Stress-Free Sourdough

October 10, 2015 by Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

In my quest to make sourdough bread baking as simple and accessible as possible, I’m always looking for new ways to make things just a little bit easier. Here are some recent discoveries…

. . . . .

Dried Sourdough Starter

As most of you know, I’ve been sending out dried Priscilla starter for years now – at least count, I’d distributed over 150 packets.

Most of the bakers who’ve received a starter have thoroughly enjoyed the sourdough process, but not everyone has been able to fit it into their daily routines. Keeping the starter alive takes a bit of work and folks who travel a lot, or bake infrequently, often struggle to keep their precious Priscilla offspring bubbly and healthy.

In dried form, the starter can last for a very long time. A couple of days ago, I found this packet from October 2013 tucked away in the fridge…

I thought I’d see if she was still alive, so I started feeding her on Thursday morning…

I gave her three small feeds (¼ cup each of bakers flour and filtered water), and then one large feed (1 cup of flour and water) before going to bed that night. On Friday morning, this is what I woke up to…

Priscilla 2013 lives! I knew she was resilient, but even I was surprised at how quickly she bounced back! I used the bowl of bubbly starter to make a large batch of sourdough, which subsequently became three loaves…

The crumb was delicious, holey and tender…

So…if you’d like to bake sourdough but you don’t really have the time or energy to keep a starter alive in the fridge, here’s my suggestion:

When you next bake, feed your bowl of starter until it’s bubbly and active. Then before you make your dough, spread a little bit of the starter out onto a plastic chopping board or silicone mat (the board seems to work particularly well and is easier to move around). Let it dry out completely…

Crumble up the dried flakes and store them in an airtight container in the fridge. The amount above gave me three 14g packets of starter – one for the next batch of dough, one as a backup, and one to share…

When you’re planning to bake sourdough again, revive your starter a day or two ahead. Remember to dry a little bit off for the next time!

(PS. some folks have great success freezing their starter, but I’ve never been able to make it work.)

. . . . .

Leftovers Sourdough Loaves

Most artisan bakers will insist on precision and measure their ingredients down to the last gram. I don’t think that’s really necessary for home bakers, and adopting a less rigid approach can take a lot of the stress out of sourdough baking.

Last week, I had a bit of starter left in my bowl and decided to use up a leftover bag of flour and some duck fat in the fridge. Here’s what I ended up with…

285g bubbly starter
380g of Italian 00 flour
620g bakers flour
35g duck fat (saved from our last roast)
600g water
18g salt

I threw everything into my large Kenwood mixer and let it knead with the dough hook. It was looking a bit dry, so I added in another slash of water. The end result was great…

The crumb was quite white from the 00 flour, and slightly savoury from the duck fat…

Bits and pieces loaves like these are great fun to make! I work to a basic formula of 300g starter, 600g water, 1kg flour and 18g salt, but as you can see, it’s easily adaptable depending on what we have on hand. I’ll often add a little more water because I like a slightly higher hydration loaf.

. . . . .

If you’re interested in baking sourdough, here are some links which you might find useful:

An Overnight Sourdough Tutorial – one of the most popular posts on our blog. It involves very little kneading and the dough proves overnight.

A Basic Sourdough Tutorial – a very simple first sourdough loaf.

Priscilla Sourdough Tips and Suggestions – a detailed FAQ about baking with our Priscilla starter.

Bread Page – a link to all our bread related posts.

Sourdough Pancakes – an easy recipe to use up excess starter.

. . . . .

Have a wonderful weekend! ♥

Posted in Recipes | 66 Comments

66 Responses

on October 10, 2015 at 8:58 am tiffinbitesized

And yet more surdough tips! I’ve been baking like a demon as we have the kitchen for one more week. I’ve done a few caramelised onion focaccias in the mix. One to eat and one to keep, each time I bake.
on October 10, 2015 at 8:58 am Heather

I like the way you make things doable and tryable. Very encouraging. Thank you Celia and Gidget (Pricillas daughter) thanks you too
on October 10, 2015 at 9:13 am ohhappybear

Wow, I love sourdough but couldn’t find it anywhere in my country. Will definitely try following your tips.
- on October 11, 2015 at 9:14 am Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial
  
  My friend Brydie has a blog post about making her own starter, which you might find useful: http://cityhippyfarmgirl.com/how-to-make-your-own-sourdough-starter/
  - on October 11, 2015 at 9:19 am ohhappybear
    
