Sourdough is the starter for various types of bread. It is very easy to make, so just follow the recipe to make this key bread ingredient!
There are many sourdough recipes online, some are quite elaborate, using ingredients like honey, sugar or even onion, with many different steps. I use just two ingredients and there’s basically just one step to follow before you can use the sourdough.
I use the sourdough to make the Sourdough Rye Bread. If you’d like to try some more Czech bread recipes, here they are.
Table of Contents
Ingredients
- Flour – I use rye flour
- Water
- Jar with lid
How to Make Bread Sourdough
Making Sourdough
The flour-water ratio is 1:1, the amount depends on how much sourdough you want to prepare. So for example, mix 1 cup of flour with 1 cup of water, pour the mixture in a jar.
Cover the jar with a paper towel and let it rest for 4 days. Some recipes call for smaller starting amount, adding a little big more every day. However, I find that too complicated and this works excellent.
You might see some bubbles after one day but after 4 days, the sourdough will have risen significantly.
Keeping it
I recommend keeping the jar closed and in a fridge. Whether you’ve used your sourdough or not, you need to keep it alive, which means feeding it. You need to add some flour and water, one tablespoon of each is enough. How often? That depends…you’ll need to figure it out for your sourdough. Generally, every 4-7 days.
Using it
If you need to use it, take it out and let it stand at room temperature for several hours. Each recipe indicates how much sourdough to use and some say, when’s the moment to set a part of it aside. Even if it doesn’t, don’t forget to set a few spoons aside, that will be your new sourdough that you will mix with more flour and water and let it ferment again.
TIP: After I take my freshly baked bread out of the oven, I place the sourdough that I just fed into the oven that’s just cooling down. I wait until the temperature is not higher than 35°C/95°F. The heat speeds up the fermentation and I can close my jar and put it in the fridge the next day.
