Thank you so much for watching. Due to the overwhelming number of comments I get, I can no longer answer them all. To get all your questions answered, check out my Sourdough Course where you have direct access to me supersimplesourdough.teachable.com/p/super-simple-sourdough 😊 ~ Anja
@@galebush1004 This video is about sourdough maintenance. You can learn how to make a SD starter here: th-cam.com/video/whGTP6YkRzg/w-d-xo.html Hope this helps 😊 ~ Anja
Thank you so much, I am in Germany from United States, I used to help my mom cook and bake since I was 10 years old, but never sourdough bread , just apple bread, banana bread etc. 8 weeks ago I started the feeding, and you know Germany is getting cold, my apartment is not warm enough, I threw away four starts and frustrated the 5th I put in the refrig, I think now its been 4-5 weeks and it had liquid on top and a little bubbles, so now I am trying your method next weekend I bake some bread without yeast, I hate to throw stuff away so this is the super video I needed for the crisis..
Our family has been caring for a starter for 7 generations and obtained it in the 1700's during the Alaskan gold rush. Sometimes we go months in between baking and never feed the starter. It can get pretty funky looking and smelling with greyish liquid on the top, but pay no attention to it. It's normal, and good. Just mix it back up next time you bake. The starter just lives in the fridge. Night before baking, just add the water and flour to the starter that your recipe calls for and let it sit on counter over night. In morning, remove 1/4 - 1/2 cup of the starter from the new batch and put it back in your jar and put in the fridge. This is the starter for whenever you get around to it again. Use the rest to bake. Dank and tangy every time. People have been making this bread (and pancakes) for thousands of years, before electricity, refrigeration and food scales. Modern man seems to like to take old, easy, time-tested methods and complicate them to no end, which ruins the simplicity and enjoyment.
Thank you, I once forgot my dough for two days and I still made bread out of it and it tasted so great and smells so nice, but I felt guilty thinking it wasn't really safe to eat, but now I'm glad to know it doesn't harm the body ❤️
Might want to check the math on that gold rush timeline. It was late 1800s to early 1900s. That said, good on you for keeping the starter going since then.
So how much water and flour and whatever you use to make it rise? I like the idea that you can just keep using it once you have it started. I just need the recipe for the starter so I can put it in the jar.
@@Lynder19 Almost NO water in the original starter. She starts hers with buttermilk and flour. There are videos. The only time she uses water is when the starter is developed.
This is exactly how my grandfather did his sour dough starter! He born in 1895, came to the US from Germany, and was a master baker...his starter was always in a glass jar and either in the refrigerator or the coolest place he could find in the house. My grandparents also had ferments going all the time too; pickles, sauerkraut, beets, eggs, etc.! Oh the memories!
I have been making sourdough for over 20 years. I have gone several months without feeding and have had no problem reviving it. I keep it in the fridge and when I am ready to bake bread, I take it out and feed it until it's active and ready. This can take two full days if I have gone months without using it. I don't have any fear because it has never failed, and I also have a freeze-dried backup stored in my freezer in case something catastrophic happens. Remember, your hydration level and temperature dictate the activity of your starter, so if you want to slow it down add more flour and put it in the fridge, if you want to speed it up, use equal parts of water and flour and put it on your counter. As a general rule, I use 3/4 of a cup of water to 1 cup of flour, that way it's easy to see when the activity peaks. Happy breadmaking!
I'll take a generations-old recipe over modern methods any day. This video made me suscribe. I learned about sourdough a year ago and the only reason I didn't start to make it was because I found the waste of discarding to be mind-boggling. I thought I'd had to bake with discards every day! Plus, no one ever explains how sourdough is actually used, everyone just mentions the discards. I used to think "So... when is your actual sourdough ready and how do you use it? Is it discards ad infinitum?" I also liked that you don't measure it exactly: I had found a website that asked for "exact measurement of 25g of flour and 25 ml of water because it has to be an exact science". I don't imagine any of our ancestors using scales for this. So, thanks for this video even though probably you'll never read the 2,385th comment. God bless you!
I have been searching youtube wanting to bake my first Sourdough bread. And researching how to do a Starter. Finally someone is talking about a a starter that I can do! My Mother was German and Father was a Great Depression Baby. He grew up with 13 siblings! Nobody Threw Away food ever! These Starter videos everyone doing do not make sense but yours does! Thank you
Growing up, my mother never ever fed the starter. It stayed in the fridge for years and years. She used it twice a month to make bread and biscuits. Thank you for sharing this. I remember now.
You can also dry it and keep it in a jar until you need it. Spread parchment on a baking sheet, spread some sourdough starter on the paper, making a thin and even layer. Let it dry on the counter. When it is completely dry, crunch it up into small pieces and store in a clean jar. To rehydrate, put some of the flakes in a clean jar with equal parts flour and water, stir well and leave it lightly covered until it bubbles.
@@dapursemenitsaja9869, once it's rehydrated and bubbly, you treat it the same as any other starter. (It took mine a couple of feedings to get going again as I dried it rather tired.) 💖🌞🌵😷
Thanks! I think that method would be for me. I would like to make sourdough, but only once in a while. Not even weekly. I wonder if you could put it in a dehydrator.
@@johnswoodgadgets9819 , you could always try a dehydrator, but I'd worry that the heat from the dehydrator would kill the sourdough bacteria. But you could definitely spread sourdough on the dehydrator's screen and still let it air dry. The key here is to spread the sourdough out as thin as possible. 💖🌞🌵😷
Aha! So THIS is what I remember my granny doing and now I know why! I’m 80 and remember my granny keeping a lump of dough back when she made bread, but I never realised what she was doing! It’s taken some time but I now at last have the answer! I’m a Yorkshire girl who hates waste, we are known for being thrifty and this is how I found you. Thank you so much!
Same here..No one from the Great Depression threw anything out. Ever. Much less babysat a kitchen ingredient every dang day..there's other work to be done! 😊
My German grandmother kept a big 50 pound bag of flour in her kitchen. Nestled in the bag was her starter, right there in the flour bag on the farm in 1950’s Oklahoma. She baked daily.
Oh my gosh! That’s one method that was in The Laurel’s Kitchen Bread Book! I baked bread in the ‘80’s but didn’t try the sourdough recipes. Now regretting not having tried it. Thanks for mentioning that!
OMG, Yes that's exactly how my mother and the women of her time used to keep their starter in a big bag of flour, and they'd take a batch from the huge batch of fermented dough and keep for the next time they made bread. They used to make the flat bread on the steel dome, or in the bakery, enough for a week's supply of bread for the whole family. It was delicious.
Thank you for your video. I've been baking sourdough for 10 years. Mine lives in the back of the fridge in a glass jar with a snap-down lid like yours. I take it out in the morning of the day before i want to bake. Once it warms up to room temp, I feed it white flour and water (roughly equal amounts; I never measure anything) and give it a good stir. In the evening, before I go to bed, i pour off a cup or so into a large glass bowl. I mix enough plain white flour and a bit of water to make a thick-ish consistency in the jar which I pop back into the fridge. Into the glass bowl, I add to the cup of plain starter a heaping cup of whole wheat or rye or buckwheat or whatever I want for my bread, along with a splash of honey, maple syrup or molasses and a cup or more of water, mixing it well. I cover it with plastic wrap and leave the sponge on the counter to get happy overnight. In the morning, I finish off the dough and start the first rise. i NEVER discard anything.
I just started my first sourdough starter and 3days into it, it is doing well. Can’t wait until it is mature so I can refrigerate it, and try a loaf. To me I think it is overwhelming but I suppose once I am comfortable, I will be fine. I live by myself but love to cook for my neighbors. ❤️ any bread I make I slice and freeze.
I also freeze a container of sourdough. That gets taken out every six months, thawed, feed over the week then used. [During the week after it thawed and had first feeding, I use it for pancakes, or other items which use chemical leavenings.] You don't have to feed a full cup of sourdough in each feeding. I find 35g/1/8Cup/2Tablespoons of sourdough enough to feed daily. I feed it, then only leave 35g on the counter in a jar. The rest is placed into the jar in the refrigerator. When the refrigerator jar is full enough, I divide off enough by weight for the future recipe. The recipe jar is taken out a day to two days before I make the recipe. The timing depends on conditions and quantities. Jars are stirred daily, with careful keeping of the measures for the recipe. I have worked out my sourdough favorite recipes ingredients to be a by weight amounts for all but the under a Tablespoon/under an ounce amounts. I consider my sourdough to be like a pet. Feed it. Clean up after it. Sometimes play with it, (make something).
Finally, a simple yet practical, tried, and true, common sense and effective way to use sour dough! People make it soooo complicated! Thank you so much 💓!
If you look at my last name it can be determined that I too am a 3rd generation descendant from the Old World. I'm sure my German grandparents baked this way long ago but when I was born they had given in to the convenience of commercial yeast. Glad I found your channel. Perhaps the old but successful baking methods can be preserved and passed down to our descendants.
I'm from Greece and I make sourdough bread every week. I do what you said towards the end of your video. I use my sourdough the night before to make a small quantity of dough and I leave it all night to rise. In the morning, I add water, salt and flour and make my bread. I put aside a small amount and then I form my loaves. When they rise, I bake them and when the small amount I had kept becomes sour and bubley I put it in the fridge for next time. This is how my mother and my mother-in-law used to do it all their lives.
