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Sourdough & Sponge Starters 101 |
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Introduction:
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SOURDOUGH &
SPONGE STARTERS |
How to Make a
Starter - What's Here:
Baking with a Starter:
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HOW TO GET A
CRISPY CRUST |
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COMMON QUESTIONS
& ANSWERS |
Starter Terms:
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DEFINITIONS OF
COMMONLY USED TERMS |
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BREAD TOPICS:
HOW TO
MAKE BASIC BREAD:
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HOW
TO MAKE A STARTER:
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Since new starters have a
unique set of stages
that they go through, the first thing to do is to determine exactly what
stage your starter is in. |
 BEGINNING
A NEW SOURDOUGH
STARTER:
There are a couple of ways to cultivate and ferment wild yeast in a
starter:
1. Inherit
a piece of a starter and add to it, creating one for yourself.
2. Another way is to buy a starter
revive it with water and flour in your own home.
I have not had much success with dehydrated starters:
 3.
Start a sourdough or sponge starter from
scratch. |
There are two types of starters, a
sourdough or sponge.
Both can be made at home in your kitchen from a
batter of flour and water, and for a sponge, added packaged yeast, a portion of
a sourdough or another sponge. For
more about starter ingredients, click here.
Make note of
other ingredients:
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Raisins, grapes, cabbage or other vegetables
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provide added sugar the yeast feeds on. Crushed red seedless grapes
(with their insides removed) are very effective, as other fruit
skins. Be careful because too much can a slow a starter down or the
yeast can ferment too quickly, not leaving a lot of flavor. |
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Milk (or other dairy products such as yogurt) – Dairy
products in a starter may go rancid, but it is used in the
Friendship Starter Recipe.
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Sugar or Honey – Some
people think adding table sugar (sucrose) helps give the yeast a
boost, but actually honey and other sugars containing glucose or from
fruit (fructose) do. |
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Potatoes, potato water, or potato flakes – Potato water
contains starches which aids in the fermentation of the yeast. If you
want the added benefits of mashed potatoes in your bread, add it when
you mix your dough not in the starter. |
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 Salt:
Leave it out in the starter,
but do not leave it out
in the bread recipe.
Never add salt to your starter because it will kill it.
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Although
rewarding, working with a starter requires patience and practice. Sometimes
starters fail or don't produce the type of bread that is desired from a variety
of reasons. So how does one make a
starter?
A sponge starter is started by mixing
the yeast, flour and water in a bowl, covering with plastic wrap and set in warm
place to ferment for less than an hour or more. When it ferments (gets bubbly
and smells sour and yeasty), it can be used.
A sourdough starter is a living culture
that needs food, water and oxygen to cultivate, ferment and multiply and takes a
minimum of a couple of days or so to get started and months to become stabile.
Before there was packaged yeast, all bread was leavened by a sourdough starter.
Although using a sourdough
starter in baking is more unpredictable than using packaged yeast, the vibrant
and sour flavor as well as unique texture that results, just can't be made in
any other way. It's because you are
cultivating and fermenting wild yeast (often Candida milleri) and bacteria
(Lactobacillus) that feed on the sugars from the hydrated flour's starches and
live and multiply in the batter. A portion is used to leaven and flavor bread
and other recipes.
The first way is to make one yourself or get a
friend who has a starter going to give you a cup. The other way is to get a
packaged sourdough
starter that you "activate" with water and flour in your own
home.
If you make a sourdough starter yourself, it
begins with a mixture of flour and water. The ingredients are placed in a
sterilized
wide-mouthed mason jar or a bowl, and mixed with a sterilized spoon, so the
yeast and bacteria on them don't contaminate the batter. The jar is left
uncovered put in a warm, dark place, preferably 80 to 85 degrees F (but can be
as low as 60 degrees F) so
the natural microorganisms can settle on the surface, with the warmth
encouraging their cultivation and fermentation.
Over time, the starter becomes a pot of
wild yeast and bacteria plus other bacteria particular to where you live.
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starter mixture is left out in a dark, warm place somewhere in your house,
to incubate and ferment. A good location is in a gas oven with a pilot
light; it will create enough heat to warm the mixture. For an electric oven,
turning on the light will supply warmth. Do not turn on the oven, because
even the lowest setting will be too hot for the starter. If it is summertime
and air temperatures are near 80 degrees F or above, you can simply keep the
starter on the kitchen counter covered with a small hand towel. If it is
cool in your home, wrap the container in a towel to conserve warmth. |
Some bakers add grape or other fruit skins
which contain a high amount of sugar that yeast can digest, which aid in
fermentation. Wild yeast and bacteria also reside on them, helping to populate
the starter. (It is thought
that more yeast and bacteria exist on surface of flour and/or the skins of fruit
rather than in the air.)
