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You are here: Home / Recipes / Baked Goods / How to Make a Sourdough Starter

How to Make a Sourdough Starter

March 14, 2012 by KerryAnn 22 Comments

How to Make a Sourdough Starter

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My posts may contain affiliate links. If you buy something through one of those links, you won't pay more but we will receive a small commission. That helps keep the blog up and the free recipes coming. Thanks!

As a new feature on Cooking Traditional Foods, every Wednesday afternoon we’re going to feature one of our most popular posts from the past. There are many great articles and recipes in the archives and we hope you’ll find some new favorites.

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I have tried and tried to make sourdough the ‘traditional’ way, in the way Nourishing Traditions describes in its sourdough recipe.  I have let my starter sit out and fed and stirred it faithfully, time and time again, only to have it get moldy and fail after a period of time unless I kept it in the refrigerator.  Maybe it’s because I live in the humid South, who knows the reason.  But I have never been able to get sourdough to the point where I could bake with it and have it out on the counter so I could produce enough to use it daily.  Keeping it in the fridge just resulted in too many jars to be able to keep up with the demand of daily baking, it soured so slowly.

That is, until I tried the method Lozt Nausten, one of the moderators on the CTF forum, recommended in her wonderful sourdough bread recipe.  If you are gluten-free and you need a regular bread, I strongly suggest you look at her four versions of sourdough, including the grain-free and egg-free versions.  I have tried every version of her recipe and have enjoyed them all.

Using kefir made with apple juice instead of water to make the sourdough starter speeds the process up considerably and gives the starter a major boost of beneficial bacteria to ward off mold.  You can use the starter in as little as 24 hours if you want a very mild flavor. Allowing it to go longer while feeding it daily creates a stronger sourdough flavor.

You can use any fermentable flour to make sourdough.  Nuts and starches, like coconut, almond, tapioca starch and the like, will not ferment and can not be used for the starter but they are fine as an ingredient in the dough.  If you need a grain-free starter, you can use bean flours to make your starter.  In fact, on Lozt Nausten’s blog, you’ll see a grain-free recipe that uses bean flour to make the starter.

Sourdough pizza crust, ready to be baked

To make your starter, combine equal amounts of a flour of your choice and apple juice kefir.  2/3 cup flour and 2/3 cup apple juice kefir makes 1 cup of starter.  Leave it on the counter for 24 hours.  If you need a mild sourdough, use it to bake at that point.  If you want a stronger flavor, feed it more and let sit longer.

If you need to take a break from using the starter, stash it in the fridge and feed it once a week.  I use my starter to make pancakes, pizza, bread and much more.  In the coming weeks, we’ll be going over a variety of recipes and techniques to help you add sourdough to your meals.

 

Image adapted from Pauline Mac on flickr

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Filed Under: Baked Goods, Best Of, Casein-Free, Egg-Free, Gluten-Free, Grain-Free, Grains, Menu Mailer, Nut-Free, Recipes, Sourdough, Soy-Free, Sweetener-Free Tagged With: apple juice kefir, bacteria, bean flour, Everything Free Eating Blog, family, grain-free, kefir, Menu Mailer, pancakes, pizza crust, sourdough, sourdough starter, water kefir

I'm KerryAnn Foster, a crazy vibrant Jesus Freak with a heart full of hope. I'm not afraid to love on the least of these or get my hands dirty. This blog is my journey from ineffective, uptight, obese wallflower to a woman on fire for God and living the most vibrant, passionate life possible!

I live in the mountains of Western North Carolina with my husband, Jeff, and our two teens. I blog about self-confidence, health and home, homeschooling and living a vibrant, wide-open Jesus-centered lifestyle. I have over seventeen years of real food, natural lifestyle and health experience. We have homeschooled our children since birth and both Jeff and I run home-based businesses. We're crazy, we know it, and we love every second of it!