That's perfect !! I am really not a lazy person but I hate endless Baby sitting and dancing around the starter , let alone the discard. Not happy with that at all , Thank You !!!
I ended up killing my sourdough starter as I used the discard to make delicious crumpets which I'd eat but then found it to be too much. I may create another, knowing I can feed and use weekly or fortnightly. Thanks for the suggestion.
I’m new to sourdough bread, I’m Italian and I love to cook but I never did bread. I like the way this is done because I know I’m not going to bake bread every day, most like it once a week. But I don’t see the proportions needed. For instance for a loaf of bread let’s say of 1 or 2 pounds how much started do you need and how much water and flour do you add, considering that I would like to use whole wheat flour? And then how much of the dough I need to save to keep more starter in the refrigerator? I really appreciate anyone’s help and recommendation. Thank you.
Thank you so much for this info. The ONLY reason I haven’t continued making sour dough is because of the daily maintenance. I felt SO guilty throwing out perfectly good product. This gives me new inspiration to bake sourdough bread again. ❤️
@Fancythat This gives me a wonderful idea. Since all of my neighbors are elderly like me, I’ll bake sourdough bread more often and give it to them. Bless you. ❤️
And the thought deterred me from even starting. I made a starter, or ‘Biga’, for pizza dough - same principle really - but didn’t want to be tied to having to make pizza, or to not be able to make pizza when I wanted, because I first had to make the Biga…and wait 😉😉
I live in a tropical country, India. We simply dry a bit of the sour dough till it is bone dry. You can spread it over a wooden or plastic utensil kept under a fan or in an airy window. Less than a teaspoon. Then it can stay forever (weeks or months). To activate it, add it to fresh flour and wet it. When bubbles appear on top in a few hours, it's back.
Back before refrigeration they used to tear off a lump of dough and simply bury it in their flour. It keeps that way also. I believe that is where your family started. I made sourdough from my starter that has been in the fridge without feeding for over 6 months. Turned out fine.
Yes, finally someone does it the way they did it back in the pioneer & depression days. They couldn't afford to discard daily. I know they used it more than we might use it; but they didn't bake bread everyday. They made several loaves at once. Flour wasn't as easy to get back then. I never believed that was the way you had to do it. I searched furiously to find the answer and thanks to you; I have found it. Thanks for your common sense! So many ways of doing things have changed now a days; and not for the good. Will now be going to look at your other videos. Again thank you!!!
I mostly make my bread with a pre-ferment of a bit of “old dough” (from previous bake) and some water & flour, because I got really tired of babysitting the sourdough starter. Your method speaks to me (especially when you got to the part about grabbing a piece of your old dough!). It makes so much sense.
My mother also used to do our arabic bread using a piece of the old dough but unfortunately never paid much attention to follow her method and now am dying to learn how to make sourdough. Thanks
Finally somebody who knows how to make a sourdough scout starter without throwing half of it away! My mother never threw anything away when she was making sourdough bread. She taught me this exact same thing that you were doing. But again her father was a fortune woman so she probably learned it from her mother! Thank you wonderful video
So glad you have shared a sustainable way to do this. My husband cries every time I get a starter going because your pouring money out with every discard! Yay I can start sour dough again!!! I am going to scour your videos for more great information of sour dough and other golden nuggets! Thanks!
My Dad was the one who did the sourdough. He sourdough was really sour. And it was out of this world amazing. He didn't keep track of when he made it. I sure miss my Dad😅
Been doing this fridge method for about the last two years since stumbling across your video a couple years ago and it is probably the main reason I've been able to stick to sourdough for this long and not lost interest. I have tweaked it a bit to feeding it roughly 1:1 (flour &water) before adding the flour on top, just preferred the results, but I've left it for a couple months when I've either lost the baking bug, busy seasons, or vacations and rarely ever get hooch.
My grandma was from Germany and she gave me two recipes for making two different types of yeast plus a sour dough starter she hah the same starter as you, the dry kind and the other two were sweet yeast one of them was a hand full of raisins in a quare jar and water to about 1/2 in.from the top left for 2 was and two tbsp.were equal to 2 packs of bought yeast, she used it when we had company because some didn't like sour dough the other was boiled potatoes water and enough flour to equal 1/2the water stir vigorously and let set when it separates the top like the raisin water 2 tbsp and the gray bottom like cake yeast like the old days before package yeast , she always had yummy sour or sweet bread !!!
How interesting! If we put raisins in water and boil potatoes and add flour, how could I make it a starter for bread? I would love to cultivate these other forms of yeast as well to make bread and compare this method to sourdough bread. Will you explain more please? Thx.
Thank you so much, my great Aunt who has passed several years ago was the best cook I knew would make sourdough. I was too dumb to pay attention to her 😔I missed out on so much knowledge! You are wonderful! She went back to Germany to trace our heritage and got many of my great grandmothers cookbooks I would have loved to see what was in her treasures. Thank you for your wonderful videos, I love them all.
I love how you explain the timing needed to make bread. So many people doing these starter recipes don't explain that. I just started using your method and I'm so excited about it because I have German descent. My mother was German but she never made bread. Now I feel like I have a family recipe even though I never learned it from my Oma. God bless you!
Aww ... I am so glad you're enjoying my sourdough method! I also have a lot more authentic German recipes on my channel. Thank you so much for your sweet comment 😊 ~ Anja
I have been scouring the internet for a better way to maintain sourdough starter and it's all the same! You're the first person I've seen that uses a no nonsense, non wasteful method. Thank you so much for sharing!!
Thank you for the information regarding discard, I so dislike waste, especially now during these times of zero waste. Waste not want not! This is how I was raised.
Good heavens, utube has changed the comment section, it's more difficult and I lose my comment...just will Thank You so much. You're a big help. God Bless and watch over you, your family and all you do.
Thanks Anja for your "Easy Sourdough: No feedings, no discards" video. Your method is the most sensible one that I find. No waste! I love your videos! You are an angel in disguise.
I do something similar, I keep mine in the refrigerator and about every 1 or 2 weeks I add some flour and water , let it get active, then return it. When I make bread I pour all of it in the mixing bowl, weigh it and assuming half is water and half is flour, I deduct that amount from the total flour and water amounts in the bread recipe. I never have to discard. Just put a little flour and water into the starter jar and the residue is enough to start up a new batch of starter.
Can you please explain again about the part when you pour all of the starter into the mixing bowl? I didn't understand about the ratio. My first in life starter is about to get ready in 3 days and there is a lot of (as I put too much water and flour). So I don't know what to do with it.
@@fainafaina1940 recipes call for a certain amount of active starter and a certain amount of flour and water. with your first loaf you should just do it that way. You don't have to discardall that extra starter if you add an egg, salt, sugar, oil, baking soda and baking powder. Pancake batter consistency. Make a bunch of pancakes or waffles and freeze them.
Thank you so much for this tip, Anya, I have started that I’ve been using for a couple of years, but when I moved it across the country, I just couldn’t get it going. So last night, I poured off a lot of it, added flour as you suggested, stirred it into a lumpy mess, then added some dry flour on top. This morning, I added water, and baked bread using my usual recipe. Everything came out perfectly! I am so happy-no more wasting flour feeding it endlessly until I’m ready to bake. Now I’m always ready. Namaste.
I have seen where people have used the 'discard' sourdough starter to make crackers. I wonder if that is how crackers got started. I will have to research that 😁
This video gave me hope of baking my first sourdough bread. The thought of having to feed the starter everyday threw me off but this video solved that problem for me!
At last someone who knows how to keep a starter. I do it slightly differently. I keep back 50g (a golf ball) and feed it 50g water and 50g flour and put it in the fridge. It will keep 4 or five days. If I want to keep it there longer I feed it 100g of water and the same flour. If I'm going away it goes in the freezer. I like to measure the flour and water as I like accuracy with my bread formulae. The down size of the method we are using is that the yeast will keep working in the fridge, albeit slowly, but the Lactobacillus does not. This suites me as I don't like a very sour sourdough. To get the lactobacillus more active I give it 24 hours on the worktop with a feed. Just to do a bake it gets a feed and six hours at about 24 degrees C. I would add for those who have never tried the fridge method... it only takes some six hours with a feed in a warm room to get it super active again and as Anja says... No discards and no fuss. Thanks for a great video Anja :)
After I failed making sourdough starter with discards so many times. TH-cam finally push your video to my feed! Wow! This is exact what I need. I didn’t have buttermilk at hand. So I used my home made kefir for it. Amazing result! Thank you so so much
Now my sourdough starter is beautiful. I use it a few times a month. When I don’t need it, I make the rest of starter very thick and then put it to fridge until next time I need it.
I love the comments on this. From Germany, Ireland, wherever. The stories are about the same. You'd think it would be very different. We do things more alike than we realize. ☺️🙋💖
I am beyond words, just what I was looking for, I've been making bread for 8 - 10 yrs now and really want Sourdough bread in my world without feeding the beast, I just got the new kitchen Aid 500 + pro stand mixer, and the flour will be flying!!! (Oh Beautiful Eyes) Thank You for your vid, and of course i smashed the Thumb Up and Subscribed.
