AMAZING SOURDOUGH BREAD with UNFED STARTER (always works)

This is how you can bake amazing bread with unfed and neglected sourdough starter.

The older your starter the lower the inoculation rate should be. So for a starter that hasn't been fed in a week try to use around 1% based on the flour. If the starter is way too old, chances are it has sporulated and needs a couple of additional feedings to become alive.

0:00 Intro
0:27 Considerations
2:05 Balance
4:47 Flour choice
6:30 Making the dough
9:18 Controlling fermentation

#sourdough #bread

[simplybeautifulsourdough]

I've been using long-unfed starter to make my sourdough for several years now. Once, it was 3 weeks old! But, it was kept in the refrigerator. Your tip about using less when it's older has been really useful for me. Sourdough is not the delicate, finicky thing many people make it out to be.

[yoongiwifeinthenextlife]

I had suggested putting salt into starter in a FB group and people ripped me a new one. They thought it was ridiculous. But I had the same idea you did. It’s trained by having salt in the starter.

[dbpike]

Great timing. I have not been able to make bread for about a month. My starker has been “chillin” in my fridge unfed all this time.

I had been using a recipe using unfed starter for my last few batches with great success. However today, with the now obviously acidic starter combined with 800g water, the effect of the bacteria was definitely noticiable. Fortunately, I found some high protein flour that I think will save this batch.

In using this unfed sour recipe, I have actually been keeping the starter flour to water proportions at the same as those of the main dough. I never thought to add the salt also. So thanks for that.

You know, this had kindled a memory from my childhood and, I guess, my first exposure to sourdough. There was a small cartoon booklet produced by the flour company. It featured a little blob of dough with eyes that you kept in your fridge like a pet and kept feeding it until you used it to make bread. When you did, you just picked off a piece of dough, salt and all, and just put it back into the fridge. I think I am going to give this a try the next time!

[MichaelRei]

While It is possible to make dough with a neglected starter we can all agree an active well maintained starter is best. Of course not everyone has time in their schedules for that so I do appreciate your video!

[gabrielglouw]

Your videos have been amazingly informative and helpful to me. Thank you. I’ve converting my starter to a stiff starter and your aliquot jar method has been game changing for me as well.

[SuperDavidEF]

RE: Salt in the starter, there is already a method called "old dough" which is often used as a kind of preferment for breads made with commercial yeast. It is literally a piece of the bread dough held back for the next bake, so it is longer fermented. As such, it has all of the ingredients of a complete dough, including the salt. I've made "old dough" from sourdough before, and for a while I even kept it in my refrigerator as my only starter. But I converted it back to a "regular" sourdough starter with just water and flour. It seems to be fine either way.

[DianeH]

I'm really enjoying all your sourdough and bread videos! implementing your cues about timing, coil folds and especially looking for the correct signs the bread is proofed and ready to bake (I was over-proofing!) has totally upped my bread game, which I already thought was pretty good! but there's always room for improvement. I'm experimenting more with sourdough and rye bread as well, and I've seen some huge improvements in alveoli and oven spring. thank you so much!

[mattymattffs]

I had mine in the fridge for over six months and made a loaf with it no problems. Took longer to ferment and that's it

[wolmannn]

In France (and probably elsewhere), the baker just takes a portion of the unbaked dough before shaping and keeps it as the starter for tomorrow, so technically, there is always salt in a baker's starter. Is this clear ? ^^

[Taai]

Your videos are so incredibly informative-Thankyou!!!

[mrsbryant]

Made my dough last evening 21:00Uhr German time. Now it’s 11am and it still has not increased to 50% with Dinkel Mehl 1050 which has 12% protein. It was a stiff starter in the fridge for 3days with no feeding. I made the mistake to use 80g of starter for about 500g of flour. I think that’s the problem with the dough. If I poke the dough it doesn’t come back. Maybe I’ve fermented for too long or the acidity was to strong for the amount of flour 😢.

[manuelgarrido]

Thank you. You know I came to conclusions (using my witness small recipient for knowing the state of fermentation and to keep just this little qty for next sourdough starter), but you went even farther and explaining this one low fermentation and more in precisions and give impressive informations.

[rtcommodore]

I love your videos. I learn so much from them. But you terrified me at 10:05 and now I'm afraid to leave my apartment. Thankfully, I have plenty of flour, water, and salt at home so I don't need to leave.

[stellaball]

Hi Henrick, i have recently discovered your channel and have found it so so useful. Thank you!
I have one question . Is there any reason why you can't add the salt to the autolyse? My logic is that the salt is better dispersed in the mix and not touching the starter in such a big way as when you inoculate with the starter. I would love to hear your thoughts.
Stella from London

[barrychambers]

Thank you Hendrik! Really quite interesting! Is there going to be a part 2?

[ws.hicks]

I’m one of those starter neglector and, with a very sporadic life schedule and my come-and-go whim to bake, I was having a lot of issue figuring out how to bake with my ever-slumber starter without having to awake it and/or making a levain every time (it went unfed in my fridge for months and months on end at time). Recently, I was almost doing what you did by chance. I was mixing the scrape of starter I kept with the flour part of the dough and weigh out the portion I need, keeping the leftover scrape as starter; unfortunately, I used all purpose flour and waited for a 100% increase so it was over fermented. With your pointers, I think I know what to do next time.

[lafayettesmyre]

Lieiber Bread Pit feeder, I have made three loaves since finding this video. I tried another of your videos a few years ago, but it didn’t work well for me. However, this method of making sourdough bread is a new world. Now, I’m wondering if other types of bread can be made using unfed starter. Things like ciabatta, baguette, brioche, and bagels among others. Vielen Dank

[Glatzel]

I just asked chatGPT for some funny sourdough related names.
Not sure if I‘m gonna go with Yeastin Timberlake or Doughlly Parton. 😂

[Simple_and_natural]

What is the difference in the process when making bread with einkorn, spelta or emmer flours. I just both them.

[Vhoxzz]

What I like doing with unfed starter is make a preferment. A poolish (100% hydration), used for traditional baguettes. If it hasn't been fed for ages a biga (50% hydration), used for traditional ciabatta.. Leave that for 12-16 hours then add it to my dough and proceed as normal.