My 1st Sourdough Bread

 A few days ago I got some sourdough bread starter—often called a "mother"— from my friend. My daughter has been waiting expectantly for my first sourdough all this week.

Ever since I learned that sourdough, unlike standard bread which relies on store-bought packets of commercial yeast, rises through natural fermentation and harbors living bacteria good for health, I’ve always longed to learn how to make sourdough; finally I did it today.

Sourdough is the oldest form of leavened bread in human history. Historians trace its origins back to Ancient Egypt around 1,500 BC. It was likely discovered by accident when a bowl of flour and water was left out, allowing wild yeast to settle in and ferment the dough. For thousands of years, this was the only way to make bread rise. It traveled with the Roman legions, sustained European peasants through the Middle Ages, and became iconic during the California Gold Rush of 1849. Miners carried their starters in pouches close to their bodies to keep the yeast warm in the chilly mountains—leading to the famous "San Francisco Sourdough" we know today.

The Science: How the "Mother" Works

I wondered how the "Mother" works. To the naked eye, a sourdough starter looks like a simple paste of flour and water. Under a microscope, however, it is said to be a thriving symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast (SCOBY).

1. Wild Yeast (The Lifter)

Commercial yeast is a single strain (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) bred for speed. Sourdough relies on wild yeast found naturally on flour grains and in the air. These wild yeasts are hardier and more acid-tolerant than their commercial ones. They consume the sugars in the flour and exhale carbon dioxide, creating the bubbles that make the bread rise.

2. Lactic Acid Bacteria (The Flavor Maker)

This is the secret sauce of sourdough. Specifically, bacteria like Lactobacillus live alongside the yeast. They ferment the dough and produce lactic and acetic acids. These acids are responsible for the tang that signature sour flavor, the texture softening the gluten for a better crumb, and the shelf life as the acidity naturally inhibits the growth of mold.

3. The Pre-Digestion Benefit

One reason people often find sourdough easier to digest than white bread is the fermentation time. The long rise allows the bacteria to break down phytic acid (which can block mineral absorption) and begin the breakdown of gluten proteins. While not gluten-free, this pre-digestion makes the nutrients in the grain more bioavailable to our bodies.

My first sourdough, following this instruction, was successful. 

Tips for the New Baker:

1. Know your starter container’s weight as you need this information to maintain your starter.

2. Once you use your starter for baking, you need to feed the starter. (feeding instruction) 

3. Watchout!! Feeding a starter in the evening with a lower ratio means that it would most likely peak in the middle of the night, and be over fermented in the morning. Last night after I prepared the dough, I fed the starter at a 1:1:1 ratio; when I checked the starter, it didn’t look right. So, I researched what this warning means in detail: This warning is all about timing and food supply. When you are baking sourdough, you generally want to use your starter when it is at its "peak" (at its highest point in the jar, bubbly, and active). In sourdough terms, a ratio describes how much fresh flour and water you give the starter compared to how much "old" starter is in the jar. Low Ratio (e.g., 1:1:1 meaning 1 part starter, 1 part flour, 1 part water) is like giving a snack to a hungry teenager. They will eat it very quickly. High Ratio (e.g., 1:5:5,  1 part starter, 5 parts flour, 5 parts water) is like giving a massive Thanksgiving feast to that same teenager. It will take them much longer to finish it.

If you feed your starter a Low Ratio (a small meal) right before you go to sleep:

1. 10:00 PM: You feed the starter. Because the amount of food is small relative to the yeast, the yeast eats through the sugars very fast.

2. 3:00 AM (Middle of the Night): The starter hits its Peak. It is doubled in size and perfect for baking. But you are asleep.

3. 3:01 AM - 7:00 AM: The yeast runs out of food. It starts to starve. The gas bubbles pop, and the starter begins to collapse back down in the jar.

4. 8:00 AM (Morning): You wake up to bake. The starter is now "Over Fermented."

An over-fermented starter is not dead, but it is exhausted.

• Visual: It has risen and then fallen back down (you might see streaks on the side of the jar showing how high it got).

• Texture: It is runny, watery, and soupy because the acid has broken down the gluten.

Tonight I just added 120g of water and bread flour, respectively to the starter. Will check tomorrow morning whether this fixes this over fermented starter.