Read about my journey to health through celiac disease, PCOS, food allergies, obesity, adrenal fatigue and heavy metals.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Jennie@ Pure Homemaking says

    May 18, 2011 at 10:11 am

    This is very interesting. I have never even thought of doing apple juice kefir out of milk kefir grains. Water kefir sure, but not milk. I would think that it would damage the grains. Would the apple juice kefir work if I did it with my water kefir grains, adding the juice for the secondary ferment? I am very intrigued by this.
    Jennie@ Pure Homemaking recently posted..An Intro to Dairy Kefir-A guest post I did at another blog

    Reply
    • KerryAnn says

      May 18, 2011 at 5:42 pm

      Jennie, I use water kefir grains to make my apple juice kefir.

      I literally pour the apple juice in with the kefir grains and let it sit on the counter for 24 hours then strain and use it to make the sourdough starter. You can also do it with grape juice on occasion to make a sparkling grape juice. My family loves it.

      Reply
  2. Jennie@ Pure Homemaking says

    June 1, 2011 at 6:05 pm

    So, I’ve had this going for over a day now and all I got was a bit of hooch on top. I added a bit more flour and apple juice kefir. Do you think it maters that I did a secondary ferment with the apple juice and used WWPF and not white flour? It wasn’t fluffy at all. It had some bubbles on the top but was pretty thin and had a very sour smell-pretty gross smell actually.
    Jennie@ Pure Homemaking recently posted..Hot off the press- Dairy is OUT for soaking grains

    Reply
    • KerryAnn says

      June 1, 2011 at 9:03 pm

      It should smell alcoholic-ish. It doesn’t bubble until day 2-3 sometimes, but it still works just fine for making sourdough breads. It should be thin since it’s an equal mix.

      Reply
  3. carrie says

    August 23, 2011 at 4:20 pm

    Do you just use homemade apple juice and grape juice, or can I use store bought organic juice?

    Reply
  4. KerryAnn Foster says

    August 24, 2011 at 12:10 pm

    Carrie, I use either. I do keep store-bought apple juice on hand for when apples are not in season and it is the cheaper option.
    KerryAnn Foster recently posted..Crock-Pot Roasted Chicken

    Reply
  5. Raelynn says

    September 28, 2011 at 4:46 pm

    Hi KerryAnn,

    I’ve been reading about almond flour/meal being fermented using probiotics to form “cheese”, my point is, if it does react with the probiotics, then why could it not be used in the sourdough starter??

    Reply
  6. Marla says

    February 19, 2012 at 6:37 pm

    Thanks for the post! I enjoy following your blog.

    I made a starter per the Nourishing Traditions recipe. I used part of it then put the rest in the fridge. I took it out today to get ready to make some bread and found that the jar was too close to the back of the fridge. It has a big chunk of ice in it. Do you think it’s still good or should I start over?

    Reply
    • KerryAnn Foster says

      February 19, 2012 at 7:51 pm

      Freezing it won’t kill it, it just means it might take longer for it to become active again. Go ahead and use it, just allow it an extra day or two if you can.
      KerryAnn Foster recently posted..Freezer Cooking: ‘Bourbon’ Chicken

      Reply
  7. Angie Hepp says

    August 18, 2012 at 3:18 pm

    I currently brew kombucha, but I’ve never made WK. Can I use kombucha in place of the WK for the starter?

    Reply
    • KerryAnn says

      September 10, 2012 at 11:28 am

      Angie, I’m not sure if it would work or not. I’ve never tried it. I know KT contains probiotics, but it also contains other acids and ingredients that might effect the flavor profile. I’d say give it a whirl to see if it works.

      Reply
  8. Eric Blow says

    February 13, 2013 at 7:06 pm

    Hi Kerry Ann,
    Can you use a probiotic strain to do a starter?
    What is the difference between using a bacteria and a yeast as a starter for Sourdough starters?

    Thanks in advance!