This is such good news! I also grew up on sourdough bread in Germany, though from the bakery. I live in Sweden atm and there are no bakeries left where I live, only supermarket bread. And then the pandemic hit... so I started making my own sourdough and have ever since struggled with avoiding discard! At one point I killed off my sourdough by underfeeding and turning it into vinegar! I'm in a pretty good rhythm right now with baking small breads frequently and feeding the starter directly out of the fridge and just the amount I need for the next bake and a tiny rest for the next feeding. If I wanted a super open crumb, this might not be ideal, but I actually like my toppings to not fall through the holes. My breads are between airy and compact and that's the way I like it. But I will definitely start using your method right now! Thank you so much for sharing your family secret with us!
Anna, I am so happy that I’ve discovered you. I will definitely do your starter technique. While we were in quarantine I tried several times to do the starter that is fed and discarded and it was such a pain. Again I love how calm and collected and logical you are. I will follow you on your videos.
My sourdough starter is now 5 days old and doing so well. So excited to be doing a bread with it soon. I even started one for my daughter and its already doubled.
🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻 as I've been watching what feels like a million videos on sourdough starters, which were pretty overwhelming, I'm happy that I stumbled over your channel. Especially when I heard you grew up in Germany and make European style bread. I too grew up in Germany and actually only moved to the US 8 years ago. I started baking my own bread because I miss German bread soooo much and after watching this video I believe I can finally try to tackle sourdough. 😁🙌🏻🙌🏻
I just KNEW there had to be a better way than wasting my good sourdough starter if I didn't have time to bake. Thanks so much for sharing this wonderful technique!!
Even with the other method though, there should be no reason to throw starter out. If it hasn't gone moldy it can still be used. I left mine for six or seven weeks in fridge and just restarted it, mixing in the hooch with the usual flour feeding and less water. Was fine.
@@jaswin023 I agree. I’ve heard of people with 100% hydration sourdough starters sitting in their fridge for a couple months without a feed and being fine. As long as it’s a mature starter, it will be generally be fine. The babysitting part comes from making a new starter. I’m brand new to sourdough and I’m in the early stages of making mine!
True, my grandmother said they simple saved a little piece of the dough for next breadmaking. They didn’t even keep a starter 🤣 I have kept my starter in the fridge I never bothered with feedings and discards. It smells and tastes wonderful. I will try this method sounds logical since the juice rises up thank you
I just made my first starter about 3 weeks ago and after my first loaf put the starter in the fridge and forgot about it for over 2 weeks. Took it out 2 days ago and it smelt weird so I was going to throw it away but thought maybe I will try adding some flour to see if it comes back (it was rather liquid). I just did that an hour ago, it seems bubbly so maybe it’s ok? Still smells strange though, sort of sweet and acidic at the same time. Perhaps I’ll leave overnight. What do you think, should I use it?
@@HeyPearly Haha Thanks very much Shirley girl ! Well I did use it but I had also already started making a new batch a few days before, so I used the whole lot of that starter in one loaf and then switched to the new starter batch after that, which I’m still using. I think I am getting more used to the smell now, I think it was just so strong it gave me a shock. The loaf I made worked out fine though :). Also the bread is so lovely I am now making it every few days to keep up with demand, so I don’t think any starter will get left so long!
Yes! My grandmother in Romania told me how her mother made bread once a week, taking that dry sourdough fist-size ball kept in the stone pantry, and took a part of it and kneaded the new bread for the week, and I didn't understand what all this feeding was about. Thanks, you're a genius!
This is such great information! I’m a single-male don’t bake so good kinda guy, who avoids everything that’s a hassle, so this is perfect for me. Thank you. 😁
Thank you so much for sharing something that has been running in your family for generations, it is beautiful, I hope your tradition is gonna continue living in many families, for many generations to come. I will definitely teach it to my kids :3
Thanks for your clear advice. I keep my starter in the fridge and take it out the night before. I feed it and let it grow overnight. I have kept my starter in the fridge for as long as 2 months without feeding it. If it looks funny on top, I just pour off any liquid and feed. My starter has been going for about a year or so. During the pandemic there was no yeast available, hence the starter.
I wished I could remember the video you made where you tossed a pinch of caraway seed into your starter! I tried this little trick of yours and I was literally amazed! My starter before hand was ok, but I thought it was on the weak side and it was not sour enough nor tangy enough for me. It was bland. I have feed it twice in the last four days and added a pinch (probably 1/4 teaspoon) with each feeding. Tonight this knocked my socks off!!! It overflowed the jar and the taste is phenomenal!! It is almost like I poured a soda in it!! I took 4 spoon fulls and ate it straight! It is only comprised of unbleached flour, sugar,water and a few caraway seeds. It is a beast now! I can’t wait to bake a loaf of bread and taste it! Thanks a million for your videos. Really outstanding!
Hi Mary mentioned you in her video and your method (Easy Sourdough: No feedings, no discards), will save my sanity, since I have NEVER done a sourdough starter. Thank you so much!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I, too, am excited about trying this method. So today is my first try at this and I’m hoping the bread still has that sour dough taste I love. My starter is about 3 yrs old and has a good sour dough taste. I didn’t discard any and probably won’t but will be baking extra until I’m down to just one pint jar in my refrigerator. I’m so glad I came across your video, thanks so much for sharing!
Yup, it all makes sense, I am new to this at 75, just took my starter out afte RF one week, put it on counter for a while and wow it expaned big time mb I love your method and will embrace the method, thank you, your a very good looking lady.......
Great Mam. This is exactly how it's been done in Iran for generations. Of course nowadays commercial bakeries use the instant yeast but even now in small villages where some people bake their own bread, this is how it's done.
Thanks! I will be trying your method. I will also say, for those with old starter, that starter pancakes are soooo good! I heat butter in a pan & fry starter in it, with a little salt on top, then fry other side. When I put butter & jelly on it, it tastes like a sourdough English muffin!
I loved that I came across your video. I have been collecting recipes for sourdough and watching other videos on making this dough and haven't had a chance to try those methods. I will definitely go with your method. When reading or watching the other methods, I too thought it was a waste of flour. Much appreciated!!
I am so glad you like my sourdough method! I have two bread videos in which I am using my sourdough starter: th-cam.com/video/s1wpHMEhc08/w-d-xo.html and th-cam.com/video/L5GgppcclBM/w-d-xo.html
You have revolutionized my sourdough journey. No feedings, no discards. Easy as ever! At high altitude I still have some issues to work out, but my bread ia lighter in texture than it had been and has a nige aour tang. Thank you for making it ao easy!!!!
What a wonderful video, I’ve made a few starters now and I find it difficult to keep attending to them, this is such a neat idea, I will definitely give it a go
Thank you so much for information on how to store my starter. I have dehydrated it, froze it, kept it in the refrigerator, or discard method on the counter. I didn't like any of these. Two things I learned here... Keep it small. No need to add equal water and flour. Keep it dry is in the frig. And!! I can use a pull from the risen bread to put in the refrigerator. I am starting this again. Thank you for your video and thanks for it still being online after 2 years.
This is the way I’m doing my beginner project of baking bread…so it’s been in my fridge & I’m about to take it out to make my 1st loaf! 🤞🤞This makes the most sense to me! I’ve done a deep dive into this from making starter & finally getting ready to bake! (Been healing from a bad virus since December) I started on January 3rd…once I actually physically bake the bread I’ll be so happy & I can’t wait!!!
Thank you so much for sharing your family’s method of keeping a Sourdough starter. So many family secrets become lost in generations, and eventually lost. I will try this today on my remaining starter. Thank you and God Bless! :)
So I've been propagating my culture exactly as you described and it works so fantastic and it has no waste and it lifted my bread perfect. I just made a few sandwich loves with it and it is absolutely wonderful to have the perfect supply of bread yeast ready now thank you so much!
Thank you for the sourdough starter education. 🙏👍 I’m making it with brown rice. It’s the 6th day now and looks quite good. Can’t wait to bake some bread.
Thank you! Sounds so easy! My first batch of starter went down the drain yesterday and I started a new batch because after day 3 something went wrong and by day 6 ( yesterday) I thought I'd better start over. It smelled delicious but it was pretty thin and it wasn't doubling or even puffing up at all anymore. I'll be doing my first feeding tonight and hoping I have better luck this time 🙏 I've learned a lot since I started the last one
Thank you! Yes I too am from German an Ukrainian decent and I know that nothing was thrown away. And this is so easy. I’m now making bread for my children and there families because good organic sourdough bread is so expensive to buy. It’s very therapeutic to make ❤️
I like your method! I typically feed my starter with flour and water after I've used it to leave in the fridge. I avoid discarding too. I like to bake every two weeks or once a month. I bake about 4 to 6 loaves at a time to avoid heating my oven that high too frequently. I think I will start storing my starter from now as you have shown, makes good sense! Thank you!
Definitely will try this method. When I go away for several months , I have tried the drying method on parchment paper. This sounds so much easier , thanks
I've just begun my sourdough journey and have made a successful bread! I am very glad I stumbled upon this video, as I've been thinking that this stuff is very fussy and there must be an easier, less consuming way! Thank you for sharing this! 😘
Yay, Shirley! That sounds awesome and it makes me so happy to hear that you have made a good bread! Thank you so much for sharing and for your sweet comment 💛 ~ Anja
Sandra Westley I collect all my discarded bits and make a loaf of bread with yeast adding 100g of discarded sourdough look at Buzzby Bakes he has a delicious discard bread.
