A Week in the Life of a Sourdough Culture

There are as many ways to care for a sourdough culture as there are keepers of sourdough cultures. This is how I maintain and use mine. I wrote instructions to days of the week so you can see the flow. There are so many variables (when you want to make bread, how quickly you use up the bread and need to make more, how much starter you need to make the amount of bread you need, temperatures...), it can get confusing to talk about all of the "if" situations. So here is what I did this week with my culture.

Tuesday morning: I fed the culture but did not need to make bread. Take equal parts starter, whole wheat flour, and water. Mix together, stirring in plenty of air, until there are no dry pockets of flour. I like to keep about 3 oz starter and feed it 3 oz flour and 3 oz water by weight. Any starter I have in excess of 3 oz, I put in a separate jar to use for muffins, English muffins, etc.

Tuesday evening: Starter had bubbled up nicely. I put it in the fridge.

Thursday morning: I was sharing starter, so I did the same feeding steps from Tuesday morning. The excess went in a jar to give away. I fed both my starter and the excess (so that it would be fed for the person receiving it). 

Thursday evening: Starter had bubbled up nicely. I will be baking bread tomorrow, so I measured out what I needed to make sandwich bread, kneading it into flour and water to soak overnight. I fed the remaining starter.

Friday morning: Place starter in the fridge. Make the overnight soaked bowls into bread.

I like letting my starter bubble, or proof, before putting it in the fridge. Room temperatures favor yeast. Fridge temperatures favor bacteria (the good kind -- probiotics). Both are wonderful, health-wise. The yeast gives a sweeter flavor, the bacteria the characteristic "sour" in sourdough.

I leave my starter in the fridge most of the time. I like to feed it two or three times before making bread to rejuvenate the culture. This is just my flavor preference. Plus those extra feedings give me "discard" for making English muffins, waffles, and muffins. 

So to sum up the basic steps: fridge when you want to forget about it for a while; when it's on the counter, feed once a day (in the current winter weather; in summer I had to feed twice a day) for a couple of days, and then make bread, feed culture, back to the fridge. Repeat.

When you feed your culture, it will start to bubble within a few hours. It will climb the sides of its container slowly, and eventually reach a peak. When it is no longer making new bubbles and it begins to settle back into its container, it is ready to be fed again. This process happens very, very slowly in the fridge. You can leave it for days. I tend to leave it in the fridge untouched for 5-7 days at a time. Eventually a darker color will form on the surface. This indicates that the culture is quite hungry. Even if you aren't going to make bread, you should take it out of the fridge and feed it at least once to keep it alive. 

Waffles from Sourdough Discard

Time & Servings

• About 15 - 20 minutes
• Makes about 8 waffles

Ingredients

3 eggs

1 ½ c sourdough starter

1 ½ Tbsp melted butter

½ tsp salt

½ tsp baking soda

Preheat a waffle iron. Place a baking sheet in the oven turned to the lowest setting.

In a large bowl, whisk the eggs until they come to a uniform color. Do not over-mix. Using a spatula, gently fold in the rest of the ingredients until just incorporated. Pour into the hot waffle iron. Place finished waffles in the warm oven while the remaining waffles cook.

Top with maple syrup, fruit, fruit syrup (like this peach syrup), whipped cream, or yogurt.

Makes about 8 waffles.

Fish with Chickpea Couscous and Steamed Vegetables

Time & Servings

• About 30 minutes
• 3-4 servings

Overview

Here is the recipe for the Garlic Lemon Fish. Start by setting up the fish in the marinade. The recipe calls for mahi mahi. I used tilapia this time. Any flaky white fish will work fine. 

I paired the fish with Chickpea Couscous. Once the fish is marinating, measure out your couscous and set aside. Assemble the other ingredients in a saucepan and turn on the heat to get the water boiling.

Put a pot of water on to boil for the steamed vegetables. I used broccoli and cauliflower this time. Alternately, you could microwave the vegetables in a microwave-safe container with about a half cup of water instead of steaming on the stove top.

When the water for the couscous boils, add the measured couscous and turn off the heat. Start up the grill. Start the vegetables steaming when their water starts to boil. Line the grill with aluminum foil and put on the fish. 

The fish will cook quickly -- only about 8-10 minutes. I am not particularly experienced in cooking fish. I found this article helpful to determine when the fish was done.

Check your steaming vegetables halfway through the fish's cooking time. Try one or poke it with a fork. You're looking for crisp-tender. Drain, place in a large bowl, and cover to keep warm.

Bring the fish in and cover it. Let it rest while you add a pat of butter and a sprinkle of salt to the vegetables. Fluff the couscous. Serve.

Roasted Cauliflower

Time & Servings

• About 30 minutes
• About 4

Ingredients

1 head cauliflower, cut into florets

3 Tbsp butter

1/4 tsp salt, more or less to taste

Optional herbs: Dried rosemary, thyme, marjoram, or oregano

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 375F. 

Arrange the cauliflower in a single layer on a baking sheet. Shave the butter over the cauliflower. Just cut off thin slices and scatter them on top. Sprinkle with salt and herbs, if using. Bake for about 15 minutes. Turn the cauliflower with a spatula. Bake for another 5-10 minutes, until the cauliflower is tender and slightly caramelized. 

Oatmeal Banana Bars

This is a sugar-free (and very tasty) alternative to this recipe.

