Beginners guide to Sourdough K N E A D I T S W E E T CONTENTS A little thanks Equipment list Reviving your starter Long term storage Sourdough ratios Sourdough discard Basic Sourdough Recipe Sourdough discard recipes 1 2 4 - 7 8 8 9 - 10 11 12 - 13 1 Before we begin, I just wanted to say Thank you so much for purchasing this ebook (or my sourdough starter)! I truly appreciate your support. I hope this book provides all the essential information you need to get a solid grasp on sourdough baking and becomes a helpful guide as you embark on an incredible baking journey. Whether you're just starting or refining your skills, I’m excited for you to experience the magic of sourdough. Happy baking! **P.S.** Please remember to leave a review on the platform where you purchased it. Your feedback not only helps out my little shop but also helps others discover my products, so we can all enjoy the wonderful world of sourdough together! Thank you again! 2 Equipment list: Tools: - Digital scale – for precise measurements - Mixing bowl – medium or large size - Empty jar – for feeding and storing the starter - Danish whisk, wooden spoon, or spatula – for mixing - Dough scraper – to handle sticky dough - Banneton or shallow bowl – for proofing - Kitchen towel or cling film * – for covering the dough - Cast iron Dutch oven – for baking - Sharp knife or bread lame – for scoring Optional: - Thermometer – to check dough and water temperature - Bench scraper – for shaping Flour Options: - Here’s a list of different types of flour you can use for sourdough: Bread flour – high protein content, ideal for a strong rise. All-purpose flour – versatile but may yield a slightly softer texture. Whole wheat flour – adds a nutty flavour and dense texture. Rye flour – promotes a tangy flavour, often used in combination with other flours. Spelt flour – gives a mildly sweet, nutty flavour. Each flour can influence the flavour and texture of your sourdough! 3 Reviving Your Sourdough Starter If you’ve purchased the sourdough starter from me, rest assured that it is an active and thriving starter . It was fed just before being sent to you, but after its journey, it may need a little help to get back to full strength, as it has likely been knocked around during transit. To revive your starter, I’ve outlined two options depending on when you plan to bake: - Option 1 : If you plan to bake tonight or tomorrow. - Option 2 : If you plan to bake at a future date. If you're looking to bake soon, follow these steps to quickly revive your starter: 1. Find a Suitable Container Choose a jar or container that can hold more than 500g of liquid. An empty olive jar, jam jar, or similar will work well. Make sure to thoroughly wash and dry it before use. 2. Weigh the Empty Jar Grab your digital scale and turn it on. Place the clean, empty jar or container on the scale and note its weight. This step helps us track the starter's weight without having to empty it out for every feeding or discard. Use a marker to write the jar's weight on the bottom or side of the jar for easy reference later. Option 1: Baking soon 4 3. Feed Your Starter - Measure out 50g of the starter (you’ll have received a bit more than this, you can discard the rest) and place it in the jar. - Add 100g of your flour of choice . The starter has been fed with strong white bread flour, but you can use any flour listed in the equipment section of this ebook. - Pour in 100g of filtered water at room temperature. If you don’t have filtered water, boil tap water and let it cool down. It’s best to avoid using unfiltered tap water, as chlorine can inhibit yeast growth. 4. Mix the Ingredients Use a rubber or wooden spoon or spatula to stir the starter, flour, and water together. Metal utensils can interfere with the growth of yeast, so it’s important to avoid using them. 5. Prepare the Jar Once mixed, clean the sides of the jar with a cloth or paper towel to keep everything neat. Then, place a rubber band around the jar, marking the top of the mixture. This will help you monitor the starter’s progress as it rises. 7. Watch for Growth Your starter will be ready to use once it doubles in size . You’ll know it’s ready when it stops expanding and the top of the mixture flattens out (it will dome while rising). This process usually takes about 4-8 hours , depending on the temperature where the jar is stored. Once your starter has doubled, it’s now active and ready to use in any recipe that calls for an active sourdough starter. 5 Option 2: Planning to Bake at a Later Date If you’re not planning to bake right away, follow these steps to revive and maintain your starter until you're ready to use it: 1. Find a Suitable Container Choose a jar or container that can hold more than 500g of liquid. An empty olive jar, jam jar, or similar will work well. Make sure to thoroughly wash and dry it before use. 2. Weigh the Empty Jar Grab your digital scale and turn it on. Place the clean, empty jar or container on the scale and note its weight. This step helps us track the starter's weight without having to empty it out for every feeding or discard. Use a marker to write the jar's weight on the bottom or side of the jar for easy reference later. 