My Top 5 Sourdough Cookie Recipes by Make It Dough (2024)

FAQs

What is the secret to good sourdough bread? ›

Bread flour (or baker's flour) is a high protein, white flour that is milled specifically for baking bread and sourdough. What is this? You'll get the best results for your sourdough bread from using bread flour. The most popular bread flour in the US is King Arthur Bread Flour.

Compared to whole wheat flour, rye flour is said to be the most nutrient- and amylase-dense option for a sourdough starter. Overall, it has a lower gluten protein content than wheat flour, which means it produces slack, sticky, and dense doughs.

If you have too much starter compared to the additional flour and water you're adding, your hungry starter consumes all the nutrients and then it's not as bubbly.

Baking soda or bicarbonate of soda can be used in sourdough bread to create a less sour loaf. Added after bulk fermentation, but before shaping, it can help to create a lighter, more fluffy loaf of sourdough.

Place your sourdough starter in a bowl or pot of warm water on the kitchen counter. This will keep it warm and allow more oxygen to circulate around it, which can help it rise more. You can cover the top of the bowl or pot with a damp tea towel to keep the moisture and warmth in.

Substituting all purpose flour in a sourdough recipe that specifically calls for bread flour is not always an even swap. You'll need to REDUCE the total amount of water first. All purpose flour absorbs less water than bread flour, which can make the dough too sticky to work with otherwise.

Plain flour is also rich in protein and has higher protein content than regular content which is great for making sourdough. The more protein you have in your flour, the more gluten can be developed in your dough. Low protein flours are more suitable for making crumblier textured goods, such as cookies or pastry.

*If making sourdough is new for you, do not be discouraged if you starter takes longer to get active than mine – stick with it, it will happen! *Tap water is usually fine, if you are not sure, use boiled and cooled water, you can use it at room temperature or cool; do not use distilled water.

Distilled water is a bad choice because the minerals that the bacteria need to do their thing have been removed. Just stick to filtered spring or purified water for your starter and bread baking.

Can I use unbleached flour for sourdough starter? ›

What Flour Should I Be Feeding My Sourdough Starter With? You can feed your sourdough starter with any flour you like, as long as it provides the starches the wild yeast in your sourdough starter need to convert to Co2 to rise your dough. The flour you choose should always be unbleached flour.

If you don't get rid of the excess, eventually you'll have more starter than your feedings can sustain. After a few days, your daily 1/4 cup flour and water won't be enough to sustain your entire jar of starter, and your starter will be slow and sluggish, not much better than discard itself.

If using a mason jar, I recommend a 32-ounce or 1-liter Mason jar to hold your sourdough starter. This sized jar will give your starter plenty of space to rise without the risk of overflowing.

Performing stretches and folds is a dough-strengthening technique performed at a set interval on bread dough during bulk fermentation. Each set typically calls for four stretches and four folds, one in each cardinal direction (North, South, East, and West).

There are two main acids produced in a sourdough culture: lactic acid and acetic acid. Acetic acid, or vinegar, is the acid that gives sourdough much of its tang. Giving acetic acid-producing organisms optimal conditions to thrive and multiply will produce a more tangy finished product.

In my experience, the shortest final proof (at room temperature) that I prefer to do is one hour. The longest final proof (at room temperature) is about 3 hours. When going past 2-3 hours in a final proof, the crumb tends to get very gassy and opens up large gas bubbles with a longer countertop proof.

Adding honey to your sourdough starter enhances its flavour profile and infuses it with antioxidants, enzymes, and trace elements.