It's hard to beat sourdough bread made from wild yeast you collect yourself.
I love baking with the sourdough starter I made by collecting local wild yeast. Not only does it allow me to feel more self sufficient, it also allows me to feel more connected to my food source (read no corporate involvement). Yeast free from the air instead of the store? Heck yeah! There are no downsides.
A maintained sourdough starter can literally live for hundreds of years; families around the world may treasure the sourdough starter that an ancestor made long ago as much, if not more, than a material heirloom that might have more “appraisal value.” But just think of being able to use the same wild yeast used by your great, great grandmother to bake a loaf of bread for your family? What a gift!
As you know if you’ve followed my videos on collecting wild yeast for your own sourdough starter, the exact character of wild yeast varies by region. The wild yeast sourdough starter I had in Kansas acted much differently than the one I now have in Colorado. It’s important that you use your sourdough starter and get to know how it behaves; given time it will be like an old friend. But you need to adjust expectations and stop imagining that your bread will mimic the texture, color, and flavor of the famed San Francisco sourdough bread — unless you live in San Francisco your wild yeast will produce a very different texture and flavor. It doesn’t mean it’s bad (personally I prefer the wild yeast in my area), it just means you need to accept your wild yeast for what it is.
If you haven’t done so already, check out our Spin on collecting and maintaining wild yeast sourdough starter here. And if you already have your starter working for you, here is a basic sourdough bread recipe with which to start. You can also check out our video of this process using this recipe here:
INGREDIENTS
- 4 cups starter from first proof (see below)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil (you can also use vegetable oils, bacon grease, butter, coconut oil, or whatever you have on hand)
- 1 cup warm milk (about 85F)
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 5 to 6 cups flour (I use half-and-half wheat and white, but you can use whatever proportions you wish)
ACTIVATING YOUR STARTER
This jar of starter is on its way to being activated enough for the first proof. Bubbles are forming in the starter, indicating that the yeast is waking up.
If you do not use your starter often, or it’s been sitting in your refrigerator for the past two weeks or so, you’ll need to activate your starter so it’s “awake” enough for the first proof (below). To do this, remove your jar of starter from your refrigerator the morning before you bake your bread. Add a cup of flour and a cup of warm (85F) water, stir briefly, and let the jar sit out for the day. You’ll see the activity in the jar start to increase as the yeasts warm up and start to feed on the new flour. After about 3 to 6 hours your starter will be ready for the first proof.
How can you tell if you starter is active? Again, you need to get to know your starter. But you’ll see the starter form bubbles, increase in size in your jar, and perhaps even foam a bit. The total time needed depends upon how warm it is in your kitchen and the nature of your wild yeast, but between 3 and 6 hours is normal.
If your starter is used regularly (once or twice a week) you can skip the formal activation process. All you need to do is take the jar out of the refrigerator, let it sit to warm up a bit, then move on to the first proof.
THE FIRST PROOF
The first proof is where you really get your yeast active and hoppin’ enough to raise some tasty bakery items. At this point it’s called the sponge (there are many who call the starter itself the sponge and this would be correct, but to me this first proof turns the raw starter into a true sponge). It’s easy to make the sponge because 95% of the time needed is the yeast bubbling away while you’re sleeping (you do this the night before you plan on baking your bread).
Take your sourdough starter and dump it all into a bowl large enough where it has the chance to double in bulk. Add a few cups of flour and an equal amount of warm water (about 85F), then stir briefly. How many cups of flour you add depends upon how much starter you have. You want about 5 cups total from the first proof: 4 cups for the bread and 1 cup to go back into your cleaned starter jar and back in the fridge for your next baking. For this reason it’s very important to not add anything to your first proof besides flour and water.
Cover your bowl with a towel and place it in a warm spot to sit overnight. In the summer I just leave my bowl on the kitchen counter. In the winter when it’s cooler, I turn my oven on and leave it warm for a minute or two, turn it off, then pop the bowl in the oven for the night. If you have a warm spot, like next to a radiator, make it do double-duty and let it warm your starter for bread bakin’.
Will your yeast double in bulk during the first proof? Maybe…maybe not. Mine does not quite get that active, but it still makes killer bread! But until you get to know your sourdough starter, it’s better to start with a larger bowl and see how your wild yeast reacts.
Here is a very active first proof! But don't be discouraged if your first proof doesn't look this bubbly in the morning; all wild yeasts are different and you just need to get to know yours.
