I know what you must be thinking, “Oh great. It’s just another person who took on baking to fight off boredom during the quarantine. Do I really want to hear about her personal relationship with a jar of wild yeast….blah, blah, blah?” If you have better things to do or are simply over the whole sourdough trend, feel free to skip this entry. I won’t be offended; I promise. However, if you love fermentation, enjoy baking, and can’t get enough carbs in your life this post may very well pique your interest.
Long before the COVID-19 pandemic I’ve been wanting to start a starter. For those of you who are brand new to the inner workings of sourdough – a starter is simply a homemade leavening agent made from flour and water. The starter ferments over time, activates all of the wild yeast found in flour, and quickly creates a bunch of good bacteria. The end product (a bubbly, living, beautiful, beast of a mother) subsequently allows your baked goods to rise & most importantly, makes them taste wonderfully delicious. Unfortunately, I’m no scientist, and I’m definitely no expert. If you are curious to know more about sourdough starters – I urge you to do your own research as it is truly quite fascinating. At the end of the day, I’m just an avid home cook who along with the rest of the world finally had a bunch of free time to experiment doing something new from the comfort and safety of home.
With that said, here’s my personal sourdough story in a convenient timeline format…
2018
My boyfriend of 8 years who loves sourdough mentions creating a starter. I reply with something along the lines of, “Sure. Sounds fun. Yay bread.” Unfortunately, my weekdays are bogged down by my hellish commute, long days at work, and short evenings before heading to bed. His weekdays are bogged down working on set.
A starter is never made 😦
2019
My boyfriend of 9 years who loves sourdough mentions creating a starter. I reply with something along the lines of, “Oh right. Yes. Let’s do it. Yay bread.” My weekdays are still bogged down by my hellish commute, long days at work, and short evenings before heading to bed. His weekdays are still bogged down working on set.
A starter is never made 😦
August 2019 – December 2019
I quit my full-time job in post production to yet again pursue something more creative and fulfilling. With tons of free time comes the opportunity to finally create and care for a starter, but no – I choose to go on a road trip to Montana, coordinate a client’s wedding, throw a friend’s baby shower, spend time in the Bay, and immerse myself into the holidays.
Once again, a starter is never made 😦
January 2020
Happy New Year!
The boyfriend mentions making a starter. I wholeheartedly agree but end up buying two tickets to Puerto Rico instead of a bag of organic whole wheat flour. Mofongo & the warm beach clearly beat out homemade sourdough & my chilly kitchen.
February 2020
We return home from an amazing trip to Puerto Rico. After a week of relaxation, family comes to visit from out of town and my hostess game includes many homemade meals but unfortunately, no fresh baked bread since I’m sure you’ve guessed it –
– a starter has yet to be made 😦
March 2020
Although we heard about it back in December, coronavirus is now common knowledge. We are choosing to cancel our travels and limit unnecessary outings at the start of the month. California soon begins mandating business closures. By the 20th, all bars and restaurants have shut their doors for dine-in service and the “Safer at Home” order is issued to residents of LA County.
The world is in crisis. A starter is never made 😦
April 14, 2020
I hate online shopping, but with nothing better to do and the insane amount of flash sales popping up everywhere – I give in and order a large glass jar & cooling rack from Sur La Table to house my future sourdough starter!
Baby steps are made 🙂
May 1, 2020
My Sur La Table items finally arrive. WooHoo! I’m ready to create my starter. To my dismay, I cannot find whole wheat flour at our neighborhood Trader Joes or Bristol Farms – the only two big grocers I am visiting during COVID when we are nearing the end of our fresh food supply.
June 1, 2020
Boredom has reached its peak. I decide to begin the starter process with all purpose flour because I still can’t find any whole wheat flour at the grocery store, & I am much too lazy to order it online and wait weeks for it to arrive. After reading a variety of blog posts and watching a plethora of videos online, I finally settle on a starter recipe that works for me, and get to combining my two humble ingredients: unbleached, all purpose flour from Trader Joe’s & water filtered by our Berkey. I add both elements to my jar & stir them together with the handle of a large cooking spoon.
DAY 1
- Creation Time: 4:30pm
- Measurements: 3/4 cup and 2 teaspoons of AP flour + 1/2 cup of filtered water
- Storage: I cover the jar opening with a loose piece of saran wrap, close the lid but don’t latch it, and place the jar on top of the fridge away from sun exposure. I also mark the height of my starter with a blue hair tie so I can easily measure growth.
DAY 2
- Afternoon Observation: My starter has tripled in size 🙂 I realize that I was supposed to put 2 tablespoons of flour NOT 2 teaspoons. Eek. I continue to go with the teaspoon measurement to keep things consistent.
- Feeding Time: 4:30pm
- Ingredients: 3/4 cup and 2 teaspoons of AP flour + 1/2 cup of filtered water
- Evening Check: The starter has dropped a bit in size but is almost double the original volume .
DAY 3
- Morning Observation: The starter is deflated & back to the post feeding, Day 2 marker.
