Pioneer Woman Sourdough Starter Recipes

SOURDOUGH BANANA MUFFINS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 12-cup muffin tin.In a small bowl, whisk flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.In a large bowl, using a hand mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light colored and fluffy. Add bananas and beat until they're well "mashed." Add eggs and vanilla and beat until well combined.Add sourdough starter and beat on low just until combined. Then add the flour mixture and beat again on low just until combined. Gently fold in chocolate chips.Divide batter evenly between the muffin tins. If muffin cups are on the small side, you may need to bake excess batter in a ramekin.Bake in preheated oven for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean.Cool in the muffin tin on a wire cooling rack for 10 minutes. Run a knife around the edges of the muffins to loosen. Invert onto the cooling rack.Serve with good quality butter. Store any leftovers in an airtight container.Recipe adapted from my Sourdough Banana Bread recipe, which was adapted from a recipe from Pinch My Salt.

SOURDOUGH BREAD

Steps:

• For the levain: Combine the all-purpose flour, whole-wheat flour, water and starter in a medium bowl and mix to combine. Cover and let sit at room temperature until bubbly and increased in volume by about 20 percent, about 8 hours.
• For the dough: Add the all-purpose flour, water and whole-wheat flour to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Weigh out 7 ounces of the levain (about 1 cup) and add to the mixer (discard any remaining levain). Mix on low until a shaggy dough forms. Cover the bowl and let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.
• Add the salt to the dough and mix on medium speed for 2 minutes; the dough should feel a bit sticky and wet but look smooth and very stretchy. Scrape the dough into a plastic or glass container about twice its size. Cover and let sit at room temperature until puffed, about 45 minutes.
• Put the dough on a floured work surface, flatten it gently, then fold in thirds like a business letter. Transfer it back to the container. Cover and let sit at room temperature for 45 minutes.
• Repeat the folding process one more time, transfer back to the container, cover and let sit at room temperature for another 45 minutes. After the third 45-minute rest, the dough should feel soft and pillowy; when pressed with a finger, it should leave an indentation that begins to spring back.
• Gently scrape the dough onto a lightly floured work surface. Divide in half using a bench scraper. Shape each piece loosely into a round by gently tucking the edges under. Cover with a kitchen towel and let rest for 30 minutes.
• Drape 2 kitchen towels into 2 medium (8-inch) bowls and dust very generously with flour. Dust the top of the dough rounds very lightly with flour and flip over using a bench scraper. Flatten one piece of dough into a circle, then fold the left and right sides of the dough over the center. Keeping tension in the dough, begin folding down from the top edge in 3 segments, sealing the bottom edge with the last fold. Loosely cup the dough and, using your hands and the tension between the board and the dough, pull the bread very slowly towards yourself while creating a taut ball. Gently flip the dough ball over and into one of the prepared bowls. Cover loosely with another kitchen towel. Repeat the process with the second piece of dough. Place both in a warm place to rise until about 1 1/2 times their size, 2 to 2 1/2 hours.
• About 20 minutes before baking, position an oven rack in the lower third of the oven, put a 4-quart Dutch oven and lid on the rack and preheat to 500 degrees F. When preheated, carefully transfer the hot Dutch oven to a heatsafe surface with oven mitts (leave the lid in the oven). Flip one round of dough over into the Dutch oven. Using a sharp knife, scissors or bread lame, score the top of the bread in a cross or desired pattern. Return to the oven, immediately cover with the lid and bake for 20 minutes. Lower the temperature to 425 degrees F, uncover and bake until dark brown, about 10 minutes more. Transfer the bread to a cooling rack to cool completely. Return the empty Dutch oven to the oven, raise the temperature to 500 degrees F and let heat for 10 minutes before repeating the baking process with the second dough round.

WILD SOURDOUGH STARTER

Steps:

• To begin: Mix together 125 grams flour and 125 grams water with a clean hand in a medium glass bowl. Cover the bowl with a tea towel and let sit undisturbed at room temperature until the mixture is full of bubbles and has nearly doubled in size, usually 2 to 3 days. During this time, yeasts and bacteria from the air and from the flour and probably from you will set up housekeeping in the bowl (see Cook's Note).
• For daily feeding: Peel back any crust that may have formed and transfer 20% of the culture (50 grams) to a clean, wide-mouthed jar. Stir in 100 grams flour and 100 grams water, loosely screw on the lid and stash at room temperature for 24 hours. (The culture will have a stinky-sour smell at this point.) Discard the rest of the original mixture.
• Repeat step 2 every 24 hours for 5 days. By then the culture should smell yeasty-sweet-sour, which means you're ready to put the starter to work.

