TOP 12 SOURDOUGH STARTER QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
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- čas přidán 4. 07. 2024
- These are the top 12 questions (and answers) you probably have when baking using a sourdough starter. By knowing these tips you will start making beautiful and delicious sourdough bread.
The covered topics are:
1. When is the starter in optimal shape to use?
2. Can I boost my starter with fruits, kefir, kombucha?
3. What’s the perfect temperature?
4. How to achieve a more mild or sour flavour?
5. Dough does not rise after adding starter
6. My starter smells like acetone. Is it normal?
7. Can I change the flour I feed my starter?
8. My stiff starter is not active. What is wrong?
9. Can you dehydrate your starter for long time storage?
10. How much starter should I use?
11. For how long can my discard starter stay in the fridge?
12. Could we mix all community starters together to create a MEGA starter?
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Learn how to make a starter: • The Last SOURDOUGH STA...
Different starter types blog post: www.the-bread-code.io/recipe/...
Chapters:
0:00 Intro
0:32 Agenda
1:23 Optimal stage for starter
2:04 Boost starter with fruits?
2:50 Perfect starter temperature?
3:39 Changing flavour mild/more sour
5:09 Dough not rising
5:35 Dough smells like acetone
6:27 Change starter flour?
7:15 Stiff starter not active?
8:25 Dehydrate starter?
9:27 How much starter?
10:12 Discard starter, how long?
11:42 Mega starter?
#sourdough #sourdoughstarter - Jak na to + styl
THANK YOU for all your help. I re-watch every video over and over while I'm learning. You are an excellent teacher!
I have to say you are the one who started my sourdough journey and I always look to you when I need an answer. Thanks for sharing your knowledge!
Quick, everybody send Hendrik some of your starter to make the grand communal "MOTHER STARTER!!!!!"🤣Where we going to send it to?
🤣. We'd need somebody in Europe and maybe also in the US to collect all of them.
Hendrik knows about sourdough! Master … I love how systematic and scientific information you give.
I am fortunate to have Bread Pitt with me now, and actually a great thing to posses, because once I though I have strong and tasty sourdough for years, but since I’ve met Bread pitt, I am delighted, it’s been a game changer … Thank you!
I like the name. I call mine Beastie. If I feed it, it has to have a name.
You are GEEKILICOUS! Thanks for helping me take my bread making to higher levels. Deeply appreciate your highly informative videos. And as a Professor, I admire your teaching techniques.
Two products got me started in sourdough. 1) a Sourdough Jack book with basic recipes. 2) a commercial packet of San Francisco sourdough starter.
The book was loaded with nice pictures and wonderful stories. The starter produced the flavor sourdough I remembered from San Francisco. Obviously over time the San Francisco starter became Pensacola, Florida starter ... well, from my address ... but it did show me that bread could attain a certain flavor with the right starter ... until it adapts to another location.
I'll be looking for your book. If you want suggestions after we've read each section be sure to provide the feedback link.
Dude you are awesome! The more I watch the more I love your content! It has gotten better and even more entertaining over time :)
Love this! I have been so busy in the process of moving…will have to see how that impacts my breadmaking
Ahhh you rock! I love that idea! I am so interested in your book. Best of luck! I am sure will be fantastic!
Super interesting, well-paced video. Thanks !
Great! Look forward to your new book. Thank you so much for your tips and advise. I am using rye flour in my starter but it went so slow. Then I added rolled oatmeal and chia seeds. Now it smell great!
Thanks very much for this video....have already learned soooo much from you! 😃😃So, many thanks to you for bringing so much joy and knowledge to sourdough baking! 🙏
Thanks Moj!
I'm so excited for the new book! I always want to increase my knowlege about sourdough and bread.
Thank you!
I really like your work. Thank you
Love your video! Fun and Super useful！My sourdough starter is a mixture of the starter made from rye and apple！Smells So good.
I have joined the sourdough team. Thank you for your awesome videos!
