Sourdough Starter: Everything You Need to Know

Starting and maintaining a sourdough starter is a lot easier than one might think. The biggest mistake made is not weighing materials. Precision is necessary to start and maintain a thriving sourdough starter. Once the starter is well established it can be used in place of yeast in many recipes, or can be used to make amazing bread right at home!

Let's start with what is needed for your starter. You will need a sturdy glass or plastic jar that has enough space to allow your starter to expand. You will also need a kitchen scale, bread flour of choice, and patience. It takes about 7 days for starter to bloom. When I initially started my starter I put it in a 4 cup Pyrex measuring cup, but you can start your starter in the jar you are planning on storing it in.

Getting Started:
Day 1 - Using your kitchen scale measure out 50 g of room temperature (approx. 70°F) water and 50 g of flour. Combine the two together, then cover and leave at room temperature overnight.

Day 2 - Using your kitchen scale measure out 50 g of room temperature (approx. 70°F) water and 50 g of flour. Combine the two together, then mix into your starter from the previous night. Cover and leave at room temperature overnight.

Day 3 - Give your starter a stir, then in a separate bowl pour out 100 g of your starter, and discard it. To the remaining starter add 100 g of room temperature water, and 100 g of flour. Cover and leave at room temperature overnight.

Day 4 - Give your starter a stir, then in a separate bowl pour out 150 g of your starter, and discard it. To the remaining starter add 100 g of room temperature water (approx. 70°F), and 100 g of flour. Cover and leave at room temperature overnight. Around this time your starter should start to smell sour, and have little bubbles. Don't worry too much if it doesn't as it may just need a little more time.

Day 5 - Give your starter a stir, then in a separate bowl pour out 200 g of your starter, and discard it. To the remaining starter add 150 g of room temperature water (approx. 70°F), and 150 g of flour. Cover and leave at room temperature overnight. Around this time your starter should have lots of bubbles.

Day 6 - Give your starter a stir, then in a separate bowl pour out 250 g of your starter, and discard it. To the remaining starter add 200 g of room temperature water (approx. 70°F), and 200 g of flour. Cover and leave at room temperature overnight. By now your starter should be full of bubbles and smell sour.

Day 7 - Your starter should be active, full of bubbles, and smell sour (see image above). Your starter is ready to be used! When making any recipe using your starter be sure to retain some to feed/refresh for future recipes. Make sure the container you store your starter in has enough room for it to grow and rise.

Water Testing Your Starter:
If you're unsure whether your starter is ready to use there is a simple test you can do to test it. Get a small bowl and fill it with water. Drop a small amount of starter onto the water. If the starter is ready to use it will float. If it sinks allow the starter to sit for a few more hours and test it again.

Maintaining Your Starter:
Sourdough starter is a fairly low maintenance project, but just like a plant it does require feeding and watering. If you're a daily baker you can leave your starter on the counter. It will require daily feeding. If you are an occasional baker you can leave your starter in the fridge. Just remember to feed it every 7-10 days. Personally, I leave my starter in the fridge, and feed/refresh it every Sunday so I don't forget.

If you're going to store your starter in the fridge make sure to take it out the day before you're going to feed/refresh it, or bake to allow it time to come to room temperature. The night before you plan to bake, feed/refresh your starter and let it sit at room temperature overnight. The next morning the starter should be active/full of bubbles and ready to bake. If you forget to remove from fridge or feed/refresh overnight do not despair! Let the starter get to room temperature, then feed/refresh and allow it to sit at room temperature for at least 6 hours. Do the water test to see if the starter is ready to use. Then, remove what you need for your recipe, and feed/refresh the starter with the amount you removed. You can then return the starter to the fridge.

To Feed/Refresh Your Starter:
For the home baker you might find that you have way more starter than you need. It's ok to discard the extra, and only retain what you need. Because I find myself in this situation every now and again this section will be the way I do my starter. It uses far less dishes, and cuts down clean up time. You may find other people feed/refresh their starter differently, but this is the most efficient method I have found.

Supplies needed:
Large measuring cup (I use a 4 cup Pyrex cup, but any large measuring cup will work)
Kitchen scale
Bread flour
Room temperature water (approx. 70°F)
Large spoon and/or silicone spatula

1. Pour your starter into the measuring cup. Don't worry if you have more than 4 cups of starter you won't need that much so it's ok to discard whatever won't fit in the cup.

2. Wash and dry the container you stored the starter in. I do this so that I know my measurements will be precise.

3. Put the clean container on the kitchen scale and turn it on, or use the tare button to zero out the scale. Make sure that the gram measurement is turned on.

4. From the measuring cup pour out 200 g of starter directly into the container on the scale, then press the tare button to zero out the scale.

5. Pour 200 g of room temperature water (approx. 70°F) directly into the container on the scale, then press the tare button to zero out the scale. **If you are concerned that you may add too much water you can measure out the 200 grams of water separately, then pour it into the container.**

6. Pour 200 g of bread flour directly into the container on the scale. Remove the container from the scale, and mix everything together completely. **If you are concerned that you may add too much flour you can measure out the 200 g of flour separately, then add it into the container.**

7. At this point you can discard any left over starter in the measuring cup. The reason I add it to the measuring cup is in case of any mistakes. This way you have starter that you can use without having to do the whole 7 day starting process over again. I discard the starter directly into the trash. I'm not sure if it can be discarded down the drain, but better safe than sorry.

