Fried Sourdough Starter Recipe — Meadowlark Journal (2024)

FAQs

Can I fry my sourdough starter? ›

Making Fried Sourdough Starter really couldn't be easier! You'll find the full recipe quantities and instruction for how to make this recipe with and without caramelized onions below in the recipe card. This recipe begins with preheating a cast iron skillet over medium-low heat with 1 Tablespoon avocado oil.

In 2020, Seamus Blackley, the creator of Xbox and a seasoned baker himself, baked sourdough bread from dormant yeast samples that are 4,500 years old, according to the Atlas Obscura website.

Some early miners were even known to sleep with starters in their pockets on cold nights so that the yeasts and bacteria didn't freeze to death—giving the prospectors a somewhat sour smell, which may also be part of the reason they earned the sourdough nickname.

Yes, you can bake with sourdough starter straight from the fridge.

A pinch of salt either in the starter or on top afterward makes it even better. The result is a super fluffy, sour, savory pancake / fried bread that is ready by the time I finish making a pour over coffee. An awesome discovery and great addition to my morning routine - it's like a free instant snack!

If you think you killed your starter with heat, always use a probe thermometer to take the temperature in the center of the starter. If it is below 130F/54C it is still alive, even if it was exposed to a higher oven temperature for a short time.

For most bakers, the answer is a clear no. Maurizio Leo, author of the award-winning bread cookbook The Perfect Loaf, still uses the first starter he ever made; it's now 12 years old. And while he's sentimental about that starter, he says its age doesn't really impact his bread.

Sourdough remained the usual form of leavening down into the European Middle Ages until being replaced by barm from the beer brewing process, and after 1871 by purpose-cultured yeast. Bread made from 100% rye flour, popular in the northern half of Europe, is usually leavened with sourdough.

Your sourdough starter is the foundation of baking sourdough bread. Through proper maintenance and a little attention, it can last indefinitely and provide you with countless healthy and delicious loaves of bread.

“Sourdough” came to denote a veteran inhabitant and especially an old-time prospector of Alaska or northwestern Canada many years ago. During the Yukon gold rush of the late 19th century, sourdough bread was a staple in the prospectors' camps, and the prospectors themselves became known as sourdoughs.

Why is sourdough so popular in Alaska? ›

Sourdough is most associated with pioneers, but the Alaska Gold Rush made Sourdough bread famous, as it was the most popular and practical food for the pioneers and prospectors.

You can try to revive it by pulverizing it and adding water, then feeding it on a regular schedule. But if it doesn't respond at all (no growth, no bubbles) after three or four days of twice-a-day feedings, you might as well start over.

Yes, there are actually several health benefits to using sourdough discard in your cooking and baking. Sourdough discard is rich in probiotics, which can help promote a healthy gut microbiome and improve digestion.

Generally, you can substitute a packet of yeast for 100g of sourdough starter. If your recipe uses less than a packet of yeast, you can use less sourdough starter, however it won't make too much difference because of the way wild yeast works.

It would be best if you discarded some portion of your starter each time you feed it unless you want to continue to let it grow. Eventually, you need to discard the used “food” (flour and water) that's been used to sustain your starter during the last fermentation period.

Things that Will Kill A Sourdough Starter

High Temperatures - preheating your oven with your sourdough starter inside can lead to your starter's demise - but it would have to be completely baked for it to be completely unresponsive to some TLC.

You've put a lot of time and ingredients into making that sourdough starter, and it's a shame to throw so much of that away! The good news is that you don't have to. Baking with sourdough discard also adds a great slightly sour flavor and additional lift to your baked goods.

Melt the butter in the pan on low heat. Once the butter is melted, place the bread slice in the pan, making sure it soaks up some of the butter. Put the heavy lid (or heavy plate) on top of the bread and let it cook on low heat for 2-3 minutes.

Although the beneficial microbes in the starter tend to be lost during the baking process, the fibre and plant compounds, called polyphenols, become more bio-available. These act as an important fuel source for our gut microbes, which explains why sourdough is a gut-friendly choice.