Good video. I hope you will make that video about kombucha 😊
Thanks so much for information
Thank you for all of your help. You answered a lot of questions that I had. I have a dormant starter in my refrigerator that I was considering throwing away, I will try to revive her. She has served me well.
She will never die!
@@the_bread_code 💯
And I've tried! 😛
(Not on purpose, just by vacation, neglect and so on. It just refuses to die! I ❤ it!)
Gluten tag! Your resources have been monumental in my growth as a baker. Thank you!
You’ve mentioned before the starter should stay out of the fridge for 2 days before baking. When I take her out of the fridge, she rises to double the size without any feeding.
Would there be any negative effect of using her straight out of the fridge, or after just one or two feedings?
First off, thanks for all the incredible info! I am consistently baking great sourdough bread because of the info and techniques you have shared. Quick question; you mentioned that you converted your liquid starter to a stiff starter to transfer flavor profile. Is this a one time thing, or do you convert a liquid to stiff starter every time you bake?
Thanks you for sharing 👍💐🇸🇴
Thank you!
I really like your channel.
Great video and content. Thanks for sharing your knowledge. Btw, I've failed two times in a row to create a gluten free whole rice flour starter, even after having good activity in the first days.... It becomes unresponsive shortly after, when I thought it would be ready to test it and double its size. Any thoughts on why is this happening? (Temperature 25-28oC)
When the yeast of my starter meets the yeast of your starter, that's Amore!
🤣 In Napoli.... When liquid starter meets dry starter
Now that song is stuck in my head. 🤪
Thanks!
Organized and answering questions without a massive amount or distracting words like a politician, salesman or lawyer is highly qualified.
I keep watching your video's and Wow, Joanne from Canada
I'm just getting started on my starter all with Organic flours
1 Integral Wheat
2 my fresh milled Kamut berries (grains)
3 whole Spelt
and now im interested on inoculating with Kombucha since you mentionned that,
for i've been making my own for about 4 yrs now,
How would i go about that? would i put a small Scoby on top of the starter in the jar for 24hrs?
I dont want to make a mistake?
Would appreciate any advice
Thank you , what about if the starter proceed alcohol in the top of surfaces, is it need more feeding or means ready ?
I am just starting down this sourdough baking road and I am having a hard time getting my starter going. I started with 50 g filtered water and 50 whole wheat flour and since then have been taking 50 g out and mixing it with 50 g water/flour per your instructions. My house is on the cool side, but I am only getting a slight rise by the next day and it hasn’t gotten any higher, wondering if I just need to be a little more patient or if I need to do anything different, thanks:)
Rewatched this video taking notes. A misconception I had about starter is that I should see a huge increase in volume. But I see you say that’s not the case. What flour do you think a novice should start with so as not to become discouraged with the results? Also I have heard many different opinions about the “ lid” on the starter container. I have seen use of a kitchen towel, a screw-on lid even a paper coffee filter held on by a rubber band. Advise on that? Thanks again. Gary
you make me smile :)
I changed my starter to a stiff starter a few days ago and have just had the best oven spring I've had yet in today's loaf! I'm currently feeding every 12 hours, the only thing I've found is my Wholewheat flour is so absorbent that I am finding I have to use a bit extra water, but nowhere near what I was using in my 1:1:1 starter, oh and I'm now using mineral water, not tap water. I don't know if that's definitely made a difference but I think it has, so for now I'm sticking with that 🙂
Today I made pancakes from discarded starter. It tastes like cottage cheese to me. Idk if that is okay or not. 😄 ✌️ Thanks for the nice video! Greatings from Hungary.
It’s okay to use wholewheat flour from the beginning, When I start to do my starter?
Hello Mr Bread. I cannot find the information in your videos on when the liquid sourdough (500%) is at its "peak". How do you know?
Heya. I just look for bubbles coming to the top. Then I use my nose too. It's not that easy indeed.
@@the_bread_code Is that the same time some of the flour flotes up from the bottom to the top? Have you figured you got a big time period to use your starter optimally, at that time?