- Afternoon Observation: The starter is looking a little loose so I make the decision to thicken it a bit by changing the 2 teaspoons to 2 tablespoons as originally intended.
- Feeding Time: 4:50pm
- Ingredients: 3/4 cup and 2 tablespoons of AP flour + 1/2 cup of filtered water
DAY 4
- Morning Observation: There is no increase in volume. My starter looks very thin, and there’s a touch of hooch at the top. Hooch is a naturally-occurring alcohol that appears when your starter is hungry.
- Afternoon Observation: The hooch is so minimal that I just stir it back into the thin starter instead of pouring it out. I also decide to experiment with my concoction and choose to add a quarter cup less water than the previous days in an attempt to make it a bit thicker.
- Feeding Time: 4:15pm
- Ingredients: 3/4 cup and 2 tablespoons of AP flour + 1/4 cup of filtered water
DAY 5
- Morning Observation: There is no increase in volume, but on a positive note – there is no visible hooch.
- Afternoon Observation: A touch of hooch has appeared. I mix it into the batter. I continue to experiment with my ratio of flour to water and decide to cut out the 2 extra tablespoons of flour.
- Feeding Time: 4:20pm
- Ingredients: 3/4 cup AP flour + 1/4 cup of filtered water
DAY 6
- Morning Observation: There is no increase in volume. I am feeling a bit frustrated. Whole wheat flour has much more wild yeast than all purpose flour. I desperately need some!
- Afternoon Observation: Once again a touch of hooch has developed since I last checked the starter in the morning. I remove half of the starter from the jar before feeding it and resume using half a cup of water instead of just a quarter cup.
- Feeding Time: 4:20pm
- Ingredients: 3/4 cup of AP flour + 1/2 cup of filtered water
- Extras: I make some scallion pancakes with the discard. They’re quite tart but tasty.
DAY 7
- Morning Observation: There is no increase in volume, but my starter is more bubbly than usual.
- Afternoon Observation: I decide to have groceries delivered for the first time since quarantine. I order from a neighborhood cafe turned pop-up grocer. I’m thrilled to find organic whole wheat flour in their online pantry and excitedly add a bag to my cart with the hope that it will get my starter to finally take off 🙂
- Feeding Time: 6:10pm
- Ingredients: 3/4 cup and 2 tablespoons of my new, organic whole wheat flour + 1/2 cup of filtered water
DAY 8
- Morning Observation: There is no increase in volume.
- Afternoon Observation: I notice a little less than a 1/2 inch increase in volume plus a bit of hooch since the morning. I stir in the hooch and discard half of the starter before feeding it.
- Feeding Time: 4:50pm
- Ingredients: 3/4 cup and 2 tablespoons of organic whole wheat flour + 1/2 cup of filtered water
DAY 9
- Morning Observation: My starter has grown by 1/2 inch. Yay!
- Afternoon Observation: There’s hardly any visible hooch, and the increase in volume from the morning has maintained.
- Feeding Time: 4:20pm
- Ingredients: 3/4 cup and 2 tablespoons of organic whole wheat flour + 1/2 cup of filtered water
DAY 10
- Morning Observation: I forget to check. Whoopsies!
- Afternoon Observation: There is almost 1 full inch increase in volume 🙂 and no visible hooch. Progress! [ I forgot to snap an image of the increase. The photo below was taken after the feeding. ]
- Feeding Time: 4:20pm
- Ingredients: 3/4 cup and 2 tablespoons of organic whole wheat flour + 1/2 cup of filtered water
DAY 11
- Morning Observation: I notice a great increase!
- Afternoon Observation: There is no visible hooch, and it has grown slightly over 1 inch. I decide to discard quite a bit of my starter to make room in the jar.
- Feeding Time: 4:00pm
- Ingredients: 3/4 cup and 2 tablespoons of organic whole wheat flour + 1/2 cup of filtered water
- Extras: I make coffee cake with some of the discard.
DAY 12
- Morning Observation: My starter has almost doubled in size!!
- Afternoon Observation: I check to see if a dollop of my starter floats in water which is an indicator that it’s strong enough to bake sourdough. Unfortunately, it sinks 😦 so I once again remove a bit of the starter from my jar before feeding it.
- Feeding Time: 4:30pm
- Ingredients: 3/4 cup and 2 tablespoons of organic whole wheat flour + 1/2 cup of filtered water
- Extras: I make whole wheat biscuits with the discard.
DAY 13
- Morning Observation: Looks good!
- Afternoon Observation: The starter continues to look lively, but it is still not floating. I once again remove some starter to create more room in the jar.
- Feeding Time: 4:30pm
- Ingredients: 3/4 cup and 2 tablespoons of organic whole wheat flour + 1/2 cup of filtered water
- Extras: I make blueberry muffins with the discard.
DAY 14
- Morning Observation: My starter has doubled in volume!!
- Early Afternoon Observation: It still does not pass the float test which means I can’t bake any bread yet. I decide to feed my starter earlier than usual so I can try to bake the next morning.