Discards don't have to be thrown away they can be made into pancakes, or other baked goods. I would often take care of my starter in the morning, so I would make pancakes with it. I have also used it to make a second starter and put it in a freezer bag or freezer container and froze it when I was done with pancakes and such for a while.
Thank you so much for this. I stopped trying to make sourdough because there was so much time spent chained to feeding the starter and flour thrown out to keep the starter fed. I wondered if in the old days people really wasted that much flour. This method makes a lot more sense and I'm giving sourdough another go.
This is my very first attempt at starter. When reading about the process discarding and adding is just too much for me and when discarding it I’m wasting I am so happy that I found your method and I’m ready to start making my first sourdough next week . Thank you!
thanks for doing the works that makes Grandma's happy and that is disseminating happiness to easy functional wonderful approach that's effective efficient we love what you've done encourage you to continue passing the goodness to us all and we'll follow your good spirit
Great tip, thank you, Anya! I also keep my starter in fridge, I bake once a week. I feed my starter equal amount of flour & water before I refrigerate. I purposely have discards because we ❤️ love sourdough crumpets & it’s a very easy breakfast especially when you’re in a time constraint. But, great to know that the starter will survive with very little water! Thanks again.🪴
Please help I'm lost 😭do you do the seven days feeding routine and then put it dry in the refrigerator or .from day one you mix water with flour and put it in the refrigerator till you need to bake !!!
I found thar in the South African "kook en geniet" cookbook, that is how a piece of dough was kept, but made from active yeast. Probably originated from your method. Very interesting.
The best and simplest video I have seen!! Please show us how you make your dinner rolls, cinnamon raisin bread or any other specialities you have. Love your easy to understand videos!!!
I bake every 2 to 3 days (drop of bread for aunts and uncles and then drop off bread for a couple of friends) so for me it doesn't feel like too much of a hassle with the daily feeding sourdough method. Your method works great for someone who doesn't bake more than once a week.
That's exactly right: my method works best for people who don't bake that frequently. I love that you bake for so many people! Thank you for commenting ~ Anja
This is my primary method as well. How much bread can one man eat? Another thing I did at one point that works well is to feed the starter daily, and when removing the excess, spread it out on a baking sheet and then let it air dry overnight. The next day I would break the dried started into chunks, throw it in the blender and pulverize it. I would then put the powdered started into a jar which I kept in the freezer. This was a pretty large pickle jar. I did it until I filled the pickle jar and then I stopped keeping a starter for quite some time (eventually I switched to the refrigeration method). From the powdered, I can have a strong starter in a day and a half. I mix a teaspoon of starter with a couple tablespoons of flour and enough water to make a paste at night. The next morning I feed it a couple tablespoons of flour (guesstimating amounts. I don't really measure anything). That night, I feed it a couple more tablespoons of flour and then the following morning I give it a normal feeding to prime it for use and then when it's ready, make my loaf. If I have any leftover, dry it, pulverize it and add it back to the stash. Zero waste and it can store for years in the freezer.
I did enjoy watching, I have a mill but have not baked bread yet. I did bake bread years ago when my children were tiny but I used yeast back then. I'm watching all the starter videos now to get my confidence back. I liked your German background - I am in Australia but have Danish/German heritage and I see and hear your German heritage in your face and voice and it is comfortingly familiar. Thank you.
Thank you so much for watching. Due to the overwhelming number of comments I get, I can no longer answer them all. To get all your questions answered, check out my Sourdough Course where you have direct access to me supersimplesourdough.teachable.com/p/super-simple-sourdough 😊 ~ Anja
So u have starter? It does not help me make a starter. Gee thanks!
@@galebush1004 This video is about sourdough maintenance. You can learn how to make a SD starter here: th-cam.com/video/whGTP6YkRzg/w-d-xo.html Hope this helps 😊 ~ Anja
I’m curios how sour your bread is. Is it possible to make it more or less sour. I like more sour.
@@wendipoole4949 You can watch this: th-cam.com/video/NGqHjRttVXQ/w-d-xo.html 😊 ~ Anja
Thank you so much, I am in Germany from United States, I used to help my mom cook and bake since I was 10 years old, but never sourdough bread , just apple bread, banana bread etc. 8 weeks ago I started the feeding, and you know Germany is getting cold, my apartment is not warm enough, I threw away four starts and frustrated the 5th I put in the refrig, I think now its been 4-5 weeks and it had liquid on top and a little bubbles, so now I am trying your method next weekend I bake some bread without yeast, I hate to throw stuff away so this is the super video I needed for the crisis..
Our family has been caring for a starter for 7 generations and obtained it in the 1700's during the Alaskan gold rush. Sometimes we go months in between baking and never feed the starter. It can get pretty funky looking and smelling with greyish liquid on the top, but pay no attention to it. It's normal, and good. Just mix it back up next time you bake. The starter just lives in the fridge. Night before baking, just add the water and flour to the starter that your recipe calls for and let it sit on counter over night. In morning, remove 1/4 - 1/2 cup of the starter from the new batch and put it back in your jar and put in the fridge. This is the starter for whenever you get around to it again. Use the rest to bake. Dank and tangy every time. People have been making this bread (and pancakes) for thousands of years, before electricity, refrigeration and food scales. Modern man seems to like to take old, easy, time-tested methods and complicate them to no end, which ruins the simplicity and enjoyment.
That sounds great, Steve! Love the fact that you were able to keep your starter going for over 100 years! Thank you so much for sharing 😊 ~ Anja
@@OurGabledHome i am new at making sourdough starter and I would care to make a proper sourdough starter bye from 🇨🇦 #YSW
👍🏻 I totally agree
Thank you, I once forgot my dough for two days and I still made bread out of it and it tasted so great and smells so nice, but I felt guilty thinking it wasn't really safe to eat, but now I'm glad to know it doesn't harm the body ❤️
Might want to check the math on that gold rush timeline. It was late 1800s to early 1900s. That said, good on you for keeping the starter going since then.
I knew it! I couldn’t believe the past generations would be throwing out so much product. Thanks for sharing!
You are so welcome, Lori, and I am glad you enjoyed it 😊 ~ Anja
So how much water and flour and whatever you use to make it rise? I like the idea that you can just keep using it once you have it started. I just need the recipe for the starter so I can put it in the jar.
@@Lynder19 Almost NO water in the original starter. She starts hers with buttermilk and flour. There are videos. The only time she uses water is when the starter is developed.
My thoughts exactly it didn’t make sense to me. This makes sense
You talk about how to feed it ... but how d you start it from basic
This is exactly how my grandfather did his sour dough starter! He born in 1895, came to the US from Germany, and was a master baker...his starter was always in a glass jar and either in the refrigerator or the coolest place he could find in the house. My grandparents also had ferments going all the time too; pickles, sauerkraut, beets, eggs, etc.! Oh the memories!
Nice!! Thank you so much for sharing about your German grandfather - and the nice comment 💛 ~ Anja
Can you share recipes
@@Drawingb yes! Click on the "playlists" menu item on my channel and you should see sourdough recipes 😊
@@jayhell53 I once bought a Nirvana album
@@anavrin80 good for you get a life and don't worry about my comment
I have been making sourdough for over 20 years. I have gone several months without feeding and have had no problem reviving it. I keep it in the fridge and when I am ready to bake bread, I take it out and feed it until it's active and ready. This can take two full days if I have gone months without using it. I don't have any fear because it has never failed, and I also have a freeze-dried backup stored in my freezer in case something catastrophic happens. Remember, your hydration level and temperature dictate the activity of your starter, so if you want to slow it down add more flour and put it in the fridge, if you want to speed it up, use equal parts of water and flour and put it on your counter. As a general rule, I use 3/4 of a cup of water to 1 cup of flour, that way it's easy to see when the activity peaks. Happy breadmaking!
I'll take a generations-old recipe over modern methods any day. This video made me suscribe. I learned about sourdough a year ago and the only reason I didn't start to make it was because I found the waste of discarding to be mind-boggling. I thought I'd had to bake with discards every day! Plus, no one ever explains how sourdough is actually used, everyone just mentions the discards. I used to think "So... when is your actual sourdough ready and how do you use it? Is it discards ad infinitum?" I also liked that you don't measure it exactly: I had found a website that asked for "exact measurement of 25g of flour and 25 ml of water because it has to be an exact science". I don't imagine any of our ancestors using scales for this. So, thanks for this video even though probably you'll never read the 2,385th comment. God bless you!
I’m with you, it’s mind boggling to me too. All that waste of flour🤦🏻♀️. I love her simplicity in teaching her method.
I have been searching youtube wanting to bake my first Sourdough bread. And researching how to do a Starter.
Finally someone is talking about a a starter that I can do!
My Mother was German and Father was a Great Depression Baby.
He grew up with 13 siblings! Nobody Threw Away food ever! These Starter videos everyone doing do not make sense but yours does!
Thank you
Glad you liked it! You are so welcome 💛
Growing up, my mother never ever fed the starter. It stayed in the fridge for years and years. She used it twice a month to make bread and biscuits. Thank you for sharing this. I remember now.