    Thank you!
on October 10, 2015 at 9:25 am Manuela

I’m experimenting with my sourdough as well. I am going to try sourdough pumpkin bread and muffins. I think I found a cake recipe that uses sourdough too. I need to dry some starter too. Last time I made the overnight dough and after about an hour I divided it and left it to rise overnight in the roasting pans I bake bread in. Next morning I just turned on the oven and popped the pan into the oven. Lol. Saved on time! I am also experimenting with adding spices to the dough. Everytime I use Sherwood I think of you. Thanks so much for sharing some of Priscilla!♥
on October 10, 2015 at 9:41 am Sue

I so need to try this with a gluten free version… I’ve just been put off by the need to feed the beast regularly :-)
on October 10, 2015 at 10:11 am jo

Much to my shame Celia l am an abject failure at making bread. It just does not work for me. I am baking all sorts of goodies with success, but, it is very frustrating that l cannot master this most basic skill. I look at all the loaves you bake with envy:)
- on October 10, 2015 at 10:55 am Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial
  
  Jo, I’m sorry to hear that! If you’d like to try again, I wrote a very longwinded but simple yeasted bread tutorial here…
  
  https://figjamandlimecordial.com/bread/bread-101-a-basic-bread-tutorial/
  - on October 12, 2015 at 7:47 pm jo
    
    Thanks for the link Celia. I will give it one more try in the next few weeks using your tutorial:)
on October 10, 2015 at 10:40 am Wendy

Thanks Celia and Priscilla – my sourdough starter is doing well and my loaves have a lovely flavour and are well risen. However, I never get the holes – my bread looks just like regular bread – any idea why?
- on October 10, 2015 at 10:54 am Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial
  
  Wendy, how much water do you use? The higher the hydration of the dough, the more likely you are to get a holey crumb. The trade-off though is that the wetter doughs are fiddlier to handle. Glad to hear your starter is still doing well!
  - on October 10, 2015 at 11:06 am Wendy
    
    150g starter 250g water and 500g flour………..
    - on October 10, 2015 at 11:19 am Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial
      
      Try increasing your water. It will make the dough goopy and harder to handle, but you’ll get more holes. Most of the time, I use at least 300g water to 150g starter and 500g flour. Often much more! :) if you’re using our basic sourdough tutorial, are you also adding the 25g oil? As I mentioned at the bottom of that post, it’s a lower hydration dough, good for beginners. Once you get experienced though, you can start increasing the water.. x
on October 10, 2015 at 11:57 am Anne

What a great idea! Im definitely going to give this a go.
on October 10, 2015 at 1:14 pm lambsearsandhoney

Celia we all owe you so much for the way you have made baking sour dough bread so accessible. You make it look so simple and it actually is! Thanks my friend. x
on October 10, 2015 at 1:59 pm marilynscottwaters

Thanks C! I baked a loaf this morning, The dough was super moist, almost like cake batter and I didn’t let it rise enough before I out it in the oven. It came out pretty tasty but dense. I finally got a scale so I’m going to try weigh the ingredients. Homemade is the best! Hugs, Maz
on October 10, 2015 at 2:47 pm Debra

I love the bits and pieces loaves, Celia! So far I have been very “by the book” and followed directions so carefully. Now you have me wanting to try to experiment just a little bit. I have dried some starter, but I haven’t yet tested it to activate. I think I’m going to play around with it all this weekend. You have provided so much good input here. Thank you!
on October 10, 2015 at 3:17 pm Lina

Thanks for the reminder Celia! I checked on ‘ Abby’ & found a layer of grey liquid… I poured it out & just added the 1/4 flour, 1/4 water, stirred & fridged it again… Do you think I left it too long & now perhaps it’s off? I hope not! ( it does smell sour)?
- on October 10, 2015 at 3:25 pm Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial
  
  Lina, see how you go. I can always send you more! :) ps. Don’t worry too much about the grey hooch!
on October 10, 2015 at 3:21 pm Gina Hughes

You are totally amazing! xo
on October 10, 2015 at 4:06 pm Elaine @ foodbod

Great tips, thank you xx
on October 10, 2015 at 5:35 pm Maddy O'Shea

Oh Celia!!
Absolutely Perfect blog……
Thank you so much x
on October 10, 2015 at 6:14 pm Nic

was the loaf you gave us a Priscilla baby? For the last couple of mornings we have had toast and marvelled at the amazing flavour which just cannot be found in a store bought loaf of sour dough. It is the best bread in the universe!
- on October 10, 2015 at 6:16 pm Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial
  
  It’s the duck fat loaf above! So glad you liked it!!
on October 10, 2015 at 6:59 pm Anne Wheaton

