I am late to the party- the sourdough party that is. At the beginning of the year, sourdough was ALL the rage and I think it is safe to say it may stick around a bit longer. We are two weeks away from Thanksgiving and I am in full recipe preperation mode! My first sourdough starter is in a jar and ready to grow. I am going to dedicate the next week or so, sharing with you my experience as I grow my starter and bake the coveted sourdough loaf.
Throughout the next week, I will be referencing the blog- Let Them Eat Gluten Free Cake. Kim, of Let Them Eat Gluten Free Cake, has created an impressive repritoire of gluten free bread recipes using her own unique flour blends and has posted a informative blog post on gluten-free sourdough starter.
Growing a starter is simple:
- Day 1: add 50g flour (flours listed below) and 40-50g of water to a glass jar and stir. Lightly cover jar and let sit on your counter. Every 12 hours add an additional 50g of flour and 40-50g of water.
- Days 3-7 check for activity! Kim says on her blog that activity (growth and bubbles) will start to occur between days 3-7. When activity begins to occur, you will need to discard 1/3 of the jar prior to feeding.
- Once the starter is predictable- falls and rises at the same time everyday- the starter is mature and ripe to use! Prior to the mature stage, any discard removed can be used to start a new starter or in recipes such as pancakes and/or pizza.
Tips: your starter may develop a clear liquid at the top of the surface. I have learned that this is the alcohol that the yeast releases called hooch. Although it is harmless, I read that it is quite strong and should be poured out if there is a significant amount. Hooch occurs when the starter is not being fed enough. Kim’s recipe calls for 50-70g of water and after doing a little research I learned that the thinner the consitancy is, the faster the starter burns through each feed. It is recommended that you keep your starter thicker so that it can sustain longer.
Now, hooch is a sign of under feeding which could mean the starter is dying, but don’t fear! If you miss a feeding or two or go longer than 12 hours before a feed, the starter will survive! There is a lot of fear mongoring going on in the sourdough community in regards to killing your starter. From what I learned, it is a lot harder to kill your starter than we are led to believe.
Whole Grain Flour Examples:
- Sorghum
- Teff
- Millet
- Amaranth
- Buckwheat
- Brown Rice
I have two different jars going right now. The first jar, I used millet flour and the second I used brown rice flour. I will keep you posted on the performance of each flour.
Gluten Free Sourdough Starter
Equipment
- mason jar
Ingredients
- 50 grams wholegrain gluten free flour
- 40-50 grams water
Instructions
- Day 1: add your flour and water to a clean jar. Stir with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula until combined. The mixture should be thicker than pancake batter. Lightly cover your jar and let sit on your counter. (I used a sheet of papertowel and secured it with a rubberband.)
- Day 2: after 12 hours, feed your starter by following the directions above. You will continue to feed your starter every 12 hours.
- Day 3-7: You will start to see activity between days 3-7. When your starter begins to grow and bubble, you will need to discard 1/3 of the starter prior to adding more flour and water.
- Days 7-10: When your starter becomes predictable- grows and falls at the same time and has doubled in size- you can now bake with it.
