The Story of Sourdough

Sourdough leavening is as old as the rocks. It has been around for over a millennium. How do you think it started? Maybe someone ages ago decided they didn’t like the heavy rock bread. Was it an accident from dough left out too long? Probably. Food scientists don’t know the exact time in history sourdough leavening was started, but it goes way back!

Where Does Natural Yeast Come From?

Some say that airborne yeast got on some flour and water mixture that was just the right temperature and Ph level to make a home. I fell in love with the wonderful environment and stayed. It might surprise you to know that natural yeast is everywhere.  It can be found on grains and when the flour is freshly milled it is also there in the flour in microscopic amounts. This yeast on grain is the main source of natural yeast for sourdough, even though airborne yeast is also “at play” in some smaller amounts.

Our Pastry Chef prefers sourdough starters made without commercial yeast, just the spores in the air and the natural yeasts present in flour and grain. It is a long process to make the sourdough starter, but the flavor is gorgeous. The longer the sourdough starter has been fed, used, and kept the more complex it is.

Airborne Yeast is different everywhere. Some say that a Texas sourdough will never be San Francisco sourdough because airborne yeast is different. Not bad, just different. Our chef’s starter has been around our test kitchen for over 15 years, but there are some that are available for purchase (like the one from Saratoga Jack) that have been around for over 200 years.

How to Keep it Alive

Sourdough starter can be kept in the fridge and fed once a week, or if you make sourdough more often, it needs to be kept at room temperature and fed daily.  Large artisan bakeries make this sourdough start several gallons at a time! It is not unusual for some shops to make this base sourdough starter for hundreds of loaves a day.

Make Your Own Sourdough Starter

 you will need:

3 1/4 cup (16 oz) Organic Grains Bread Flour
2 cups (16 oz) Filtered Water

Directions: Combine the Organic Grains Bread flour and water in a half-gallon non-metal container and let stand uncovered (or covered with cheesecloth to keep bugs away) and out of a draft for several days until it bubbles (ours took about a week).

Chef’s Notes

• The temperature of the room is important. We call it the 85/90 degree rule. The room temperature should not be higher than 90 degrees for the best flavor.
• Stir the starter a couple of times a day during this initial growth process. This allows the yeast to find additional sources of sugar in the batter and grow better.
• For faster growth using commercial yeast for sourdough instead, use 1/8 tsp yeast in the flour-water mixture. In this scenario, it takes 2-3 few days to get bubbly and perfect as an everlasting sourdough yeast starter.

Sourdough Starter Care Instructions

• Contain it. Keep sourdough starter in plastic or glass that is at least twice as big in volume as the start itself. For instance, if you have 2 cups of starter on hand, you will need to keep it in a quart-sized plastic container with a lid or a one-quart mason jar. Sourdough starter will have a nasty reaction to metal.
• Keep it pure. Whenever you stir the starter, be sure it is done with clean utensils.
• How long can you keep it? The sourdough starter may be kept in the fridge for years on end and will remain a viable source of leavening if fed periodically.
• Feed your starter regularly.  Ours is a thick starter and should be fed about once a week if stored in the fridge. We suggest keeping the feeding day on the same day of the week so it is easy to remember. Ours gets fed on Fridays.
• Freeze extra starter. We’d also suggest keeping a small portion of your starter in a freezer container for up to a year. It will go into a deep sleep, but the yeast will be there should you somehow totally forget to feed the starter in the fridge or lose the starter somehow. We’ve been pretty thankful for the back-up in our freezer a few times when someone forgot to retain some to feed a new batch!

Feed our Sourdough Starter

1 1/2 cups (8 oz) Organic Grains Bread Flour
1 cup (8 oz) filtered water
1-2 Tbsp. Sourdough Starter

Directions: In a 1-quart glass or plastic container, stir with a non-metal spoon until there are no dry spots of flour. Cover with a lid and return the mixture to the fridge. Allow the mixture to come to room temperature before using.  When making bread, retain 1-2 Tbsp of the starter to keep alive in the fridge for your next baking project and feed using the feeding directions.

4 Ingredient Make-Ahead Sourdough Bread

6 1/2 cups (2 lbs) Organic Grains Bread Flour
2 cups (1 lb) Filtered Water
1 tsp Salt
1 cup Sourdough Starter

Directions:  Mix the ingredients in a large bowl and knead for 3-5 minutes until smooth and elastic. Cover and let rise at room temperature for about 12 hours or until doubled in size.  When you’re ready, shape dough as desired. This recipe will yield 2 standard loaves of bread. Place into a greased loaf pan, and lightly mist or brush the top with oil. Let rise for about 1½ hours or until doubled in size. Preheat oven to 400°F.  Bake 35-40 minutes until golden brown (at least 195°F internal temperature). Yield: 2 loaves.