@@the_bread_code A youtube french vlogger uses a PH-meter and assumes that the maximum of acidity (lowest PH-value) corresponds to the maximum of activity in the sourdough. What do you mean? I have doubts regarding this method, because what matters is the yeast activity. You can find the video by searching for "028 Faire un rafraîchi de levain".
You are awsome!
My starter didn't work at all for the first two weeks so I added a bit of brine from a hot pepper fermentation that tasted a bit like bread. It started up perfectly and has stayed healthy ever since :)
Wow! Did the brine contain some salt?
@@helenjohnson7583 yeah, it was a 2% salt by weight of the water+peppers. The pH of the fermentation got to 3.8 I think, so I was pretty confident that it was safe to use
Gluten Abend.
I made a stiff Starter with your flowcharts. Thank You for this great stuff. But somtetimes I am a bit confused. Can You please make a Video " How to use a stiff Starter"
Please show how it looks before feeding again, when put in the fridge, how after a few days, when you take out of the fridge, how when you use it. An other thing that confuses me is the feeding ratio. What are the differenses between 1:1:0,5 and 1:5:2,5 and so on ? When do which ratio ? Thank You.
Mach weiter so !
I'm literally "scared" of trying to make my first sourdough starter! But after this video, I think I dare to try! 😅😁
You should! If you have questions drop by our discord too :-)
I tried to order your starter but it says it's sold out , any idea when you may have more available?
Is it safe to use starter that smells like acetone?
I used dark rye flour to feed. Is that ok? I had 62 grams of stater and only used double of flour and water. 1:2:2. Am I ok?
Is Bread Pitt, your starter a stiff starter now? Or do you keep and feed regular, liquid and stiff starter as well?
😂 yep. I change the liquid frequently.
Danke für deine tollen Videos! Dank dir habe ich es schon geschafft, das perfekte Sauerteig Brot zu backen! Der Name meines Sauerteigs: Breadly Cooper 🙂Meine Anregungen für ein Kapitel für dein Buch: "Sauerteigbrot für die Brotbackmaschine".
Meine Frage zu Frage 6: soll ich die Flüssigkeit, die nach Aceton riecht in den Sauerteigstarter einrühren, oder ausleeren?
Mein Kommentar zur Frage 12: Du bist ein Nerd! 🙂
Liebe Grüße von einem Fan aus Österreich!
Gluten thag!
Master, I'm struggling with open crumb... I tried fermenting less, more, long proofing, short; also I tried every temperature, dutch system, water... now I wonna go back to complete fermentation (food geek would kill me): do you think coil folds during fermentation could help me with open crumb?
Thanks
Open crumb is mostly mastering the fermentation and touching the dough as little as possible :-)
I’ve made great sourdough bread with a flour ferment but got sick of the waste involved in maintaining the starter. Now I just use a bit of very ripe kefir and it produces a gorgeous rye bread with a heavenly smell and flavour.
Interesting. You just add some kefir directly into your dough when you mix it?
@@amorosa101 yes I just add it to the liquid for the recipe and mix it in.
What waste? My rye starter is like 50g in total. I use 40g in bread, then I add 30g water and 10g rye to maintain it. My stiff wheat I don't use to much. Size is ~170g. When I bake normal bread I dump that into the bread. Nevertheless, your method is interesting.
With my stiff starter, I find it takes longer for it to get active at first, and stays active for longer
Seeds for flour are very hard, or too expensive, to get near me. I do have a mill, but it’s useless right now. Would you say the bran, or the germ is what boosts a starter made with whole grain vs white flour? I know that 100% white bread flour will make a soupy starter that doesn’t rise very much. At least in the cold of winter. But a 100% whole grain rye starter rises very well but is very stiff. Almost like cake frosting. I can buy wheat germ and/or bran at the store, and add a little to the starter, but I don’t think I need both. Ideas?
The bran is the booster. It contains a lot of wild yeast. Later on it doesn't matter so much.