8. Once the starter is refreshed and active you can then take what you need for your recipe. Make sure that you replace/feed the starter with whatever you remove. Example: if you remove 1 cup of starter (approx. 227 g) you need to feed/refresh your starter with 1 cup of water and 1 cup of flour. Again I would measure it out in grams so your measurements will be more exact.

9. Once you have fed/refreshed your starter you can then put it back in the fridge. I like to let my starter sit at room temperature until it's active before I add it back to the fridge, but that's a personal preference and not required.

10. Enjoy making delicious breads and other goodies. The sky's the limit!

Easy Marinara Sauce

Ingredients:
2/3 cup onion, chopped
1/2 cup celery, chopped
2 tsp parsley flakes, dried
1/4 tsp garlic powder
2 cans (14.5 oz each) Italian stewed tomatoes
1/2 cup tomato paste
1 tsp oregano, dried
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 bay leaves
2 tbsp vegetable oil

Directions:
1. In a large saucepan over medium heat, add vegetable oil, onion, celery, parsley, garlic powder, and sauté until tender. Stir in the tomatoes, tomato paste, oregano, sugar, salt, and pepper. Once sauce begins to bubble add bay leaves and reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer for 1 hour. Discard bay leaves.

2. Remove sauce from stove, and pour into blender or food processor. Blend until all ingredients are well emulsified.

Enjoy! Goes well over pasta. Also great for pizza sauce!

Cajun Chicken & Sausage with Shrimp

Ingredients:
Pasta of Choice
10 large shrimp
2 boneless, skinless, chicken breasts, medium-large
8 oz Andouille sausage
8 oz spinach, defrosted*
1 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese**
1.5 tsp Tony Chachere's creole seasoning
1 tsp Old Bay Seasoning
1 tbsp parley, dried
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 tsp salt
2 tsp onion powder
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 cup heavy cream***
2 tbsp butter ****
Olive oil
4 tbsp pasta water

Directions:
1. Boil pasta according to directions on box reserve 4 tbsp of pasta water to use later in dish. Drain pasta and mix with 1 tsp of olive oil. If using frozen spinach squeeze water out of spinach and set aside.

2. While pasta is boiling, mix together creole seasoning, old bay, and pepper. Sprinkle lightly over shrimp, toss to coat, and set aside. Sprinkle remaining seasoning over both sides of chicken breasts. Rub seasoning into chicken breasts to ensure it is well coated, and set aside. Slice sausage into rounds, and set aside.

3. Preheat a skillet over medium heat, add 1-2 tbsp of olive oil to coat pan. Add shrimp, turn after about 3 mins. Cook shrimp until done, remove from pan, and set aside. 4. In same pan add chicken breasts (may add 1-2 tsp of olive oil if needed). Cook for about 6-8 mins, then flip and cook on other side. Cook chicken breasts until internal temperature of 165°F (around 10-12 mins). Remove from pan, slice, and set aside.

4. In same pan add sausage and cook for about 6-7 mins. You want the sausage to be well browned on both sides. Reduce heat to medium-low and add butter. Once butter has melted minced garlic. Sauté for about 1-2 mins just until the garlic starts to brown. Using a wooden or plastic spoon scrape the bottom of the pan to get all the seasoning up. (If you are using fresh spinach add it in now. Once spinach has wilted continue with remaining steps.)

5. Add in heavy cream. Stir for about 1-2 mins. Add in Parmesan cheese. Stir until Parmesan cheese is melted and well incorporated. Add in 2 tbsp of the pasta water. If your sauce is still too thick add additional pasta water in 1 tbsp increments until sauce is desired consistency. Add in onion powder, salt, and parsley. Add in spinach. Stir for about 2 mins, then add in chicken and pasta, top with shrimp. Enjoy!

Note:
*May use fresh spinach
**It's best to use fresh Parmesan cheese instead of grated. Sargento's fresh off the block Parmesan works as well.
***May sub full fat canned coconut milk for the heavy whipping cream
****May sub vegan butter, or replace with 1 tbsp olive oil

Air Fryer Bang Bang Shrimp

Ingredients:
1 lb raw shrimp, medium-large, peeled, deveined, and thawed
1 large egg
3/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup panko breadcrumbs (gluten free ok)
1 tsp baking soda
2 tbsp olive oil, or cooking spray
1 tbsp green onion, optional for garnish

Bang Bang Sauce Ingredients:
1-2 tsp Sriracha sauce
1/4 cup Asian sweet chili sauce
1/3 cup mayonnaise

Directions:
1. In a shallow plate or bowl combine cornstarch, panko, and baking soda. You can crush and mix with a fork, or pinch together the panko mix by hand.

2. In a medium bowl whisk the egg well. Add the shrimp. Then one at a time toss in the panko mixture, and set aside on a plate. Place the shrimp in the fridge for 10-15 mins.

3. While shrimp is in fridge, add all the ingredients for the bang bang sauce together in a bowl. Mix well, and set aside. Start with 1 tsp of Sriracha, and add the other for desired spice level.

4. Remove the shrimp from the fridge. Either spray with cooking oil, or lightly brush olive oil on both sides of the shrimp.

5. Place shrimp in the air fryer on 400°F for 10-12 mins. Be sure not to over crowd the shrimp because you will need to leave room to shake the basket. Do shrimp in batches if necessary. Around 5-7 mins of cook time remove air fryer basket, and shake shrimp. You can also use tongs. You want to move the shrimp to ensure it doesn't stick to the basket.

6. Remove shrimp, and drizzle with bang bang sauce. Add green onion if desired. Enjoy!

NOTE: Yes, there is no added salt or other seasonings in this recipe. I promise it is delicious just like this!