Recipe for homemade sourdough: How to grow it + Facts and myths about sourdough

The production of sourdough in the comfort of your own kitchen has become very popular in recent days. This phenomenon brings with it a number of positives. The taste of baked goods prepared from such sourdough is unmistakable.

In addition, many people describe a significant improvement in digestion or a reduction in other health problems. However, beware of unsubstantiated or even misleading information.

So what are the facts? Which information is just a myth? Find out in our article.

Sourdough or yeast?What's the difference?

Yeast, i.e. yeast, contains yeast. It is used to make sourdough bread. In sourdough bread, the rising process takes place.

Sourdough also contains yeast, plus lactic acid bacteria, which outnumber the yeast by a wide margin. With the help of sourdough, sourdough bread is made. The processes in such bread are partly leavening, but it is mainly fermentation.

The difference between sourdough and sourdough bread

Sourdough starter contains yeast and certain bacterial strains. Under the right conditions, such as appropriate temperature and the presence of water, a new microbiota is created. This ecosystem is different in every sourdough starter. The processes that take place inside the sourdough starter are unique to each starter.

Thus, each sourdough starter has a different composition of yeasts and bacteria. This diversity depends not only on the flour or water used, but also on the atmosphere in which the starter is prepared. This complexity of the sourdough microbiota can result in different effects for each individual.

Interesting fact: The yeasts that multiply in sourdough produce alcohol, which kills harmful bacteria that are not beneficial to health. The lactic acid bacteria, however, resist it.

How to make your own sourdough starter at home?

Good quality sourdough starter requires a little patience. To ensure that it is strong enough, of good quality and, above all, stable, give it time.

To create a mother starter, as it is also called, you will need:

• 15 g of rye flour - wholemeal is recommended
• 30 g of clean water - not chlorinated
• 3-4 small pieces of apple with skin

Mix these ingredients in a clean glass jar. You can add flour or water as needed to make a thicker dough. Make sure there are no lumps or unmixed flour.

Cover with a cloth or loosely place the lid on to allow the mixture to breathe. You have just started to grow your sourdough starter, or starter as it is also called.

After 12 hours, add 15 g of rye flour and 30 g of water. Feed every 12 hours.

In a few days, bubbles will start to form in the starter, which means that the starter has started to work. When this happens depends on the temperature of the environment, the water, the wholemeal flour, the freshness of the flour and the density of the starter. Sooner or later, however, bacterial growth and the activity of the starter are bound to start.

For the first 4 days, feed every 12 hours by adding 15 g of flour + 30 g of water.

On the 4th day, we take about 60 g of sourdough starter without apple into a litre jar. We continue to feed the sourdough starter without apple and take care of it. This way the sourdough starter will have enough room for further growth.

After day 4, feed every 24 hours with 30 g of water + 30 g of flour.

Sometimes it may seem that after a few days the sourdough stops bubbling. This is when the sourdough may have rested. However, continue feeding as instructed.

When is the starter ready?

It is ideal if it is at least 10-14 days old. It is also an important sign if it rises after each feeding and falls after a few hours.

You can also help yourself by marking this rise after feeding and after the sourdough has finished eating, i.e. after a few hours. Mark the height of the sourdough after adding flour and water and then the height when it has multiplied in volume with a marker on the side of the jar.

If this increase is the same every day, i.e. shows a steady increase after feeding, you have produced an active and stable sourdough starter.

You can read somewhere that sourdough is ready after 3 to 4 days, once it starts to form bubbles. However, such sourdough can be weak and unstable.

Poor quality sourdough starter can thus be unreliable and may surprise you unpleasantly when you use it.

Possible problems with sourdough

Keep the sourdough starter in a clean glass jar, in a stable room temperature environment. Do not wipe the spoon with your finger to avoid introducing unwanted bacteria into the starter. Protect it from direct sunlight, draughts or rapid changes in temperature.

You can smell the sourdough starter on different days. Before feeding it will have a sour smell. This is a sign that it is hungry. After feeding, the smell may still be slightly sour, but much milder and more pleasant.

It is better not to taste the sourdough. Be careful even in the presence of children.