 If
the jar is tightly covered with the starter inside, it could explode from
the pressure from the gases from fermentation. Instead cover with plastic
wrap which will give and which will give and stretch. |
A sourdough starts with small signs of
activity after about 3 to 7 or 8 days - small bubbles and a mild yeast smell -
that is the yeast and bacteria are fermenting. The wild yeast and Lactobacillus
are attracted to flour as a food source; the yeast converts the flour's starches
to sugar and both it and the bacteria feed on it, grow and ferment.
After the starter begins to bubble, it can be
remain at room temperature or be refrigerated, covered with plastic wrap.
Since yeast is a living organism, it is sensitive to the
temperature -
warmth speeds fermentation whereas refrigeration slows it. It must be fed daily
at room temperature or once a week if refrigerated. The starter must be fed as
well, with more flour and water in regularly scheduled intervals and stirred,
for example every 12 hours initially. The feedings consist of more flour and
water continuously added to the starter after pouring some off a portion
(give it to a friend or discard it).
The pouring off and feedings help to maintain and build a stable environment.
A starter is actually a
concentration of the yeast by-products, which a portion of must be removed to
get rid of some of the buildup of the acids and esters associated with it, which
eventually kill the yeast. Pouring off also allows for a fresh source of food to
be introduced to the yeast and bacteria when the new flour and water are added.
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A
starter can be kept alive for years, as long as it is well-fed and placed in
the right environment. How often it needs to be fed and how much you
need to feed it depends on how much starter you have, and how much you use.
However, if the starter goes unfed for too long, the yeast and lactobacilli
will become sluggish and
too sour and eventually die. At that point, you have to start over again.
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The starter can be used in a recipe, but must
be activated so it is vigorously bubbling before using in a recipe. On the night
before you want to make bread, for example, you take a cup of the starter from
the jar and let it warm to room temperature taking a couple of hours. Then it is
fed with more water and flour, stirred, and set in a warm place for 8 hours,
preferably overnight. The next morning (with the mixture frothy and bubbly with
carbon dioxide bubbles throughout), you use a portion to make your to make your
bread recipe. You can put any left-over starter back in the jar.
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Some
mix their sourdough starter in a glass or stainless steel bowl. In a few
days, when the starter becomes active with bubbles and smells sour, they put
their starter in a loosely-covered glass jar or glazed ceramic crock (no
metal), and refrigerate it. |
The original starter, also known as "the
mother", is replenished and becomes an ongoing colony of fermented
microorganisms becoming
more stable and sour, as well as contributing a more interesting texture, from
its prolonged fermentation. It is
again kept alive with regularly scheduled feedings of flour and water, until the
next recipe, and so on. In fact, starters can be kept alive for years. I know
someone who has had her starter for 30 years, given to her from her grandmother
and it is much prized !! California Gold Rush Miners discovered that they could
make sourdough starters to bake and cook with, kept alive for years while
panning for gold and moving from gold.
STARTER INGREDIENTS:
Wild yeast and bacteria are live
organisms that exist all around us and the success of the starter is influenced
by many variables; the degree of flavor (sourness) and texture in the final
bread loaf depends on many factors including the temperature, length of
fermentation, type of grains (flour), amount of water, mixing and baking
techniques and most importantly, the particular strains of yeast and
lactobacilli that live in the starter.
 Flour: for
a sourdough starter, a variety of wheat flours, such as all-purpose, organic,
whole-wheat or bread and rye, with each type adding its own characteristics and
flavor. Often times the very
collection of micro-organisms we desire to gather resides on the grain we intend
to use for flour. Rye flour is almost notorious for creating a very sour
culture. A sponge starter can use any type.
I have tried many different types
of flour:
Organic flours produce more of an
interesting flavor than white, such as all-purpose or bread flours. I always
start my starters with organic unbleached white flour. It seems to attract more
interesting spores to the mix. Once a starter has become strong and healthy I
feed it unbleached all-purpose flour (bleaching does not affect their nutrition,
though). At this point, the yeast do not need the extra protein of a
higher-protein bread flour (it is the starch they digest, not the protein), plus
all-purpose is less expensive.
