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“What in the heck is that on the counter?” is usually a question I hear weekly from my husband. This time it was in reference to the jars of goopy stuff in mason jars with paper towels fastened on the top. AKA my sourdough starters. Sourdough bread has been my favorite since I was a little girl. Only until my recent homesteading obsession did I learn that you can actually make your own starter at home, and very easily! Of course I had to do it. While I am still working on mastering the art of homemade bread I did discover a yummy pancake recipe using the starter. This post will share with you just how easy it is to make your own sourdough starter and also include a pancake recipe your family will love!

What you need:

Glass Mason Jar
Unbleached Flour

Unsweetened Pineapple Juice (or non-chlorinated water)

Now while I said the process was easy, it does take time. It can take up to a week for the starter to come alive so don’t get discouraged. Basically all you have to do is put 1/4 cup of flour in a jar and 1/4 cup of  liquid. Pineapple juice works well because the acids and the sugars help to feed and initiate the yeast to come alive. Leave your starter out at room temperature and feed it once a day. I set an alarm because otherwise I will most likely forget since the sourdough can’t remind me like my real babies or fur baby do when they are hungry!  All you need do is add the flour and liquid and stir up until there is no more dry flour and cover. You may begin to see bubbles in the mixture after 3 days, but my first time I didn’t till about day 5. It takes about a week for the starter to get going. The warmer the temperature, the faster it comes alive. The mixture will rise after each feeding so depending on how much starter you have on hand, you may need to transfer to a bigger container.  The best thing to do is to get the starter up and running with pineapple juice and you can always switch to water later on. That is what I usually do. After about a week you will begin to smell the sourdough and the mixture will be bubbly and beautiful! (well maybe goopy looking, but I think it’s a beautiful sight!) If the starter doesn’t look very active you can also add a bit of unfiltered apple cider vinegar to help regulate the PH levels. I actually add a bit of the ACV to the mixture every couple of days and have had great success. If you don’t feel like feeding your starter every day you can refrigerate it and I’ve read it can last up to 30 days without needing to be fed. So far I’ve made a whole wheat flour starter and a rye starter and had good luck with both.

So now that you have this jar full of goopy goodness, what do you do with it? Well, I tried to make a loaf of bread, that turned out to be a big bust. I was so distraught. How am I supposed to be a homesteading goddess when I can’t even make a loaf of bread! Then I heard from others that it’s actually harder than most people think. So I will have to try again. I did stumble upon a great Sourdough Starter Pancake Recipe from What’s Cooking America. It was delicious and the kids loved it!

2 cups of starter (room temperature)
2 tsp of sugar
1 egg
4 Tbs oil
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1Tbs warm water

Mix together the first 5 ingredients. Warm up the pan or pancake griddle and right before you are about to cook you mix the warm water and baking soda and then add to the pancakes and it will begin to bubble and fluff up. These were so light and yummy. My daughter kept screaming “THESE ARE THE BEST PANCAKES I EVER HAD IN MY LIFE!” and my son kept asking for more. I have also made them adding bananas and another time with leftover fruit pulp from juicing. The results were equally as amazing. I can’t wait to experiment with other Sourdough Starter recipes. I promise, if they turn out great, I will post them!

We would love to hear your stories if you have experienced making your own sourdough starter, and of course any recipes you have!