    Reply
    • KerryAnn says

      February 13, 2013 at 9:13 pm

      You can use a probiotic starter, but it would not include beneficial yeasts. Sourdough has both bacteria and yeast, and if you don’t have yeast, you won’t have any leavening or lift.

      Reply
      • Eric Blow says

        February 14, 2013 at 9:06 am

        Ah. OK. So it it the yeast that makes a good sourdough?
        Also, why do some companies or people say they stay away from commercial yeasts? Is it because they don’t have anything special to them and don’t really give the breads the taste they want? Or is there another reason?

        So if I want to make a good sourdough bread for Gluten Intolerant friends and family, do you suggest attempting the longer fermentation process with wheat flour? I know I can use rice flour but I have been reading about how longer fermented wheat flour sourdoughs have a very low gluten measurement.

        Reply
        • KerryAnn says

          February 17, 2013 at 6:53 pm

          The issue isn’t commercial yeast, per se, unless they have a yeast intolerance or a condition such as candida. The issue with commercial yeast is that traditionally prepared breads were sourdoughed (or fermented) in order to break down the bread to make it more digestible and less allergenic. Commercial yeast skips that step entirely, making the bread more problematic.

          I don’t recommend fermenting with wheat at all for a celiac or for anyone who is gluten intolerant. Studies done showing it was a possibility were limited to just a few people, had an extremely short duration (no long-term to see if visible damage showed up after a couple of weeks or a few months) and used specific strains of probiotic that you aren’t likely to be able to get in a home kitchen, much less in the right ratios. I’ve known people who returned to sourdough, only to have their health deteriorate and symptoms re-appear with a vengeance after a few months. It’s not worth the risk.

          Reply
  9. Christi says

    February 14, 2013 at 10:29 am

    Quick question…what type of flour must be used in the starter if we are GF? Or would it be okay to use wheat flour since it’s just a small amount?

    Reply
    • KerryAnn says

      February 17, 2013 at 6:49 pm

      CHristi, please don’t use wheat. Rice, brown rice, buckwheat, amaranth, millet of a combination of any of those will work just fine.

      Reply
      • Christi says

        February 17, 2013 at 7:09 pm

        Great! Thank you for taking the time to answer. Praying for you and your family.

        Reply
  10. Joy says

    February 28, 2013 at 4:28 pm

    Hello-
    I’m pretty knew to trying to cook gluten-free and I just stumbled across almond flour. I read above that you can’t use almond flour in the starter…but I wanted to clarify…can I use it for the rest of the process?

    Reply
    • KerryAnn says

      February 28, 2013 at 8:24 pm

      Joy, you can use it in the rest of the process, no problem.

      Reply
  11. Megan Paterson says

    April 13, 2013 at 10:51 am

    I am wondering how you “feed” the sourdough exactly. I would like to try making some but it would be nice to keep adding somehow so I always have this on hand. Can you share what you do?

    Reply
    • KerryAnn says

      April 13, 2013 at 11:55 am

      I add equal parts freshly ground flour and water to feed it. Stir it in, let it sit on the counter for 24 hours then pop it back in the fridge. When I need to use it, I pull it out of the fridge, feed it and let it sit 24 hours before use.

      Reply

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Meet KerryAnn

I'm KerryAnn Foster, a crazy vibrant Jesus Freak with a heart full of hope. I'm not afraid to love on the least of these or get my hands dirty. This blog is my journey from ineffective, uptight, obese wallflower to a woman on fire for God and living the most vibrant, passionate life possible!

I live in the mountains of Western North Carolina with my husband, Jeff, and our two teens. I blog about self-confidence, health and home, homeschooling and living a vibrant, wide-open Jesus-centered lifestyle. I have over seventeen years of real food, natural lifestyle and health experience. We have homeschooled our children since birth and both Jeff and I run home-based businesses. We're crazy, we know it, and we love every second of it!

Read about my journey to health through celiac disease, PCOS, food allergies, obesity, adrenal fatigue and heavy metals.

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