I am from Latvia. Country not far away from Germany. My grandmothers sourdough was made out of kefir, rye flour and caraway seeds. I never saw her using white flour in the bread. It was only rye. So, our bread was thick, heavy and dense. To keep us full and satiated during cold and long winter months. As for caraway seeds, to this day we still use it in our breads. And caraway seeds tea is used for all tummy aches like bloating, constipation. Even babies, a few weeks old are given a teaspoon of caraway seeds tea to relieve gas. And nursing mothers drink caraway tea seed. Another tip, caraway flowers are beyond beautiful. They grow like weeds. Just sprinkle the seeds in soil and you will be amazed.
@@mariapalos6101Fennel seeds are often mistaken for caraway seeds, as they look extremely similar. Fennel is also licorice-flavored, but the seeds are a bit milder than caraway, with less of a peppery bite. I personally am not a fan of fennel, it’s too strong & licorice tasting to me, but love caraway in many recipes.
I luv that this conversation touched on healthy bacteria. (40 min.) A whole generation has been brainwashed to fear dirt and germs. The real enemies of our immune systems are Chemicals. We're now learning that a sterile gut is a disadvantage.
I got my starter from my daughter in law. When she gave it to me she gave me 3 or 4 sheets of instructions and measurements and what kind of flour all purpose and what type of water. 🤦🏻♀️ I put it in the fridge because I was to intimidated to do anything. I left it there for 3 months. I got it out and fed it for a couple of days, it got bubbly and rose so I made soft pretzels and now English muffins. Seems to be doing great! I think people are making this harder than it has to be. 🤷🏻♀️ Anybody else think that? 🤔
Some people (I'm one if them) prefer detailed instructions. It took me over a year to get really good at it and more comfortable with the process whereby I can be less rigid and go more "freestyle". I now use mostly the ancient grains, which was my goal, in order to make tasty and healthy breads.
In the beginning of my journey I definitely needed very detailed instructions. It is a little over a year now and I’m starting to experiment changing things up a little to make it easier for myself. I also felt intimidated in the beginning, however, I was determined to learn. I failed many times in the beginning where I just tossed it out! I would be discouraged and set it aside side for a week or two and then I’d try again. I’m so glad I didn’t give up.
I was intimidated at first so def over thought it. My starter worked within 2 days so I was convinced I did something wrong but used in recipe the 2nd week, was perfect. 6 months later I overfed, stuck in fridge and forgot about it until I moved, over a year later. Warmed her up, fed her and she was good to go. I don’t stress over her anymore, she’s super low maintenance and good to go.
people make it a lot more difficult than it has to be, this use to be the default way to make breads before commercialized bakers yeast became available (which is honestly rather recent int eh history of humans and breads) they were doing it LONG LONG before a scale existed to weigh things out. part of the issue is literally the amount of information out there now- back then the only methods you heard of were the ones from your immediate social circles, now a days we google it and find 50 million methods and half of them are conflicting with the next one. Too much information isn't always a good thing.
And do you think, back in the day, they would waste precious flour by throwing it out, nor have the time to spend with complicated processes? I used to make bread whilst I was simultaneously preparing the evening meal- never measured or weighed. Simply went by feel and ‘look’ - the way I was taught - having been shown once. 😊
I just said “NO” to discard. The waste is insane! Interesting to listen to men’s (measure and weigh everything, treat it as a science, don’t accept failure) versus women’s (intuit, trial and error, have fun, use your senses) sourdough approaches.
I believe in the NO discard No waste method. I pour out what I need to into a hot cast iron pan & make pancakes. Sometimes I will pour it into a bowl & mix in and egg before pouring it into the pan. Delicious! And so healthy.
I’m one that doesn’t get why you can’t at the first discard put the discard in another container and then continue the process with each (both) to make a second starter container and continue to discard if you want (or make pancakes, etc)
When you both were talking about the fruit flies on the dough starter , it reminded me of my very clean , neat neighbor who gave me Amish friendship starter...when I asked her about the fruit flies , she said " I stir 'em in " !!! LOL
Just seeing you for the first time Lisa and I loved the respect and kindness you showed toward Anja. These days it seems older women’s thoughts and opinions don’t seem as as valued by younger women…perhaps because so much info is available on social media! You did a lovely job during the interview! I had already watched Anja’s sourdough videos and loved her as I am a newbie…one loaf under my belt!🤪. But I will now follow and learn from you! Very impressed😍
I've watched many sourdough bread making videos including from these two and its taken me about 18 months to get quite good at it, probably because I prefer the ancient grains which are more challenging.
I have a wonderful starter, born 11/20/20 and mine is so robust, I have left it alone in the fridge for months without feeding. I used ( all unbleached organic flours as well as home milled grains) a combo of unbleached white and wheat flours, fresh milled rye and kamut grains. I never have discard. I have shared/shipped to friends some dehydrated starter, just rehydrated and let it grow. It is a happy starter and I am a happy baker! I make Kalamata Rosemary, regular sourdough, garlic cheddar, baguettes, many flavors, English muffins, pizza crust, rolls etc.. I have dehydrated my starter for myself just in case I lose my starter in the fridge as well as some in my freezer. I am so happy to have found this video! Great job ladies!
@@ST-LA I do not use a dehydrator, I am sure you can but for fear of “killing” the starter with heat, I just took a small amount of starter and put I it between two pieces of parchment paper, rolled it out flat, left the starter in between the parchment paper and left it overnight to dry. The following morning, or when dry, I broke it into pieces and dropped them ( including any crumbs and powder) into a pint jar and vacuum sealed the jar. To rehydrate you just add a bit of filtered water, adding more as needed until rehydrated to your preference, then continue to feed as normal. Works great!
This was very interesting. I havr pondered the longterm storage of starter. At a time when nothing could have been just thrown away, how did bakers 100,200 years ago work the starter? I had heard somewhere that the pioneers would burry the starter in a sack of flour when traveling from one place to another.
I remember when I first started to bake, I was going from books, but my first loaves were lacking something! So I went and watched my Mum who baked bread every day for my parents busy catering business. Once I saw her and felt her dough, I finally realized what tacky but not sticky meant and my loaves improved immensely!
I use my starter straight out of the fridge. No discard, no needing to wait for it to be ready. I keep about 4 recipes worth and feed it when it gets low. My bread comes out perfect every time! I mix up my dough and put it in the fridge for about 2 days prior to baking. Helps me not have an issue with the gluten. I've taught many people my method, and it works perfectly for them as well. So many people avoid baking sourdough because it seems way too complicated. I try to show them how simple it can be.
Do you have to wait for it to rise or anything prior to putting it in the fridge or do you just stick it in the fridge right away? Also how long before baking it do you pull it out? Does it need to be at room temperature? Thanks in advance! 😊
@taniaortiz6555 Do you mean the starter? Or the bread? When I'm ready to make bread, I pull the starter out of the fridge and use it to mix up my dough right away. I do a series of 3 stretch and folds over 3 hours. Then dough goes in the fridge for 2 days. I pull dough out of the fridge about 4 hours prior to baking. I shape after 1 hour and let come to room temp before baking. If my starter is low and I need more, I feed it and let it sit on the counter until doubled and then in the fridge it goes until the next time I want to use it. Honestly, using it straight out of the fridge works best with a longer ferment. But I say don't be afraid to experiment. Have fun with it. Hope that helps.
I watched Anja, and learned her method of keeping a sourdough starter, in a pint jar. It works very well for me, since I am a senior citizen, and I only need to keep a small amount of starter on hand.
I looove this episode :-) I'm a German living in France, and sometimes I just miss a good (dense, chewy) German rye bread. So I'll definitely try out those German recipes! Als, I only started sourdough baking a few months ago and there is still so much to learn and to experience for me. Those starter tips are super helpful, thanks a lot Anja!
I love your programme. It gives me new guts to do some more things round my house and in kitchen. I decided to do sougherdough bread again. I took some plain cultured yougurt and us about a 1/14 of a cup. On top of that , I chucked in a couple of hidrated raisens to the mix. 3 days later, the starter bubbled right to the top of the canfruit bottle!! I am 75 years out -- living in South Africa.