My sentiments EXACTLY ❤️
You can also dry it and keep it in a jar until you need it. Spread parchment on a baking sheet, spread some sourdough starter on the paper, making a thin and even layer. Let it dry on the counter. When it is completely dry, crunch it up into small pieces and store in a clean jar. To rehydrate, put some of the flakes in a clean jar with equal parts flour and water, stir well and leave it lightly covered until it bubbles.
My question,do I have to feed them before use?
@@dapursemenitsaja9869, once it's rehydrated and bubbly, you treat it the same as any other starter. (It took mine a couple of feedings to get going again as I dried it rather tired.) 💖🌞🌵😷
Thanks! I think that method would be for me. I would like to make sourdough, but only once in a while. Not even weekly. I wonder if you could put it in a dehydrator.
@@johnswoodgadgets9819 , you could always try a dehydrator, but I'd worry that the heat from the dehydrator would kill the sourdough bacteria. But you could definitely spread sourdough on the dehydrator's screen and still let it air dry. The key here is to spread the sourdough out as thin as possible. 💖🌞🌵😷
Definitely on parchment, though, or it’d just seep through the screen!
Aha! So THIS is what I remember my granny doing and now I know why! I’m 80 and remember my granny keeping a lump of dough back when she made bread, but I never realised what she was doing! It’s taken some time but I now at last have the answer! I’m a Yorkshire girl who hates waste, we are known for being thrifty and this is how I found you. Thank you so much!
Hi Pam, it sounds like your granny knew what she was doing! Good for her! I am so glad you enjoyed this video and happy baking 💛 ~ Anja
Same here..No one from the Great Depression threw anything out. Ever. Much less babysat a kitchen ingredient every dang day..there's other work to be done! 😊
Thanks! I almost abandoned the sour dough scene because of the starter maintenance. Your down to earth methods are appreciated. New subscriber.
You can use the sourdough discards
My German grandmother kept a big 50 pound bag of flour in her kitchen. Nestled in the bag was her starter, right there in the flour bag on the farm in 1950’s Oklahoma. She baked daily.
that is so cool! Thank you so much for sharing 💛
Yep, my grandmother too, in ireland
Oh my gosh! That’s one method that was in The Laurel’s Kitchen Bread Book! I baked bread in the ‘80’s but didn’t try the sourdough recipes. Now regretting not having tried it. Thanks for mentioning that!
OMG, Yes that's exactly how my mother and the women of her time used to keep their starter in a big bag of flour, and they'd take a batch from the huge batch of fermented dough and keep for the next time they made bread. They used to make the flat bread on the steel dome, or in the bakery, enough for a week's supply of bread for the whole family. It was delicious.
That is very cool! I love hearing stories such as these. Our ancestors were smart people !
Thanks for sharing!
Thank you for your video. I've been baking sourdough for 10 years. Mine lives in the back of the fridge in a glass jar with a snap-down lid like yours. I take it out in the morning of the day before i want to bake. Once it warms up to room temp, I feed it white flour and water (roughly equal amounts; I never measure anything) and give it a good stir. In the evening, before I go to bed, i pour off a cup or so into a large glass bowl. I mix enough plain white flour and a bit of water to make a thick-ish consistency in the jar which I pop back into the fridge. Into the glass bowl, I add to the cup of plain starter a heaping cup of whole wheat or rye or buckwheat or whatever I want for my bread, along with a splash of honey, maple syrup or molasses and a cup or more of water, mixing it well. I cover it with plastic wrap and leave the sponge on the counter to get happy overnight. In the morning, I finish off the dough and start the first rise. i NEVER discard anything.
Sounds like you are very comfortable with your sourdough ~ Anja
Total sourdough newbie here. Could you please explain now to "finish off the dough and start the first rise." ? Thanks
I just started my first sourdough starter and 3days into it, it is doing well. Can’t wait until it is mature so I can refrigerate it, and try a loaf. To me I think it is overwhelming but I suppose once I am comfortable, I will be fine. I live by myself but love to cook for my neighbors. ❤️ any bread I make I slice and freeze.
I also freeze a container of sourdough. That gets taken out every six months, thawed, feed over the week then used. [During the week after it thawed and had first feeding, I use it for pancakes, or other items which use chemical leavenings.]
You don't have to feed a full cup of sourdough in each feeding. I find 35g/1/8Cup/2Tablespoons of sourdough enough to feed daily. I feed it, then only leave 35g on the counter in a jar. The rest is placed into the jar in the refrigerator. When the refrigerator jar is full enough, I divide off enough by weight for the future recipe. The recipe jar is taken out a day to two days before I make the recipe. The timing depends on conditions and quantities. Jars are stirred daily, with careful keeping of the measures for the recipe. I have worked out my sourdough favorite recipes ingredients to be a by weight amounts for all but the under a Tablespoon/under an ounce amounts.
I consider my sourdough to be like a pet. Feed it. Clean up after it. Sometimes play with it, (make something).
Thanks for sharing!😁
Finally, a simple yet practical, tried, and true, common sense and effective way to use sour dough! People make it soooo complicated! Thank you so much 💓!
Glad it was helpful!
I have watched so many videos, they make it difficult, and too overwhelmed 😅
You are good to take the mystery out of something wholesome and simple. This is the rural European way.
Nice! I am so glad you like my SD method! Happy baking 😊 ~ Anja
If you look at my last name it can be determined that I too am a 3rd generation descendant from the Old World.
I'm sure my German grandparents baked this way long ago but when I was born they had given in to the convenience of commercial yeast.
Glad I found your channel. Perhaps the old but successful baking methods can be preserved and passed down to our descendants.
Thank you so much for your nice comment 😊 ~ Anja
I'm from Greece and I make sourdough bread every week. I do what you said towards the end of your video. I use my sourdough the night before to make a small quantity of dough and I leave it all night to rise. In the morning, I add water, salt and flour and make my bread. I put aside a small amount and then I form my loaves. When they rise, I bake them and when the small amount I had kept becomes sour and bubley I put it in the fridge for next time. This is how my mother and my mother-in-law used to do it all their lives.
nice, thank you for sharing 💛
That's great, simple and helpful. Thanks.
That's perfect !! I am really not a lazy person but I hate endless
Baby sitting and dancing around the starter , let alone the discard.
Not happy with that at all , Thank You !!!
I ended up killing my sourdough starter as I used the discard to make delicious crumpets which I'd eat but then found it to be too much.
I may create another, knowing I can feed and use weekly or fortnightly. Thanks for the suggestion.
I’m new to sourdough bread, I’m Italian and I love to cook but I never did bread. I like the way this is done because I know I’m not going to bake bread every day, most like it once a week. But I don’t see the proportions needed. For instance for a loaf of bread let’s say of 1 or 2 pounds how much started do you need and how much water and flour do you add, considering that I would like to use whole wheat flour? And then how much of the dough I need to save to keep more starter in the refrigerator? I really appreciate anyone’s help and recommendation. Thank you.
babysitting sourdough has never been my thing. So thank you so much!!!
haha, I love that - "babysitting your sourdough" 🤣. I am glad you like my method!!
Thank you so much for this info. The ONLY reason I haven’t continued making sour dough is because of the daily maintenance. I felt SO guilty throwing out perfectly good product.
This gives me new inspiration to bake sourdough bread again. ❤️
yay! I am so happy you want to give my method a try. Happy sourdoughing!
Me too. I will try again with this method. Thank you.
@Fancythat
This gives me a wonderful idea.
Since all of my neighbors are elderly like me, I’ll bake sourdough bread more often and give it to them.
Bless you. ❤️
And the thought deterred me from even starting. I made a starter, or ‘Biga’, for pizza dough - same principle really - but didn’t want to be tied to having to make pizza, or to not be able to make pizza when I wanted, because I first had to make the Biga…and wait 😉😉
This is seriously life changing. I’ve been drowning in starter and have to do tons of baking. Thank you so much for this 🙏🏻
That makes me so happy to hear 👏 ~ Anja
can I have some?
I live in a tropical country, India. We simply dry a bit of the sour dough till it is bone dry. You can spread it over a wooden or plastic utensil kept under a fan or in an airy window. Less than a teaspoon. Then it can stay forever (weeks or months). To activate it, add it to fresh flour and wet it. When bubbles appear on top in a few hours, it's back.
That's amazing! Thank you for sharing :)
Great infomation thanks. I too live in a hot country so this is so usful to know. Would you store your dried starter in a jar.
Now this is my speed. I feel bad feeding and discarding when I rarely use my starter, but still like to have on hand. Thanks!
thank you! Yes, my method is perfect if you want to bake whenever it fits in your schedule.
Discard is such a bad name for it.
I’ve never discarded any.
I use it.
Back before refrigeration they used to tear off a lump of dough and simply bury it in their flour. It keeps that way also. I believe that is where your family started. I made sourdough from my starter that has been in the fridge without feeding for over 6 months. Turned out fine.
Its incredibly wasteful too ! Imagine all the bread that did not grow up to feed hungry people ;)
@@respectfullydisagree711 would love to know what you do with your “discard”. I, too, dislike waste. Would you mind sharing?
Yes, finally someone does it the way they did it back in the pioneer & depression days. They couldn't afford to discard daily. I know they used it more than we might use it; but they didn't bake bread everyday. They made several loaves at once. Flour wasn't as easy to get back then. I never believed that was the way you had to do it. I searched furiously to find the answer and thanks to you; I have found it. Thanks for your common sense! So many ways of doing things have changed now a days; and not for the good. Will now be going to look at your other videos. Again thank you!!!