- Feeding Time: 2:00pm
- Ingredients: 3/4 cup and 2 tablespoons of organic whole wheat flour + 1/2 cup of filtered water
- Extras: I make scallion pancakes with the discard.
NIGHT 14
- Evening Observation: I check on my starter at 8:45pm. It has increased in volume and more importantly, a small spoonful floats in a cup of water for a whopping two seconds before sinking. I’m too lazy to wait until it floats longer so I decide to just go for it and prepare my dough for a morning bake.
- Recipe: While searching for sourdough recipes online I quickly decided that I wanted to follow a video tutorial instead. After hours of hunting, I finally stumbled upon this fun & informative Tasty video while scouring YouTube for a recipe I liked.
- Thoughts: This particular sourdough recipe requires a good amount of folding, plenty of waiting around, and a hell of a lot of patience. Despite the hours long process, I wholeheartedly approve of this recipe because it yielded a beautiful loaf of bread the next morning!
DAY 15
- Morning Bake: I retrieve my rested dough from the fridge, prep it for the oven, and bake my very first loaf of sourdough in my mom’s decades old Le Creuset. To my surprise, it turns out beautifully. It tastes even better! I decide to feed my starter early again so I can make more dough in the evening. I’m exhausted but invigorated.
- Feeding Time: 12:00pm
- Ingredients: 3/4 cup and 2 tablespoons of organic whole wheat flour + 1/2 cup of filtered water
NIGHT 15
- Evening Observation: The stater has increased in volume.
- Notes: I decide to prepare 2 batches of dough simultaneously so I can bake them both the next morning.
June 16, 2020
DAY 16
- Morning Bake: I make two loaves of bread. Neither are as good as the first loaf, but they are still pretty great! I ran out of whole wheat flour the night prior so the third loaf was made with a bit more AP flour. The result was a shorter loaf that was a touch more dense than the first two, but still tasty – nonetheless – when consumed two days later in the Bay.
- Feeding Time: 12:00pm
- Ingredients: 3/4 cup and 2 tablespoons of organic whole wheat flour + 1/2 cup of filtered water
- Storage: I am leaving for the Bay tomorrow so I latch my jar and place it in the back of the fridge.
July 11, 2020
I call my dad from Montana. He is kind enough to feed my starter which has been in the fridge for nearly a month. He reports that it looks good, smells fine, and isn’t moldy at all. He feeds it with 3/4 cup and 2 tablespoons of organic whole wheat flour + 1/2 cup of filtered water. He then gives it a good stir before latching it and putting it back into the fridge. I thank him and go about my summer.
September 2, 2020
I arrive back to Los Angeles in the afternoon.
September 3, 2020
I check on my starter after 11 weeks away from home split between the Bay and Montana.
- Look: There’s about a quarter inch of dark brown hooch floating above my starter.
- Smell: Surprisingly, not bad.
- Consensus: It could still be good?? I don’t see any mold.
- Game Plan: Bring my starter out of hibernation and start baking bread in 1-2 weeks.
- What Actually Occurred: I left my starter unfed but definitely not alone in the back of my fridge 😉 I thought of it fondly at times but decided to leave it be until I knew I would have the time and patience to start baking again.
November 2020
I buy two giant bags of Bob’s Red Mill 100% stone ground whole wheat flour with the intention of reawakening my starter & baking some bread for the holidays.
Remainder of 2020
I whipped up a cranberry orange cake for Thanksgiving and even made chocolate eclairs for Christmas, but unfortunately, I never got around to feeding my old friend in the back of the fridge and as a result, never baked a single loaf of sourdough during the yuletide.
January 1, 2020
Happy New Year!!! May 2021 be much brighter & healthier for us all.
January 7, 2021
- Look: There is still just about a quarter inch of dark brown hooch floating above the starter.
- Smell: Not too shabby. I’m genuinely surprised that there are no funky odors to report.
- Consensus: After pouring out the hooch, I don’t see any discoloration or fuzz. My starter seems to be free of mold. I decide to give it a good stir. It has the consistency & look of thick hummus. I close the lid and put it back into the fridge debating if I should toss it or keep it.
TODAY – January 11, 2021
It’s been exactly 6 months since my starter has been fed. After careful consideration, I have decided to bid my 2020 starter adieu with the rest of the year. Despite seeing zero signs of mold and wholeheartedly believing that I can quickly revive my once bubbly friend – out of an abundance of caution, I’m going to happily start a new one.
Lastly, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the health benefits of fresh baked sourdough for those who are less familiar. Sourdough is a great alternative to standard white and even whole wheat bread because it’s easily digestible, full of prebiotics, and much less likely to spike blood sugar levels. So if you’re going to indulge in carbs, sourdough is definitely one of the better options.
Okay. That’s it folks. I promise to keep you updated on my upcoming bread baking adventures. And with that, cheers to future loaves of sourdough & cheers to the end of this ridiculously long post 😉
Happy Baking!
HOMEMADE IN LA 