I am poor Lol so I use bleached flour from Aldi. I have never had a problem with it and have lovely starter and awesome bread. I am currently waiting on a loaf of whole wheat sourdough bread to rise. The best tasting dense, moist loaf. Absolutely love the pancakes as well! Your recipes are awesome. Anja dogs are wonderful immune boosters! My grands will also share "kisses" with or dog. We can all of our own food and eat as naturally as we can. Venison is our main staple. You ladies have a wonderful day! This blog post has been very informative.
Terrific video and it squares with my research! The Germans have more types of bread than every other country! One addition: the thickness of the starter makes a difference in taste: thick starter will taste very different from a liquid starter. The loose starters are definitely more sour. The thick ones are barely sour at all. I love raw milk and love the vitality of it. I’ve read that raw goat milk is much closer to human milk than cow milk. It seems to me that every animal produces the milk that is best for that type of animal. God is a marvelous designer!
I have an Einkorn flour starter that I keep in the fridge. I mix my flour, water & salt with my starter in the evening about 7:30pm. I put plastic wrap over the top of bowl with a kitchen towel cover and leave in a cold oven overnight. (Sometimes with oven light on.). Next morning about 8 or 9 am, I fold & stretch the dough and let sit for 15 minutes repeat two or three times before shaping the dough & letting the dough rest in a basket for 30 minutes before baking. Now thanks to Lisa!!! I double the recipe, bake half the next morning & put the other half of dough in the fridge in a basket lined with parchment paper inside a plastic bag (Lisa has a video where she did 6 loaves!) My second dough is beautiful, even waiting to bake it for a few days! [After I mix my dough in the evening, I replenish my starter with 1/4 cup flour & 2 T warm water for 1 loaf...double for 2 loaves stir & put back in fridge.]. I love mixing at night & baking the next day.
@@carmenhood8380 2 cups (472 g) warm water at 100F, 1/4 cup Einkorn Sourdough Starter, 6 cups (720 g) AP einkorn flour or 7 1/4 cups (696g) whole grain einkorn flour, plus more for dusting. 1 1/2 teaspoon of sea salt. (From Carla Bartolucci’s Einkorn book.). How I do it. Mix the dough the night before: starter, water, mix, add flour (I mix AP & whole grain...usually 2/3 AP to 1/3 Whole Grain total 720g.). Cover bowl with plastic wrap & place in cold oven until the next morning then take out of oven. Preheat oven to 500 F with Dutch oven & lid inside. Stretch & fold dough on counter with a little flour....letting it rest 15 minutes repeat for a total of 3 times. Place in basket lined with parchment paper for ease of cleaning. Cover with cloth & let rest for 30 minutes. I slit top of dough in a cross, Take Dutch oven out of hot oven, lift dough from basket with 2 corners of parchment paper, drop in Dutch oven, put lid on & place in hot oven, lower temp to 450F for 45 minutes. Hope this helps:). I keep my starter in the fridge and never discard, just measure out what I need. I add 1/4 cup of flour to my jar with 2 tablespoons of warm water & mix after I have used some. You can add more if needed. I learned this from Melissa K Norris @ Modern Homesteading. I now make double batches of dough & place in fridge until I need to bake one. I learned this from Lisa @ Farmhouse on Boone. (I place each basket in a plastic bag.)
@@tammyinwv1 Watch videos from Jovial foods a number of times, especially the one where Carla makes the einkorn boule plus the one by Little Spoon Farm. The second one is my favourite and it took me a few tries before I got good at it but it does work! The secret is 1. Getting the levain at its peak and 2; the first rise is best at around 50% and the second rise about 30%. Good luck, the results are worth it!! (Sourdough)
Over 40 years ago someone who lived in a cabin with no electricity, a wood stove (and an outhouse) taught me (at my place, where I had the modern things) how to make her wonderful bread. She never called it sourdough, but looking back I know for certain that is what it was because of the development of bubbles and no use of yeast. I wish dearly I could remember the recipe she gave me. One of my main memories is ending up with a fairly large bowl full of 60% whole wheat and 40% rye flour, water and the starter. But sort of a lot of water, and bubbles coming up all over the top. That is all I can remember. It was the most delicious bread I think I ever ate, but when I moved to another state, lost touch with her, etc. I forgot how to make it, as I had never written it down.
Look for sourdough recipes that use rye and whole wheat and you'll probably get close. Anja has one that uses 3 flours; rye, spelt and wheat (whole grain).
Ever since I started making sourdough… my stomach has never been happier. I toss my starter every spring, as commanded by the scriptures, so I’ve gotten so good at making starter… Thanks to Anya! I even named my starters after her ❤️. Thank you for this talk.
I used her method too, except i used greek yogourt because that’s what I had. It worked great, and has been working for the last 2 months. I love her laid back and easy methods. I never would have bothered otherwise 😊
Thank you for this. I have not followed a lot of the “rules” that I have been told are necessary and my sour dough has been fine. Good to know there is more flexibility than some think. Lot of great tips from Anna.
We made media with gelatin in Petri dishes. The instructor told us to prop it on the edge instead of covering the top. They became contaminated with many organisms. Also, when you ferment cucumbers and other veggies the lactobacillus is on the veg. So you’re right it is both in the flour and the air.
Im lucky enough to have juniper trees close by. I will pick off a stem of needles with a few berries, and the wild yeast makes a beautiful bubbly starter. I just mix flour and water then lay the stem on top.
I so enjoyed this episode! I've broken so many rules in sourdough (with courage from your "just do it" attitude, Lisa) and it just keeps working lol I'm like maybe I'm doing something wrong because people are all acting like it's super intricate and complicated...but I guess maybe they've got it wrong ;) Sourdough is the way I get creative in the kitchen and I love it!!
Very interesting conversation thank you. As a Nutritionist I can confirm that we have bacteria (full stop). There are not good or bad bacteria. There is overgrowth of bacteria cause for various reasons (nutrient deficiency, toxicity, etc…) ❤💚
I didn’t use buttermilk for my starter originally. The starter bubbled slightly but breads didn’t rise well. I added the caraway and wow! What a difference! Starter bubbled great and breads rose beautifully! Love your recipes, Lisa & also Ana’s caraway tip! Finally I’m comfortable with sourdough! 😃
This is so interesting! I grew up in Germany and I feel like my sourdough method is SO much easier. I learned from my grandmother and mother. It doesn't have to be difficult! I use a lot more rye flour than the American sourdough recipes. Also, lots and lots of German breads have caraway seeds.
I use mostly rye in my starter and levain but I've never liked caraway and don't use it, and I was born in Austria and grew up in Canada. Ironically my mother never made bread.
This was a fascinating conversation! I recently found you, Lisa, and today, I found you, Anja! I made a sourdough starter 18 years ago. Thank you for making me feel better that it isn't super old! I also lived in Germany as an exchange student and LOVE German breads with all the seeds and stuff!Thank you for sharing these tips and tricks, Lisa and Anja! 😊
Love love that you had Anja on! She’s a wealth of humble knowledge and this will hopefully get me past this intimidation I feel for starting it. I love a good challenge and cooking very much so gatta just take this on so I can homemake sourdough bread & everything else sourdough for my family! :) ❤️
18:44The difference is the type of bacteria you’re developing. In fridge you are growing yeast over lactoB . My starter has never been in the fridge; I only dry it up (spread on parchment to dry). Traditionally, in Poland, the starter is covered in flour up to 10x and rubbed between fingers. This is kept dry in a wooden container. There are Polish bakers who will make sure to develop no yeast (which is what you develop in fridge) starters / kvas with only lactoB for yoghurt-type flavors.
When you dry it whith lots of flour do you still keep it in the fridge or not? Which kind of bacteria are different in that kind of starter vs the one that we keep in the fridge ( creamery one )?
Great conversation; thanks for sharing! I learned so much & love both your channels! I do sourdough, ferment veggies, brew kombucha & milk kefir! I’d be so happy to get raw milk again because I was raised on it! Blessings to your families🤗💜🇨🇦
It's very interesting to hear all the different ways of making sourdough and starters. After listening to this podcast I realized that it's all very subjective. I mean, yes, crusty ,fluffy, bubbly bread is the goal but who's to say yours is the best. I watch and listen to so many people that claim theirs is the best but when it doesn't turn out & I don't think it's the best I feel defeated. Lesson...do you boo.
