Reasons to Make Your Own Sourdough Starter

Love baking your own sourdough bread but dread the hours of patience required to make a good batch of starters? As the heart and soul of sourdough bread, starters are key ingredients that should never be left out and must be produced with love and doughtermination. Regardless of how lazy you are, it is important to whip up your starters from scratch if you want to achieve the perfect loaf. Here’s why!

1. Making Your Own Starter is a Rewarding Process

The process of creating your own sourdough starter, albeit time-consuming, is a truly rewarding breadventure. Beyond the delicious, tangy bread you’ll eventually produce, the journey of cultivating a starter will teach you patience, and connect you deeply to the art of baking. 

At the heart of this process lies the simplest of ingredients: flour and water. Mixing these two basic components together initiates a reaction where wild yeast and lactic acid can develop. 

Then, after just one day of your patience and hardwork, you’ll begin to notice subtle changes in the starter’s appearance and aroma. The unassuming mixture will then evolve into a lively, dynamic entity, that will serve as the driving force behind your sourdough bread’s rise and distinctive tangy flavour. 

It's during these doughlightful moments that you'll start to feel a sense of accomplishment, knowing that you've nurtured life from the most humble ingredients.

2. Get Better Tasting Bread

The key to fantoastic sourdough bread lies in the starter itself. And making it from scratch will give you better tasting bread. This is because when you cultivate your own starter, you have the power to adjust the flavour to your liking, tweaking the fermentation time and temperature accordingly to craft a bread you can call uniquely yours. 

Slow fermentation processes allow the starter to develop a rich and tangy profile, as well as help the dough improve in texture. 

3. Bake Healthier Breads with No Additives

Sourdough breads rely on a leavening agent to rise to the occasion. And while starters are usually used, some bakers may turn to commercial yeast to save time and effort. However, commercial yeast, while efficient, lacks the depth of flavour and complexity of naturally-cultivated sourdough starters. It can even cause digestive discomfort in those with more sensitive guts. 

When baking sourdough breads, starters are the heroes that offer a loaf of benefits. Thanks to the natural fermentation process, sourdough breads are usually healthier and boast an array of nutritional benefits that commercial yeast cannot offer. They typically have a low glycemic index, are great for gluten sensitivities, help to improve gut health, and even contain nutrients such as calcium, B-complex vitamins, potassium, zinc, and more. 

4. Starters Can Be Used for a Variety of Other Recipes

Another great reason to make your own sourdough starter is the versatility it offers you once you’re done with baking your sourdough bread. Beyond bread-y creations, there’s a whole world of culinary possibilities that await you. 

A mature starter can be used in a myriad of other dishes, including pancakes, waffles, pizza doughs, English muffins, and pretzels. All it takes in adding a dollop of your starter, and you’ve infused your creations with both nutritional value and a tangy flavour that’s sure to impress. 

Learn More: 4 Dough-Able Ways To Put Your Leftover Sourdough Starter To Good Use

If you’re interested in learning more about making a sourdough starter and baking your own sourdough breads, then sign up for a sourdough baking class in Singapore with Bespoke Bread! 

Alternatively, grab yourself a sourdough starter kit here to try it out yourself!