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Questions tagged [sourdough-starter]

Culture of yeast and lactobacilli in a flour/water mixture, used to leaven bread (also known as levain)

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Would adding baking soda/powder help these crackers?

This is a sourdough discard recipe for crackers that I love the flavor of. When spread over a 9x13 inch baking sheet the crackers are thick and hard, when spread over a 10x15 inch sheet they are too ...
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What are signs of a ready liquid levain culture?

I made a starter from the Jeffrey Hamelman's book. Currently I am on day 6. For those unfamiliar these are the steps: Day 1 100% whole-rye flour | 125% water | 3.3% honey Day 2 111% starter | 50% ...
Kamil Latosinski's user avatar
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Can't get rid of alcohol smell in my sourdough starter

I made my first sourdough starter around 3 weeks ago. I made it with spelt flour. It was nice and ready after a 7 or 10 days and had really nice yeast smell. I had to leave town for 4 days and let my ...
Lebesgue's user avatar
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Can sourdough starter be cooked well in a hot water bath?

I struggle a lot with baking sourdough bread and usually just cook the sourdough starter itself by frying it in some oil. However, I want to avoid the oil and was thinking if there is any way to cook ...
The Testosterone Fanatic's user avatar
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537 views

Can I add three times the flour & three times the water to my sourdough starter for 24 hours instead of the same amount of flour & water for 12 hours?

Under the usually followed guidelines for sourdough starter feeding, if one has 200 grams of sourdough starter (100 grams fermented flour + 100 grams water), they need to feed 100 grams of flour and ...
The Testosterone Fanatic's user avatar
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My sourdough starter is thick with small bubbles but isn't rising [duplicate]

I started my sourdough starter on the 17th. I was doing 1/2 cup water, 1/2 cup flour with one feeding a day, discarding half before each feeding. It rose with bubbles the first two days and then began ...
Alyssa Gamez's user avatar
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Sourdough starter brown liquid (hooch) forming earlier than expected according to this recipe

I am following this recipe to make sourdough starter (Masa Madre = Mother Dough = sourdough starter?). According to the recipe, it takes around 5 total days (I won't put quantities, I will just use ...
M.K's user avatar
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3 votes
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Is my sourdough starter ready

I’ve been attempting to make sourdough starter for the first time over the last week. I’ve followed the recipe from this website: https://www.coles.com.au/recipes-inspiration/recipes/sourdough-starter ...
user103077's user avatar
2 votes
2 answers
97 views

Do Recipes Typically Account for Starters/Preferments when Reporting Dough Hydration?

I know there have been a couple of questions here before about what "counts" toward computing dough hydration % (honey, milk, etc.) but I always thought it was a no-brainer that starters and ...
Peter Moore's user avatar
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Levain Ratio x Sour

I always used the 1:2:2 ratio in preparing the dough, of course, it always gets sourer. I have doubts about some proportions that I have found in some books, but I cannot find the explanation of why. ...
Fausto Branco's user avatar
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Some instant yeast went into my sourdough starter

This is how it all began, I have a 100% rye starter for about a year now. I used a spoon that had some other dough on it, that dough was from a bag of flour that had mentioned at the bottom of the ...
Pinch's user avatar
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5 votes
1 answer
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Can sourdough starter be used for tenderizing meat?

This paper says that after: "Lactobacillus alimentarius 15M, Lactobacillus brevis 14G, Lactobacillus sanfranciscensis 7A, and Lactobacillus hilgardii 51B were selected and used in sourdough ...
The Testosterone Fanatic's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
316 views

Is it okay to feed milk powder to sourdough starter?

I'm still new to bread making and I was wondering if adding some milk powder when I feed my starter would have a negative impact since milk is slightly more acidic than flour.
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Managing a new, overactive sourdough starter

I began growing a sourdough starter a couple days ago. Things are going very well so far! Too well, in fact; my sourdough starter achieves 2-3x its deflated size in less than 12 hours. My research ...
Conduit's user avatar
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Wild Sourdough Starter Never gets more than 1/3 bigger - Am I doing something wrong?

I made a wild sourdough starter back in July of last year. Did some baking with it, but it has never doubled in size the way that I see described in articles online. I initially started it with all-...
notovny's user avatar
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1 answer
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How do I modify my sourdough rising/proofing time to account for not using enough starter?