Ladies, I enjoy this discussion immensely! I agree with you - it takes "staying with it" Keep feeding and letting the starter grow and mature. My starter is mature and wonderful. It works beautifully. But at the start, I really had to keep at it because what happened to me that obviously didn't happen with you is that the first 5 - 10 loaves I made were complete flops. I threw them out to the birds and a few days later gathered them and tossed them in the trash because even the birds couldn't eat them :) ;) That tells you about my desire to learn this!!! But now my loaves are beautiful, delicious, sharable, I get tons of compliments on the bread I give as gifts. I REALLY took a while to learn how to do this. I stayed with it and am sooooo glad I did. All the blogs and recipies just didn't work. I found this recipe as a good starter and finally got up over the hump (and purchased a digital scale)- I bet my starter was also better by then. (50 gr starter, 350 gr pure water, 500 gr flour of any type and 9-10 gr salt - any).
I'm on my 3rd loaf and they've all been flops, though they tasted OK. They were just very dense, heavy and hard. I'm determined, though. My starter is now about 1 1/2 months old and bubbling. I just don't get it🤷🏻♀️
@@suew4609sounds like too much water, I’ve certainly had flops when I started, but often the dough was too sticky, and my starter needs to be rising up the jar, if it’s started to fall, it’s past it’s best. Take out 25g of water. Make the starter thicker and see if that helps.
So happy to hear her mention even if you use exact measurements it may not be right. That’s what’s been happening to me. I’ve done it 3x now with measurements to the gram and my dough is too dry. My climate is playing a role and I will have to keep playing with it. Such an important point!
I love Anja. She brought me here to your channel. Happy to subscribe here! I love when you talk about not having a sterile environment. I grew up going barefoot in the summer, drinking from a garden hose with all the neighborhood kids….so we were a little hardier than kids now. We had our nightly baths and got dirty the next day. Healthy and happy childhood. Of course we had a clean house and washed our hands with soap and water and we survived. This was a wonderful discussion! I’m just now grinding my wheat berries. Anja helped me decide on which grain mill. I’m going with the Mock mill. I’ve been using a coffee grinder which takes a long time. I just ordered my mill and it’s back ordered everywhere. Hope to get it by the end of this month. Thanks for some great information, you two! Loved every second! God bless y’all ❤❤❤❤❤
I love rye bread and sourdough. I can make sourdough with rye? Yea! As I was watching, I was wondering about using kefir instead of buttermilk (I always have it on hand), and then you answered that. Now you are bringing up health and the gut microbiome, which I have been studying for a while. You are so correct. Actually, our skin and every living thing has a microbiome. Each plant has different microbes to feed our gut microbiome. I was a little nervous, but now I am excited to try my first sourdough. I always put different things in me breads, so I love your approach. I will be following both of you. Thank you so much!
Very interesting talk . I am completely new to sour dough and I am quiet happy with my first bread and scones were delicious and something extraordinary , I have problem with my intestine and since I started to have sour dough bread I feel more relieved so it must be good health wise too. Thank you so much for your advices and tips , I pick a lot from it .
This was very interesting! My sourdough starter is 9 years old. I will not stop baking with it unless it stops! It worked very well when I made your bagels recently. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. It has been such a blessing.
Thank you ladies!!! I thoroughly enjoyed this podcast. I started following Anja a few months ago and am so much more comfortable with the whole sourdough process. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
I am new to sourdough… I am over 70 years old, been baking bread with commercial yeast since the early 1970’s. I got an idea this last week, I used a “pure” (just milk and bacteria, no additives) Greek yogurt, distilled water and organic bread flour. Put the jar in the oven with the light on. By the 2nd day, oh my goodness! It was so nice and bubbly! I am a “do it by feel” bread baker. My ultimate goal is to make beautifully decorative loaves I see on the web. Like Sourdough Enzo. This was a great video! Very practical and easy to understand.
Tell your Lady Guest, to buy a pint of butter milk and when it gets half empty to fill it back up with any milk from the market and she will never have to buy B M again or ever run out. Just remember to shake it good when you add the fresh milk.
Soooo interesting, I follow both of you ladies. I started with sourdough starter first from watching you Lisa, so now I love using it for bread. I’m 72 & still learning from younger ladies. Sooo fun. I also love raw milk, nothing like it. Thank you to both of you ladies. ❤
Im my family the only flour added in with rye was buckwheat or just rye, came to America early 1900s, im part second generation and third, and it's so fabulous to see there are others out here who care and still do this 🥰💗
This was a wonderful episode, thank you! I grew up on raw goat milk. Now we get raw cows milk for our household. We also helped grandma make sauerkraut every year growing up, and I'm now enjoying passing the skill to my daughter. I've had my current sourdough starter, which is GF for just over three years. It does best with quick breads/cakes, pancakes, pizza, and English muffins.
On the buttermilk topic, you only need to buy once and when low then just and milk,organic,any percentage, or cream your choice and shake it up leave on the counter 24hrs, shake and put back in fridge. You now have more 😍 also you can add powders to your doughs.. gawd there is just so much to learn and do right 😅
@@ElleeZee289 I think it can, but every month or so I take out 1/2 cup and add how much cream or milk to make about 3 cups. Shake it up and then I leave it on the counter till it thickens, which usually takes 12 hrs. Shake it up and put in the fridge again. I see above I put organic in error. Just milk or cream of any kind
I've had my starter since 2019, and keep my process very low maintenance. I only have a small amount of starter, maybe 1/4 cup, and leave it in the fridge for months at a time, or use it weekly depending. I DO however love having a discard jar when I'm in my weekly season of making sourdough. My favourite way is to add a little bit of salt to my discard and fry it up in a lightly oiled cast iron skillet. I love to slather it in butter and spice called berbere. So delicious, and reminds me of my childhood cultural spongy flat "bread" called injera without all the work of making a traditional huge batch!! Thanks for the talk ladies, lots of interesting new tidbits & perspectives.
I listened and rewound this episode so many times today after discovering it. I am so excited to try this way of making a starter! Thanks to you both for this info and for the people who commented additional info in the comments!
Thank you so much for all the information. I've just started my sourdough starter and your conversation with Anja filled in lots of holes in my limited knowledge about the process. I really enjoyed learning from both of you.
Thank you so much for having this conversation! My mom gave me some dry starter and I'm trying to wrap my head around it but most of the how to videos are just overwhelming. This conversation gave me the confidence to try it because it had so many good tips and perspective
Watch some videos on low maintenance methods for starters. The easiest are the ones that keep just a small amount so you don't have waste so much flour. I use rye flour for my starters as its very strong and reliable. Use bread flour in your early recipe attempts and later you can try the ancient grains which are more nutritious however more challenging.
Also, watch a few sourdough bread making videos first before trying it. I love the ones by Baddie Natty as they're easy to follow and she makes small loaves so there's less waste if the early ones don't come out so well.
15:25 I wish. I've tried raw milk multiple times, even in a state that very strongly discourages raw milk. My body jusy can't handle it. I'm currently trying kefir, switching from culturing goat milk kefir to coconut milk kefir and I'm going to try cashew and almond milks as well. I'm interested in trying sourdough but have to be gluten free so I'm a bit hesitant. This interview is encouraging.
I had trouble getting my first starter going a few yrs ago. Was going on 2 weeks. I soaked about a tb raisens in some water overnight, then used this water to feed and my starter took off gangbusters.
Hello!!! Just wanted to throw this into the mix. You were talking about someone asking you about feeding your discard back into a starter…. I save my discard and when it gets frothy and smells AMAZING, I LOVE to incorporate about 1/2 cup of that back into it and OMG does that EVER KICKSTART IT!!!! I love experimenting and such so I’m not afraid to try things. I don’t tell people to do it, because unless it’s the right smell and the right frothiness…. It may not work for them. But EVERY TIME I have done this it has been like throwing gas on an open flame!!!!🎉🎉
I really enjoyed this interview with Anna and find it fascinating, Also. Europeans have such a good handle on this subject among others. Looking forward to checking out her videos!
Sourdough is my absolute favorite, but I struggle so much with my starter. I have even killed the jar of azure standard starter. I'm still trying though.
The first starter can be the most challenging to make but don't give up! Try using whole grain flour (and optional caraway seeds) to get it going 😊 ~ Anja
I’ve discovered that I can start a culture using Kefir and kombucha. Of course I’ve used B. Bífida yogurt to preserve meat. If it is cultured too long, it eats-up the gluten. But just add more fresh flour. I used cultured butter milk to make a very thick yogurt. Using cream makes it thicker. 9:16
Thank you so much for this. I have had my starter for a few years now and I just can't get into a routine of feeding, baking, refeeding, etc. Oh my goodness. Thank you thank you, for the "Functional not Instagram Perfect." that's all I want and your explanation of taking care of sourdough starter makes so much sense.