Hi Robin, I am so glad you like my sourdough method! Thank you so much for your sweet comment 😊 ~ Anja
I mostly make my bread with a pre-ferment of a bit of “old dough” (from previous bake) and some water & flour, because I got really tired of babysitting the sourdough starter. Your method speaks to me (especially when you got to the part about grabbing a piece of your old dough!). It makes so much sense.
That sounds great, too! I like to not be beholden to my sourdough. Thank you for watching and your nice comment 💛
My mother also used to do our arabic bread using a piece of the old dough but unfortunately never paid much attention to follow her method and now am dying to learn how to make sourdough. Thanks
I've heard of this old dough method but I could never find "how much" to save that would help rise a new loaf.
That’s how my grandma made hers too.
Finally somebody who knows how to make a sourdough scout starter without throwing half of it away! My mother never threw anything away when she was making sourdough bread. She taught me this exact same thing that you were doing. But again her father was a fortune woman so she probably learned it from her mother! Thank you wonderful video
I am so glad you found this helpful 😊 ~ Anja
So glad you have shared a sustainable way to do this. My husband cries every time I get a starter going because your pouring money out with every discard! Yay I can start sour dough again!!! I am going to scour your videos for more great information of sour dough and other golden nuggets! Thanks!
Yes, no need for discards with this method! Happy sourdoughing 😊 ~ Anja
My Dad was the one who did the sourdough. He sourdough was really sour. And it was out of this world amazing. He didn't keep track of when he made it. I sure miss my Dad😅
Been doing this fridge method for about the last two years since stumbling across your video a couple years ago and it is probably the main reason I've been able to stick to sourdough for this long and not lost interest. I have tweaked it a bit to feeding it roughly 1:1 (flour &water) before adding the flour on top, just preferred the results, but I've left it for a couple months when I've either lost the baking bug, busy seasons, or vacations and rarely ever get hooch.
My grandma was from Germany and she gave me two recipes for making two different types of yeast plus a sour dough starter she hah the same starter as you, the dry kind and the other two were sweet yeast one of them was a hand full of raisins in a quare jar and water to about 1/2 in.from the top left for 2 was and two tbsp.were equal to 2 packs of bought yeast, she used it when we had company because some didn't like sour dough the other was boiled potatoes water and enough flour to equal 1/2the water stir vigorously and let set when it separates the top like the raisin water 2 tbsp and the gray bottom like cake yeast like the old days before package yeast , she always had yummy sour or sweet bread !!!
It sounds like your grandma knew a thing or two about yeast and sourdough - thank you so much for sharing and commenting 💛 ~ Anja
How interesting! If we put raisins in water and boil potatoes and add flour, how could I make it a starter for bread? I would love to cultivate these other forms of yeast as well to make bread and compare this method to sourdough bread. Will you explain more please? Thx.
Thank you so much, my great Aunt who has passed several years ago was the best cook I knew would make sourdough. I was too dumb to pay attention to her 😔I missed out on so much knowledge! You are wonderful! She went back to Germany to trace our heritage and got many of my great grandmothers cookbooks I would have loved to see what was in her treasures. Thank you for your wonderful videos, I love them all.
Aww … thank you! I am so glad you’re connecting to your German roots - and enjoying my videos 😊 ~ Anja
Finally a lady with some solution. Thank you for saving I and many others, who have NO clue about measurements and fancy scales etc. Vielen Dank!
Yay! I am so glad you enjoyed this! Gerne geschehen 💛 ~ Anja
I love how you explain the timing needed to make bread. So many people doing these starter recipes don't explain that. I just started using your method and I'm so excited about it because I have German descent. My mother was German but she never made bread. Now I feel like I have a family recipe even though I never learned it from my Oma. God bless you!
Aww ... I am so glad you're enjoying my sourdough method! I also have a lot more authentic German recipes on my channel. Thank you so much for your sweet comment 😊 ~ Anja
I have been scouring the internet for a better way to maintain sourdough starter and it's all the same! You're the first person I've seen that uses a no nonsense, non wasteful method. Thank you so much for sharing!!
Hi Keaten, that makes me so, so happy to hear! Sourdough can be so simple and no-fuzz. Thank you so much for commenting 😊 ~ Anja
Thank you for the information regarding discard, I so dislike waste, especially now during these times of zero waste. Waste not want not! This is how I was raised.
Good heavens, utube has changed the comment section, it's more difficult and I lose my comment...just will Thank You so much. You're a big help. God Bless and watch over you, your family and all you do.
Thanks Anja for your "Easy Sourdough: No feedings, no discards" video. Your method is the most sensible one that I find. No waste! I love your videos! You are an angel in disguise.
Aww ... thank you so much 💛 ~ Anja
I do something similar, I keep mine in the refrigerator and about every 1 or 2 weeks I add some flour and water , let it get active, then return it. When I make bread I pour all of it in the mixing bowl, weigh it and assuming half is water and half is flour, I deduct that amount from the total flour and water amounts in the bread recipe. I never have to discard. Just put a little flour and water into the starter jar and the residue is enough to start up a new batch of starter.
very nice, thank you for sharing :-)
Can you please explain again about the part when you pour all of the starter into the mixing bowl? I didn't understand about the ratio. My first in life starter is about to get ready in 3 days and there is a lot of (as I put too much water and flour). So I don't know what to do with it.
@@fainafaina1940 recipes call for a certain amount of active starter and a certain amount of flour and water. with your first loaf you should just do it that way. You don't have to discardall that
extra starter if you add an egg, salt, sugar, oil, baking soda and baking powder. Pancake batter consistency. Make a bunch of pancakes or waffles and freeze them.
@@johnhanes5021 I see! Thanks for clarifying. I'm gonna do this way.
Thank you so much for this tip, Anya, I have started that I’ve been using for a couple of years, but when I moved it across the country, I just couldn’t get it going. So last night, I poured off a lot of it, added flour as you suggested, stirred it into a lumpy mess, then added some dry flour on top. This morning, I added water, and baked bread using my usual recipe. Everything came out perfectly! I am so happy-no more wasting flour feeding it endlessly until I’m ready to bake. Now I’m always ready. Namaste.
Hi Susan, that makes me so happy to hear! Sourdough is actually quite flexible. Thank you so much for commenting and sharing 💛 ~ Anja
I have seen where people have used the 'discard' sourdough starter to make crackers. I wonder if that is how crackers got started. I will have to research that 😁
This video gave me hope of baking my first sourdough bread. The thought of having to feed the starter everyday threw me off but this video solved that problem for me!
Nice! I am so glad to hear that! Happy sourdoughing 😊~ Anja
This is perfect! I’m going away for 5 weeks and I wasn’t sure what to do with my starter. I’ll be using your method. Thank you!!!
I just wanted to say, “Thank you so much for simplifying the making of sourdough” !
You are so welcome 😊 ~ Anja
Best sourdough starter advice
Aww ... thank you 💛
At last someone who knows how to keep a starter. I do it slightly differently. I keep back 50g (a golf ball) and feed it 50g water and 50g flour and put it in the fridge. It will keep 4 or five days. If I want to keep it there longer I feed it 100g of water and the same flour. If I'm going away it goes in the freezer. I like to measure the flour and water as I like accuracy with my bread formulae.
The down size of the method we are using is that the yeast will keep working in the fridge, albeit slowly, but the Lactobacillus does not. This suites me as I don't like a very sour sourdough. To get the lactobacillus more active I give it 24 hours on the worktop with a feed. Just to do a bake it gets a feed and six hours at about 24 degrees C.
I would add for those who have never tried the fridge method... it only takes some six hours with a feed in a warm room to get it super active again and as Anja says... No discards and no fuss.
Thanks for a great video Anja :)
Yes to all of it! Thank you so much for sharing your detailed method and for your nice comment 😊 ~ Anja
After I failed making sourdough starter with discards so many times. TH-cam finally push your video to my feed! Wow! This is exact what I need. I didn’t have buttermilk at hand. So I used my home made kefir for it. Amazing result! Thank you so so much
Glad I could help!
Now my sourdough starter is beautiful. I use it a few times a month. When I don’t need it, I make the rest of starter very thick and then put it to fridge until next time I need it.
I love the comments on this. From Germany, Ireland, wherever. The stories are about the same. You'd think it would be very different. We do things more alike than we realize. ☺️🙋💖
Yes, and what a nice observation 😊 ~ Anja
I am beyond words, just what I was looking for, I've been making bread for 8 - 10 yrs now and really want Sourdough bread in my world without feeding the beast, I just got the new kitchen Aid 500 + pro stand mixer, and the flour will be flying!!! (Oh Beautiful Eyes) Thank You for your vid, and of course i smashed the Thumb Up and Subscribed.
Oh, great John! It makes me so happy to hear that you find my sourdough method helpful. Thank you so much for your nice comment 😊 ~ Anja
This is such good news! I also grew up on sourdough bread in Germany, though from the bakery. I live in Sweden atm and there are no bakeries left where I live, only supermarket bread. And then the pandemic hit... so I started making my own sourdough and have ever since struggled with avoiding discard! At one point I killed off my sourdough by underfeeding and turning it into vinegar! I'm in a pretty good rhythm right now with baking small breads frequently and feeding the starter directly out of the fridge and just the amount I need for the next bake and a tiny rest for the next feeding. If I wanted a super open crumb, this might not be ideal, but I actually like my toppings to not fall through the holes. My breads are between airy and compact and that's the way I like it.
