Cuisine at Home's Naturally Leavened Sourdough Starter

I’ve made a simple sourdough starter over the years . . . a quick mix of all-purpose flour, water and yeast that ferments overnight. But, I had never made naturally leavened sourdough starter (Quick Overnight Sourdough Starter). Upon receiving our latest issue (spring 2023, issue #154), I read with care the rather daunting instructions for the preparation of their version of starter . . . and then I put it aside. But, obviously I did not forget it as several weeks ago, I began on a naturally leavened sourdough starter journey . . . and it is a journey! As instructed I mixed rye flour (1 cup) with 1/2 cup water, a mess that I equated more to cement than the possibility of starter! However, I loosely covered it and l left it overnight with the expectation that I’d throw away my experiment in the a.m. Low and behold, it was bubbly the next morning. For a week I fed and discarded the excess, once and then eventually twice a day. It may have been a tedious process but it created an outstanding sourdough that I continue to care for—just once a week these days. Currently I’ve made several recipes using the “discard” and continue to amass a file of recipes on Pinterest. It’s been an interesting process. I might add, we've subscribed to Cuisine at Home for years and have most of their magazines. There easy-to-follow recipes are inspiring. Recipes run the spectrum from easy to complicated and challenging . . . but the later are always accompanied by step-by-step instructions. It is the one cooking magazine we've continued to subscribe to over the years. 

Recipes I've made using this starter . . . these recipes rely only on starter with 

no added commercial yeast: 

Nutty Sourdough Waffles

Cuisine at Home's Naturally Leavened Sourdough Bread

Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls

Sourdough Focaccia

Easy Naturally Leavened Sourdough Bread Recipe

I did wonder about using rye flour for the initial flour in the starter so looked it up and here's what I found — Naturally rich in amylases, nutrients, and microbes, rye flour enables a starter to quickly convert sugars for faster, more efficient fermentation.

Cuisine at Home's Naturally Leavened Sourdough Starter 

Starter:

113 grams (1 cup) organic rye flour

113 grams (1/2 cup) water

 

Standard Feeder:

113 grams (1 cup) unbleached all-purpose flour

113 grams (1/2 cup) water

 

Day 1: Stir together 113g (1 c.) rye and 113g water until there’s no dry flour; loosely cover and let rest at room temp (70° F.) for 24 hours.

 

Day 2: You might see bubbles, but it’s OK if you don’t. Discard half the starter (113g/1/2 cups); add standard feed (113g or 1 cup flour + 113g or 1/2 cup water) and mix well. Cover starter; let rest at room temp for 24 hours.

 

Day 3: You’ll probably begin to see some bubbling, smell a fresh, fruity aroma, and see some expansion. Start feeding twice a day (about every 12 hours). Begin each feeding with 113g starter or 1/2 cup (discard excess) + standard feeder. Cover starter; let rest at room temp.

 

Day 4-7 (or more): Your starter should be doubled with lots of bubbles by end of day 5. If not, don’t worry. Continue to discard and feed starter every 12 hours on days 4-7 (or more) until vigorous.

 

Once vigorous, discard all by 113g/1/2 cup starter; feed it and let rest at room temp 6-8 hours. Remove starter needed for recipe (if more than 1 cup needed, add standard feeder without discarding a couple times until you have enough for the recipe plus 113g/1/2 cup to keep and feed again).

 

Reserve 113g/1/2 cup starter in its permanent home (vessel). Feed it and  let it rest at room temp several hours before covering; store in the refrigerator and feed it once per week (for longer storage, freeze and don’t feed it).