I started baking sourdough bread 8/9 years ago. My first attempt was a failure. It took me almost 5 months to get it. The trick that worked for me was pineapple juice. Once it became active, I've never used anything but AP flour and distilled water. I've placed mine in the back of the fridge, the longest, 1 year and she came back like a champ. I don't measure anything. Just add flour and water and work by feel. I don't discard anything. Even when it has the dark hooch on top because I neglected it in the fridge. I let it come to room temp, mix it up well and feed as usual. I live in a very hot and humid environment. Baking can be a challenge
I so love the cat, cow, dog, fruit fly portion of this video. 😂. Also I truly feel that Raw milk would be better for our gut health. Too much intervention makes for a sicker society. Wish we could live on an acre property and have a cow. Really enjoyed your discussion. I have already made a very dry ball of starter to test out. Thanks ladies.
I grew up with my father making sourdough pancakes every morning - he'd put a cup of started in the pancake mix, and after mixing it all up, he'd take a cup and mix it back into the starter. I'm trying a recipe to make starter with potato water - the (unsalted) water left after boiling potatoes until tender. The starch from the potatoes should work well to get the starter going . . .
You must absolutely must, get the starter really lively and bubbly, that’s what lifts the bread, if it’s not really lively don’t cook that day, feed it for another day, so it’s coming over the top of the pot. When you’ve taken out what you need to make bread, then feed it and stick it in the fridge.
To each their own. Just do it in your home, your way. Read, watch, experiment with the methods of others who embody what feeds your soul then develop your own way. Make it fit your life, your taste, and the needs of your loved ones. I love the no fuss, no discard, method. It has worked so much better than the technical methods using scales and hydration tables.
It seems to me, for those of us who saved our "discard", when you bake with it, you end up reactivating it anyway. It's really just neglected starter. I've made lots of things with mine - bagels, tortillas, crackers, but now I'm moving away from keeping a separate jar of "discard" and I'm just handling it all more like Lisa does. Use what I want from the unfed, then feed up a small amount for something that needs to begin with activated starter. It's so smart.
I want to try this, but im so played in with my starter now. I keep it in the fridge, feed it every 10 to 14 days. The "discard goes in a larger jar and gets fed as well. The large jar gets used for waffles or added to cookie/cake dough. I need to try letting a bit just dry in a bunch of flour. Always something new to experiment with 😊
My starter is about 3 years old and I took a long break, maybe 6 months. It was in the refrigerator and I took it out and fed it maybe twice and it was ready to use. I also just take it out of the refrigerator and bake with it and it rises my bread nicely. When your sourdough is mature it is almost unstoppable and great for when I'm being lazy.
Very informative 👏👏 Thank you so much for sharing your easy approach to making sourdough bread 🍞 and encouraging me to not give up! God Bless & you both are great inspirations to women like me!
Agree been baking yeast for years. So far every sourdough I have made has been a complete throw away. I have not created anything I would eat. But fascinating interview. I am still stumped. But I will not give up.
I've been doing sourdough for 8 months and I have really figured out what my starter should look like and when dough us done bulk fremting. Once I figured it out all the things that people were saying made sense, but until I had done it with my hands in my kitchen ut was really hard to understand. There is natural yeat in a lot of things - rasisns, tree bark, flowers, ect. I sell sourdough starter but I let everyone know thst once its in there house and they have fed that it will be different from the original starter. I keep a cotton cover over my jar to keep things out but gives it airflow.
For me being one person Anja's method seems to fit me better. I started my starter a few days ago. My house is cold 62* so I shall see how long it takes. I do have some bubbles. If you can't use the discard in the other method this method of letting it go dormant is good.
Hello , This is so helpful. I have been taking classes and a well known bakery in Southeast Michigan. They use Caraway and a dit if onion in a doubled cheese cloth to get the starter going and it can be pulled out after a few days. It would be an easy way to add the caraway and not have it in the starter. Thank you for all the help. I will subscribe to both channels.
Remember my grandmother, she knows when is ready!! The first time about, one year a go when I see and explain to me how it work, mad said some confusion the discarded, for me was not normal.
I am from Latvia. Country not far away from Germany. My grandmothers sourdough was made out of kefir, rye flour and caraway seeds. I never saw her using white flour in the bread. It was only rye. So, our bread was thick, heavy and dense. To keep us full and satiated during cold and long winter months. As for caraway seeds, to this day we still use it in our breads. And caraway seeds tea is used for all tummy aches like bloating, constipation. Even babies, a few weeks old are given a teaspoon of caraway seeds tea to relieve gas. And nursing mothers drink caraway tea seed. Another tip, caraway flowers are beyond beautiful. They grow like weeds. Just sprinkle the seeds in soil and you will be amazed.
Yes caraway is very good with Munster cheese too!!
Thank you for the wonderful suggestions! I love anything natural for healing.....😊
That’s awesome 👏 Thank you so much for sharing! Are caraway seeds the same as fennel seeds?
That’s awesome 👏 Thank you so much for sharing! Are caraway seeds the same as fennel seeds?
@@mariapalos6101Fennel seeds are often mistaken for caraway seeds, as they look extremely similar. Fennel is also licorice-flavored, but the seeds are a bit milder than caraway, with less of a peppery bite. I personally am not a fan of fennel, it’s too strong & licorice tasting to me, but love caraway in many recipes.
I luv that this conversation touched on healthy bacteria. (40 min.) A whole generation has been brainwashed to fear dirt and germs. The real enemies of our immune systems are Chemicals.
We're now learning that a sterile gut is a disadvantage.
Pharmaceuticals, pesticides, toxic food additives, insecticides, aerial spraying all contribute to the continuous decline of health in American people
I got my starter from my daughter in law. When she gave it to me she gave me 3 or 4 sheets of instructions and measurements and what kind of flour all purpose and what type of water. 🤦🏻♀️ I put it in the fridge because I was to intimidated to do anything. I left it there for 3 months. I got it out and fed it for a couple of days, it got bubbly and rose so I made soft pretzels and now English muffins. Seems to be doing great! I think people are making this harder than it has to be. 🤷🏻♀️ Anybody else think that? 🤔
Some people (I'm one if them) prefer detailed instructions. It took me over a year to get really good at it and more comfortable with the process whereby I can be less rigid and go more "freestyle". I now use mostly the ancient grains, which was my goal, in order to make tasty and healthy breads.
In the beginning of my journey I definitely needed very detailed instructions. It is a little over a year now and I’m starting to experiment changing things up a little to make it easier for myself. I also felt intimidated in the beginning, however, I was determined to learn. I failed many times in the beginning where I just tossed it out! I would be discouraged and set it aside side for a week or two and then I’d try again. I’m so glad I didn’t give up.
I was intimidated at first so def over thought it. My starter worked within 2 days so I was convinced I did something wrong but used in recipe the 2nd week, was perfect. 6 months later I overfed, stuck in fridge and forgot about it until I moved, over a year later. Warmed her up, fed her and she was good to go. I don’t stress over her anymore, she’s super low maintenance and good to go.
people make it a lot more difficult than it has to be, this use to be the default way to make breads before commercialized bakers yeast became available (which is honestly rather recent int eh history of humans and breads) they were doing it LONG LONG before a scale existed to weigh things out. part of the issue is literally the amount of information out there now- back then the only methods you heard of were the ones from your immediate social circles, now a days we google it and find 50 million methods and half of them are conflicting with the next one. Too much information isn't always a good thing.
And do you think, back in the day, they would waste precious flour by throwing it out, nor have the time to spend with complicated processes? I used to make bread whilst I was simultaneously preparing the evening meal- never measured or weighed. Simply went by feel and ‘look’ - the way I was taught - having been shown once. 😊
Anja's no discard method is the best method out there!! Same as my grandmother's. No waste, no discard.
I just said “NO” to discard. The waste is insane! Interesting to listen to men’s (measure and weigh everything, treat it as a science, don’t accept failure) versus women’s (intuit, trial and error, have fun, use your senses) sourdough approaches.