The next morning, remove the towel from the bowl and see what you’ve got. Don’t be disappointed if your sponge doesn’t have tons of bubbles when you see it–it is not uncommon for most of the real activity to take place in the middle of the night while you’re asleep, only to have things calmed down a bit when you see it the next morning.
MAKING THE BREAD
Take about 4 cups of your sponge and put it in another large bowl. Take the rest of the sponge and place it back in the starter jar, which you’ve cleaned thoroughly using hot sudsy water. Then put your starter back in the refrigerator until you bake again.
Take a cup of milk and warm it to about 85F. Add to the milk your olive oil, salt, and sugar. At this point you can also add things like dried herbs if you want to turn this into an herb bread. I do this often and my favorite mix if herbs is 2 tablespoons of basil, 2 tablespoons of thyme, and 2 tablespoons of oregano. Yep, I pack in the dried herbs. I figure if I’m going to eat herb bread, I want it to be full of herbs!
Pour your milk mixture into your large bowl along with your sponge and stir it well. You want to do this to really incorporate the wild yeasts into your liquids. Then start to add your flour to the bowl. Add about 3 cups at first, and stir until it is well mixed. Then add the flour at about 1/2 cup increments until you can’t stir it any more. At that point you’ll continue to add the flour in smaller increments, but you’ll be kneading the flour in.
Add flour until the dough reaches the proper consistency. What is that, you ask? Well, you want the dough to no longer be really sticky. I think most people add too much flour when baking bread, which causes them to give up on bread-baking. Just err on the side of 1/2 cup less flour than 1/2 cup too much. How much flour you add depends upon things like your elevation, how dry the air is outside, and the kind of flour you are using. Go by feel first and foremost; there are times when I will use not even 5 cups of flour for this recipe, and other times when I need more. This is why it’s so important to get used to baking bread; it can be variable. But don’t be afraid! It’s fun to experiment, and very gratifying to know you can whip up your own awesome bread. But this isn’t a McDonald’s mentality…you need to practice and invest some time to get quality results, and believe me you’ll be glad you did!
Knead the bread for several minutes, adding a dusting a flour here and there if it feels like a portion is starting to stick to your fingers too much. You’ll notice that the dough will become almost springy in how it bounces back while kneading — this is my favorite part of bread baking!
After your dough is kneaded, take the ball and divide it into two portions. At this point you can decide whether you want to have two loaves of bread, or save half for another use. I like to save half of the dough and use it for pizza crust. You can also use it to make small rolls, or just use it for a second loaf.
Take your dough and form it into a rectangle. You want it to be about as wide as a loaf pan (if you’re using a loaf pan), and about a 10″ to 12″ long or so. After your dough is flattened, roll it up from one end to another, pinching the seams closed. At this point you can place your loaf into an oiled loaf pan, or directly onto an oiled baking sheet if you want your bread to be more free-form. It’s up to you!
Next, it’s time to let your bread rise until it’s about double in bulk; you do this by covering the dough with a towel and leaving it sit in a warmish spot. The rising can take anywhere from two to three hours. Again, keep an eye on things and see how your local wild yeast reacts. It might not even double in size fully; the yeast in Kansas formed a denser loaf of bread (still awesome!) so it did not rise as much as the yeast here in Colorado, which forms a lighter loaf.
OMG! Sourdough bread made with wild collected yeast. Seriously yummy!
After your bread has risen, preheat your oven to 375F and place your bread in the oven to bake. Check your bread after 30 minutes to see how it’s progressing, then check more often for the last 15 minutes. You know your bread is done when it has a nicely browned top and has a hollow sound when you tap on it. However, this can be variable. The best way to determine if your bread is done is to take an instant read thermometer and stick it in your loaf. At 200F internal temperature, you can call your bread done.
Remove your bread from the oven and the loaf pan if necessary. Let it cool if you have the patience (we don’t), or do as we do and rip into it right from the oven, fresh butter at the ready. This bread is so good, it might last for a day or two….
willamettevalleyhomesteader
February 1, 2012 at 8:37 pm
I am SO trying this. This weekend, I will get the starter going. I really love the natural approach you take to starter and the methods you outline for storing and then re-activating it. I have several times, in the past, started only to quit because I felt like a slave to the starter. Thanks for such wonderful information!
Rural Spin
February 1, 2012 at 8:43 pm
You’re so welcome! I hope others can learn how easy it is to have a wonderful sourdough starter waiting in the fridge to serve your baking whims!
Brian
February 3, 2012 at 5:57 pm
I am a little confused.. Do we need a starter to start the process? If so, how do we do that???
