Learning to bake with sourdough has been a very fun and creative journey for me! You can click here to read my "Beginning with Sourdough Baking" that I posted last month. This fun journey has also been a bit challenging, as there is so much info out there ... very helpful info for which I am very grateful, and also it has required me to figure a lot of things out from the similar but also varying info that is online. I follow a number of sourdough baking accounts on Instagram, as well as reading a number of websites. From all this info, I am now attempting to record what I am currently using for my own process. This post is to summarize my current "sourdough rhythm" that fits into my life and schedule.
I also have a few friends who are desiring to learn. So this post is a summary of my "sourdough rhythm" ... written for myself, and also to share with interested friends.
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UPDATE: September 2024
Eight months have gone by since writing this blog post, and in that time I have continued learning. Actually, I think that is part of the fun of sourdough baking ... there is always more to learn. A few of the changes from what I have written here in Jan. 2024:
(1) When feeding my starter to put back in the refrigerator, I use a smaller equal amount of starter, flour, and water, and use only 60 grams of each (instead of the 118 grams I used when keeping the starter on the countertop). (2) Also, I have had to make some big timing adjustments during the humid days of summer. Too lengthy to describe here, but I have learned that the fed starter takes much less time to double in size than during the colder days of winter.
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To start out on the sourdough journey, my advice is to do as we do with every other journey ... we make the necessary preparations.
Preparing for Sourdough Baking
Read all you can about it! It's quite fascinating, and there is a lot to learn.
A few of my favorite sites online:
The Clever Carrot (including her book, click here)
@everything.sourdough (on instagram)
Gather the tools you will need to begin.
Digital kitchen scale.
Two wide-mouth quart jars to use interchangeably for your starter.
Another wide-mouth quart jar (or pint jars) to use for your discard.
(OPTIONAL: a special sourdough jar, click here for an example.)
A good-sized mixing bowl to mix up the sourdough bread recipes
Plastic wrap to cover bowls of rising dough (shower caps work great)
A Dutch Oven
Bannetons (not absolutely necessary, but a must-have on my list)
Parchment paper
Unbleached all-purpose flour
Bread flour
Spring water, or bottled water
Secure a sourdough starter from a friend, or purchase one online.
If you are ambitious, you can make your own, finding instructions on the websites listed above. It can take a few weeks, or even longer. Or the easier way, get one from a friend or purchase a starter from one of the websites listed above.
Feeding the Starter
Your starter is a live culture with wild natural yeast and good bacteria, and needs to be fed regularly with flour and water to be kept alive. There are a variety of methods to use to feed your starter, and the following is my current method.
I use a feeding ratio of 1:1:1, meaning equal parts starter, flour, and water.
When storing on my kitchen counter, I feed the starter twice each day, morning and evening. When storing in my refrigerator between baking days, I feed the starter once each week. I also have a starter in my freezer, for safe-keeping in case something goes wrong with my main starter.
I stir this all together in the jar, thoroughly incorporating all the flour into the water and the starter.
There are other ratios that you can use, but 1:1:1 is the most common one, and the one I have chosen to use.
After I have fed my starter in this way in a clean jar, I put the remaining starter in another clean jar and it becomes what is called "discard". Put this jar (with a lid) into the refrigerator to use for specific recipes that call for "discard", such as pancakes, waffles, biscuits, and many more. Use discard within one week.
Next, I wash the original starter jar, and have it ready for the next feeding.
If storing the starter on your countertop, put a lid on loosely, or use some type of breathable cover. If storing in the refrigerator, put the jar lid on more securely. If I bake several times a week, I keep my starter on the countertop, and I feed it twice each day - once in the morning, and once in the evening. If I am baking bread one day each week, which is my current rhythm, I keep my starter in the refrigerator between baking times.
Room temperature is also an important factor for good health and growth of your starter. The ideal temperature is 70 degrees for a healthy starter. If your temperature is lower than that, especially in the cold days of winter, you will want to find the warmest spot possible in your home.
NOTE: the amount of each ingredient can be different than 118 grams. I use that number because I learned from sources who used 113 grams, and I just chose to do a bit more. You can use a lesser amount than I use, and I may switch to that in the future.
Steps to Prepare for Baking Bread
I will now share my current rhythm for baking bread once each week. Again, if I were to bake bread several days each week, I would keep my starter jar on the kitchen counter all the time. When storing my starter on the kitchen counter, I feed it twice each day, about every 12 hours ... once in the first part of the morning, and once in the evening. An example of time would be 8 am, and 8 pm, or it can be different times. Whatever works for you.
But since I currently am choosing to bake bread one day each week, I store my starter in the refrigerator in-between bread-baking days.
Here is an example of my current rhythm of feeding and baking. It covers a span of three days, as I first prepare the refrigerated starter for baking. As I currently am choosing Wednesdays as my bread-baking day, I start my process on Monday evenings. The plan below covers a span of three days, and of course, you can pick which three days of the week work best for you.