As we have mentioned, sourdough starter has developed a completely new microbiota. It contains a number of bacteria other than yeasts and lactic acid bacteria. These are, of course, destroyed during the baking process, but the effects of live bacteria in sourdough on the body are not fully understood.

How to preserve sourdough?

The finished sourdough starter needs to be cared for and fed regularly.

If you are not baking, feed it once a week. Use the same amount and type of flour as before. After feeding, leave the sourdough starter at room temperature for about 12 hours. Then store it in the fridge, where it will keep for about a week without feeding.

If you have removed some of the starter for baking, you must return the same amount. Add back as many tablespoons of flour and water as you remove. Mix and leave on the counter for about 12 hours while the starter eats. Then put it back in the fridge.

When and how should the sourdough starter be cured?

Sometimes the starter needs to be boosted, cured or helped to be more active.

Possible problems with sourdough starter

Myths and facts not only about sourdough

Along with the growing trend of sourdough starters, various misleading claims are becoming more and more common. Let's take a look together at the most common information that doesn't exactly have a solid foundation.

1. Yeast in sourdough bread is harmful to us. Harmful yeasts are not found in sourdough

No!

This claim is often presented by sourdough enthusiasts to pick up on sourdough. But yeast is also found in sourdough bread.

2. Sourdough breaks down gluten, so even coeliacs can eat it

No!

Neither homemade nor other sourdough breaks down gluten enough to make such breads safe enough for celiacs.

Coeliac disease is an autoimmune disease in which the consumption of cereals containing gluten protein (gluten) causes inflammation and atrophy of the villi of the small intestine. Patients must not eat any cereal products containing gluten.

Read more in the articles:

• Diet for patients with celiac disease, important restrictions
• Celiac disease - is life with it easy?

The gluten in sourdough bread is therefore not sufficiently broken down to make it suitable for coeliacs.

3. People allergic to yeast - yeast - can consume sourdough bread

No!

Just like yeast-leavened bread, sourdough bread contains yeast. If a particular organism reacts negatively to the yeast in yeast, sourdough bread will cause it the same trouble.

4. Sourdough bread contains probiotics

No!

Bacteria cannot survive temperatures above 60 °C.

This heat treatment is also known as pasteurisation. During the baking process, all the bacteria, yeasts and micro-organisms contained in the bread are destroyed. Therefore, such bread or any other bread that is baked cannot contain any living micro-organisms, and therefore...

It does not contain any live probiotics.

Sourdough bread can only contain dead bacteria and postbiotics. That is, only metabolites of probiotics.

Read also our articles:

• Probiotics - bacteria needed for our health
• Why probiotics are important during antibiotic treatment and how to take them correctly

5. Sourdough bread has a lower glycemic index

Maybe...

This statement is not completely verified. It depends mainly on what flour the bread is made of.

The glycaemic index indicates how much sugar a food can absorb and how quickly it affects blood glucose levels.

Rye flour has a lower glycaemic index than wheat flour.

6. Yeast is harmful, sourdough is healthy

Maybe...

Every sourdough starter is different, every bread is different. The microflora in sourdough starter changes even with time. Every city and every country will have a different bacterial composition in their sourdough starter.

Each person's digestive system is also different. Therefore, each person may react differently to eating sourdough bread. This is determined by each person's digestive tract and immune system.

In conclusion about sourdough

It is true that our grandmother already prepared bread at home. It is also true that digestive disorders and illnesses occur much more than they did in the past.

However, it should also be borne in mind that in the past, bread was made mainly from wholemeal flour. Wholemeal bread, among other beneficial properties, contains more fibre, has a lower glycaemic index and even tastes better.

Read also our interesting article.

Although sourdough bread has been around for a long time, it is a relatively unexplored area from a scientific point of view. There are not many scientific studies focusing on the effects on the body.

Of course, this is not to talk you out of home sourdough.

Grow your own home-made sourdough starter and you can be sure that it contains no preservatives, dyes or other harmful substances. You can experiment with flavours and ingredients. But don't be fooled by inflated and unsubstantiated information.

Listen to your body and form your own opinion.