Rural Spin
February 3, 2012 at 6:25 pm
Brian, head to our post on making your starter here (it’s referenced in the article, too) http://ruralspin.com/2012/01/22/collecting-and-maintaining-wild-yeast-sourdough-starter/
Brian
February 3, 2012 at 6:26 pm
Good deal! Thanks!!
Melissa Wallace
August 10, 2012 at 6:19 am
I watched her video alot and you need to go to step one where she shows you how to start everything.
Brenda
February 5, 2012 at 6:35 pm
My starter is kinda runny, it has the bubbles in it but it seems to thin. How can i fix it or should i start all over. thanks
Rural Spin
February 5, 2012 at 7:45 pm
It doesn’t need to be a specific consistency. You want it like a cake batter or so, but if it’s a bit thinner or thicker that’s fine. If you feel it’s too thin just add 1/4 cup more flour. No need to start over as there’s nothing wrong with it!
Kamikaze Cowboy
April 25, 2012 at 4:48 am
just made my fist batch of Texas wild yeast and dayum it good made 3 round loaves for dinner and only half of one is left. Thanks for the recipie and everyone has to try it at least once.
Sarah
May 29, 2012 at 2:50 pm
Am I reading correctly that it only needs to rise once? Also, I’m at a high elevation (nearly 8,000 feet) and when I make all-whole-wheat bread, I must add gluten. I’m planning to use all whole wheat for my sourdough…do I need to add gluten?
Rural Spin
May 30, 2012 at 1:39 am
Sarah, since wild collected yeast is not as robust as commercial yeast, you only let it rise once, yes. Many wild yeasts simply don’t have enough power for two risings. I’m not sure about adding gluten at that elevation, but I suspect it would be necessary. I suggest trying it both ways (with gluten and without…make a half batch each) and see how it goes! Experimentation is the secret with wild yeast, especially at 8,000 feet!
Sarah
May 30, 2012 at 2:31 am
Okay–first batch with gluten is rising now (as it has been for the past 9 hours…I think I’ll just leave it in the cold oven overnight and bake in the a.m. as it’s barely moved). I’ll report back so that others at high elevation will know the result of additional gluten vs no additional gluten. By the way, I added 4 tablespoons gluten to this batch–the same as what I add to my all-whole-wheat bread with purchased yeast.
Sarah
June 2, 2012 at 10:35 pm
Alright, here’s the verdict from the first batch at 8,000 feet using all whole wheat (freshly ground) and 4 T gluten: it is an unbelievably sour, tasty brick. The smell is divine, and it rose nicely (just over the top of the bread pans…but that took 17 hours), but it is dense as can be. I’m not quite sure what the next experiment will be–we don’t use white flour at all, and I refuse to buy some for this when I have perfectly good wheat berries here at home. However, neither my husband nor I are terribly excited about the texture (think fruitcake), though, like I said, the taste is out of this world, and definitely the most sour sourdough I’ve ever had.
Anyone have any ideas/suggestions?
Rural Spin
June 3, 2012 at 1:49 am
Sounds like a great experiment! But also keep in mind that wild yeasts can produce all manner of bread density. Back in Kansas the bread was heavy, here on the front range (north of Denver) the wild yeast produces bread that is light as a feather. In Kansas I stuck with flat bread and bagels for my wild yeast, for which it was perfect! Using bread flour will give you a lighter loaf, but those are basically white flours. Since you love the taste so much (which is great!), maybe try out our bagel recipe! And hopefully someone else will have some insight, but I’m thinking it might be a case where we have to adapt to the yeast we have.
Sarah
June 10, 2012 at 1:14 am
Well, even though I declared in my last comment that I refused to buy white flour, we did, and made white flour sourdough. Oh my. I wish it hadn’t turned out so blasted perfect and delicious, because we really don’t want to eat white flour! But again I say, oh my. I’ve never had such a bread.
Rural Spin
June 11, 2012 at 1:16 pm
Haha! Sorry! How about just look at it as a treat every few months?
Cheyenne
July 17, 2012 at 6:55 pm
This turned out so wonderful. It was my first attempt and I sliced up the first loaf and we ate it. The second loaf I put into a recycled bread bag and put it in the pantry. I just went to slice it up for the week and it already molded. Is it normal for the bread to spoil after only 4 days or is there a better way to store it for a short amount of time?? Thank you again. Wonderful recipe and tips for making the sourdough bread.