But I will definitely start using your method right now! Thank you so much for sharing your family secret with us!
Thank you so much for your comment! I am so glad my method is working for you! Happy sourdoughing 💛
I agree, I don't want really big holes in my bread either. So, to you skip the autolyse part?
@@suew4609what's the autolyse part in sourdough baking ?
Anna, I am so happy that I’ve discovered you. I will definitely do your starter technique. While we were in quarantine I tried several times to do the starter that is fed and discarded and it was such a pain. Again I love how calm and collected and logical you are. I will follow you on your videos.
My sourdough starter is now 5 days old and doing so well. So excited to be doing a bread with it soon. I even started one for my daughter and its already doubled.
Nice! Happy baking!
The best strategy I have seen. I bake a loaf a week. This is perfect!!! Thanks.
Hello from San Antonio, tx. Taught my granddaughter this summer she wanted to learn and came out for the third time. Thank you for amazing video
Wonderful, that makes me so happy to hear 😊 ~ Anja
🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻 as I've been watching what feels like a million videos on sourdough starters, which were pretty overwhelming, I'm happy that I stumbled over your channel. Especially when I heard you grew up in Germany and make European style bread. I too grew up in Germany and actually only moved to the US 8 years ago. I started baking my own bread because I miss German bread soooo much and after watching this video I believe I can finally try to tackle sourdough. 😁🙌🏻🙌🏻
Yay!!! Nice! I love my Vollkornbrot, too! Happy baking 💛~ Anja
@@OurGabledHome Dankeschoen 😁 Ich freu mich schon drauf Rezepte nach zu machen.
@@jennywells416 Super! Viel Spaß!
I just KNEW there had to be a better way than wasting my good sourdough starter if I didn't have time to bake. Thanks so much for sharing this wonderful technique!!
Awesome! I am so glad you like my SD method 💛 ~ Anja
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Even with the other method though, there should be no reason to throw starter out. If it hasn't gone moldy it can still be used. I left mine for six or seven weeks in fridge and just restarted it, mixing in the hooch with the usual flour feeding and less water. Was fine.
@@jaswin023 I agree. I’ve heard of people with 100% hydration sourdough starters sitting in their fridge for a couple months without a feed and being fine. As long as it’s a mature starter, it will be generally be fine. The babysitting part comes from making a new starter. I’m brand new to sourdough and I’m in the early stages of making mine!
@@SuperUsername147Wish I knew this before I tossed out my very old starter. I'm starting anew and I think I'll go with the no fuss method now 😁
True, my grandmother said they simple saved a little piece of the dough for next breadmaking. They didn’t even keep a starter 🤣 I have kept my starter in the fridge I never bothered with feedings and discards. It smells and tastes wonderful. I will try this method sounds logical since the juice rises up thank you
Yes, that's so simple! Thank you for sharing your grandmother's wisdom 😊
I just made my first starter about 3 weeks ago and after my first loaf put the starter in the fridge and forgot about it for over 2 weeks. Took it out 2 days ago and it smelt weird so I was going to throw it away but thought maybe I will try adding some flour to see if it comes back (it was rather liquid). I just did that an hour ago, it seems bubbly so maybe it’s ok? Still smells strange though, sort of sweet and acidic at the same time. Perhaps I’ll leave overnight. What do you think, should I use it?
@@leyo-lyth That is EXACTLY how it should smell! How did it work out?
@@HeyPearly Haha Thanks very much Shirley girl ! Well I did use it but I had also already started making a new batch a few days before, so I used the whole lot of that starter in one loaf and then switched to the new starter batch after that, which I’m still using. I think I am getting more used to the smell now, I think it was just so strong it gave me a shock. The loaf I made worked out fine though :). Also the bread is so lovely I am now making it every few days to keep up with demand, so I don’t think any starter will get left so long!
Yes! My grandmother in Romania told me how her mother made bread once a week, taking that dry sourdough fist-size ball kept in the stone pantry, and took a part of it and kneaded the new bread for the week, and I didn't understand what all this feeding was about. Thanks, you're a genius!
That's great! Thank you so much for sharing and your nice comment 😊 ~ Anja
I am new at this and it has been so frustrating to me. Thank you for this video. It makes perfect scientific sense!
This is such great information! I’m a single-male don’t bake so good kinda guy, who avoids everything that’s a hassle, so this is perfect for me. Thank you. 😁
yay! I am so glad you like my easy sourdough method. Thank you for commenting 😊 ~ Anja
Thank you so much for sharing something that has been running in your family for generations, it is beautiful, I hope your tradition is gonna continue living in many families, for many generations to come. I will definitely teach it to my kids :3
Aww ... I am so glad you enjoyed my SD method! Thank you for your sweet comment 💛 ~ Anja
Thanks for your clear advice. I keep my starter in the fridge and take it out the night before. I feed it and let it grow overnight. I have kept my starter in the fridge for as long as 2 months without feeding it. If it looks funny on top, I just pour off any liquid and feed. My starter has been going for about a year or so. During the pandemic there was no yeast available, hence the starter.
Thank you Thank you! I had given up on sourdough because it just seems so wasteful. This changes everything!!!
Yay! It makes me so happy to hear that you like this method. Happy sourdoughing!
I did the same thing.
Omg same!! So glad to have found this!
I wished I could remember the video you made where you tossed a pinch of caraway seed into your starter! I tried this little trick of yours and I was literally amazed! My starter before hand was ok, but I thought it was on the weak side and it was not sour enough nor tangy enough for me. It was bland. I have feed it twice in the last four days and added a pinch (probably 1/4 teaspoon) with each feeding. Tonight this knocked my socks off!!! It overflowed the jar and the taste is phenomenal!! It is almost like I poured a soda in it!! I took 4 spoon fulls and ate it straight! It is only comprised of unbleached flour, sugar,water and a few caraway seeds. It is a beast now! I can’t wait to bake a loaf of bread and taste it! Thanks a million for your videos. Really outstanding!
It was probably this video: th-cam.com/video/whGTP6YkRzg/w-d-xo.html Thank you so much for sharing your success 😊 ~ Anja
Hi Mary mentioned you in her video and your method (Easy Sourdough: No feedings, no discards), will save my sanity, since I have NEVER done a sourdough starter. Thank you so much!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Yay, I am so happy you like my SD method 💛😊💛 ~ Anja
This is the method I've used for years. I learned it from my Grandmother who learned it from her grandmother etc.
I guess it's a German thing.
gotta love those German grandmothers 💛! Thank you for commenting and sharing ~ Anja
I, too, am excited about trying this method. So today is my first try at this and I’m hoping the bread still has that sour dough taste I love. My starter is about 3 yrs old and has a good sour dough taste. I didn’t discard any and probably won’t but will be baking extra until I’m down to just one pint jar in my refrigerator. I’m so glad I came across your video, thanks so much for sharing!
Yup, it all makes sense, I am new to this at 75, just took my starter out afte RF one week, put it on counter for a while and wow it expaned big time mb I love your method and will embrace the method, thank you, your a very good looking lady.......
thank you for your nice comment! Happy sourdoughing 😊
Great Mam. This is exactly how it's been done in Iran for generations. Of course nowadays commercial bakeries use the instant yeast but even now in small villages where some people bake their own bread, this is how it's done.
Wow! That is so cool to hear! Thank you so much for sharing 😊 ~ Anja
Thank You, finally an easy method. I have been searching for an easier method. All that feeding is for the birds! New subscriber here.
That’s great to hear! Happy to have you on board! 😊
Thanks! I will be trying your method. I will also say, for those with old starter, that starter pancakes are soooo good! I heat butter in a pan & fry starter in it, with a little salt on top, then fry other side. When I put butter & jelly on it, it tastes like a sourdough English muffin!
Nice! And thank you for sharing that recipe; sounds delicious 😋 ~ Anja
I loved that I came across your video. I have been collecting recipes for sourdough and watching other videos on making this dough and haven't had a chance to try those methods. I will definitely go with your method. When reading or watching the other methods, I too thought it was a waste of flour. Much appreciated!!
Yay! I am so glad you like my method! Have fun with your sourdough 💛
I would love to see your loaf of bread using this method. Thanks for posting this alternative as it sounds lots more doable for me anyway.
I am so glad you like my sourdough method! I have two bread videos in which I am using my sourdough starter: th-cam.com/video/s1wpHMEhc08/w-d-xo.html and th-cam.com/video/L5GgppcclBM/w-d-xo.html
You have revolutionized my sourdough journey. No feedings, no discards. Easy as ever! At high altitude I still have some issues to work out, but my bread ia lighter in texture than it had been and has a nige aour tang. Thank you for making it ao easy!!!!
It makes me so happy to hear this! Thank you for your kind words! ~ Anja
Thank you for this! I just started my starter and I was curious why everyone kept saying throw half away! I knew there had to be a better way!
Great! I am so glad you're enjoying my SD method! Thank you so much for your nice comment 💛 ~ Anja
Omg this is so much better. I can’t wait to try your method. I hate discarding and wasting food. Glad I found your channel.
