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When creating a sourdough starter from scratch, my advice is to feed twice daily… each time, discarding HALF the volume just before you feed.
Yes, discarding half each time…
Really??? Discard half the starter at each feeding?? Throw good food away?
On today’s #AskWardee, I’m sharing why discarding half is actually the most frugal thing to do. Yes — the most frugal.
Hear me out. 🙂
Read, listen, or watch below!
Subscribe to #AskWardee on iTunes, Stitcher, YouTube, or the Podcasts app.
To make my free no-knead einkorn bread, you’ll need a sourdough starter. This recipe contains instructions… and there’s a video, too, right here.
You’ll notice when watching the video (or reading the instructions) that I recommend this:
When creating a sourdough starter from scratch, my advice is to feed twice daily… each time, discarding HALF the volume just before you feed.
Yes, discarding half each time…
Pam V. didn’t like this at all:
Seems like a lot of waste to be throwing half of it away every day. That’s time and money, period. This stuff isn’t cheap.
Though it may seem counter-intuitive… let me explain. 🙂
Discarding half is wayyyy LESS wasteful than keeping it around or “sharing” the other half with a friend because…
The sourdough starter is not a viable starter until 3 to 5 days old and sometimes longer. It takes that long for the organism balance to get established.
Discarding half is actually the MOST FRUGAL way to do this…
Think about it… If you don’t discard some each time, you have to feed it MORE flour each time (because it’s a larger quantity of batter to keep going).
Some say they want to keep the “other half” and give to a friend. The problem with this is… at every feeding, there’s another half which becomes other HALVES at each new feeding…
First 2, then 4, then 8, then 16…. up to 256 from the first mixture after just 4 days!
And EACH ONE needs to be built up to maturity (3 to 5 days with 2 feedings a day).
Who has that much counter space, abundance of flour, OR that many friends? 😉
It’s much less wasteful to discard some each time than to use tons of flour or try to make tons of new starters.
Now that you know, don’t let this be an excuse that stops you from getting started with sourdough. When you make your sourdough starter, you needn’t fear wasting or discarding… you’re actually being frugal!
I didn’t say you’re discarding sourdough starter once your starter is mature. No. Once your starter is established, all of it goes into your baked goods!
And even when you’re building up a starter, the part you discard can still be used. It doesn’t have to be wasted at all!
However, if it smells at all bad (which it often can as the organisms balance out), then don’t add it to baked goods! That would definitely need to be composted or fed to the chickens.
No matter what, I can promise you this… the process is worth it because at the end you’ll have a viable sourdough starter that can provide your family with healthy and nutritious baked goods for years… and years… and years!
Enjoy the process… even when discarding half each time as you get your starter established. 🙂
Einkorn is a bit tricky to figure out how to use because it behaves differently.
Yet, you can skip the learning curve by using my free and AMAZING no-knead einkorn bread recipe!
The recipe is FREE, easy, and healthy, and takes only 15 minutes of hands-on time!
Click here for the free recipe: No-Knead Sourdough Einkorn Bread.
Soon your family will be saying: “This is the best bread EVER!”
The #AskWardee Show is the live weekly show devoted to answering your niggling questions about Traditional Cooking: whether it’s your sourdough starter, your sauerkraut, preserving foods, broth, superfoods or anything else to do with Traditional Cooking or your GNOWFGLINS lifestyle.
I share tips and resources, plus answer your questions about Traditional Cooking!
When: Wednesdays at 10am Pacific / 1pm Eastern
Where: Traditional Cooking School on Facebook Live
Don’t worry. You can catch the replays or listen to the podcast!
Here’s how to submit your question. If we answer it on #AskWardee, you’ll get a gift!
Please do NOT add future questions for #AskWardee to the comments of this post because they might get missed!
Want to be a successful sourdough baker? Relax! There are so many variables in sourdough baking that there's no possibility you can control them all every time out.
The vigor of your starter, the quality/complexity of your recipe, the hydration of the dough, even the weather outside — all combine to determine how much your bread rises, its texture, and what it tastes like. Experience is your best teacher: the more you bake with sourdough, the more comfortable you'll become with its "personality."
In addition, as you become familiar with sourdough baking you'll realize it doesn't have to rule your life; feeding every 12 hours doesn't mean, if you feed it at 4 p.m., you have to get up at 4 a.m. and feed it again; 7 a.m. will be fine. And if you miss a day or two of feeding (or a week, or two weeks, or...), don't worry. Your starter can almost certainly be revived by feeding it every 12 hours until it's healthy, then putting it back on its regular feeding schedule.
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