Rural Spin
July 22, 2012 at 8:11 pm
Fresh bread that doesn’t have a lot of preservatives in it molds more quickly. I’m unsure of the conditions in your kitchen, so it’s hard for me to say. But I haven’t noticed that this bread molds any more quickly in my kitchen than other fresh breads.
Sara
October 17, 2012 at 1:24 pm
Wrap it in a towel not plastic to keep from molding. The plastic will keep it moist so store in plastic if you plan on eating it in the next few days. But the moisture helps the mold breed so a towel will keep mold out for longer storage. You’ll end up with dry crusty bread like the old tales!
Molly
August 7, 2012 at 3:07 pm
Wow! I just pulled the loaves out of the oven. Delicious! I was a little nervous as I went through the steps but am so pleased with the results. Thank you!
angie morton
August 30, 2012 at 7:37 pm
I’m a little puzzled here.Where do i find the wild starter to start my own starter in the fridge or in the oven?
Rural Spin
August 31, 2012 at 1:49 pm
I’m not sure what you’re asking. Angie. You collect your own wild yeast from the air. Directions on how to do so are provided in a link in the article. But here is the link for you: http://ruralspin.com/2012/01/22/collecting-and-maintaining-wild-yeast-sourdough-starter/
rhiannon
September 1, 2012 at 9:03 pm
Do I have to store my starter in the fridge? I made mine using the recipe from the Back to Basics book and it never mentioned refrigeration. I have used it several times and it works. So any possible harm from not refrigerating?
Rural Spin
September 8, 2012 at 7:41 am
If you use your starter regularly/feed it regularly, you do not need to refrigerate it. “Back in the day,” people used their starter on a daily basis, which meant the yeast was being fed daily, so no refrigeration was necessary. All the refrigeration does is slow down the yeast, so the starter does not need to be fed as often as it would unrefrigerated. There are only two ways to kill a starter: too much heat or starving the yeast to death (i.e. the yeast eats all of the food in the flour); refrigeration just helps to avoid the later cause of starter demise if you are not feeding your starter on a regular basis. And since all wild yeasts are different, some need fed more often than others (i.e. once a day vs. once a week). Since I am not sure how “fast” someone’s local wild yeast is or how often they are using it, I advise everyone to refrigerate it. But if you’re using yours starter regularly or feeding it often enough (again, I’m not sure how fast your yeast is so I can’t tell you how often that needs to be), you do not need to refrigerate it.
Sue
October 2, 2012 at 8:26 pm
I’ve got a question about placing the wild yeast mixture in the fridge and then later pulling it out. I can capture yeast without a problem, and the flour and water mix is active and thick (twice I’ve had wonderful success with this part).
When I pull it out the night before I want to use it, I gently stir it up and move it into a new bowl where I feed it a cup of 85 degree water and a cup of flour as a “wake up” (that’s what I thought I understood to do). The next morning, it’s not bubbling and it’s as thin as water. I don’t cover it with anything but a cloth towel, and yet it always fails at this stage.
Since this happened a second time in a row to my starter, I decided to add store bought yeast to the mix. It frothed, foamed, and left it out with a towel cover, and the next day it still looked like thin water.
Can you help me understand what’s happening to the starter that keeps causing it to go flat and die during the warm up stage? I’m frustrated I have to keep pouring so much flour down the drain.
Rural Spin
October 18, 2012 at 9:47 am
First, it’s not “failing” and it probably hasn’t died. It is very hard to kill wild yeast; only too much heat or starving it tod death (which is only a problem with some really fast yeasts but I doubt that’s your issue). All you need to do is give it more time to wake up, and perhaps give it more flour. And if it seems too thin, just use less water. You might try putting the bowl in the oven with the light on overnight to provide more warmth.
Sara
October 17, 2012 at 1:20 pm
I am eating my first slice now! I have been trying sour doughs from wild yeasts for several months now and have been super disappointed. Until your instructions! Oh man. My yeast does smell like beer and within two hours of feeding it, it is bubbling out of the jar! My other attempts at catching wild yeast in my kitchen resulted in SOUR almost inedible smelling yeast. My bread with 100% freshly ground hard white wheat and your recipe is heavenly! I’m so excited. I’ve been making bread with fresh flour and instant yeast for years but really wanted to switch to sourdough. No recipe until this one has given me faith that it is possible. Have you experimented with adding honey or cooked oats to the dough? Just curious. I should probably stick to the basic recipe a few more times before branching out…don’t want to mess with success just yet. (; thank you for your site and videos! Wish I could give you a hug!