@@the_bread_code ok. That’s kind of what I thought, but then I realized that the germ has most of the vitamins for the plant. I might do an experiment, or you could, where I supplement the flour for the starter with bran or germ. Plus a baseline, of course, of 100% bread flour. Plus a sample with bread flour, bran, germ, and maybe gluten protein. See which one is the most active (time and/or size). Many questions could be answered for those who can’t get specific types of flour.
Many time I try is not working for me to kook sawa bread
How can Isso get one of these hats? 😁
Very funny 👍
So.. I normally don’t ask questions but here is my opportunity in a sense:
I fed my SS 30g Water and 60g Flour. I was worried at first but to sum it up it doubled in size and I shocked. I’m reverting back to 1:1 feedings hence forward but.. Could you possibly explained what happened from all that?
That could happen too depending on your flour. It's nothing to worry about as far as I can tell.
Great video mate! I love both those ideas and would enjoy adding my starter to the battle. I live in New Zealand so logistics may be challenging though, but maybe not... The book is very exciting as well and even though I'm on the bones of my ass, I'll certainly throw a few $ into the kitty when I can. It will be well worth it to help you realize your dream! And to give something back for all you have done to help make our lives a more educational, rewarding and satisfying culinary experience. Thanks!
If you have two starters in the same environment will they have the same organisms? Can they be combined? I started two because I have had failed starters before and was hedging my bet a little.
Yes! You can combine them. Most of the microbes come from the flour of your starter. They are unique to the environment where the grain was grown.
Hallo Hendrik, ich wollte mich auch mal an Sauerteig wagen und habe dazu deine Videos und Infos genommen.
Ich habe Vollkornmehl verwendet und nach ca. 2 Tagen habe ich schon erste Ergebnisse gesehen, dass der Starter gewachsen ist. Nach weiteren 2 Tagen ging aber nichts mehr. Es haben sich keine Blasen mehr gebildet und der Starter hat richtig gestunken. Nach weiteren 3 Tagen täglichen füttern und keiner Reaktion habe ich aufgegeben.
Habe ich etwas falsch gemacht oder kann das zum Teil einfach vorkommen, dass ein Starter nach gutem Start einfach stirbt?
Danke schon im voraus. Gruss Nando
If bleached flour is all you can get your hands on, can you still make good bread as long as your starter is made with an unbleached flour?
Yes, it still will work, interestingly enough.
Should work! Yep. It might not rise as quickly, but it should work.
@@the_bread_code thank you
Thanks. I let my starter sit 12 hrs I could see it rose when I took off the lid for the first feeding there was a semi hard “crust” that had formed all across the top of it. This crust was slightly darker in color then the starter below it. I threw it away . Any suggestions as to what happened ? Thanks
It probably just dried out. Nothing to worry. No need to discard it too.
I recently had this happen with a new starter I am feeding. 😉 I just removed the hard crust, weighed the remaining starter underneath, and fed it 1:5:5, over and over, until it perked up.
@@simplybeautifulsourdough8920 oh geeze here I threw mine away and started over. Thanks
@@garysteven615 I think we've all done that a time or two. Part of the learning process. Who knows? You're next one might turn out even better.🙂
Wondering if you can help me. I have a successful starter going and I placed it in the fridge around 5 days ago. I was going to use it for a bake this weekend. I removed 5 grams of it and added 50 g water and whole wheat flour for a 1:10:10 ratio. After 24 hours there wasn’t any activity. I then took 10 g of that for a 1:5:5 ratio. Still haven’t seen much activity after another 24 hours. Is there anything I could be doing differently thanks
Maybe try using warmer water. Could be that your starter just needs a few more days of activation time. Over the time it will get better.
@@the_bread_code I will try that, thanks:)
While I look forward to your upcoming book, I implore you to not exit CZcams completely! Please drop in every few weeks to give an update and keep the community together. Maybe a live stream is easier for you to make time for?
Will do!
I don't like American style "sour" sourdough. There's a few things that help, one is a lower inoculation. Longer bulk, but very mild flavour. Using a stiff starter also helps a lot there
How did you come up with the price of your starter?
😂 no idea. I figured something that's not too expensive and not too cheap. But I also have to package and ship each one 😵💫. What do you think about the price? Maybe cheaper is better?
