MONROE CREAMERY HERITAGE SOURDOUGH STARTER

Sourdough starter is nothing more than select wild yeast strains that impart unique sour flavors for baked products as well as leavening properties (dough raising). This starter will last as long as you feed it weekly after each use (some sourdoughs are claimed to be passed down for over 250 years). The process or feeding or activating your starter should be simple and I will outline it here. 

To begin, we recommend a high-quality flour that sits in the 11-13% protein range (Shepherds Grain or King Arthur flour are decent brands available at all grocery stores in Monroe). This is usually marketed as bread flour, but you get the same growth results using standard run of the mill All Purpose flour. The complexity just might be a little simpler. You can also use rye flour for a unique souring flavor. Some people use Whole Wheat flour, but I recommend against it since it still contains the germ part or the wheat kernel and contains a high level of fat. This fat can spoil sometimes ruining your starter.

To activate your starter, you will need a glass or ceramic food grade vessel that will hold at least 1 quart of product. A mason jar is perfect for this. We use a ½ gallon mason jar for our starter base. In a large bowl you will need to combine the whole jar of starter (2 ounces) with 2 cups of flour and 1 cup of warm water (room temperature to bathwater warm is fine). Mix well and pour into the jar. (You can skip the bowl and mix directly in the mason jar if you prefer, it just takes a bit to fully incorporate). Set the jar on the counter in your kitchen and cover loosely with a towel. The goal is to keep it about 65-70 degrees, but not higher. You leave the starter until it is bubbly and approximately doubled in volume. The first time you make starter it could take up to 24 hours to see results and sometimes 48 hours if your kitchen is cooler. Once it has doubled, stir to release any trapped gas. Recover and let sit for another 8-12 hours to develop more of a sour flavor. At the end of the process, it will be noticeably thinner consistency and a little gray. Refrigerate until ready to use.

To use. It is best to pull sourdough starter out the night before you want to use it. This will allow it to come back to room temperature. Measure out what you need for your recipe. This is referred to as discard because you would throw it away every week if you were not baking to keep the starter active, but just feeding it. Replace your volume with flour equal to the amount removed and half the volume in water. For example, your remove 1 cup of starter to make awesome sourdough bread. You would add 1 cup of flour and ½ cup of warm water to sourdough starter base, mix and let ferment for 8-12 hours. Then refrigerate. 

Sum up: Ratio is 2 parts flour to 1 part water with the flour volume equal to the discard volume.