Rural Spin
October 18, 2012 at 10:04 am
Thanks, Sara! Glad you like it! And you can add oats and honey to the bread recipe if you want to experiment, no doubt. Just make sure you don’t add it to your main starter! Your starter should only be flour and water, always.
Catherine
October 27, 2012 at 2:08 pm
I cooked it yesterday with honey instead of sugar (trying to cut out processed food) and it came out great. I might have been a little heavy handed with it ha. My husband LOVED it even more. He said it came out less “hard”. I felt that it starting tasting like a sweet bread. But again I added more than 2 tblspns.
Gina
November 12, 2012 at 11:59 pm
I made my starter a couple months ago and have tried several recipes. This was by far the most ‘normal’ tasting (I’ve been making my own bread for years now and mill my own flour, but was exposed to wild yeast over the summer and enjoy the slight sour flavor) with the lightest hint of sour, but the best ‘crumb’ of a loaf I’ve made in years! Next time, I’m going to try it as a sandwich bread, so will skip the herbs. Thanks for this posting!
Rural Spin
November 13, 2012 at 8:42 pm
You’re welcome!
Melva
November 25, 2012 at 8:03 pm
My starter seems to be more active and bubbly in the fridge than on my counter top; could it be that some wild yeast do better with a cold ferment?
Rural Spin
November 29, 2012 at 9:16 am
I’ve not heard of any, but that doesn’t mean it’s not so. It could be that your wild yeast is so fast that it “burns out” more quickly in warmer temps and would need to be fed once or twice a day, but is fine in the refrigerator where things are slowed down a tad.
baylady1
November 29, 2012 at 5:01 pm
Yes, I agree….the wild yeast is very fast-acting; it also produces a dough with a very ‘rich’ taste so I’m going to cut back a bit on how much starter I use in the bread, Would love to try it in chocolate cake too! TY!
Lynn Hobbs
January 20, 2013 at 4:34 pm
Can you use any starter to make baked items? I started one a few days ago but see that there are many sourdough variations.Are they interchangeable?
Rural Spin
January 20, 2013 at 5:26 pm
It’s not a matter of sourdough variations so much as there are different species of wild yeast floating around in different areas–these yeasts act differently. One of the fun parts of sourdough baking is to determine how your local yeast behaves. Different recipes will work no matter what sourdough starter species you have, but you will need to adjust things like time of rising, etc. to the appropriateness of your own wild yeast. This takes observing your yeast and seeing what it does and when. How long does it take to rise? How dense of a loaf does it produce? My yeast back in Kansas was slow and dense–it produced a dense bread. It was still good, it was just dense. The wild yeast here in northern Colorado is faster it takes a shorter time (rising) to and produces a light loaf of bread. No matter how long I left the Kansas sourdough to sit, it would never produce such a loaf (great for bagels and flat breads, though!).
Layna
January 31, 2013 at 6:04 am
Need some troubleshooting help. My yeast is superactive during the first proof, but after I mix it up with other ingredients and knead it, I get almost no action during the second rise, no matter how long I wait or how warm it is. What could I be doing wrong?
Rural Spin
January 31, 2013 at 12:51 pm
You aren’t doing anything wrong–wild sourdough simply does not rise as much as commercial yeast, and there is much variation in how wild yeasts behave in different regions. Some wild yeasts barely rise at all and produce a dense loaf (like the yeast back in eastern Kansas did) and some produce a lighter loaf and rise more (like the wild yeast here in the front range of northern Colorado). Part of the fun of using wild yeast is getting to know the personality of your yeast, and learning how it behaves. There is a certain amount of trial and error involved, and the type of flour you use also has an impact. Using bread flour can help the levity in wild yeast breads.
keonwoolee
January 31, 2013 at 4:32 pm
Okay, thank you! I am using Korean wild yeast.
Your blog is very informative; I am so glad you are writing about all this.
Rural Spin
January 31, 2013 at 4:50 pm
You’re welcome! And thank you for your kind words!
Karen
March 8, 2013 at 9:55 am
Hi~ I’ve had wild yeast starter on the counter for a week now. Last night I took out a cup of starter
for sourdough pancakes, added flour and water for the pancakes, and then fed the main starter it’s flour and water. This morning we had the best pancakes ever. So, my question is with regard to
the one cup of “pancake proof” going back into the main starter….does that count as “feeding” it
for today, or do I still need to “feed” it flour and water???? Thanks so much, your blog has helped
me the most with my new adventure in making sourdough goodies. Today i’m going to start the
process for my first loaf of bread!!!