This is my first time trying to bake sourdough bread after feeding a mature AP/wheat starter I got from a friend. I fed the starter a 1:1:1 mixture with AP flour and let it rise in a very warm room(~...
Lane's user avatar
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Effect of ethanol concentration on bread flavor

What is the effect of ethanol concentration on bread flavor? According to this stackexchange post the majority of the ethanol produced by yeast evaporates during baking, so in theory the ethanol ...
lerner's user avatar
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2 votes
2 answers
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Sourdough Starter: Very fast rise (doubles in an hour)

I started a sourdough culture a week back and have some questions about rising time. I did not add any yeast to the culture. I am using regular whole wheat flour. The temperature at my place is 30*C(...
vijayvithal's user avatar
1 vote
2 answers
710 views

What is this on sourdough starter?

I have a sourdough starter which I feed roughly once every 2-3 days (throw away 95% of it, refill with water and flour). Sometimes I forget and wait 5 days between feedings, and by that time it often ...
John Pardon's user avatar
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Feeding my starter so that it will be ready when I need it

I have mature starter that I've been using for awhile. I'm planning on baking tomorrow, so I started to prepare the starter by leaving it at room temperature and feeding it every 12 hours yesterday ...
peteck36's user avatar
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What is a good feeding schedule for a "creamy" sourdough starter?

I was given a sourdough starter from a bakery that was excellently "creamy" and had light fruity notes, as opposed to a highly acidic starter. My understanding is that a creamy starter ...
MeowBlingBling's user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
121 views

Reasons my sourdough attempts failed?

Last March I started adventuring into the world of Sourdoughs by following the advise of The Fresh Loaf Bakers's handbook but using wholegrain rye flour all the way and it went pretty well; after a ...
EDG956's user avatar
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4 votes
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Stiff vs Liquid Starter, what are the differences between hydration in a sourdough starter?

I stumbled on the concept of a stiff starter from Northwest Sourdough Baker and have kept a high hydration starter (100% hydration) since I started baking. Was wondering what notable differences do ...
Denis Tsoi's user avatar
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2 answers
1k views

Sourdough starter used too early

So I was making my sourdough starter for almost three weeks, and it still wasn’t floating in water. I used this recipe: https://www.theclevercarrot.com/2019/03/beginner-sourdough-starter-recipe/ ...
Maddie Carroll's user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
113 views

Where to keep sourdough starter

I am wondering what the pros and cons are of keeping a sourdough starter inside the fridge or outside the fridge. Certainly, keeping the starter in the fridge reduces the frequency of feedings, but ...
BundaSuja's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
109 views

How to take care of a sourdough starter?

I am a beginner bread maker and just bought a San Francisco Sourdough starter. The instructions ask to discard part of the starter on day 5 of activating the starter. Why is that?
BundaSuja's user avatar
5 votes
2 answers
1k views

Sourdough bread uncooked from inside

My sourdough starter is 9 days old. Today it doubled in around 6 hours. Following this recipe, I performed following steps: I mixed 400g AP Flour, 160g starter, 230g water and 10g salt. Kneading: I ...
Laschet Jain's user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
464 views

Layer of yeast on top of sourdough discard?

Most of the time when I feed my sourdough starter I find uses for the discard, but on occasion I don't have time or good ideas, so I put it in a separate jar and store it, with a tight lid, in the ...
Oded R.'s user avatar
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How is mixing time influenced when using a sourdough starter?

I am new to producing and using a sourdough starter at home. While mixing a dough that incorporates a starter using a stand mixer with a dough hook attachment, I have observed the resulting dough ...
Adam Mazzarella's user avatar
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1 answer
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Modifications to a sourdough recipe

I'm using this recipe, with the following ingredients: 450 grams Strong White Bread Flour 300 grams Warm Water 150 grams* Active Sourdough Starter 12 grams Sea Salt *This amount is can be adjusted ...
Michael's user avatar
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1 vote
1 answer
469 views

Why stirring an over-fermented sourdough starter caused it to rise a second time to about double the original size?

After feeding my sourdough starter, I let it rise to about 2.5x the original height. It eventually collapsed. 24 hours later, after it was well over fermented, I stirred the starter with a spoon. It ...
Pat's user avatar
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4 votes
2 answers
775 views

Enzymatic reactions that happen when water and wheat flour is mixed?

What happens when you mix water and wheat flour? A seed would start to sprout eventually. Does water start reaction inside of the flour?
Hendrik's user avatar
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Sourdough Starter Very Runny

I think I'm having a problem making a sourdough starter. I'm using the technique from King Arther Flour I started with 113g of whole wheat flour and 113g of water. Every day, I retained 113g of the ...
Misanthrope's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
262 views

Capturing wild yeast for sourdough: Is this healthy yeast or contamination?