I have a question, could you use your starter for example as a substitute for kefir, or use it to make yogurt?
In case you know German: czcams.com/video/Q7e5-XJKjik/video.html
I've done it before. But I didn't like the taste so much.
@@the_bread_code ohhh I see, thanks!
@@C00ltronix thanks, but I don't speak german :(
@@saulidrobo5132 Do automatic subtitle translation then.
Whow you cook
I want see you how you cooked and mixed toking I don't anders stand
We could do a sourdough tournament. You just need to hire a microbiologist to be the judge.
What does it mean when your starter smells like vanilla birthday cake?
I know it's a crusty artisan bread however. Why is my crust so hard? I get good rise and the loaf itself is nice but I can't cut the crust with a chainsaw. I've tried 4 or 5 loaves so far. I'm ready to give up.
Are you baking with steam? In a Dutch oven? Do you spray the loaf with water before baking? If you are baking in a Dutch oven, are you preheating it in the oven? 🙂
@@simplybeautifulsourdough8920 I use a cast iron dutch oven, yes on the spritzing and preheat, even tried wrapping the loaf in a towel while cooling (per another tuber). You advise it and I'll try it. Thank you
@@chillbilly2517 Try putting an ice cube(just one) in the hot Dutch oven AFTER the dough is in and just BEFORE you pop the lid on. You want to retain the steam it creates! And still spritz! ;-)
Sorry! Same person- Different channel. :D
What if COVID took away my sense of smell and taste? Not totally but I have a hard time smelling what people say things smell like
Isn't your hat a tiny bit too big? :)
The idea of mixing different s. cultures together: I have dried my lievito madre (a "stiff" sourdough) in a thin sheet. That's what I take abroad or send to friends in a letter. One could mix equal portions of such dried s. together and reconstitute it in order to see what comes out of it...It's the one with malolactic fermentation in addition to the lactic acid.
Great idea! This is exactly what I do too to send out my starter. People love it and it reactivates quite quickly too :-)
I mix stiff starter with 100% hydration starter in order to bring more acidity. The resulting sourdough is very powerful. I must say that I refresh both before mixing them.
Regarding point 6: I believe you're wrong there. I think the acetone smell isn't coming from acidic bacteria, but from actual alcohol as a byproduct of yeast activity. This is a problem, because a yeast starter behaves completely different compared to a sourdough starter. Also the outcome is something completely different in taste. (I actually did a handful of experiments of sourdough vs yeast starters)
To boost bacteria level: Up the water percentage and put the starter in a warmer environment.
To boost yeast level: Lower water percentage and put the starter in a cold environment, e.g. fridge.
Or at least that was my impressen when I was working in a lab, that the smell of acetone resembles ethyl-alcohol quite a bit. No acidity whatsoever.
Did your mother make that hat for you. she must be so proud seeing you wear it?
😂 😂 😂 my neighbors gifted it to me
My stiff starter went mouldy
I have been an editor and writer for years (along with baking sourdough for close to 50 years) if you want help in editing I would be honored to donate my time to help
If I trust your 1st answer, my sourdough starter was ready 12 hours after I started it. Which is false because I fed it and 12 hours later it was dead and no longer raising.
It's acetic acid, not acidic acid which would be redundant.
Hey, du bist der KNALLER, ich bin Professional Baker in Frankfurt, und würde mich sehr freuen, wenn du und mal besuchen kommst
I have not made sourdough bread yet. I am doing research first. I find this very confusing. It is not that easy. I saw your video on liquid starter and how fast it worked. I was looking to see if this is your main starter. But I guess it is not. I live in Mexico. I am an American retired 69 year old person. We have a bakery near by Swedish sourdough bread. Different flavors. I being to think it is easier to buy then to make. I have a friend that makes sourdough bread. And she will provide some of her starter. I will have to see how she does it. She is from New Zealand.
please just keep baking hell with critics say
My starter even when i feed it while it still rises it has a sour taste and smell. Now at such low temperatures it slows down to reach its peak🫢