Thanks again.
Rural Spin
March 17, 2013 at 8:49 am
As long as the pancake proof is nothing more than flour and water, you can put it back in your starter jar to feed the yeast. (Sorry for the delayed response…)
Karen
March 17, 2013 at 9:11 am
Thanks for the response. I’ve since made muffins, coffee cake ,two loaves of french bread and hamburger buns. I seem to have a rising issue when making bread and buns. It never doubles
only rises a little bit?? Any tips or hints?? Thanks again for your help.
PS~ I am using organic dark rye flour and bottled water, is it the flour???
steven davis
March 11, 2013 at 3:11 pm
First time made bread with 100% wheat flour, it turned out tastey, but after cutting the 1st pc w a chairsaw, i had to resharpen the chain. Then i threw a pc to the dog, she liked it after she regained conscienceness…LOL It was good in soups nd dog bones. it didnt rise much. next time I used 1/3 wheat flour nd the rest white. AIt turned out great. I did warm the oven,turned on the light, nd stuck a gallon of hot water under the bread. It rose wonderful that time. now just started my 3rd batch w 1/2 nd 1/2 wheat flour. Thanks for all ur posts
))
Monica Swift
March 22, 2013 at 4:54 pm
I followed all your direction for making a starter and that was about 2 weeks ago, it was in the fridge for about 3 days before I took it out to add more flour and water and let it sit overnight, well when I got up it was bubbleing really good, so I again followed your directions to make the bread, and it didn’t rise hardly at all after 4 hours of sitting in a warm area, so I went ahead and baked it anyway, and it’s heavy and dense, I was really hoping for a light textured bread, I used all white flour! So I don’t know what I did wrong, I am really sure the starter is good because I have the hooch and bubbles, so I will try again tomorrow…Do you think I should add some normal packaged yeast to it to make it rise?
Rural Spin
March 23, 2013 at 10:30 am
Each wild yeast is different in each region; some produce lighter loaves and some more dense loaves. Back in Kansas the yeast produced a very dense loaf of bread–it made awesome bagels, flat breads, and soft pretzels!!! Here in northern Colorado the wild yeast in the region produces a very light loaf. It varies greatly depending upon what strain of wild yeast is floating about in your area. I suggest you try using bread flour for your next loaf; that will help with increased rising. You can also add a teaspoon of baking soda to the dough to help with rising. Packaged yeast will get the dough to rise, but it won’t be sourdough bread any longer.
Karen
March 23, 2013 at 3:09 pm
I have the same problem with rising and I thought it was because I wasn’t kneading the dough enough??? I was using a mix of organic dark rye flour (recommended) and King Arthur All Purpose flour. I recently switched to all white flour and use bottled water. Like you I have the hooch and bubbles and it’s never been refrigerated. I didn’t get much of rise even with the baking
soda and i’ve used bread flour. I am at a loss so anything you find out I would love to know!!!!
I am in Idaho, maybe it’s my region??? Good Luck!
Leslie
March 27, 2013 at 3:19 pm
I may have missed something by not paying attention but……when making the loaf recipe, you take out the two cups starter and the 4 cups flour, etc. you put the remaining starter back in the frig for the next use. Do you add something to the remaining starter before putting it back in the refrigerator or let it go until you feed it the night before using it again? Thank you, I have really enjoyed all of your recipes, I plan to get busy and prepare soon.
Rural Spin
March 27, 2013 at 3:25 pm
Since you just fed it when you activated the starter, you just put it back in the starter jar. You never add anything to started besides flour and water.
Ava
April 5, 2013 at 11:58 am
My starter is ready to use! I’m so excited
I have one question– Do we have to use dairy milk for the bread recipe, or can we use milk alternatives? I’ve been making my own oat milk at home, and while it doesn’t taste great for drinking, I tend to use it in baking.
Rural Spin
April 6, 2013 at 6:25 am
You can use whatever milk you like! I’ve even had people use beer with wonderful results!
Tom
April 13, 2013 at 2:39 pm
I’m ready to start my first bread with my new Maryland wild yeast starter. I have always made bread in the “French” style, that is, no fats added only, water and seasonings,\. I assume that this won’t be an issue. I guess I’ll try it and let you know. Thanks
Rural Spin
April 14, 2013 at 7:38 am
It should work fine! Sourdough was frequently used for bread when people had little more than flour and water.