7 Sourdough Starter Secrets

7 Sourdough Starter Secrets:

(1) The temperature of your room and ingredients will affect the activity level of your starter. To achieve the best results, try placing your starter in a warm location in your kitchen.

You can also increase the internal temperature of your starter by using water that is roughly 105 degrees Fahrenheit when combining the water with your flour mixture to create or feed the starter.

(2) Despite what you may have heard, you can use a variety of different gluten-free flours to make sourdough starter. We have had success using brown rice flour, sorghum flour, millet flour, and a variety of unique blends!

In this sense, you can create different gluten-free sourdough starters with flavors, colors, and characteristics that best suit your personal baking or dietary preferences.

(3) After doing a series of sourdough starter trials over the course of several months, we found a 1:1 ratio of water-to-flour was both effective and easy to remember!

A digital kitchen scale makes this process easy.

*Note: a few flour blends require some minor adjustments to this ratio.

(4) If you accidentally ignore your sourdough starter, you might find your starter gets moldy. If this happens, throw out your starter and begin again!

But to reduce the likelihood of this problem, try adding a Tablespoon of fresh lemon juice to your flour and water mixture. The acidity in the lemon juice will help to discourage mold growth.

(5) The yeasts in your starter feed off carbohydrates in the flours, converting them into sugars, creating some ethanol, and releasing some CO2 gas. This gas creates the air bubbles you see in your starter.

To kick start your sourdough starter, try adding roughly one teaspoon of honey to the mixture.

(6) Try to avoid putting your starter in the fridge.

Your starter will be stronger and more active if you remember to feed it every day, leaving it to ferment at room temperature. Some bakers even feed their sourdough starter twice a day!

(7) You can use your sourdough starter discard to create hundreds of unique gluten-free recipes that are absolutely delicious, like our recipe for gluten-free bagels!

Do you have any sourdough starter secrets or questions to share? Feel free to email me directly at: [email protected]!

I personally love gluten-free sourdough bread. Here’s Why:

Making the perfect loaf is a challenge (especially a gluten-free one!). But it is easier than you think!

If you want an easy, simple, perfect bake every time…Check out this gluten-free baking guide from Bloom Healthy!

It’s a 1-time purchase to get the incredible benefits of gluten-free sourdough for life.

And keep an eye out for our upcoming online sourdough bread baking course!