Thank you so much, Maria! Glad you like my sourdough method 😊 ~ Anja
What a wonderful video, I’ve made a few starters now and I find it difficult to keep attending to them, this is such a neat idea, I will definitely give it a go
Great! Happy sourdoughing 💛
Thank you so much for information on how to store my starter. I have dehydrated it, froze it, kept it in the refrigerator, or discard method on the counter. I didn't like any of these. Two things I learned here... Keep it small. No need to add equal water and flour. Keep it dry is in the frig. And!! I can use a pull from the risen bread to put in the refrigerator. I am starting this again. Thank you for your video and thanks for it still being online after 2 years.
I am so happy to hear you found this helpful and thank you so much for your donation 🙏💛 ~ Anja
This is the way I’m doing my beginner project of baking bread…so it’s been in my fridge & I’m about to take it out to make my 1st loaf! 🤞🤞This makes the most sense to me! I’ve done a deep dive into this from making starter & finally getting ready to bake! (Been healing from a bad virus since December) I started on January 3rd…once I actually physically bake the bread I’ll be so happy & I can’t wait!!!
Exciting! Thank you for sharing!
Yes, yes, yes, perfect, perfect, perfect! Worked like a charm. Thank you I can deal with this method very easily. Thrilled!
Awesome! Glad you like my SD method 😊 ~ Anja
Thank you so much for sharing your family’s method of keeping a Sourdough starter. So many family secrets become lost in generations, and eventually lost. I will try this today on my remaining starter. Thank you and God Bless! :)
Thank you so much! Initially, I have just been wanting to share but now I realize that I am saving those recipes for future generations 💛 ~ Anja
So I've been propagating my culture exactly as you described and it works so fantastic and it has no waste and it lifted my bread perfect. I just made a few sandwich loves with it and it is absolutely wonderful to have the perfect supply of bread yeast ready now thank you so much!
That sounds amazing and I am glad you're sourdoughing successfully! Thank you so much for your nice comment ~ Anja
could you share the recipe?
Thank you for the sourdough starter education. 🙏👍
I’m making it with brown rice. It’s the 6th day now and looks quite good. Can’t wait to bake some bread.
I’m so glad this video was helpful! Happy baking! 😊 ~ Anja
Thank you! Sounds so easy! My first batch of starter went down the drain yesterday and I started a new batch because after day 3 something went wrong and by day 6 ( yesterday) I thought I'd better start over. It smelled delicious but it was pretty thin and it wasn't doubling or even puffing up at all anymore.
I'll be doing my first feeding tonight and hoping I have better luck this time 🙏 I've learned a lot since I started the last one
Thank you! Yes I too am from German an Ukrainian decent and I know that nothing was thrown away. And this is so easy. I’m now making bread for my children and there families because good organic sourdough bread is so expensive to buy. It’s very therapeutic to make ❤️
Wonderful!
So damned happy I clicked this! Cheers from Canada!
Yay! That makes me so happy to hear! Happy sourdoughing 💛 ~ Anja
I like your method! I typically feed my starter with flour and water after I've used it to leave in the fridge. I avoid discarding too. I like to bake every two weeks or once a month. I bake about 4 to 6 loaves at a time to avoid heating my oven that high too frequently. I think I will start storing my starter from now as you have shown, makes good sense! Thank you!
Nice! Thank you for commenting and sharing! Happy sourdoughing 💛 ~ Anja
Definitely will try this method. When I go away for several months , I have tried the drying method on parchment paper. This sounds so much easier , thanks
I see there is a hack for everything in this world ,,, will try this ❤
Vielen Dank für die tolle Erklärung einen Sauerteig zu haben ohne Abfall und großen Aufwand.
Das freut mich aber, daß Dir meine Sauerteig-Methode gefällt!! LG von Anja
I've just begun my sourdough journey and have made a successful bread! I am very glad I stumbled upon this video, as I've been thinking that this stuff is very fussy and there must be an easier, less consuming way! Thank you for sharing this! 😘
Yay, Shirley! That sounds awesome and it makes me so happy to hear that you have made a good bread! Thank you so much for sharing and for your sweet comment 💛 ~ Anja
This is fantastic..the feedings and starter babysitting intimidate me a lot and I lose my mind and heart over the discards!!
yeah! I am so glad you like this method! Have fun with your sourdough!
Sandra Westley I collect all my discarded bits and make a loaf of bread with yeast adding 100g of discarded sourdough look at Buzzby Bakes he has a delicious discard bread.
@@robwestley7370 sounds great!
I use discard along with organic yeast in my bread maker and it works out fine. 🙂
Discards don't have to be thrown away they can be made into pancakes, or other baked goods. I would often take care of my starter in the morning, so I would make pancakes with it. I have also used it to make a second starter and put it in a freezer bag or freezer container and froze it when I was done with pancakes and such for a while.
Thank you so much for this. I stopped trying to make sourdough because there was so much time spent chained to feeding the starter and flour thrown out to keep the starter fed. I wondered if in the old days people really wasted that much flour. This method makes a lot more sense and I'm giving sourdough another go.
Yay! I am so glad you enjoyed this method! Happy sourdoughing 😊 ~ Anja
This is my very first attempt at starter. When reading about the process discarding and adding is just too much for me and when discarding it I’m wasting I am so happy that I found your method and I’m ready to start making my first sourdough next week . Thank you!
thanks for doing the works that makes Grandma's happy and that is disseminating happiness to easy functional wonderful approach that's effective efficient we love what you've done encourage you to continue passing the goodness to us all and we'll follow your good spirit
Yay! I am so glad you like my method which I am more than happy to share 😊 ~ Anja
Great tip, thank you, Anya! I also keep my starter in fridge, I bake once a week. I feed my starter equal amount of flour & water before I refrigerate. I purposely have discards because we ❤️ love sourdough crumpets & it’s a very easy breakfast especially when you’re in a time constraint.
But, great to know that the starter will survive with very little water! Thanks again.🪴
Nice! It sounds like you have figured out a good SD method! Thank you so much for sharing and for commenting 💛 ~ Anja
your sd crumpets sound yummy - would you share your recipe? would love to be able to use my discard...! thank you!
Runningmyrace just fry the sour dough discard in a pan et voilà le crumpet
I started another starter today with homemade Kefir and fennugreek seeds. I will let you know. Thanks
Best method so far. Tried it many times, the starter is strong and amazing.
Thank you for sharing with us your family way.
Yay! I am so happy to hear that you like my method! Happy sourdoughing 💛 ~ Anja
@@OurGabledHome past your method and channel to my daughter, she's happy too 😊🌷
@@morokiya55 Awesome! Love that you and your daughter are loving it 💛 ~ Anja
Please help I'm lost 😭do you do the seven days feeding routine and then put it dry in the refrigerator or .from day one you mix water with flour and put it in the refrigerator till you need to bake !!!
I love this! This is perfect for the working person who only has time on weekends. Thank you!
Love that you love it! Thank you 😊
I found thar in the South African "kook en geniet" cookbook, that is how a piece of dough was kept, but made from active yeast. Probably originated from your method. Very interesting.
That really sounds interesting!
I subscribed quicker than ever b4-you had me at your words"that would be too simple"with a laugh&a smile
Aww ... Thank you so much for your sweet comment and for subscribing 💛 ~ Anja
The best and simplest video I have seen!! Please show us how you make your dinner rolls, cinnamon raisin bread or any other specialities you have. Love your easy to understand videos!!!
I am so glad you like this method. Have you checked out my sourdough playlist? Lots of recipes there but I will for sure upload more 😊 ~ Anja
I bake every 2 to 3 days (drop of bread for aunts and uncles and then drop off bread for a couple of friends) so for me it doesn't feel like too much of a hassle with the daily feeding sourdough method. Your method works great for someone who doesn't bake more than once a week.
That's exactly right: my method works best for people who don't bake that frequently. I love that you bake for so many people! Thank you for commenting ~ Anja
This is my primary method as well. How much bread can one man eat?
Another thing I did at one point that works well is to feed the starter daily, and when removing the excess, spread it out on a baking sheet and then let it air dry overnight. The next day I would break the dried started into chunks, throw it in the blender and pulverize it. I would then put the powdered started into a jar which I kept in the freezer. This was a pretty large pickle jar. I did it until I filled the pickle jar and then I stopped keeping a starter for quite some time (eventually I switched to the refrigeration method).
From the powdered, I can have a strong starter in a day and a half. I mix a teaspoon of starter with a couple tablespoons of flour and enough water to make a paste at night. The next morning I feed it a couple tablespoons of flour (guesstimating amounts. I don't really measure anything). That night, I feed it a couple more tablespoons of flour and then the following morning I give it a normal feeding to prime it for use and then when it's ready, make my loaf. If I have any leftover, dry it, pulverize it and add it back to the stash.
Zero waste and it can store for years in the freezer.
That's a great method! Thank you so much for sharing 😊 ~ Anja
So basically waking it up. Thank you so much this is what I will do absolutely
I did enjoy watching, I have a mill but have not baked bread yet. I did bake bread years ago when my children were tiny but I used yeast back then. I'm watching all the starter videos now to get my confidence back. I liked your German background - I am in Australia but have Danish/German heritage and I see and hear your German heritage in your face and voice and it is comfortingly familiar. Thank you.
That is awesome! Thank you for sharing :)