SOURDOUGH STARTER

Steps:

• Day 1: Make sure neither your hands nor your containers have any traces of soap or detergent, which will prevent your starter from growing. Place grapes in a medium bowl and use your hands to crush them, reserving as much liquid as possible in the bowl. (You can also do this in a food processor.) Alternatively, purée the soaked raisins with the water in a food processor. Add the rye flour and mix with your fingers until all of the flour is wet and fully incorporated. Place in a small lidded container. Cover and let rest at room temperature until Day 3 (48 hours).
• Days 3-6: Place 100 grams (¼ cup + 2½ tablespoons) of the Day 1 starter into a container; discard the remaining starter. Add 100 grams (¼ cup + 3 tablespoons) water, and stir to combine thoroughly. Add 100 grams (¾ cup + 1½ tablespoons) dark rye flour and stir again until there's no visible flour. Cover and let rest at room temperature for 24 hours.Repeat this step of feeding 100 grams of the previous day's starter every 24 hours, for a total of 4 feedings.
• Days 7-9: Place 75 grams (¼ cup + ½ tablespoon) of the Day 6 starter into a container; discard the remaining starter. Add 75 grams (¼ cup + ½ tablespoon) water, and stir to combine thoroughly. Add 75 grams (½ cup + 1½ teaspoons) whole wheat flour and stir again until there's no visible flour. Cover and let rest at room temperature for 24 hours.Repeat this step of feeding 75 grams of the previous day's starter every 24 hours, for a total of 3 feedings.
• Days 10-20: Place 75 grams (¼ cup + ½ tablespoon) of the Day 9 starter into a container; discard the remaining starter. Add 75 grams (¼ cup + ½ tablespoon) water, and stir to combine thoroughly. Add 75 grams (½ cup + 1½ teaspoons) whole wheat flour and stir again until there's no visible flour. Cover and let rest at room temperature 12 hours. Repeat this step of feeding 75 grams of the previous day's starter every 12 hours-that's twice a day-for a total of 22 feedings.
• Days 21-24: Place 50 grams (3 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon) of the Day 20 starter into a container; discard the remaining starter. Add 100 grams (¼ cup + 3 tablespoons) water, and stir to combine thoroughly. Add 150 grams (1 cup + 1 tablespoon) whole wheat flour and stir again until there's no visible flour. Cover and let rest at room temperature 6 hours.At this point, it's preferable to refrigerate the starter for 60 more hours before using it to bake bread, for additional fermentation. But it will be fine to use after 6 additional hours at room temperature (i.e., 12 hours after final feeding). Congratulations, you have created the "mother" starter!
• Maintaining your starter: By "stiffening the mother," you can slow down fermentation while maintaining a healthy ecosystem for your starter.Once every 3 days, remove the starter from the refrigerator and leave at room temperature for 6 hours. Place 50 grams (3 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon) of the existing starter into a container; discard the rest. Feed the starter using the same proportions as Day 21: 100 grams (¼ cup + 3 tablespoons) water, and 150 grams (1 cup + 1 tablespoon) whole wheat flour. Cover and let rest for 6 hours, then return to the refrigerator. If you're going to be away for more 9 days, you need to slow the growth of the starter. Remove from refrigerator place 100 grams (¼ cup + 2 ½ tablespoons) of starter into a container; discard the rest. Let it sit at room temperature for 6 hours; then add 350 grams (1¼ cup + 3½ tablespoon) water and 750 grams (5¼ cup + 2 tablespoons) of whole wheat flour. Mix well to incorporate. Refrigerate for up to 9 days. If you're going away for up to 9 days, have a friend feed it according to the 3-day feeding schedule. (Think of your starter as you would a pet: it's a living creature that must be fed and watered regularly!)

SOURDOUGH STARTER

Steps:

• In a covered 4-qt. glass or ceramic container, mix flour and yeast. Gradually stir in warm water until smooth. Cover loosely with a kitchen towel; let stand in a warm place 2-4 days or until mixture is bubbly and sour smelling and a clear liquid has formed on top. (Starter may darken, but if starter turns another color or develops an offensive odor or mold, discard it and start over.) , Cover tightly and refrigerate starter until ready to use. Use and replenish starter, or nourish it, once every 1-2 weeks. To use and replenish starter:Stir to blend in any liquid on top. Remove amount of starter needed; bring to room temperature before using. For each 1/2 cup starter removed, add 1/2 cup flour and 1/2 cup warm water to the remaining starter and stir until smooth. Cover loosely and let stand in a warm place 1-2 days or until light and bubbly. Stir; cover tightly and refrigerate.To nourish starter:Remove half of the starter. Stir in equal parts of flour and warm water; cover loosely and let stand in a warm place 1-2 days or until light and bubbly. Stir; cover tightly and refrigerate.