Care and Feeding of your Sourdough Starter, 2023 edition

How do I keep my starter ALIVE?

How do I know if my starter is okay to bake with?

What if I haven’t used it in ages?  Do I have to start from scratch??

What if it’s already dead??

Now that I have your attention… RELAX.

I KNOW it’s been a while since I’ve added to my blog, and I’m getting a new oven installed in less than a week, so I went back to my blog and discovered that I had a pretty good thing going.

So I’m dusting off some of my most special recipe posts, and this one comes to mind, because my starter has been getting pretty lonely tucked in the back of my fridge.  I’m feeding her today, and will probably make some waffles or pancakes with her this weekend.  

(In 2016, I started her and named her Hungry Lizzy, after St. Elizabeth of Hungary - patron saint of bakers)

(Yes, I’ve kept her alive for over 6+ years!!)

SO…. it’s really quite easy.  Just do it.  Feed your starter.  Make stuff with it.  Feed it some more.  Name it.  Get to know it.  A little attention will go a long way!  See?

It takes a lot to “kill” your starter, truly.

But really ... as long as you bake with it regularly (even just once a week), it will be happy and bubbly and ready to lift your sourdough to new heights.  Bake more often than that, and you’ll have a superstar performer on your hands.

You can take a mathematical approach, and actually measure your flour and water, so you KNOW it will be just right. All you have to do is measure equal amounts of water and the flour of your choice.

For example, you could measure 25 grams of water, use it to scrape up and dissolve the dried bits on the sides and bottom of your container.

Then measure and add 25 grams of strong bread flour.  

Mix well, and keep it out on your counter until it’s happy and bubbly and ready to be used.

After awhile, you’ll get a real “feel” for it, and then you’ll be doing it much more instinctively as you gain experience and confidence. You’ll also develop a preference for how wet or dry you like to keep your starter.  I like to keep mine on the thicker side, so I can really see it puff up and double (or more). 

Remember, you’re the one who gets to decide how much starter to keep in the fridge at any given time.  I like to keep only a bit more than the scrapings if I only plan to make one loaf... but if I’m planning to make up some pancakes or waffles on the weekend, or to do a big bake of three loaves in a day or two, then I build it up by a bit by feeding and mixing it, and leaving it out an hour before I pop it back in the fridge, so I’ve got enough to use when I need it.

It’s ready to bake with, when it is bubbly, has more than doubled,  and it is still rounded at the top.

~ TROUBLE SHOOTING ~

If your starter is a bit sluggish, and doesn’t see to want to grow, consider the following:

Is your kitchen warm enough?  

Put it in the oven with the light on, 

put it on top of your refrigerator, or near a warm spot.

Is there a draft inhibiting its growth?  

Pop it in the microwave or invest in a proofing box.

Did you feed it “enough” flour?  

Add some more!  Or change up the flour (try some rye or spelt)

Happy starter = happy sourdough!

Happy sourdough = happy eating!!

Good luck and HAVE FUN!!!!

MJ

Easiest Sourdough Waffles or Pancakes

Sunday mornings are slow and easy at our house. Inevitably, there is bacon or breakfast sausages from the St. Jacobs Farmers Market to cook up... and I’ve got the time to make a fresh fruit salad and these EASY sourdough pancakes or waffles while everything is sizzling on the stovetop.

This really is the easiest process... in fact, I barely look at the recipe these days!  I just toss everything in a bowl, mix it up, and cook them up in a pan or our awesome waffle maker.

If I’m building my starter for a sourdough bread bake, I usually have some leftover sourdough starter, but using an active starter isn’t even necessary.  I’ve made these with week old starter, and it turns out just fine every time!

This was leftover starter that had been fed and used a day or two before for making sourdough bread.  I purposely made extra so it could be used for our Sunday brunch.

See how happy and bubbly my Lizzie can be if she’s ready for both bread AND waffles or pancakes?

Either way, I use @bakewithjack’s scrapings method... after using almost all the starter, I immediately toss some bread flour into my container, stir and scrape all the dried bits down, add a splash of water, and mix well before placing it back into the fridge for the next time I need it.  

Now, let’s make our waffles or pancakes!

In a bowl, pour 1-2 cups of of sourdough starter, and add:

2 eggs

1 generous teaspoon of cinnamon (to taste)

1-2 Tbsp of sugar (to taste)

1 teaspoon of baking soda

1 rounded teaspoon of baking powder

2 swirls of avocado oil or equivalent (2 Tbsp) melted butter

Mix well... adding either water/milk or a little all purpose flour to achieve the perfect consistency.

I find pancakes need a thicker texture if you want that nice puffy result... and waffles need a runnier consistency which I achieve by adding an extra tablespoon of oil or butter so it doesn’t stick and it gets a bit crispier.

This is just right for waffles, but it needs to be a bit thicker for pancakes.
Here’s a picture of a bowl of banana pancakes that needed a little bit of extra flour.

See how happy she is after mixing?  Be sure to use the batter right away, for maximum lift!

Pour into a buttered pan for pancakes.

Flip when bubbles come up and they’re browned to your liking!

Or add to a heated (and buttered) waffle maker... it’s messy (if you’re like me) but it’s totally worth the effort!

Mmmm!

Mmmm!

I stack the finished waffles (or pancakes) in the oven set to 175 degrees Fahrenheit while I finish cooking up the batter.

These are just the right thickness!

Nice and puffy!  Perfect with berries and maple syrup!

See how happy these sourdough treats can make your loved ones?

Let me know if you try this recipe!  
Tag me @mjschropp on IG or FB!

Happy cooking!

Care and feeding of your sourdough starter

How do I keep my starter ALIVE?!

Now that I have your attention... relax!

  

It takes a lot to “kill” your starter, truly. 

But really ... as long as you bake with it regularly (even just once a week), it will be happy and bubbly and ready to lift your sourdough to new heights.  Bake more often than that, and you’ll have a superstar performer on your hands.

You can take a mathematical approach, and actually measure your flour and water, so you KNOW it will be just right.

And after awhile, you’ll get a real “feel” for it, and then you’ll be doing it much more instinctively as you gain experience and confidence. You’ll also develop a preference for how wet or dry you like to keep your starter.  I like to keep mine on the thicker side, so I can really see it puff up and double (or more).  Here’s how I feed and mix mine, in this short video:

Remember, you’re the one who gets to decide how much starter to keep in the fridge at any given time.  I like to keep only a bit more than the scrapings if I only plan to make one loaf... but if I’m planning to make up some pancakes or waffles on the weekend, or to do a big bake of three loaves in a day or two, then I build it up by a bit by feeding and mixing it, and leaving it out an hour before I pop it back in the fridge, so I’ve got enough to use when I need it.

It’s ready to bake with, when it is bubbly, has more than doubled,  and it is still rounded at the top.

~ TROUBLE SHOOTING ~

If your starter is a bit sluggish, and doesn’t see to want to grow, consider the following:

Is your kitchen warm enough?  

Put it in the oven with the light on, 

put it on top of your refrigerator, or near a warm spot.

Is there a draft inhibiting its growth?  

Pop it in the microwave or invest in a proofing box.

Did you feed it “enough” flour?  

Add some more!  Or change up the flour (try some rye or spelt)

Happy starter = happy sourdough!

Happy sourdough = happy eating!!

Good luck and HAVE FUN!!!!

MJ