HOW TO make a Sourdough Starter in Winter - PART 1

In short, sourdough bread is made using natural yeast - and that is precisely what your starter is... a fermented form of dough which is filled with wild yeast and the GOOD bacteria called lactobacilli. This is what sets sourdough aside from more conventional breads which make use of commercial yeast.

Learning the in's and out's of making a starter has been such a fantastic adventure so far - with plenty trial, error and experimentation. Much like with the loaves of bread themselves, each sourdough starter is completely unique and will render different results.

There are literally ENDLESS articles, recipes and videos online with "how to's" and I have tried several of them. One thing I have learnt most so far... is that this is definitely a very personal journey and I think each person should do what works best for them as an individual (much like with everything else in life). I have done a "bit of this" and a "little of that" - tried things, tested others and whilst I continue to learn... I have now found a method and process which works perfectly for me and suits my routine.

One of the things I struggled with most initially was that I decided to start this adventure at the beginning of one of our coldest Winters evaaaar, and much like my fur child - sourdough starters do not like the cold. This led me to explore workarounds which have proven very successful - one of those little secrets lying in one tiny little ingredient... honey!

This little wonder ingredient has proven a superbly successful workaround for creating a starter in the colder months and that is because the enzymes which are within honey not only improve the break down process from starch to sugar, but they also increase the growth rate of microbes which ultimately fast tracks the fermentation process. Adding honey to your starter has a handful of other benefits too, like improved flavour and the addition of antioxidants.

Starting the Starter