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Questions tagged [sourdough-starter]

Culture of yeast and lactobacilli in a flour/water mixture, used to leaven bread (also known as levain)

A sourdough starter, or levain, is a fermented mixture of flour and water. This resident colony of microorganisms (yeast and lactobacilli) produce leavening for bread or other baked goods.

Questions may include how to:

  • start
  • feed or maintain
  • use
  • troubleshoot problems
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Can a sourdough starter be kept alive if you live in a dry climate?

I have recently moved to Colorado and now I live in a dry climate at about 5,000 ft (the western slope). I had a starter in Sacramento CA with me for years, but I'm told that it is too dry here to keep the starter alive. Is that true? My fridge…
Vonita Murray
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How to get more lactic acid vs acetic acid in sourdough?

I want to start a sourdough culture with wheat flour. I don't want the vinegar taste to be too pronounced. What can I do to create a culture which produces a high ratio of lactic to acetic acid?
rumtscho
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Can sourdough starter be used for tenderizing meat?

This paper says that after: "Lactobacillus alimentarius 15M, Lactobacillus brevis 14G, Lactobacillus sanfranciscensis 7A, and Lactobacillus hilgardii 51B were selected and used in sourdough fermentation", "The concentrations of free amino acids,…
The Testosterone Fanatic
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Sourdough bread uncooked from inside

My sourdough starter is 9 days old. Today it doubled in around 6 hours. Following this recipe, I performed following steps: I mixed 400g AP Flour, 160g starter, 230g water and 10g salt. Kneading: I kneaded it for about 20 minutes until I observed…
Laschet Jain
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How do I use beer barm to make sourdough?

I have been making sourdough now for the last six months or so, fairly successfully, using a starter that I created on the bread-making course that kicked this all off. While on the course, I mentioned to the instructor that I also brew beer and he…
bornfromanegg
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Can I use sourdough starter (kvasek) to produce kefir?

Is the yeast/bacteria balance in mature sourdough starter (fed on wheat and barley) correct for making kefir? If not, why?
Sentinel
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How to grow sourdough starter for increased production?

I am a commercial baker, and we are going through lots of sourdough starter. But I wanted some ideas or help for growing sourdough starter without throwing away lots of starter. Will the sourdough starter be strong enough if we do a three day turn…
John
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What's are the benefits of different sourdough starter consistencies?

Is there any real differences between keeping a sourdough starter at a thick dough like consistency compared to a more watery consistency? Aside from the general thoughts of thicker being easier to keep.
Corsara
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How can I "cheat" on dough maturation?

I found a good balance between leavening and maturation while using my favourite flour, my oven and my sourdough starter, the only problem is that the whole process, from mixing the ingredients and producing a baked dough/focaccia requires more than…
user2485710
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Stiff vs Liquid Starter, what are the differences between hydration in a sourdough starter?

I stumbled on the concept of a stiff starter from Northwest Sourdough Baker and have kept a high hydration starter (100% hydration) since I started baking. Was wondering what notable differences do Stiff/Liquid starters have with one another (apart…
Denis Tsoi
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Enzymatic reactions that happen when water and wheat flour is mixed?

What happens when you mix water and wheat flour? A seed would start to sprout eventually. Does water start reaction inside of the flour?
Hendrik
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My sourdough started hasn't yet risen! What am I doing wrong?

I had started my first batch of sourdough starter a week back. Its just wheat flour and water (haven't added any pineapple juice or any other fruit juice). The first 2 days had vigorous activity and the mix stank, a lot! After 3 days the smell has…
That-Kickass-GirL
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Make bread with flour different from the starter

I have been able to cultivate a strong sourdough starter with whole wheat flour and semolina flour. Now I want to make a bread with all purpose flour, show should I proceed ? Get this already active started and make my bread or feed it with flour…
André Roggeri Campos
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How to have a weekly baking sourdough starter plan

I want to start baking 2 loaves of sourdough bread every Sunday evening. I have to start from scratch. So I do not have any starter yet. Can someone please help me with a plan to do it? How and when should I start with the starter so that it…
Vicky
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What does sourdough starter REALLY need?

I have one of these fancy french baking books that says that the sourdough needs to be feed with a 2:1:3 ratio of water, starter and flour. But a lot of videos I see online basically just pour a little out, add equal parts of water and flour…
motleydev
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