Sunset Sourdough Starter Recipes

SUNSET SOURDOUGH STARTER

Steps:

• Fill a 3 to 6-cup container with hot water and let it stand. In a pan, heat the milk to 90-100 deg.F. on thermometer. Remove from heat and stir in yogurt.
• Drain water from container, wipe dry, and pour in milk-yogurt mixture. Cover tightly; if using a screw-top jar with a metal lid, place a double layer of plastic wrap over mouth of jar before screwing on lid. Let stand in a warm place (80-90 deg F.).
• After 18-24 hours, starter should be about the consistency of yogurt - a curd forms and mixture doesn't flow readily when container is slightly tilted. (It may also form smaller curds suspended in clear liquid). If some clear liquid has risen to top of milk, simply stir it back in . However, if liquid has turned light pink, milk is beginning to break down - discard and start again.
• After curd has formed, gradually stir in flour until smooth. Cover tightly and let stand in a warm place (80-90 deg F.) until mixture is full of bubbles and has a good sour smell (2-5 days).
• If clear liquid forms during this time, stir it back into starter. But if liquid is pink, spoon out and discard all but 1/4 cup of starter, then blend in a mixture of 1 cup each warm skim milk or low-fat milk (90-100 deg F.) and flour. Cover tightly and let stand again in a warm place until bubbly and sour smelling.
• To store, cover and refrigerate.
• Always bring your starter to room temperature before using it (this takes 4 to 6 hours).
• To maintain an ample supply, replenish your starter every time you use it with equal amounts of warm milk and flour. Use the same type of milk and flour to maintain consistency. Cover tightly and let stand in a warm place for several hours or until bubbly; then cover and refrigerate.
• If you bake regularly, your starter will stay lively. If you don't bake often, it's best to discard about half your starter and replenish it with warm milk and flour about every 2 months.

SOURDOUGH STARTER RECIPE BY TASTY

Steps:

• Day 1: Add 50 grams whole wheat flour, 50 grams bread flour, and 100 grams warm water to a clear lidded container with a capacity of 1 pint or more. Mix until there are no dry spots. Scrape down the sides of the container with a spatula. Cover with a lid.
• Use a rubber band or piece of tape to mark the mixture level. This will allow you to track any movement (eventually it will grow!) Set the starter in a warm spot. Let sit for 24 hours.
• Day 2: After 24 hours, open the container and look for signs of fermentation in the form of bubbles on top, volume growth, and/or a funky, slightly sweet acidic smell. If you see some of these signs, proceed to the next step. If not, cover the starter again and let sit for another 12-24 hours, until these signs appear. If the temperature in your house is cool, it may take a bit longer.
• Once the starter has gotten a bit bubbly and funky, it is time to discard and feed. Discard all but about 25 grams (2 tablespoons) of starter (see Note below on how to minimize waste!). Add another 100 grams warm water and stir to dissolve the remaining starter. Add 50 grams of bread flour and 50 grams of whole wheat flour and stir until there are no dry spots. Cover and let sit in a warm spot for another 24 hours.
• Days 3-15: Repeat the feeding process every day for 7-14 days. Eventually, a few hours after feeding, the starter will begin to grow, almost doubling in size, then deflate again. Once your starter is rising and falling regularly, it is in a good place.
• To test the readiness of the starter, do a float test: Fill a cup with cool water. Use a clean spoon to take a scoop of the starter (be careful not to stir the starter and deflate the air bubbles that make it float) and carefully plop it in the water. If it floats, it is gassy and alive and ready to make some bread! If not, don't despair, it can take a while to get going. Either wait longer if it has only been a few hours since feeding, or if it has been closer to 24 hours since feeding, discard and feed again.
• After passing the float test, the starter is ready to use for baking! You may find you like to use your starter when it is young, only a few hours after feeding when it just passes the float test. At this point it will smell sweet. If you want a more sour taste, use the starter 6-12 hours after feeding, when it will be more mature and smell a bit more vinegary and funky. This is up to you!
• Mold: If you see any fuzzy moldy spots on your starter that are black, red, or blue, unless it is very easy to scrape them off the top, unfortunately you need to start over. Sometimes, a while after feeding or being in the refrigerator, the starter will develop a dark, clear liquid on top. This is called hooch and is harmless. Just pour the liquid off!
• Flour: Use what you have. If you only have all-purpose flour, you can use that. If you only have bread flour, use that. If you only have whole wheat flour, you can use that, just know that you may need to feed more often because it gets funky more quickly.
• Discard: It may be tempting not to discard most of your starter every time you feed it because you don't want to waste, but we discard for a variety of reasons. We are giving the starter a lot of fresh food and water to eat. If we don't discard, the starter will retain a lot of that funkiness and also eventually grow to be huge if you just keep adding water and flour to it. I like to discard into another container and keep that container in the refrigerator until I need it for other baking projects. You can fold the discard into banana bread, pancakes, cookies, etc.
• Storage: Once your starter is up and running, you can either keep it at room temperature and feed it daily, or store it in the refrigerator. To store in the refrigerator, do a regular discard and feed, then place in the refrigerator. A day before you want to begin making bread, pull the starter out and let it come to room temperature. Then, discard and feed as usual.
• Scaling: This starter recipe calls for equal amounts of water and total flour by weight. You can scale this recipe up or down as needed, depending on how much starter the recipe you are going to make calls for.
• Enjoy!