3. Feed Your Starter - Measure out 50g of the starter (you’ll have received a bit more than this, you can discard the rest) and place it in the jar. - Add 50g of your flour of choice . The starter has been fed with strong white bread flour, but you can use any flour listed in the equipment section of this ebook. - Pour in 50g of filtered water at room temperature. If you don’t have filtered water, boil tap water and let it cool down. It’s best to avoid using unfiltered tap water, as chlorine can inhibit yeast growth. 4. Mix the Ingredients Use a rubber or wooden spoon or spatula to stir the starter, flour, and water together. Metal utensils can interfere with the growth of yeast, so it’s important to avoid using them. 6 5. Prepare the Jar Once mixed, clean the sides of the jar with a cloth or paper towel to keep everything neat. Then, place a rubber band around the jar, marking the top of the mixture. This will help you monitor the starter’s progress as it rises. 6. Store in the Fridge Place the jar in the fridge to slow down the starter’s activity. This will keep it alive and ready for use when you're ready to bake. When You’re Ready to Bake: The night before baking, take your jar out of the fridge and allow the starter to reach room temperature. Once warmed up, weigh the contents of the jar (don’t forget to subtract the jar’s weight that you wrote earlier). Next, decide how much starter you need: - If you only need a small amount, feed it with a 1:1:1 ratio (starter:flour:water). - If you need a larger amount, feed it with a 1:2:2 ratio (starter:flour:water) to increase its volume. You can find more details on feeding ratios in the next section of this ebook. 7 Long term storage Your starter will live for a very long time if properly maintained. If you’re not planning to bake in the near future, it’s best to feed your starter with a 1:1:1 ratio (starter:flour) once a week to keep it healthy. If you find yourself with too much starter, you can discard some to maintain a manageable amount—more on discarding will be covered later in this ebook. Ratios of starter The general rule of thumb for feeding your sourdough starter is to always feed it at least the same amount of flour and water, if not more. The amount you feed depends on how much active starter is required for your recipe. Feeding Ratios and Examples: - If you need 150g of active starter , but only have 50g of starter on hand, you’ll want to feed it with a 1:1:1 ratio of starter:flour:water. - Example: 50g starter + 50g flour + 50g water = 150g of active starter by the end of the feed. - If your recipe calls for 250g of starter , but you only have 50g , you’ll need to use a 1:2:2 ratio of starter:flour:water to grow the amount you need. - Example: 50g starter + 100g flour + 100g water = 250g of active starter. Keep in mind, the higher the feeding ratio , the longer it will take your starter to reach its peak activity. This means that while a 1:1:1 feed will typically be ready to use in 4-6 hours (depending on the temperature), a 1:2:2 feed may take longer before the starter is fully active and ready for baking. Plan your feedings accordingly based on when you’ll be baking and how much starter you need! 8 Sourdough Discard: What It Is and How to Use It When maintaining your sourdough starter, you’ll often need to discard a portion of it before feeding. Discarding simply means removing a portion of the starter before adding fresh flour and water. This process helps keep your starter balanced and prevents it from growing too large to manage. How to Discard: To discard, remove the required amount of starter before feeding the remaining portion. For example, if you have 100g of starter and you plan to feed it with a 1:1:1 ratio, you would discard 50g and feed the remaining 50g with 50g of flour and 50g of water. It’s important to remember that sourdough discard is not waste! While it’s no longer ideal for rising bread, the discard is still full of flavor and can be used in a variety of delicious recipes. Storing Your Discard: If you aren’t planning to use the discard immediately, store it in an airtight container in the fridge . The discard will keep for about a week in the fridge, and you can accumulate it over time if needed. Tasty Recipes Using Sourdough Discard : There are so many great ways to use sourdough discard in everyday recipes! You can add it to pancakes, waffles, crackers, pizza dough, biscuits, and even cookies. These recipes will help you make the most of your discard while adding a delicious sourdough tang to your bakes. Further into this ebook, you’ll find a variety of tried and tested sourdough discard recipes to help you reduce waste and enjoy every part of your sourdough journey. Sourdough Discard 9 Reviving Your Sourdough Discard Did you