There are many delicious
variations made with whole-wheat, rye or spelt flour, however, use a sourdough
recipe specifically written for them
because there will be variations.
Rye and whole wheat flours are more fermentable than white. Rye flour contains a
larger percentage of natural sugars, diastase and protease enzymes and is
slightly higher in natural acidity than wheat flour, all of which have an
acceleration effect on gas production and gas retention. Therefore, rye dough
requires less fermentation time than dough containing only wheat flour. Rye
flour does not contain gluten (or a different type of gluten that does not have
the gas-retaining properties), so that the structure of rye bread relies mainly
by a network of starches, not of gluten as in wheat bread.
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Many
of you are familiar with the San Francisco Sourdough Bread, made from a
starter.
While sourdough starters have
been around for thousands of years, the term "sourdough" is an American term
that came into use during the California Gold Rush days of the late 1800's.
Before the advent of
commercial bakers' yeast, the settlers of the Western U.S. in the19th
century, carried starters with them for making bread. Folklore of the time
abounds with stories of chuck wagon cooks making biscuits from barrels of
starters and Alaskan gold miners sleeping with their starters at night to
keep them from freezing. More stories are told of the tragedies of pioneer
families losing their starters and of passing down highly prized starters
from generation to generation.
Many California and Yukon
gold miners obtained provisions in the booming coastal town of San Francisco
before heading up into the mountains to stake their claims. Over time, it
was discovered that starters from that area produced bread with a unique and
particularly sour tang. Thus the starters and bread from that area because
known as "sourdough". Later the term was even applied to gold miners
themselves. More recently the term has generalized across the U.S. to mean
simply a bread starter.
Although the miners did not know it at the
time, particular strains of yeast and lactobacilli took up residence in
starters from the San Francisco Bay area and they are responsible for the
unique flavor identified as "San Francisco Sourdough." In the 1970's the
microbes were isolated and identified. |
Water:
For a sourdough starter, distilled
and non-chlorinated water should be used.
A sponge starter uses tap water. If
your water is high in minerals, chlorine, fluoride, etc. and these things can
damage and even kill the wild yeast. If your tap water tastes good to you the
chances are it will be ok for your yeast, but it's hit or miss as to whether it
will work. The only way to tell, is to try it.
Yeast:
Wild yeast and bacteria
(Lactobacillus) are used in sourdough starters that you cultivate yourself.
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sponge and/or sourdough yeast are commonly used in sponge starters. Instant
Active Dry is not appropriate for use in these starters. Many times a
pre-sponge starter using a small amount of packaged yeast is used to get it
started and is allowed to ferment for a couple of hours. This starter is
then added to another sponge starter along with more added packaged yeast
and allowed to ferment again before being used in the bread recipe as the
leaven. This gives bread a slow-risen and nutty flavor. A piece of a
sourdough starter can be used, as well. |
HOW TO
FEED A STARTER: To feed a
starter, first see if any off-colored liquid, often dark, has surfaced on the
starter. If the liquid has not overly discolored, it is not necessary to pour
it off; if it is, discard the liquid. It is called "hooch". The liquid
contains alcohol and is part of what gives sourdough breads their distinctive
taste. Then, stir and discard a portion of the starter, if directed. Then, feed
with more flour and water and make sure you STIR well.
After feeding a starter you will notice the
following lengthy cycle of activity - a starter is at its optimum strength and
flavor 8 to 12 hours after it's fed, and drops off considerably in quality
beyond that range. If you
want it activate it more quickly, try feeding it every two hours until it is
rising high in its jar.
- For some period of time (perhaps up to
several hours) you will see no visible activity.
- Eventually you'll see just a few small
bubbles on the surface of the starter, eventually rising, with a slightly
domed top, and with much bubbling referred to as the starter's "peak". The
average is that it takes 3 hours for yeast to peak, and 10 hours for the
lactobacillus to peak, but it varies greatly depending on the type of starter.
It will have large and
small bubbles that are well-integrated throughout (not just on top)
and smell sour and yeasty.
Depending on the starter, this may go on for several hours;
- Then the peak will fall slightly, a stage
referred to as "drop"; and,
- Eventually the starter will collapse with
no visible activity. At this point it is dormant.
You must always replace what you
remove from the starter for the next recipe. If well maintained, a sourdough
culture will last a lifetime. Each time you take a portion of the starter for a
recipe, generally replace that amount with equal quantities of water and flour.