No matter how many times I tell my family that sourdough bread is supposed to be holey, I still get complaints so I shall have to show them your loaves.
I’m terrible at looking after my starter so perhaps I should follow your advice and dry a little as a back up. I find a spoonful of honey is usually enough to revive a particularly neglected and sluggish starter.
on October 10, 2015 at 8:11 pm beanandgreens

This looks great – thank you for a great tip :)
on October 10, 2015 at 8:50 pm Jaqi

No doubt about it…you are the Sourdough Queen! Brilliant post x
on October 10, 2015 at 9:14 pm Misky

This makes me want to bake bread again. I haven’t for a while. Autumn is here now, so perhaps the time is right!
on October 10, 2015 at 9:46 pm fergie51

Looks great Celia!
on October 11, 2015 at 12:27 am themateriallady

I love my sourdough loaves, and am quite happy without holes as the honey falls through if I use holy bread for toast! My main problem is the cool temperature here in the UK is not conducive to a swift rise. Slow rising does make for tasty bread though 😃
on October 11, 2015 at 12:31 am Lury Budde

I can’t wait to try making sour dough again this time I’ll try your method thanks!
on October 11, 2015 at 3:30 am sallybr

Masterpiece of a post, Celia! Your readers are the luckiest, me included!
on October 11, 2015 at 6:25 am Liz @ spades, spatulas, and spoons

I’ve pinned this post Celia, great suggestions not only in the post but in the comments. I’m going to start drying my starter (Samual) for holiday gifting. My sourdough has been a little to heavy, I will start experimenting with more hydration.
on October 11, 2015 at 8:12 am Jane @ Shady Baker

Great bread knowledge as always Celia, I am off to refresh my starter now. Thanks for the inspiration x
on October 11, 2015 at 8:16 am joolzmac

Thank you for this great post. I’ve been wanting to try sourdough for a while but a) we travel on a whim (I can be packing my bags for 3 days away at the drop of a hat and b) there is only the two of us home now (empty nesters).
But I shall give it a go! I’ve had success baking white loaves in my Le Creuset – is that what you use or just the hot oven?
- on October 11, 2015 at 9:15 am Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial
  
  I bake my loaves in an enamel roaster (point 9 in the post linked below):
  
  https://figjamandlimecordial.com/2015/02/03/priscilla-sourdough-tips-and-suggestions/
on October 11, 2015 at 9:11 am Gherkin

I’m interested in making sourdough bread rolls and was wondering if it’s possible to make sourdough with a soft(ish) crust? I only eat (quality sourdough) bread in cafes and restaurants but find the hard crust leaves my mouth quite raw.
Also when you mention using ‘filtered’ water – what method do you use to filter? I’ve just started my first batch of kombucha and that also required filtered water.
- on October 11, 2015 at 9:13 am Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial
  
  I’m not great on soft-crusted sourdoughs, but it’s definitely possible. I think most folks add milk to the dough to soften the crust. I use a Britta water filter, works well!
  - on October 11, 2015 at 12:36 pm Gherkin
    
    Thanks! I’ll do some more searching and see what recipes I can find.
on October 11, 2015 at 12:51 pm Jan

I will dry some of my Princess Patsy, I’m always a bit anxious that I might one day do her in! Last weekend I made the Guiness and treacle sourdough – that was terrific. I think that might be my enfoosiasm for the next few weeks. I bought the Bread and Butter Project book – I’d love to visit their bakery, it’s such a wonderful endeavour. I made their sourdough fruit bread yesterday but I think it needs a little work. It ended up being a very wet dough because I didn’t allow for the extra moisture in the soaked fruit (I used figs, apricots and raisins) and it did get a bit “poopy” and was difficult to incorporate the fruit, but ended up being quite a nice textured bread. For some reason whenever I make bread, no matter how efficient I try to be, I end up with flour ‘foofed’ from one end of the kitchen to the other. I’ve been thinking about your beautiful cookie canister stacks for Small Man. It seems such a beautiful idea. I’m sure people would love ‘stress’ buster canisters of cookies to cover all sorts of life’s unlovely moments. I hope Small Man will be happy with his results.
on October 11, 2015 at 1:47 pm Rose

Celia that is “genius” as the kids say! How long does it take for the starter on the plastic board or silicon mat to dry out? A day? More?
- on October 11, 2015 at 2:46 pm Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial
  
  Rose, it can take up to three days, but it’s been drying out overnight in this weather! It seems to dry faster on the plastic board than the silicone mat.
  - on October 11, 2015 at 7:49 pm Rose
    
    Thanks Celia, I am putting this experiment into action this week.
    - on October 11, 2015 at 7:57 pm Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial
      
