How To Adapt Any Recipe To Become A Sourdough Recipe

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by CFH Admin
June 23, 2022
4 min read

Once you now where to buy a sourdough starter and you have mastered that great sourdough loaf recipe, you may want to branch out and try your hand at other sourdough baked goods.

Most of us have recipes passed down in our family that we love. It might be Nana’s banana bread or Uncle Joe’s sandwich bread. If this sounds like you then you might want to continue making these baked goods, but with the use of yoursourdough culturefor the health and money-saving benefits.

You can adapt recipes, with a bit of trial and error, to use your sourdough starter. First, though, you need to determine if your recipe is one calling for yeast, like a bread loaf, or a quick bread (like pancakes) calling for baking soda or baking powder.

ADAPTING YEAST RECIPES TO SOURDOUGH

Theoretically speaking, if you know what thehydration levelof your sourdough starter is you should be able to easily adapt a yeast bread recipe to use sourdough.

The other thing to consider in the recipe you wish to adapt is the amount of yeast. The rising power of one packet of yeast is about equivalent to one cup of sourdough starter, depending on the health of your starter.

Knowing these two factors you can approximate a substitution of one cup of sourdough starter for one packet of commercial yeast. You would then lower the flour and water according to your hydration levels, being sure to measure it again by weight.

Once you have your sourdough mixed together and flour and water adaptations accounted for, you must also account for the longer rise time needed for sourdough. This isn’t as complicated as it may seem, as you will simply allow for a 4-hour (or more) rise time instead of the instant yeast rise time that is usually around 2 hours.

ADAPTING QUICK BREAD RECIPES

Quick bread recipes are slightly trickier in that most of them were created with the quick leavening of baking soda or baking powder in mind. So perhaps a little background on each is in order.

Baking soda, or the chemical compound sodium bicarbonate, is an alkaline substance that is used in baking quick breads. This alkaline powder reacts with the acidic element in a recipe (i.e., buttermilk, vinegar, etc.) to create gases that create the rise in a pancake, biscuit, or loaf of zucchini bread.

Baking powder contains both an acid and alkaline component which is why you can make pancakes or biscuits with milk (not acidic) as the liquid and still have the gases creating a rising power.

If you are interested in using sourdough in such recipes you may do so in a few ways.

Use Your Sourdough Starter to Add a Tang to Quick Breads

If you are only interested in adding the tang of sourdough to your pancakes or biscuits then you could substitute one cup ofsourdough starterfor the equivalent amounts of flour and water, by weight. This gets a little tricky when you have a recipe that contains a very small amount of milk, to begin with because you are substituting water for something that contains fats, proteins, and carbohydrates (milk).

Also, keep in mind that your sourdough starter will act as an acidic element to a recipe. So if you are using a recipe that calls for buttermilk you may be able to use regular milk instead since your sourdough will provide the acidic element for baking soda to react with.

Click here to check out all of our Sourdough Starters now!

Use Your Sourdough Starter to Create Longer-soaked (Fermented) Quick Bread

This can be done very similarly to the method of substituting sourdough for yeast above. Simply replace your water and flour by weight with your100% hydration starter.

So if you wanted to make something like thesesourdough cheddar biscuitsyou would replace flour and liquid with your sourdough starter,along with the baking soda and baking powder (which you will use less of than in most recipes),then allow the culture to raise the biscuits for 4+ hours,

For a thinner battered quick bread such assourdoughpancakes, you can actually use a straight-up sourdough starter without any additional flour or water. You may want toalter the hydration levelof your sourdough to produce a thinner or thicker pancake as desired, but no long soaking time is needed since you aren’t using any additional flour.

Are you a sourdough enthusiast and eager to improve your baking skills? Download our Sourdough Guide and Recipe book today!

DON'T BE AFRAID OF TRIAL AND ERROR

As with other elements of sourdough baking, you will want to play with recipes in order to achieve your desired results. With these tidbits in mind, though, you should be able to manipulate any of your favorite recipes to utilize sourdough.

If you're ready to start utilizingsourdough culturesin your recipes, Cultures for Health is here to help.

We have thelargest collection of cultures and fermentation products. From tools to individual starters to our all-in-one kits, Cultures for Health has everything you need to successfully start making your own food at home. Embrace natural eating now with Cultures for Health.

Click here to check out our Artisan Sourdough Kit with everything you need to make a sourdough culture at home now!

Ready to Learn More?

How to Convert a Quick Bread into a Sourdough Recipe
Sourdough Baking Tips and Tricks

FAQs

What can be used to start a sourdough culture? ›

Despite all the mysticism and lore about creating the concoction, a sourdough starter is merely a naturally fermenting mixture of flour and water. Add water to dry flour, let it sit on the counter for a few days, and you'll see nature weave life into a once lifeless lump: bubbles will appear and the mixture will rise.

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How do you activate sourdough culture? ›

INSTRUCTIONS FOR ACTIVATING A SOURDOUGH STARTER

of room temperature water in a quart-size glass jar and stir thoroughly. Cover the jar with a coffee filter or breathable material secured with rubber band and culture the starter in a warm place (70-80°F) for 12-24 hours.

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Is sourdough culture healthy? ›

Although the beneficial microbes in the starter tend to be lost during the baking process, the fibre and plant compounds, called polyphenols, become more bio-available. These act as an important fuel source for our gut microbes, which explains why sourdough is a gut-friendly choice.

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What makes sourdough bread healthier? ›

Sourdough relies on a mix of wild yeast and lactic acid bacteria, rather than baker's yeast, to leaven the dough. It's richer in nutrients, less likely to spike your blood sugar, contains lower amounts of gluten, and is generally easier to digest than bread made with baker's yeast.

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What is the difference between sourdough starter and sourdough culture? ›

Now comes the main difference between a sourdough starter and a sourdough culture, a preferment is a living thing and requires maintenance. Depending on how diligent you are, your sourdough starter will require feeding once or twice a day to keep it healthy.

Is sourdough actually healthier than regular bread? ›

The bottom line. Sourdough is a healthier alternative to regular white or whole wheat bread. Although it has comparable nutrients, the lower phytate levels mean it is more digestible and nutritious. The prebiotics also help to keep your gut bacteria happy, and it may be less likely to spike blood sugar levels.

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What is the best bread for gut health? ›

"Let's talk about my favorite bread for digestion and gut health: Sourdough bread. Sourdough is incredible because these microbes are transforming the flour," Dr. Bulsiewicz explains in the Instagram Reel, referring to the way the wild yeasts react with the flour and water in the sourdough starter.

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Does adding sourdough starter to recipes make it healthier? ›

There are so many amazing savory and sweet recipes you can make using leftover sourdough starter. It adds a delicious flavor and imparts moisture to recipes which keeps bakes tasting fresher for much longer. You can also use sourdough discard to ferment recipes which makes them healthier and easier to digest.

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Is sourdough still healthy if you add yeast? ›

One thing you do need to take note of is that if you add some store-bought yeast to your sourdough, it will not have the health benefits that a traditional long fermented sourdough will have. This means that it will not be suitable for people with gluten intolerances.

Can diabetics eat sourdough bread? ›

People with diabetes can eat sourdough bread or any other bread that fits into their dietary plan. That said, because sourdough has a lower glycemic index than other bread varieties, it can be a particularly good choice if you're watching your blood sugar levels.