When I first started milling, I wanted to do it all the healthiest way and right away. So I dove into sourdough. I was sorely disappointed, and decided to forget about it and master the yeast breads. I am SO GLAD I did.
So why am I sharing a sourdough bread recipe if I decided to use yeast? Because once I mastered the yeast, I found a book called The Sourdough Framework. This book was written for someone like me – a geek who loves to code and logic is king. The things Hendrik discussed in this book changed the way I looked at sourdough, so I decided to give it another chance.
Types of Starter
One of the big takeaways is that using a stiff sourdough starter. Usually, folks feed their 1 part starter with 1 part water and 1 part flour, which is known as a high hydration starter (100%). This was not working well for me. I was killing my starter, it wasn’t performing how I wanted, and it was a HUGE pain the butt to convert my recipes from yeast to sourdough starter. Practicality requirement: not passed. Now if I were ever to use a high hydration starter again, I’d go back to this book for sure.
As of right now, I’m NOT going to do that. I LOVED how he mentioned swapping his yeast for stiff starter with NO other changes, and having the bread turn out sometimes better than the yeast result. I have found this to be TRUE time and time again. I’ve found stiff starter to fulfill my practicality requirement, which is why I use it! The breads tend to be less sour, have excellent rise and structure, and there is no extra conversions to go between yeast and sourdough.
How to Create a Stiff Starter from Scratch
You don’t. You create a sourdough starter the same way anyone else would. But my suggestion is to do a shortcut, and get a little from a friend! Shoot, I’ve even bought sourdough starter from Facebook marketplace and then just converted it to freshly milled flour and carried on.
Create a liquid starter first. The Sourdough Framework book has charts and everything, so you can follow along and get it right the first time if you want to create one from scratch. Once you have your starter established, then you can convert it to a stiff starter by following the How to Feed a Stiff Starter (using fresh milled flour) below.
How Henrik Feeds a Stiff Starter
Henrik feeds 1 part of starter 2 parts flour and 1 part water.
How to Feed a Stiff Starter (using fresh milled flour)
Feeding fresh milled starter in the same way won’t work so great because we need to remember absorption rates. Our fresh milled hard wheat flour absorbs 7-20% more liquid than bread or all purpose flour.
1 part starter fed 2 parts flour and 1 part and additional water for absorption rate
Here is an example of how I feed my stiff starter if using hard wheat, Kamut, or Emmer:
| Fresh Milled Flour | |
| Starter | 1 part ( 50 grams ) |
| Flour | 2 parts ( 100 grams ) |
| Water | 1 part ( 50 grams ) |
| Additional Water (for absorption rate) | 100 x 0.17 = 17 grams additional water |
| Total Water | 1 part adjusted ( 67 grams water ) |
So for freshly milled flour, we need to account for the added liquid. Notice in the chart below:
- Our pasta or hardest grains will need an extra 17% of the flour weight as water
- Our softer grains such as spelt and Einkhorn will only need an additional 7%
- Rye, barley, and oats absorb their entire weight in water – you may need an extra 30-35% water)
Key Points for Success
To know if you did it right, here is what you should be able to check off on your list:
- the starter doesn’t fall out when it’s pressed into the bottom of the jar and turned upside down
- all the flour has been incorporated fully (no dry bits of flour)
That’s it!
When is the Starter Ready to Use?
I use it when it’s doubled. That’s usually in the 6-12 hour range depending on the environment. Sourdough is a dynamic thing, so what works for one person will not work exactly the same for the next person, or even for you from day to day.
What if I’m not ready to bake when the starter is ready?
No problem. I can’t tell you all the best ways of sourdough, but I can tell you what I do. In this case, I put the starter in the fridge and will use it the next day or so before considering feeding it again. You never know how long between bakes a person can go, depending on mood and life.
Do I Discard?
No. The discarding is important during the building of a starter, but once it’s been established I find it unnecessary in all cases except one.
If the starter wasn’t used when it doubled (AKA at peak) and the starter sat in the fridge for a few days or at room temperature for another day – I will discard and feed it so it doesn’t get too sour. Otherwise, I use the starter in various baked goods until it’s gone – keeping it in the fridge during the time between peak and needing to feed it. What do I mean by that? Well, when I only have 50 grams or less of starter left in the jar – it’s time to feed it!
What if I don’t have 50 grams of starter left?
That’s OK. Just mill whatever amount of flour you want, and feed half that (plus the adjusted water). Here is how I do it:
- Mill the flour?
- While the flour is milling, add the water to the jar, and use the water and a spatula with a good edge to dissolve any bits of starter into the water. It will become cloudy, even if there are only scrapings left in the jar.
- Feed the cloudy water mixture your flour.
- Wait for it to double, and use it again!
How Much Starter Do I Use?
Like Henrik, I use a range – usually between 10 and 30%. In the winter, I definitely use 30% of the flour for my recipes. In the summer, I can hover in the 10-15%, but sometimes go up to 20% depending upon my patience level for the day.
I created an excellent triple batch of Italian bread dough using only 5% of the flour as stiff starter, and it turned out phenomenal. So don’t worry if you don’t have quite enough – it’ll still work out. It may just take a little longer.
Join our Community
Ready to ditch recipes and learn more about baking with fresh milled flour using methods and your imagination? Join my Fresh milled Flour Methods group. You can ask questions, share your wins, and more with an expectation of honesty and friendly interaction. I hear it’s the best place to be on Facebook.
