbly. Another option is to take out most of the starter to make pancakes or another recipe and feed it again. Sometimes feeding a small amount of starter really jumpstarts the activity.
I do exactly what you do Mary. I never measure my water and flour when feeding my starter, I know the consistency; which is a thick batter. No fails either.