I'm trying to capture wild yeast to make my own sourdough bread. I put prunes, water and some sugar in a sterilized glass jar and aired it daily. After a few days I get a white, fuzzy layer. The smell ...
tiftik's user avatar
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3 votes
1 answer
744 views

Bread has acidic smell and taste

I made a sort of "starter" to use instead of dried yeast for making bread. It was basically a loose dough with a tiny amount of dried yeast. When I bake I take some from the box and refresh ...
algiogia's user avatar
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1 answer
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Dry crispy skin on sourdough starter: is it mold?

My sourdough starter is 2 months old. Some week or two ago it started to have a crispy skin on the top. The smell changed a bit, but it is still sweet-acid smell. I cover a jar with the starter with a ...
dzieciou's user avatar
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0 votes
2 answers
3k views

My Sourdough Starter has a brown layer at the top?

So my sourdough starter is about two weeks old, but it suddenly stopped growing three days ago (after a couple days of very active growth)and developed a brown layer on top.The layer is mostly brown ...
Pandai's user avatar
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2 votes
1 answer
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Can you use coffee or tea instead of water in a sourdough starter?

Can I use coffee or tea instead of water when making a sourdough starter?
Dennis Windsor's user avatar
7 votes
5 answers
3k views

Is using commercially available yeast to create a sourdough starter effective?

Numerous starter recipes talk about capturing wild yeast from the environment. Many recipes, as well as questions and answers here, directly say or imply wild yeast is better and that deliberately ...
Phil's user avatar
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1 vote
1 answer
249 views

Safe uses for sourdough starter discards during building phase [closed]

I was wondering if there are any safe uses for the sourdough starter that is discarded during the build phase, i.e. in the first 1-2 weeks before the starter has stabilized. Assuming that there is no ...
user32849's user avatar
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1 vote
1 answer
410 views

Citrus-smelling sourdough starter

I have a batch of King Arthur sourdough starter that I mixed up several months ago and have been using ever since. I keep it in the refrigerator and feed it with 100 g of AP flour and 100 g of water ...
Ralph's user avatar
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0 votes
1 answer
452 views

Sourdough Starter isnt rising

I've been working on a sourdough starter for almost 3 weeks and I can't seem to get any rise out of it. I feel like I've tried every trick I've read online and nothing has worked. I started with ...
Kasey's user avatar
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2 votes
2 answers
410 views

From regular fresh yeast to sourdough

I know that there are formulas for switching from and to sourdough and or preferments, but even though my library grows I haven't found such a formula. I have a general idea of the fact that a ...
Lolman's user avatar
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1 vote
1 answer
1k views

Beer in Sourdough Starter

Would there be any benefit to feeding a sourdough starter with beer instead of or in addition to water?
cad's user avatar
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5 votes
2 answers
2k views

My sourdough started hasn't yet risen! What am I doing wrong?

I had started my first batch of sourdough starter a week back. Its just wheat flour and water (haven't added any pineapple juice or any other fruit juice). The first 2 days had vigorous activity and ...
That-Kickass-GirL's user avatar
4 votes
1 answer
1k views

Left sourdough starter out overnight after feeding and it overflowed?

I have a new sourdough starter I made about 2 weeks ago. I took it out of the fridge yesterday afternoon and fed it. It was slow to rise and even placed in the oven with light for a about an hour. I ...
Deanna's user avatar
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2 votes
1 answer
105 views

Which sourdough starter should i keep?

I decided to make 2 sourdough starters, to see if one would come out better. I only want to keep one and I dont know which one to choose. One has formed a hooch, while the other has not but otherwise ...
user84026's user avatar
3 votes
2 answers
202 views

What exactly happens during the sourdough ripening?

I am following a recipe from the well established Italian Baker Bonci, to make my liquid sourdough starter (with some success too). In his recipe he says to refresh the starter with a 1:1:1 ...
Three Diag's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
546 views

How to use sourdough starter?

A week ago I mixed 1 part AP flour 1 parts tap water, keeping it at room temperature (18-24c). I've been discarding a bit and feeding it 1:1 daily. The last few days, the next 4-6 hours after I feed ...
devxapo's user avatar
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1 vote
1 answer
755 views

Flour types and their effects in levain

The first time I made a levain, I used all-purpose white flour. This took over a week-two weeks to become active. I recently started a levain using whole wheat flour, and found it to become active ...
JWiley's user avatar
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