I believe in the NO discard No waste method. I pour out what I need to into a hot cast iron pan & make pancakes. Sometimes I will pour it into a bowl & mix in and egg before pouring it into the pan. Delicious! And so healthy.
I remember watching Anja's video about adding flour & I do something very similar if I'm not going to be baking for awhile.
Discard just means you take it out of the jar. Doesn't mean you throw it away.
I’m one that doesn’t get why you can’t at the first discard put the discard in another container and then continue the process with each (both) to make a second starter container and continue to discard if you want (or make pancakes, etc)
I'm from Alaska, and we always started ours with potato water (water left over from boiling potatoes).
Interesting...thanks for sharing that tidbit
Are continuing your feed it along the way with the potato water
Oh, interesting
@BlissfullyActive you can occasionally but it can cause things to grow faster then you want.
That is how I made my first starter too
When you both were talking about the fruit flies on the dough starter , it reminded me of my very clean , neat neighbor who gave me Amish friendship starter...when I asked her about the fruit flies , she said " I stir 'em in " !!! LOL
Haha, that's funny 😁
🤣🤣🤣🤣 That's funny
Funny... that's how they think Kombucha started out. Apparently, fruit flies carry the right combination of yeasts and bacteria for fermentation
Just seeing you for the first time Lisa and I loved the respect and kindness you showed toward Anja. These days it seems older women’s thoughts and opinions don’t seem as as valued by younger women…perhaps because so much info is available on social media! You did a lovely job during the interview! I had already watched Anja’s sourdough videos and loved her as I am a newbie…one loaf under my belt!🤪. But I will now follow and learn from you! Very impressed😍
Anja has such good information and knowledge I was thrilled to have her. Glad to have you following along as you go forward on your sourdough journey.
I've watched many sourdough bread making videos including from these two and its taken me about 18 months to get quite good at it, probably because I prefer the ancient grains which are more challenging.
I have a wonderful starter, born 11/20/20 and mine is so robust, I have left it alone in the fridge for months without feeding. I used ( all unbleached organic flours as well as home milled grains) a combo of unbleached white and wheat flours, fresh milled rye and kamut grains. I never have discard. I have shared/shipped to friends some dehydrated starter, just rehydrated and let it grow. It is a happy starter and I am a happy baker! I make Kalamata Rosemary, regular sourdough, garlic cheddar, baguettes, many flavors, English muffins, pizza crust, rolls etc.. I have dehydrated my starter for myself just in case I lose my starter in the fridge as well as some in my freezer. I am so happy to have found this video! Great job ladies!
I have done the same. I am convinced ants and sourdough (yeast) survive anything 😂😂
To dehydrate, would I just spread it on a mat and dehydrate in my dehydrator? What temp and how long?
@@ST-LA I do not use a dehydrator, I am sure you can but for fear of “killing” the starter with heat, I just took a small amount of starter and put I it between two pieces of parchment paper, rolled it out flat, left the starter in between the parchment paper and left it overnight to dry. The following morning, or when dry, I broke it into pieces and dropped them ( including any crumbs and powder) into a pint jar and vacuum sealed the jar. To rehydrate you just add a bit of filtered water, adding more as needed until rehydrated to your preference, then continue to feed as normal. Works great!
@@LD-ey9hk thank you!! I have a very active starter but it’s growing pretty large. I’d like to save half
This was very interesting.
I havr pondered the longterm storage of starter. At a time when nothing could have been just thrown away, how did bakers 100,200 years ago work the starter?
I had heard somewhere that the pioneers would burry the starter in a sack of flour when traveling from one place to another.
I remember when I first started to bake, I was going from books, but my first loaves were lacking something! So I went and watched my Mum who baked bread every day for my parents busy catering business. Once I saw her and felt her dough, I finally realized what tacky but not sticky meant and my loaves improved immensely!
There really is nothing like hands on learning!
I use my starter straight out of the fridge. No discard, no needing to wait for it to be ready. I keep about 4 recipes worth and feed it when it gets low. My bread comes out perfect every time! I mix up my dough and put it in the fridge for about 2 days prior to baking. Helps me not have an issue with the gluten. I've taught many people my method, and it works perfectly for them as well.
So many people avoid baking sourdough because it seems way too complicated. I try to show them how simple it can be.
Yes, I agree. Once you get a good understanding of sourdough you really see how versatile an non fussy it is
Do you have to wait for it to rise or anything prior to putting it in the fridge or do you just stick it in the fridge right away? Also how long before baking it do you pull it out? Does it need to be at room temperature? Thanks in advance! 😊
@taniaortiz6555
Do you mean the starter? Or the bread?
When I'm ready to make bread, I pull the starter out of the fridge and use it to mix up my dough right away. I do a series of 3 stretch and folds over 3 hours. Then dough goes in the fridge for 2 days. I pull dough out of the fridge about 4 hours prior to baking. I shape after 1 hour and let come to room temp before baking.
If my starter is low and I need more, I feed it and let it sit on the counter until doubled and then in the fridge it goes until the next time I want to use it.
Honestly, using it straight out of the fridge works best with a longer ferment. But I say don't be afraid to experiment. Have fun with it.
Hope that helps.
@@juliecinquina3636
Thanks! I'll give it a try!
So you just use your starter out of the fridge to make your bread without adding a feeding and letting it rise double first?
I watched Anja, and learned her method of keeping a sourdough starter, in a pint jar. It works very well for me, since I am a senior citizen, and I only need to keep a small amount of starter on hand.
I looove this episode :-) I'm a German living in France, and sometimes I just miss a good (dense, chewy) German rye bread. So I'll definitely try out those German recipes! Als, I only started sourdough baking a few months ago and there is still so much to learn and to experience for me. Those starter tips are super helpful, thanks a lot Anja!
I love your programme. It gives me new guts to do some more things round my house and in kitchen.
I decided to do sougherdough bread again. I took some plain cultured yougurt and us about a 1/14 of a cup. On top of that , I chucked in a couple of hidrated raisens to the mix.
3 days later, the starter
bubbled right to the top of the canfruit bottle!!
I am 75 years out -- living in South Africa.
wonderful...thanks for sharing with us!!
I am poor Lol so I use bleached flour from Aldi. I have never had a problem with it and have lovely starter and awesome bread. I am currently waiting on a loaf of whole wheat sourdough bread to rise. The best tasting dense, moist loaf. Absolutely love the pancakes as well! Your recipes are awesome. Anja dogs are wonderful immune boosters! My grands will also share "kisses" with or dog.
We can all of our own food and eat as naturally as we can. Venison is our main staple.
You ladies have a wonderful day! This blog post has been very informative.
Yay! I am so glad to hear you enjoyed this and thank you for sharing 😊 ~ Anja
Terrific video and it squares with my research! The Germans have more types of bread than every other country! One addition: the thickness of the starter makes a difference in taste: thick starter will taste very different from a liquid starter. The loose starters are definitely more sour. The thick ones are barely sour at all.
I love raw milk and love the vitality of it. I’ve read that raw goat milk is much closer to human milk than cow milk. It seems to me that every animal produces the milk that is best for that type of animal. God is a marvelous designer!
So, are we more like goats? 😉 l think some are lol
@@ready4jesus534 yes some are.
I have an Einkorn flour starter that I keep in the fridge. I mix my flour, water & salt with my starter in the evening about 7:30pm. I put plastic wrap over the top of bowl with a kitchen towel cover and leave in a cold oven overnight. (Sometimes with oven light on.). Next morning about 8 or 9 am, I fold & stretch the dough and let sit for 15 minutes repeat two or three times before shaping the dough & letting the dough rest in a basket for 30 minutes before baking. Now thanks to Lisa!!! I double the recipe, bake half the next morning & put the other half of dough in the fridge in a basket lined with parchment paper inside a plastic bag (Lisa has a video where she did 6 loaves!) My second dough is beautiful, even waiting to bake it for a few days! [After I mix my dough in the evening, I replenish my starter with 1/4 cup flour & 2 T warm water for 1 loaf...double for 2 loaves stir & put back in fridge.]. I love mixing at night & baking the next day.
thanks for sharing!
Sherry,would you be ok with contacting with me on the way you do your bread? It sounds easier than the way I make it.?
Thanks!
@@carmenhood8380 2 cups (472 g) warm water at 100F, 1/4 cup Einkorn Sourdough Starter, 6 cups (720 g) AP einkorn flour or 7 1/4 cups (696g) whole grain einkorn flour, plus more for dusting. 1 1/2 teaspoon of sea salt.