      Rose, make sure your starter is at maximum bubbliness before you spread it out to dry! :) xxx
on October 11, 2015 at 2:24 pm corneliaweberphotography

I wonder where here living in the USA, would get a sourdough starter. Years back than I made my own, but never worked that well. And I do love baking bread
on October 11, 2015 at 4:29 pm Pat Keens

Celia – the bread looked so delicious, that at 91, I would like to ‘ have a go’. Please tell me where I can get a starter?
Pat
on October 11, 2015 at 5:59 pm thecompletebook

I feel awful and most guilty that I have not tried with Connie again. You always make it look so wonderfully easy.
Have a beautiful and happy week ahead Celia.
:-) Mandy xo
- on October 11, 2015 at 6:01 pm Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial
  
  Want me to send you a fresh batch of starter M? And don’t feel guilty!!
  - on October 11, 2015 at 6:18 pm thecompletebook
    
    I still have one in the fridge which stares at me each time I open the door. If I make a hash of this one, I will let you know. Thanks all the same. xoxoxo
    - on October 11, 2015 at 6:20 pm Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial
      
      Hahaha you didn’t make a hash of it honey. I think your water just wasn’t right. Just boil the water and let it cool then use it, should be fine. Let me know if you need more xxx
on October 11, 2015 at 6:51 pm tableofcolors

I usually always dry a bit of my starter each time, so if life gets hectic…I will always have something to fall back onto. And your Priscilla is great, it works every time so well. Love all of your tutorials.
on October 12, 2015 at 3:23 am Lee Fiddler

Winters coming, soup and bread time. Priscilla, her you come. Thanks!
on October 12, 2015 at 5:50 am Chica Andaluza

Some brilliant tips here Celia. Which reminds me that I never responded to your e-mail about sharing the starter. So glad now that I know how to dry it out! Not sure where we’ll be come the end of the year, but of we’re in the right place at the right time, will go for it! Am missing making bread while here in Spain but it’s just not practical right now. Those loaves all look amazing :)
on October 12, 2015 at 5:56 am martanaah

This bread look so Good…gnam gnam great!
Ciao
on October 12, 2015 at 1:46 pm Rachel

Fab post!
on October 12, 2015 at 2:42 pm ChgoJohn

I’ve seen this post in my inbox but waited to comment until Bart was resurrected. He’s fine and will be baked tomorrow. Our temps are cooling and that means bread baking in my house. Your loaves, as always, look perfect, Celia. Love that you had some duck fat in the fridge. It’s such a rarity in mine. :)
on October 12, 2015 at 9:45 pm Eva Taylor

What great tips, I’ve wondered how you dry the starter. I have tried to get a starter going on several occasions but without success. This will be my fall project. I bought Italian 00 flour when we were in Chicago in September and made bread with it but really did not like it at all. Perhaps it was made to be a starter!
on October 12, 2015 at 11:53 pm Lynz Real Cooking

What a wonderful recipe! My 23 year old daughter is always wanting to make Sourdough, her favorite bread! I will show her this! nice blog and nice to meet you! My name is Lynn
on October 13, 2015 at 1:22 pm Jan (agluttonouswife)

Your loaves always make me smile Celia :)
on October 14, 2015 at 12:10 pm Francesca

Thanks Celia, a timely post. I am stashing an drying my well fed leftovers.
on October 19, 2015 at 11:42 am Lisa

My kind of baking! I love to wing it… often I make delicious creations by tweaking things to suit just a little. Lovely post and thanks for sharing the sourdough love Celia! x
on October 21, 2015 at 12:53 am justalittlepiece

Okay, I’m going to make it my goal to learn how to make at least one kind of bread consistently well after we (hopefully) move into our new house. This is beautifully inspiring!
on October 26, 2015 at 8:19 am dianeskitchentable

This is such a great suggestion, especially with my schedule lately. I’ve spent so little time in the kitchen that I’ll have to walk around and find it again. I’m glad you posted this though because I’ll forgotten how you did that and was trying to find it in an earlier post…but here it is. You’re a mind reader.
on November 3, 2015 at 7:27 pm ladyredspecs

i’ve only just tried my first Costco fish and I was very pleasantly surprised. You really are the sourdough queen Celia, I’m totally in awe.e love your chestnut brownies too!! Here’s my post for this month http://pleasepasstherecipe.com/2015/11/03/in-my-kitchen-november-2015/
on November 4, 2015 at 4:56 pm mogsya

Just caught up with this post. At moment I am travelling. I will get back to my kitchen in around 2 weeks. Can’t wait to get started on some baking. Winter months (I live in southern Spain) are the baking time of year. Too hot in summer!