2 c old fashioned oats
1 c unsweetened coconut flakes
2 Tbsp chia seeds
1/4 c ground flax seed
1/2 c chopped walnuts
1/2 c chopped dried apricots
1/4 tsp salt
dash nutmeg
2 overripe bananas that have been frozen and thawed
2 Tbsp unsweetened apple butter (optional; adds sweetness and a cinnamon accent)
3 drops stevia extract
2 Tbsp melted butter
2 Tbsp melted coconut oil

Preheat the oven to 375F. Butter an 8x8-inch baking pan.

In a mixing bowl, toss together the oats, coconut, chia seeds, flax seed, walnuts, apricots, salt, and nutmeg. Add the bananas, apple butter, stevia, melted butter and coconut oil. Mash the bananas while mixing until mixture becomes relatively uniform. Press into the prepared pan.

Bake for about 20-25 minutes, until golden brown on top. Allow to cool before cutting.

Chickpea Couscous

Time & Servings

• About 10 minutes
• 4 servings

Ingredients

1/2 c dry chickpeas, soaked and cooked or 1 (15.5 oz) can, rinsed and drained

1/3 c dried cranberries

1 tsp olive oil

salt to taste

dash cinnamon

1/2 c couscous

Place the chickpeas, cranberries, olive oil, and salt in a saucepan. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Stir in the couscous, cover, and remove from heat. Allow to sit, covered, for about 5 minutes, until the water is absorbed. Add a dash of cinnamon, fluff with a fork, and serve.

Adapted from this recipe.

French Toast with Peach Syrup, Whipped Cream, and Home Fries

In my house, one big factor in eating plenty of vegetables is simply serving them. People tend to eat what is available rather than go hungry. So make fruits and vegetables available.

Overview

First priority is to get the potatoes frying since those will take the longest. Here is my method for home fries. Next is to start the peaches simmering. Then you will start the French toast. Last is to whip up the cream. 

I like this French toast recipe because it includes cinnamon and vanilla. Though I use a bit more milk -- about 1/2 cup milk for 4 eggs. If you use a nonstick skillet, you probably won't need the melted butter. I don't add any sugar or sweetener.

We will be making a peach syrup rather than using maple syrup to cut down on the sugar intake. If you are going to use maple syrup, go with the real stuff. If it isn't real, pure maple syrup, it is maple-flavored corn syrup.

It only takes a minute with a hand mixer to whip cream into whipped cream. Totally worth it!

30 minutes before serving

Wash the potatoes. One medium potato per person will likely leave you with some leftovers. Yum!

Cube the potatoes following the directions in the linked recipe. Put them in the hot skillet. 

Get out the saucepan for the peaches follow the recipe instructions through adding everything into the pot. Let them start simmering while you mix up French toast batter.

20 minutes before serving

Heat your skillet for cooking the French toast. This can be a stove top skillet or an electric skillet set to 350 F. Whisk together the ingredients for the French toast batter. Dip your bread and get them toasting. As they finish cooking, keep them warm in a basket lined with a kitchen towel, or in an oven on its lowest setting.

Don't forget to flip your potatoes and stir your peaches from time to time. When the peach syrup has thickened, turn off the burner.

5 minutes before serving

Pour 1 cup of whipping cream (or heavy cream) into a bowl that will hold at least 4 cups. Use a hand mixer to beat on high speed until the cream begins to thicken. Add 2 drops liquid stevia extract or 2 Tbsp powdered sugar. Add about 1/2 tsp vanilla extract. Continue to beat on high speed until the cream has soft peaks. To check, turn off the mixer with the beaters still in the cream. Lift the whisks out. The cream should leave little peaks that flop over. 

Season the potatoes.

Serving

Plate a piece (or two) of French toast. Pour on a 1/4 cup or so of peach syrup and a dollop of whipped cream. Add a helping of crispy potatoes.

Pumpkin Spice Granola

Think of this as a template, not a recipe. The flaked coconut, flax seed, walnuts, chia seeds, and cranberries are all optional. You could add oat bran or wheat germ. Use different nuts and fruit. Add 1/4 c pure maple syrup to the recipe for chunkier granola. I like to leave the granola sweetener-free and add little if I want it when I pour an individual serving. To add more pumpkin to each serving and help use up the rest of the container, I like to add a scoop of pumpkin purée to my cereal bowl. Adding a spoonful of yogurt with the milk adds probiotics and extra protein.

Pumpkin Spice Granola

4 c rolled oats

1/4 c unsweetened flaked coconut

2 Tbsp ground flax seed

1/4 c chopped walnuts

1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 c pumpkin puree

1/2 c apple sauce

2 Tbsp coconut oil (or butter)

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 Tbsp chia seeds

1/2 c dried cranberries

Preheat the oven to 325 F.

In a large bowl, stir together the oats, flaked coconut, flax seed, walnuts, spices, and salt. Add the pumpkin puree, apple sauce, coconut oil (it doesn't have to be melted first -- the oven will melt it for you), and vanilla. Stir until all of the oats are evenly moistened. 

Pour the wet granola onto a baking sheet with a rim (also called a jellyroll pan). Line your pan with parchment paper if you don't want to have to wipe it off later. Bake for 10-15 minutes, until the top layer becomes fragrant and lightly golden. Stir well and return to the oven for an additional 10 minutes. Stir one more time and bake 5-10 minutes, until the granola is slightly dry (though not crispy) and evenly golden. 

Cool completely. Pour into an airtight container. Add chia seeds and dried cranberries. Put the lid on the container and shake to combine. 

Enjoy a bowl with your favorite milk or yogurt.