(From Carla Bartolucci’s Einkorn book.). How I do it. Mix the dough the night before: starter, water, mix, add flour (I mix AP & whole grain...usually 2/3 AP to 1/3 Whole Grain total 720g.). Cover bowl with plastic wrap & place in cold oven until the next morning then take out of oven. Preheat oven to 500 F with Dutch oven & lid inside. Stretch & fold dough on counter with a little flour....letting it rest 15 minutes repeat for a total of 3 times. Place in basket lined with parchment paper for ease of cleaning. Cover with cloth & let rest for 30 minutes. I slit top of dough in a cross, Take Dutch oven out of hot oven, lift dough from basket with 2 corners of parchment paper, drop in Dutch oven, put lid on & place in hot oven, lower temp to 450F for 45 minutes. Hope this helps:). I keep my starter in the fridge and never discard, just measure out what I need. I add 1/4 cup of flour to my jar with 2 tablespoons of warm water & mix after I have used some. You can add more if needed. I learned this from Melissa K Norris @ Modern Homesteading. I now make double batches of dough & place in fridge until I need to bake one. I learned this from Lisa @ Farmhouse on Boone. (I place each basket in a plastic bag.)
Whats your recope for einkorn? I tried that flour once and could not get anything but bricks making regular bread.
@@tammyinwv1
Watch videos from Jovial foods a number of times, especially the one where Carla makes the einkorn boule plus the one by Little Spoon Farm. The second one is my favourite and it took me a few tries before I got good at it but it does work! The secret is 1. Getting the levain at its peak and 2; the first rise is best at around 50% and the second rise about 30%. Good luck, the results are worth it!! (Sourdough)
Over 40 years ago someone who lived in a cabin with no electricity, a wood stove (and an outhouse) taught me (at my place, where I had the modern things) how to make her wonderful bread. She never called it sourdough, but looking back I know for certain that is what it was because of the development of bubbles and no use of yeast. I wish dearly I could remember the recipe she gave me. One of my main memories is ending up with a fairly large bowl full of 60% whole wheat and 40% rye flour, water and the starter. But sort of a lot of water, and bubbles coming up all over the top. That is all I can remember. It was the most delicious bread I think I ever ate, but when I moved to another state, lost touch with her, etc. I forgot how to make it, as I had never written it down.
Look for sourdough recipes that use rye and whole wheat and you'll probably get close. Anja has one that uses 3 flours; rye, spelt and wheat (whole grain).
Awesome. I know I love rye in with my wheat -- and I just got some spelt! Will have to try that next loaf.@@OceanFrontVilla3
I grew up with raw milk. As soon as they pasteurize and homogenize the milk actually makes it difficult for the body to access the calcium.
I love raw milk-the state actually tries to stop people from selling it, but processed foods and tomatos with pig genes spliced in are legal. SMH
In Ohio some Amish have been arrested and fined for selling raw I think one farmer's farm was taken from him...
@@dorothykelley1881 That is sad!
Ever since I started making sourdough… my stomach has never been happier. I toss my starter every spring, as commanded by the scriptures, so I’ve gotten so good at making starter… Thanks to Anya! I even named my starters after her ❤️. Thank you for this talk.
@AsintheDaysofNoah Wow! Could you provide the scripture that you are referring to? I would love to know! Thanks! ☺️
I would love to know the Scripture reference as well.
I do the same. I toss my starter every spring before Passover and make a new starter after feast of unleavened bread.
@@tori9309
This is the first year I will be celebrating passover. What does one do with all the grains and yeast in the house?
@@taniaortiz6555 Exodus 12:15, 12:19 I give it away before Passover or just throw the leaven away.
I love Anja’s sourdough method, it was the key that took me from struggling and confused to enjoying it.
Thank you so much! Love that you like my SD method 😊 ~ Anja
I used her method too, except i used greek yogourt because that’s what I had. It worked great, and has been working for the last 2 months. I love her laid back and easy methods. I never would have bothered otherwise 😊
Me too!
I'm so glad to hear Anja say it doesn't have to be perfect! I just want it to taste good!
In the 80's my family lived in Germany for 4 years. We grew to love the crusty, dense yet soft rolls and bread. Amazing and yummy stuff.
Thank you for this. I have not followed a lot of the “rules” that I have been told are necessary and my sour dough has been fine. Good to know there is more flexibility than some think. Lot of great tips from Anna.
Thank you so much and hlad you enjoyed this 😊 ~ Anja
So excited to see you have Anja here. I stumbled onto her channel and have been devouring her content!😍😍😍
Thank you much for your 💛 and support ~ Anja
@@OurGabledHome thank you for all your lovely content, I’m learning so much from both you and Lisa! Have a beautiful new year!
Same. Love her❤
We made media with gelatin in Petri dishes. The instructor told us to prop it on the edge instead of covering the top. They became contaminated with many organisms. Also, when you ferment cucumbers and other veggies the lactobacillus is on the veg. So you’re right it is both in the flour and the air.
Im lucky enough to have juniper trees close by. I will pick off a stem of needles with a few berries, and the wild yeast makes a beautiful bubbly starter. I just mix flour and water then lay the stem on top.
❤❤❤
Does it matter what time of year? Would the yeast be on the berries in the winter time? I have juniper and would love to try it.
@@jenbrez70 Yeast is on the berries and needles always. It takes very little flour and water to prove this out. Have fun!
@@GingerKral great! Thanks 😊
Stem on top of sealed starter, or do you leave it open?
I so enjoyed this episode! I've broken so many rules in sourdough (with courage from your "just do it" attitude, Lisa) and it just keeps working lol I'm like maybe I'm doing something wrong because people are all acting like it's super intricate and complicated...but I guess maybe they've got it wrong ;)
Sourdough is the way I get creative in the kitchen and I love it!!
Lisa, we love your recipes because of their simplicity and straightforwardness!
Very interesting conversation thank you. As a Nutritionist I can confirm that we have bacteria (full stop). There are not good or bad bacteria. There is overgrowth of bacteria cause for various reasons (nutrient deficiency, toxicity, etc…) ❤💚
I didn’t use buttermilk for my starter originally. The starter bubbled slightly but breads didn’t rise well. I added the caraway and wow! What a difference! Starter bubbled great and breads rose beautifully! Love your recipes, Lisa & also Ana’s caraway tip! Finally I’m comfortable with sourdough! 😃
So glad to hear that tip helped you!
This was such a very pleasant interview on an extremely interesting subject ❤
This is so interesting! I grew up in Germany and I feel like my sourdough method is SO much easier. I learned from my grandmother and mother. It doesn't have to be difficult! I use a lot more rye flour than the American sourdough recipes. Also, lots and lots of German breads have caraway seeds.
I use mostly rye in my starter and levain but I've never liked caraway and don't use it, and I was born in Austria and grew up in Canada. Ironically my mother never made bread.
This was a fascinating conversation! I recently found you, Lisa, and today, I found you, Anja! I made a sourdough starter 18 years ago. Thank you for making me feel better that it isn't super old! I also lived in Germany as an exchange student and LOVE German breads with all the seeds and stuff!Thank you for sharing these tips and tricks, Lisa and Anja! 😊
Welcome aboard!
Love love that you had Anja on! She’s a wealth of humble knowledge and this will hopefully get me past this intimidation I feel for starting it. I love a good challenge and cooking very much so gatta just take this on so I can homemake sourdough bread & everything else sourdough for my family! :) ❤️
Thank you so much, sweet friend!!! Let me know if you need help to get your SD started 😊 ~ Anja
18:44The difference is the type of bacteria you’re developing. In fridge you are growing yeast over lactoB . My starter has never been in the fridge; I only dry it up (spread on parchment to dry). Traditionally, in Poland, the starter is covered in flour up to 10x and rubbed between fingers. This is kept dry in a wooden container. There are Polish bakers who will make sure to develop no yeast (which is what you develop in fridge) starters / kvas with only lactoB for yoghurt-type flavors.
When you dry it whith lots of flour do you still keep it in the fridge or not?
Which kind of bacteria are different in that kind of starter vs the one that we keep in the fridge ( creamery one )?