DAY 1 (Monday) PM:
I take my starter out of the refrigerator, and feed it (as described earlier), using a clean jar. I then place the discard in another clean jar to put back into the refrigerator. Keep the new starter jar on the countertop overnight. It should have a lid loosely set on top of it, not tight. Mark the level of the starter on the jar. It should be kept in a warmer spot in your kitchen, especially paying attention to this during the colder days of winter.
DAY 2 (Tuesday) AM:
I check my starter in the early part of the morning, and usually notice that it has at least doubled in volume, It also will have bubbles visible on the sides and the top of the starter. These are signs of a healthy starter. (It may also have reached the doubling mark during the night, and then will have "fallen" a bit, just very slightly below the higher double level.) As you can see in the photo here, mine usually more than doubles, almost triples.
Next I go through the same process as I did the night before, feeding it (as described earlier) into a clean jar with the 1:1:1 ratio (*118 grams - see NOTE below - each of the starter, unbleached all-purpose flour, and spring or purified water.) Mark the level of starter on the jar, and leave this new starter jar on the kitchen counter again (or put in warmest place in my kitchen), covered loosely.
*IMPORTANT NOTE for DAY 2 (Tuesday) AM: Since this is the last feeding before I mix my bread dough, I want to be sure that I will have enough starter late afternoon or evening to mix the dough AND to keep on feeding my starter in a new jar. Because of that, I will often need to use larger amounts for my 1:1:1 ratio of feeding. As I am writing this, I have just fed my starter on a Tuesday morning, and since I want to have enough starter tonight for mixing up dough for two loaves of bread plus enough to feed the starter again, I used the same ratio of 1:1:1, but increased the amounts to 130 grams of each of the three ingredients (starter:flour:water). I know from experience that my regular quart-sized starter jar will hold that amount when doubled (or often more than doubled). If I were to use even larger amounts as needed for certain recipes, I would choose a larger jar for this Tuesday AM feeding.
DAY 2 (Tuesday) PM:
Now is the time to mix up the dough for the bread! I usually try to do this around 6 or 7 pm or so in the evening. Remember that this time there will be a two-step process with your starter. The first step will be to mix up the bread dough using part of the starter. The second step will be to feed part of the remaining starter to keep it going.
The two steps for DAY 2 (Tuesday) PM:
1) Mix the bread dough according to the recipe you are following, using your digital scale and the bowl of your choice. I take the amount of starter that my bread recipe calls for out of my jar, and use my digital scale to measure it into my mixing bowl. Press the TARE button for each ingredient you are adding from the recipe. Mix as described in your recipe. My favorite bowl to use is a glass bowl (about 2 quart size) which is a good size for dough for one loaf of bread. I have two bowls this size to use when baking two loaves of bread. Or I could use a larger bowl and mix the dough for two loaves at the same time.
Most recipes then include an autolyse (rest) time next, before covering the bowl with plastic wrap, and setting it on your countertop to let rise overnight. In addition to resting for a bit, your recipe may call for some "stretch-and-folds", a very helpful step for good bread. (See the sources above for explanations of this step, often with photos included.)
2) After the bread dough has been mixed and is resting, I go back to my starter jar to go through the process of feeding the starter to keep it alive and healthy for my next baking. I go through the same process of feeding as described earlier, using 1:1:1 ratio, with 118 grams of each of the starter, flour, and water. I keep this new jar of starter on the counter for two hours or so, and then put it in the refrigerator for the next week's baking process. If there is any starter left in your original jar, add it to your "discard" jar in the refrigerator.
DAY 3 (Wednesday) AM:
The next step will be to turn the dough out onto a floured surface, letting it rest for a bit before shaping it as described in your recipe.
After then putting it in either a banneton or a bread pan, depending on your recipe, you will either let it rise again a second time, or put it in the refrigerator until ready to bake. Just follow your recipe for rising method and baking instructions ... and you will soon get to enjoy the delicious aroma and finally, the taste of your homemade sourdough bread!!
An example from a recent baking day ... after shaping my bread dough for my recipe, placing it in a round banneton and in the refrigerator for an hour or more, I turned it out onto parchment paper and scored it (left). Next photo is after I baked it in my Dutch oven!
In Summary
Does this seem like a lot of work? It definitely is a process to learn. I have found that the work it takes to learn sourdough baking is worth it. I find it very rewarding to learn the process, and to find my own rhythms. It is an opportunity to be creative; no two sourdough bakers will be exactly the same. Take your time, and also, make time for pauses as you learn, as needed.
When you learn the process, you will find that the hands-on time is not that much, and with experience, it will start to feel very relaxing, and will come automatically for you. You can make it fit into your own life, and your own schedules. As mentioned already, my current rhythm is to bake on Wednesdays. But whatever works for you ... maybe it will be the weekend. Besides choosing a bread-baking day during the week, I often choose a weekend day to make something with my sourdough discard that is kept in my refrigerator.
My sourdough learning continues on, and my rhythms and ratios may change as time goes on!
NOTE: I may update this post with more photos, and possibly edit it somewhat, but am wanting to publish this now for some friends who may find it helpful.
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