Consistency is not my strong suit. I have a terrible habit of picking up hobbies and putting them down again. Every January 1st, I announce a word of the year and forget it until January 20th. I still haven't developed the meditation practice I promised myself.
This trend continues when it comes to me sourdough starter maintenance. (Shhh, don't tell my co-workers!) I'm a sour forgetful parent, the kind who would leave him stranded at soccer practice because I didn't remember I was on pick-up duty.
But that's all okay, because I have a baker's trick up my sleeve: Every time I return to my bike, embarrassed by how long it's been since I said hello, I give it a treat. And that treat is whole grain flour.
When we feed sourdough starter, we are literally doing just that: we feed the yeast and bacteria that have been cultivated in this simple mixture of water and flour. This, in turn, helps them thrive so they can continue to enjoy and leaven our bread. And all-purpose flour works well as a food source, especially if you're feeding your starter regularly (which you absolutely should!). But like most living things, yeast and bacteria initially do especially well when they have more nutrients to eat. “The minerals and other nutrients present in grains help provide great nutrition, encouraging growth,” explains baking ambassador Martin Philip. “Using a small amount of that rocket fuel is a great trick to literally lift things off the ground.”
According to Baking school Instructor Lucas Diggle, whole grains can also be helpful in encouraging activity in a brand new sourdough starter. “It is not unusual to start a white liquid levain (the type of culture that most home bakers tend to have) entirely with whole rye,” he says. Whole grains contain exponentially more sourdough-friendly microorganisms than white flour. Laura Valli, a doctoral student studying rye at Washington State UniversityBread laboratory, adds that “rye, in particular, contains more free sugars that are readily available for yeast and bacteria to feed on, and has a higher content of starch-degrading enzymes. All of this speeds up fermentation.”
Photography by Kristin Teig; food styling by Liz Neily
If you're like me and you've neglected your starter for a long time—perhaps you've been out of town or you just forgot it in the back of the fridge—you can use some whole-grain flour (such as pumpernickel OR whole wheat flour) to fuel your engine and give it a boost. Martin recommends 10% to 20% whole grains in proportion to white flour, but adds that “it's flexible—you don't need to be super precise with it.” The small amount won't affect the taste of your starter, and you can use it in any recipe that calls for “regular” (non-whole grain) starters.
This trick also works if your engine is acting a little sluggish. The whole grains in these flours will speed up the fermentation of both bacteria and yeast at first, like promoting gas. This step will help get your engine ready for use faster.
And remember, while this trick is helpful, it's not necessary to achieve a healthy, thriving startup. “Baked treats that have been maintained with unbleached all-purpose flour will generally revive well with all-purpose flour, even beginners that have been neglected in the refrigerator for a long time,” says Barb Alpern, a baking expert. bread Baker's hotline. Laura adds, “The fact that rye flour ferments faster than wheat flour should not lead to the assumption that the slower fermenting wheat starter is less healthy. Wheat flour just takes longer to reach maximum maturity.”
Preserving sourdough starters is a practice that requires paying attention, responding to your living culture, and giving it what it needs. And sometimes, what it might need is a little boost of whole grains.
Shares up to pumpernickel OR whole wheat flour so you can always have some on hand as a starter – and Recipes for whole grain bread to do with it.
Cover photo by Danielle Sykes; food styling by Liz Neily.