Great video! Thank you ladies! I’m new to sourdough and I was getting a little lost with feeding the sourdough starter and all the discard
Great conversation; thanks for sharing! I learned so much & love both your channels! I do sourdough, ferment veggies, brew kombucha & milk kefir! I’d be so happy to get raw milk again because I was raised on it! Blessings to your families🤗💜🇨🇦
Thank you! I am so happy to hear you enjoyed this episode 💛 ~ Anja
It's very interesting to hear all the different ways of making sourdough and starters. After listening to this podcast I realized that it's all very subjective. I mean, yes, crusty ,fluffy, bubbly bread is the goal but who's to say yours is the best. I watch and listen to so many people that claim theirs is the best but when it doesn't turn out & I don't think it's the best I feel defeated. Lesson...do you boo.
Ladies, I enjoy this discussion immensely! I agree with you - it takes "staying with it" Keep feeding and letting the starter grow and mature. My starter is mature and wonderful. It works beautifully. But at the start, I really had to keep at it because what happened to me that obviously didn't happen with you is that the first 5 - 10 loaves I made were complete flops. I threw them out to the birds and a few days later gathered them and tossed them in the trash because even the birds couldn't eat them :) ;) That tells you about my desire to learn this!!! But now my loaves are beautiful, delicious, sharable, I get tons of compliments on the bread I give as gifts. I REALLY took a while to learn how to do this. I stayed with it and am sooooo glad I did. All the blogs and recipies just didn't work. I found this recipe as a good starter and finally got up over the hump (and purchased a digital scale)- I bet my starter was also better by then. (50 gr starter, 350 gr pure water, 500 gr flour of any type and 9-10 gr salt - any).
I'm on my 3rd loaf and they've all been flops, though they tasted OK. They were just very dense, heavy and hard. I'm determined, though. My starter is now about 1 1/2 months old and bubbling. I just don't get it🤷🏻♀️
@@suew4609sounds like too much water, I’ve certainly had flops when I started, but often the dough was too sticky, and my starter needs to be rising up the jar, if it’s started to fall, it’s past it’s best. Take out 25g of water. Make the starter thicker and see if that helps.
So happy to hear her mention even if you use exact measurements it may not be right. That’s what’s been happening to me. I’ve done it 3x now with measurements to the gram and my dough is too dry. My climate is playing a role and I will have to keep playing with it. Such an important point!
I love Anja. She brought me here to your channel. Happy to subscribe here! I love when you talk about not having a sterile environment. I grew up going barefoot in the summer, drinking from a garden hose with all the neighborhood kids….so we were a little hardier than kids now. We had our nightly baths and got dirty the next day. Healthy and happy childhood. Of course we had a clean house and washed our hands with soap and water and we survived. This was a wonderful discussion! I’m just now grinding my wheat berries. Anja helped me decide on which grain mill. I’m going with the Mock mill. I’ve been using a coffee grinder which takes a long time. I just ordered my mill and it’s back ordered everywhere. Hope to get it by the end of this month. Thanks for some great information, you two! Loved every second! God bless y’all ❤❤❤❤❤
Anja's method is the best for our household. Its super easy. 👍🏻
I love rye bread and sourdough. I can make sourdough with rye? Yea! As I was watching, I was wondering about using kefir instead of buttermilk (I always have it on hand), and then you answered that. Now you are bringing up health and the gut microbiome, which I have been studying for a while. You are so correct. Actually, our skin and every living thing has a microbiome. Each plant has different microbes to feed our gut microbiome. I was a little nervous, but now I am excited to try my first sourdough. I always put different things in me breads, so I love your approach. I will be following both of you. Thank you so much!
Thank you for listening and happy baking!
Very interesting talk . I am completely new to sour dough and I am quiet happy with my first bread and scones were delicious and something extraordinary , I have problem with my intestine and since I started to have sour dough bread I feel more relieved so it must be good health wise too. Thank you so much for your advices and tips , I pick a lot from it .
Oh my gosh! What a refreshing episode this was. I loved it and I hope you have Anja back soon. Thank you Thank you
Glad you enjoyed it!
Two of my favorite ladies, loved this post. Blessings y'all!
Glad you enjoyed it!
This was very interesting! My sourdough starter is 9 years old. I will not stop baking with it unless it stops! It worked very well when I made your bagels recently. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. It has been such a blessing.
Thank you ladies!!! I thoroughly enjoyed this podcast. I started following Anja a few months ago and am so much more comfortable with the whole sourdough process. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
Huge fan of Anja!! Waiting on supplies right now to make her beeswax wraps.
Aww … thank you so much 😊 ~ Anja
I am new to sourdough… I am over 70 years old, been baking bread with commercial yeast since the early 1970’s. I got an idea this last week, I used a “pure” (just milk and bacteria, no additives) Greek yogurt, distilled water and organic bread flour. Put the jar in the oven with the light on. By the 2nd day, oh my goodness! It was so nice and bubbly! I am a “do it by feel” bread baker. My ultimate goal is to make beautifully decorative loaves I see on the web. Like Sourdough Enzo. This was a great video! Very practical and easy to understand.
Thats great...once you bake often you really do get a deeper understanding of the whole bread making process!
Tell your Lady Guest, to buy a pint of butter milk and when it gets half empty to fill it back up with any milk from the market and she will never have to buy B M again or ever run out. Just remember to shake it good when you add the fresh milk.
This is the tip I didn't know I needed! The simplest of things we often overlook. 😊👍👊
Soooo interesting, I follow both of you ladies. I started with sourdough starter first from watching you Lisa, so now I love using it for bread. I’m 72 & still learning from younger ladies. Sooo fun. I also love raw milk, nothing like it. Thank you to both of you ladies. ❤
Im my family the only flour added in with rye was buckwheat or just rye, came to America early 1900s, im part second generation and third, and it's so fabulous to see there are others out here who care and still do this 🥰💗
Thanks for sharing!
Thanks, ladies, for talking about the wacky people out there who worry too much about germs, and the fear of consuming unpasteurized milk.
This was a wonderful episode, thank you! I grew up on raw goat milk. Now we get raw cows milk for our household. We also helped grandma make sauerkraut every year growing up, and I'm now enjoying passing the skill to my daughter. I've had my current sourdough starter, which is GF for just over three years. It does best with quick breads/cakes, pancakes, pizza, and English muffins.
😂😂😂😂😢😢😢😢😢fbc. C 😔
On the buttermilk topic, you only need to buy once and when low then just and milk,organic,any percentage, or cream your choice and shake it up leave on the counter 24hrs, shake and put back in fridge. You now have more 😍 also you can add powders to your doughs.. gawd there is just so much to learn and do right 😅
If you don’t use it does it go bad?
@@ElleeZee289 I think it can, but every month or so I take out 1/2 cup and add how much cream or milk to make about 3 cups. Shake it up and then I leave it on the counter till it thickens, which usually takes 12 hrs. Shake it up and put in the fridge again. I see above I put organic in error. Just milk or cream of any kind
I've had my starter since 2019, and keep my process very low maintenance. I only have a small amount of starter, maybe 1/4 cup, and leave it in the fridge for months at a time, or use it weekly depending.
I DO however love having a discard jar when I'm in my weekly season of making sourdough. My favourite way is to add a little bit of salt to my discard and fry it up in a lightly oiled cast iron skillet. I love to slather it in butter and spice called berbere. So delicious, and reminds me of my childhood cultural spongy flat "bread" called injera without all the work of making a traditional huge batch!!
Thanks for the talk ladies, lots of interesting new tidbits & perspectives.
Thanks for sharing...sounds delicious!
I listened and rewound this episode so many times today after discovering it. I am so excited to try this way of making a starter! Thanks to you both for this info and for the people who commented additional info in the comments!
You can do it!
@@Simplefarmhouselife Thank you! I did do it and it was a success! Her advice and your blog posts about it has been a godsend!
Very interesting! I’m in the stretching and pulling stage of my sourdough brioche - I hope it turns out!
I started using Anja's method of keeping a really dry starter months ago and it works fabulously!
I soo need to start back with sourdough. On my list to get another starter going. Thank you both
Thank you so much for all the information. I've just started my sourdough starter and your conversation with Anja filled in lots of holes in my limited knowledge about the process. I really enjoyed learning from both of you.
I had great success with my starter from Anja…..love the tips.
My husband's favorite saying was, "I ate dirt when I was a kid!"
My Mom used to say, "You have eat a bushel of dirt before you die."
I’ve been using Anja’s sourdough method for quite a while. Works so well and is so easy.
