Preserving the Past:
My Journey with Homemade Sourdough Starter in Tennessee
I moved up to Tennessee after retirement, I got the urge to bake bread. I started making all kinds of yeast bread and it was glorious. My house smelled like a small town bake shop. Then one day I met the creature “Sourdough “….
I tried some up here and I was Hooked!! I bet you can’t tell my kryptonite is bread!! I decided I would make a few loaves. I went to the grocery and started looking for ingredients, I got everything but sourdough starter. I went up and down the bakery aisles, asked the male employee what aisle it was on, who in turn asked another employee. Come to find out, you can’t buy sourdough starter, you have to make it yourself or find someone who has some to share. Ummm DUHHH!!
Well I’m here to tell you how to make it so you don’t make the same mistake. It’s actually extremely easy but takes time. I won’t be making sourdough bread for about a week until I can master the starter.
To make a starter, get yourself a mason jar or a washed out spaghetti jar. The way I did it was put about 4 tablespoons of flour in the jar then added about 4 tablespoons of water, (I used bottled water) mix that up and rubber band a paper towel on the top, leave it in the counter, yes counter, preferably in a kind of warmer spot like near the oven. It should have the consistency of cornbread batter I guess. Let that sit overnight, next day do it again, 4 tablespoons of flour and 4 tablespoons of bottled water. Stir it up , put the paper towel back on and let it sit on the counter overnight again. Do this for about 7 days, you will notice it will start to rise and bubble. I use a rubber band to mark where the mix is on the outside of my jar so I know it has risen. This stuff is amazing, you “feed” it everyday if you’re going to bake a lot. If you decide to take a break you can just put the jar in the fridge, maybe feed it once a week. I have left mine for a month and then fed it and left it on the counter and it grows like crazy.
If you get too much in your jar because it grows a lot, pour your “discard “ into another container and place in the fridge to use for pancakes, eggs. There are a TON of recipes on Pinterest for sourdough discard. I have started making my own pasta with the discard and it is FANTASTIC!! Also dumplings!!
You will find so many ways to make sourdough starter online, choose the one that’s best for you. I found that a lot of them start with like a quarter cup of flour, but when I was experimenting I didn’t want to waste all that flour especially if it didn’t turn out right.
If you make it and it grows too much, you can share it with your friends. DO NOT pour it down the drain!!!! It could block your pipes, when it dries it’s like cement.
Enjoy your adventure, I sure did and still do.
My name is Karen, I’m a 64 year old mom of 3 gorgeous daughters and one Fabulous grand daughter. I am married to the love of my life, we have been together for 17 years. We have 3 horses that we totally enjoy, one being the baby from my horse. We are retired in Tennessee and living our best life.