10 Tips For Working With A Traditional Sourdough Culture - Cultures For Health (2024)

1. Use only fully active starter for baking bread.Follow our instructions forPreparing Fresh Sourdough Starter for Bakingto ensure that you have fully active yeast and bacteria to properly leaven your bread.
2. Measure ingredients using a scale rather than measuring cups whenever possible. Measurements will be muchmore accurate, and yourresults more consistent.
3. Use a large container for proofing sourdough starter. Active sourdough starter will generallydouble in sizeat least, and can easily spill out of a small container.
4. Usewater withasfew contaminants as possibleto feed your sourdough starter.
5. Proof your starter at a consistently warm temperature, 70-85ºF. If your proofing location is prone to drafts or temperature swings, find a new spot for culturing.
6. For a more sour sourdough, adjust thehydration levelof your starter down to 75% or 50%.The starter will be quite stiff but it should knead into the bread dough ingredients easily.

TIPS FOR KNEADING THE BREAD DOUGH

7. The dough should be slightly sticky when beginning thekneading process.Dry dough indicates too much flour was used and will result in dry bread. Use wet hands and adough scraper, and add only small amounts of flour at a time, to facilitate kneading.
8. Knead dough by hand for 15-20 minutes:Knead 5-10 minutes at a time, taking breaks in between.Avoid using a mixerfor the kneading process, which can heat up the dough too much and may not activate the gluten in the flour effectively.If using a mixer,always knead the last five minutes by hand. When a small piece of dough will stretch thinner and thinner until light can be seen through it like a windowpane, the dough is kneaded enough. If it breaks before being stretched that thin, continue kneading.
9. To achieve a lighter bread with large holesuse aslittle flour as possiblein the mixing/kneading phases andleave it a bit sticky.

TIPS FOR PROOFING THE BREAD DOUGH

10. After kneading, shape your loaf, cover it, and let it proof for4-24 hours,depending on your specific sourdough starter and ambient temperature. You canmanipulate the sourness of the breadwith a longer rise time.A 24-hour rise time will produce much more sour bread than a 4-hour rise time.If using a shorter rise period, 4-12 hours, a second rise is optional. If desired, punch dough down, reshape, and proof a second time.

GET STARTED BAKING SOURDOUGH BREAD!

Sourdoughcan be a hard thing to make especially when there are so many variables to keep track of. But, you're ready tostart making your own sourdoughfrom home with these 10 tips.

Now, if only there was somewhere to get everything you need to start your fermentation journey. Lucky for you - Cultures for Health is here.

We haveeverything you need to start making your own sourdoughat home including starter cultures,all-in-one kits, and all of the tools you will ever need to successfully make sourdough bread at home.

The easiest option for you to start making sourdough at home is ourArtisan Sourdough Kit. This comes packed with everything you need to start baking sourdough at home now including:

• 1 x San Francisco Style Sourdough Starter
• 1 x Bread Lame (Scorer)
• 1 x Baker's Scale
• 1 x Steel Dough Scraper
• 1 x Butter Muslin

In addition to all of that, this kit also comes with detailed instructions and recipe cards to make the whole process easy and enjoyable.

If you're ready to start making sourdough at home -click here to check out our Artisan Sourdough Starter Kit now!

Ready to Learn More?

• How to Obtain a Sourdough Starter
• A Comparison of Heirloom Wheat Varieties for Sourdough Baking