Thank you so much for having this conversation! My mom gave me some dry starter and I'm trying to wrap my head around it but most of the how to videos are just overwhelming. This conversation gave me the confidence to try it because it had so many good tips and perspective
Watch some videos on low maintenance methods for starters. The easiest are the ones that keep just a small amount so you don't have waste so much flour. I use rye flour for my starters as its very strong and reliable. Use bread flour in your early recipe attempts and later you can try the ancient grains which are more nutritious however more challenging.
Also, watch a few sourdough bread making videos first before trying it. I love the ones by Baddie Natty as they're easy to follow and she makes small loaves so there's less waste if the early ones don't come out so well.
Such a great video! Thank you! I've been making sourdough, using your instructions! And we milk our own cow too! 😉😊
15:25 I wish. I've tried raw milk multiple times, even in a state that very strongly discourages raw milk. My body jusy can't handle it.
I'm currently trying kefir, switching from culturing goat milk kefir to coconut milk kefir and I'm going to try cashew and almond milks as well.
I'm interested in trying sourdough but have to be gluten free so I'm a bit hesitant. This interview is encouraging.
I had trouble getting my first starter going a few yrs ago. Was going on 2 weeks. I soaked about a tb raisens in some water overnight, then used this water to feed and my starter took off gangbusters.
Amen on “a little dirt” being good for us!
Hello!!! Just wanted to throw this into the mix. You were talking about someone asking you about feeding your discard back into a starter…. I save my discard and when it gets frothy and smells AMAZING, I LOVE to incorporate about 1/2 cup of that back into it and OMG does that EVER KICKSTART IT!!!! I love experimenting and such so I’m not afraid to try things. I don’t tell people to do it, because unless it’s the right smell and the right frothiness…. It may not work for them. But EVERY TIME I have done this it has been like throwing gas on an open flame!!!!🎉🎉
I really enjoyed this interview with Anna and find it fascinating, Also. Europeans have such a good handle on this subject among others. Looking forward to checking out her videos!
I love both of you ladies! Thank you for all of your great inspiration ❤️
Sourdough is my absolute favorite, but I struggle so much with my starter. I have even killed the jar of azure standard starter. I'm still trying though.
The first starter can be the most challenging to make but don't give up! Try using whole grain flour (and optional caraway seeds) to get it going 😊 ~ Anja
I’ve discovered that I can start a culture using Kefir and kombucha. Of course I’ve used B. Bífida yogurt to preserve meat. If it is cultured too long, it eats-up the gluten. But just add more fresh flour. I used cultured butter milk to make a very thick yogurt. Using cream makes it thicker. 9:16
I have used and love her method of keeping it in the fridge with lots of flour on top!
Thank you so much for this. I have had my starter for a few years now and I just can't get into a routine of feeding, baking, refeeding, etc.
Oh my goodness. Thank you thank you, for the "Functional not Instagram Perfect." that's all I want and your explanation of taking care of sourdough starter makes so much sense.
I started baking sourdough bread 8/9 years ago. My first attempt was a failure. It took me almost 5 months to get it. The trick that worked for me was pineapple juice. Once it became active, I've never used anything but AP flour and distilled water. I've placed mine in the back of the fridge, the longest, 1 year and she came back like a champ. I don't measure anything. Just add flour and water and work by feel. I don't discard anything. Even when it has the dark hooch on top because I neglected it in the fridge. I let it come to room temp, mix it up well and feed as usual.
I live in a very hot and humid environment. Baking can be a challenge
I threw one out when I came back from vacation and it had black scum on top. “Oh just scrape it off!” said my mom.
I so love the cat, cow, dog, fruit fly portion of this video. 😂. Also I truly feel that Raw milk would be better for our gut health. Too much intervention makes for a sicker society. Wish we could live on an acre property and have a cow.
Really enjoyed your discussion. I have already made a very dry ball of starter to test out. Thanks ladies.
My mom shared one of your UA-cam videos with me! Glad to see you here talking with Lisa!
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it 😊 ~ Anja
I grew up with my father making sourdough pancakes every morning - he'd put a cup of started in the pancake mix, and after mixing it all up, he'd take a cup and mix it back into the starter. I'm trying a recipe to make starter with potato water - the (unsalted) water left after boiling potatoes until tender. The starch from the potatoes should work well to get the starter going . . .
I have heard of that but, never tried it...
🎉😅 well, I'm feeling glad that when I started my new starter last week, I used whole grain organic dark rye 😊🎉🎉🎉
Thanks for all the info
You must absolutely must, get the starter really lively and bubbly, that’s what lifts the bread, if it’s not really lively don’t cook that day, feed it for another day, so it’s coming over the top of the pot. When you’ve taken out what you need to make bread, then feed it and stick it in the fridge.
I’m on day 5 on my sour dough starter for the very first time and this morning I have bubbles I’m so excited I can’t wait to bake my first loaf 🙌🥳🥖
Have fun!
I love love love this video! Learned so much and yes we need more dirt in our lives! Way to go ladies!
To each their own. Just do it in your home, your way. Read, watch, experiment with the methods of others who embody what feeds your soul then develop your own way. Make it fit your life, your taste, and the needs of your loved ones. I love the no fuss, no discard, method. It has worked so much better than the technical methods using scales and hydration tables.
I'm grabbing my first starter to jumpstart my sourdough today. I'm so excited!
Have fun!
I just love Anja way of for sourdough so so woundreful ❤
I have been dooing it her way for 2 years and would NOT go back 😊
It seems to me, for those of us who saved our "discard", when you bake with it, you end up reactivating it anyway. It's really just neglected starter. I've made lots of things with mine - bagels, tortillas, crackers, but now I'm moving away from keeping a separate jar of "discard" and I'm just handling it all more like Lisa does. Use what I want from the unfed, then feed up a small amount for something that needs to begin with activated starter. It's so smart.
I want to try this, but im so played in with my starter now. I keep it in the fridge, feed it every 10 to 14 days. The "discard goes in a larger jar and gets fed as well. The large jar gets used for waffles or added to cookie/cake dough. I need to try letting a bit just dry in a bunch of flour. Always something new to experiment with 😊
My starter is about 3 years old and I took a long break, maybe 6 months. It was in the refrigerator and I took it out and fed it maybe twice and it was ready to use. I also just take it out of the refrigerator and bake with it and it rises my bread nicely. When your sourdough is mature it is almost unstoppable and great for when I'm being lazy.
Very informative 👏👏 Thank you so much for sharing your easy approach to making sourdough bread 🍞 and encouraging me to not give up! God Bless & you both are great inspirations to women like me!
Agree been baking yeast for years. So far every sourdough I have made has been a complete throw away. I have not created anything I would eat. But fascinating interview.
I am still stumped. But I will not give up.
I've been doing sourdough for 8 months and I have really figured out what my starter should look like and when dough us done bulk fremting. Once I figured it out all the things that people were saying made sense, but until I had done it with my hands in my kitchen ut was really hard to understand.
There is natural yeat in a lot of things - rasisns, tree bark, flowers, ect.
I sell sourdough starter but I let everyone know thst once its in there house and they have fed that it will be different from the original starter.
I keep a cotton cover over my jar to keep things out but gives it airflow.
I tried three flours for my starter. Odley the regular flour was the best.
For me being one person Anja's method seems to fit me better. I started my starter a few days ago. My house is cold 62* so I shall see how long it takes. I do have some bubbles. If you can't use the discard in the other method this method of letting it go dormant is good.
I really do think sourdough is much more versatile than many believe. You just have to experiment and find a method that works for you.
I'm going to try to start one by mixing buttermilk & flour. Seems too easy, but I have nothing to lose, and everything to gain!
Good morning ladies, thank you for sharing comfort levels including timelines of this process are flexible.
Hello ,
This is so helpful. I have been taking classes and a well known bakery in Southeast Michigan. They use Caraway and a dit if onion in a doubled cheese cloth to get the starter going and it can be pulled out after a few days. It would be an easy way to add the caraway and not have it in the starter. Thank you for all the help. I will subscribe to both channels.
Great tip!
I have tried 3 times. But not giving up. I just need to learn it's look and feel. Just like any cooking baking in life. Wish me luck. 😊
Keep it up
Remember my grandmother, she knows when is ready!! The first time about, one year a go when I see and explain to me how it work, mad said some confusion the discarded, for me was not normal.