know that sourdough discard can always be revived into an active starter ? If you find yourself with extra discard and want to turn it back into a thriving sourdough starter, simply feed it with the correct ratio of flour and water. How to Revive Discard: To revive your discard, follow the same feeding process you would with your active starter: - Start with a 1:1:1 ratio of discard:flour:water (e.g., 50g of discard, 50g of flour, 50g of water). - Mix thoroughly and place in a warm spot to let it rise. Since discard has been inactive, it may take a few feeds to fully revive it. Be patient, and after two to three feedings , your discard should come back to life and be ready to bake with again. Keep feeding it until it becomes bubbly and doubles in size within 4-6 hours, which is a sign that it’s fully active. This is a great way to make sure you can always rely on your discard, reducing waste and giving you a backup starter whenever needed! 10 Sourdough Recipe Disclaimer: I cannot guarentee this recipe will work for you, this is just what works for me. I recommend watching videos on platforms such as YouTube and TikTok for a more extensive recipe Equipment required - Mixing bowl - Danish whisk, wooden spoon, or rubber spatula - Shallow bowl or banneton - Kitchen towel or cling film - Cast iron or Dutch oven - Sharp knife or bread lame Ingredient's: - 310g warm filtered water - 120g active sourdough starter - 500g bread flour - 16g fine sea salt Method: 1. Mix the dough : Combine water, starter, flour, and salt. Stir until shaggy using danish whisk or spatula. Cover and rest for 1 hour. 2. Stretch & fold : Perform 4 stretch and folds, turning the bowl 90° each time. Rest for 20 minutes, then repeat this process a total of 4 times. 3. Bulk ferment : Shape into a ball and let rise for 6-12 hours in a warm spot. 4. Test the dough : Poke the dough to check its readiness. If it springs back, it's ready for the next step. 5. Shape & refrigerate : After the final ferment, shape the dough, place in a banneton seam-side up, cover, and refrigerate for 12-36 hours. 6. Preheat oven : Preheat a cast-iron Dutch oven at 245°C for 30 minutes. 7. Prepare the loaf: Flour the loaf, score with a sharp knife, and place it in the preheated Dutch oven. 8. Bake : Bake covered for 20 minutes, then remove the lid and bake until the crust is deep golden brown. Let the bread cool before slicing. 11 Sourdough Discard Recipes These are suggestions for what to bake with your sourdough discard if you find yourself with an excessive amount that you do not want to throw away Sourdough Discard Crackers: Ingredient's: - 200g sourdough discard - 60g whole wheat flour - 30g olive oil - 1 tsp sea salt - Herbs/spices of choice Method: 1. Preheat the oven to 180°C. 2. Mix all ingredients until a dough forms. 3. Roll out thinly on parchment paper, score into cracker shapes, and bake for 15-20 minutes until golden and crisp. Sourdough Discard Bagels: Ingredient's: - 250g sourdough discard - 300g bread flour - 150g warm water - 1 tbsp honey - 1 tsp salt - 1 tbsp baking soda (for boiling) Method: 1. Mix discard, flour, water, honey, and salt into a dough, kneading until smooth. 2. Let rise until doubled, then shape into bagels. 3. Boil in water with baking soda for 1 minute per side, then bake at 220°C for 20-25 minutes until golden brown. 12 Sourdough Discard Pretzels: Ingredient's: - 200g sourdough discard - 250g bread flour - 120g warm water - 1 tbsp sugar - 1 tsp salt - 2 tsp baking soda (for boiling) - Coarse salt for topping Method: 1. Mix all ingredients (except baking soda) into a dough and knead for 5 minutes. 2. Let rise until doubled, shape into pretzels, and boil in water with baking soda for 30 seconds per side. 3. Sprinkle with coarse salt and bake at 220°C for 12-15 minutes until golden brown. Sourdough Discard Pancakes: Ingredient's: - - 200g sourdough discard - 150g flour - 250ml milk - 1 egg - 1 tbsp sugar - 1 tsp baking soda - ½ tsp salt - 2 tbsp melted butter or oil Method: 1. Whisk discard, flour, milk, egg, and sugar together until smooth. 2. Stir in baking soda, salt, and melted butter. 3. Heat a non-stick pan, and pour the batter in rounds. 4. Cook until bubbles form on the surface, then flip and cook until golden. 5. Serve with your favorite toppings! 13 Thank you so much for taking your time to go through this ebook! Remember these are just ideas and guidelines on how to use your starter, but there is an abundance of things you can create with it! id definitely recommend searching different social media sites such as TikTok and YouTube - TikTok has been my personal saviour during my sourdough journey! please remember to leave us a review if you haven’t already as it’s much appreciated and helps build up the reputation of the store! enjoy your sourdough journey and I wish you all the best!! Disclaimer: I do not claim any of these recipes to be my own, they are all recipes that I have found through my research and adapted to what works for me 14