However, there are many philosophies about feeding amounts. For example, if you
remove 1 cup of starter to make Sourdough Bread, you must replace it with 1 cup
of water and 1 cup of unbleached all purpose flour. Whisk these ingredients into
the starter until blended but not completely smooth. Any remaining lumps will
dissolve as the mixture ferments.
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Never
return any "old bread dough" to the starter container: The introduction
of old dough containing salt or commercial yeast would compromise the taste
and quality of your wild starter. |
Maintain
a large enough starter that you will always have at least a cup or two more than
you will ever need at one time. Suppose you usually use at most two cups of
starter when you bake. You should then always maintain your starter volume at
three or four cups. Cover and leave the starter at room temperature for at least
12 hours or overnight. The starter is now ready to be used again, or can be
refrigerated.
HOW TO STORE THE STARTER:
At room
temperature with more frequent and daily feedings.
An active
starter can be put in the refrigerator, so it goes dormant and you can feed
about once or twice a week (or every two weeks); the cold slows the metabolism
of the yeast. Always feed an unused starter
once more before returning it to the refrigerator. Let starter sit for 30
minutes after feeding before returning. Some say it keeps up to six months in
the fridge without feeding, though I have never gone that long. But, if a
starter goes unfed for too long, the yeast and lactobacilli will become more and
more sluggish, conserving the nutrients they have left, the starter becoming
more sour. It usually takes 48 hours and several feedings to bring a starter
culture back to full "flower", however if unfed for too long before trying to
save it, it will die.
Starter can
be air-dried on clean parchment in the following manner:
Spread a thin layer of starter out on parchment
paper with an offset icing or rubber spatula. Let it naturally air dry where it
will flake as it dries. Store in a dark dry covered container. To activate:
place starter flakes in starter container, add water and enough flour to
make a good semi-stiff consistency as you would for a normal feeding. Place
semi-covered container in a warm location and feed. It may take 2 to 3 days for
full activity to return.
Freeze starter in a
sterilized, air-tight plastic freezer container (not glass or stainless steel).
Thaw the starter at room temperature for two
or three days before you plan on baking with it, transferring it to a sterilized
starter container. Refresh the starter with 1 cup each of water and flour. Cover
and leave at room temperature for 12 hours or overnight before using.
STARTER CONTAINERS & OTHER EQUIPMENT:
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You
may not need to sterilize the equipment in your kitchen depending on the
organisms that reside in your environment. Only through experimentation
you'll find out whether your starter takes hold with unsterilized equipment.
In my kitchen, I can use unsterilized equipment quite successfully. If the
starter still doesn't take hold with sterilized equipment, there are other
problems. |
Sourdough:
Sterilize
all equipment every time you use it when making a sourdough starter, as
it prevents the starter from becoming contaminated from the wrong kind of mold
spores that exist naturally in the air and soil; failure to do so could impede
the growth of the starter and can be the main cause of its failure. Even
sterilize a spoon or spatula each time you use it for stirring the
starter. If you don't sterilize the equipment, chances are the starter will work
but, you may have other microorganisms growing in there which could impede the
growth of the airborne yeasts and is often the main cause of a failed starter.
Use a
glass (Pyrex) or glazed ceramic container to keep your starter in that's
straight-sided (easier to judge volume increases than flared-sided containers).
Even stainless steel can be used as long as they, too are sterilized. Make sure
the container holds at least 2-quarts, the usual size of a starter; that gives
you enough room to maintain it. Cover it with
a loosely-fitting non-metal lid which allows for the gasses to escape during
fermentation; if tightly covered, the gas
produces enough pressure to blow the top off or break the container,
especially glass, if tightly closed.
However plastic wrap can be tightly
stretched over the jar's opening as a cover; the wrap will just stretch from the
gasses' pressure (some recipes tell you to
poke holes in it just in case).
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Some bakers separate starter into two containers
and use one as a "back-up" and the other as the "working starter". The
back up starter is one that is kept in a small quantity glass container
(approximately 2 cups), slightly less than half filled. This portion of
starter remains in the refrigerator and is nourished once every 2 months. It
is a "fall-back", in case the working starter becomes contaminated. This
portion of the starter will keep a sweeter smell than the working portion;
this is normal. |
Note about container choices
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Plastic can be used, but I
don't prefer it because it's hard to clean and sterilize. |
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Do not use any unglazed clay
containers. Many times there are trace metals or minerals present in the glaze
or in the clay that can leach into the starter, ruining it. |
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Don't use metal containers or
spoons (stainless steel is ok) because after a few weeks, the acids from the
starter will cause the metal to dissolve into it. This will cause a chemical
reaction that will contaminate and eventually kill it. The contamination can
be seen as a black, blue or pink liquid that pools on the surface and the
whole starter must be discarded. |
Sponge:
For a sponge starter, a Pyrex glass or
stainless steel bowl is perfectly fine to use - no need to sterilize.
Question: I have a recipe for Amish
Friendship Bread where you make a starter and add to it every so often,
stirring the batter in between. It starts with yeast, sugar, flour and milk.
Could you please tell me why it tells you to only use non-metal bowls and
wooden spoons and to mix by hand?
Answer:
I have been asked this question before and
have done much research on the topic. I really believe that the "wooden
spoon and no metal bowl" rules for Amish Starter Breads are hold-overs from
older times. Although both contain scientific merit, times have changed and
other implements are available.
First of all, an Amish Friendship Bread
Recipe is a true sponge starter. In my opinion, you can be safe using
stainless steel or glass bowls and mixer attachments just like in other
starter recipes, but not other types of metal.
Metal in earlier times meant metal--not stainless steel. In most modern
starter recipes, stainless steel or glass bowls are ok, just as a stainless
steel mixers are. But, the no metal is a rule that has remained true through
the ages and applies to all starters. After a few weeks, the acids from the
starter will cause the metal to dissolve into it. This causes a chemical
reaction that will contaminate and eventually kill it. The contamination can
be seen as a black, blue or pink liquid that pools on the surface. Glass,
ceramic, stainless steel and plastic do not affect the starter.
As to the "only use a wooden spoon" when
mixing an Amish Starter Bread Recipe, there is some merit, but again, times
have changed. I know there weren't stainless steel spoons available in
earlier times, and wood remained the implement of choice. But, there is some
scientific merit behind using it -- because wood contains more bacteria than
stainless steel, it actually helps this particular starter to thrive.
But, note that the Amish Friendship Recipe
does not call for sterilizing all equipment as other recipes do. So
apparently the need for outside bacteria in these recipes is a major factor
in its success and the added yeast guarantees its success. |
COMMON STARTER PROBLEMS:
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Starters
usually encounter problems.
An unhealthy starter will not make good bread and
most likely won't raise it either.
Here are some solutions:
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PROBLEM: |
SOLUTION: |
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My
starter smells too acidy. What do I do? |
First feed
it with equal parts water and flour. After a few hours if it is still
sour, remove 1 to 2 cups of the starter and replenish it with equal
amounts of flour and water.
If the starter smells off,
discard. If it smells yeasty, you're in business. |
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My
starter has off-color liquid on top. Is this a problem? |
If the liquid is off-colored
or somewhat dark, it should be fine. If the liquid is pinkish, discard the
starter. It is probably contaminated. |
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My
starter appears to be separating. Do I throw it out? |
No. Just make sure you stir it
before use or before feeding. |
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How do I
know if my starter is active? |
The starter should smell
yeasty and look bubbly and foamy. If not, add flour and water. Cover
lightly and let it sit at room temperature for 8 to 12 hours. AFTER that,
use or refrigerate. Always let it come to room temperature before using. |
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My
starter smells very sour and has little to no yeast smell. What happened ? |
Starters often change, but it
can be fixed; just feed it a couple of times - do not use rye flour which
will make it more sour. |
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My water is chlorinated. What
do I do ? |
Use bottled, non-chlorinated
water. |
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How do I increase my starter ? |
If you want to increase the
amount of starter you have simply increase the amount you feed it.
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I have neglected my starter.
What do I do now ? |
If your sourdough starter has
sat in the refrigerator months beyond the point of health, try reviving
it:
The layer of liquid on
the surface will probably be very dark. Give it a sniff. If it smells
exceptionally sour, it may just be sitting there in a dormant state
waiting to be fed. First, blend
the mixture back together and pour it into a newly sterilized glass or
ceramic bowl. Mix in 2 cups of flour a 1 cup of water both to
nourish and thicken it. Let it sit loosely covered in a warm area.
In a couple of hours you
may see some tiny bubbles appearing. If so, keep it warm and covered
overnight. Give the starter another feeding, let it sit for another day to
ensure its reawakened vigor. You can store in the refrigerator. |
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Is it possible that my bread
can taste too sour ? |
Yes. Rye bread is the only
exception: it has a naturally sour flavor more than others breads. |
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