Basic Sourdough Recipe

Welcome to The Storied Recipe Podcast, a podcast about food, culture, and love.

This recipe for Sourdough came from my podcast guest, Erik Fabian. Make sure you listen to his episode The Midwestern Mom and The Coming of Age Breakfast while you make this sourdough recipe!   

When Erik started talking about sourdough, it quickly became clear he knows a thing or two about happy starters. As the co-owner of Sourhouse, he's helped create tools designed to keep your starter thriving-most famously "Goldy," a clever invention that keeps it in the perfect "Goldilocks" zone: not too warm, not too cold, but just right. With a healthy starter as the foundation, this basic sourdough loaf becomes wonderfully simple to make. The result is a crusty, tangy loaf that proves great bread really does start with great starter care.

Looking for more bread recipes? Try this Icelandic Rye Bread recipe or this Sally Lunn Bread recipe.

Erik's Memories of Making Recipe

I originally made my first starter in a cold Brooklyn apartment, and it took me a month. It wasn't until I realized I needed to warm the starter up. It made a difference and it popped.

-Erik Fabian, guest of The Storied Recipe

Ingredients & Substitutions

• All purpose flour
  • Substitution: Whole wheat flour or Einkorn flour or bread flour
• Rye flour
• Water
• Salt
• Sourdough starter

Making Sourdough Starter

Erik's business, Sourhouse, has so many resources and helpful stories of beginners all the way to experts that can help you on your sourdough journey.

Below is a basic formula you can follow for an at home sourdough starter, taken from Sourhouse Starter Care.

You will need a glass jar with a lid, a scale, and maybe a spatula.

1. In a clean, transparent jar, mix equal parts water and flour of your choice (this is really up to you, e.g. whole wheat, rye, all purpose, bread flour, etc.). Sourhouse recommends 20g of both water and flour. Stir the mixture and cover it loosely.
2. The next day, if there are bubbles, discard half of the mixture and stir in equal amounts of water and flour. If there are no bubbles, wait for another day. Again, cover loosely.
3. For the next 3 through 7 days, repeat step 2 until your starter doubles within 24 hours.
4. When your starter can double in volume in 6 hours it is ready for baking.

Egg-in-a-Hole

There are so many recipes that you can make with sourdough that it would be impossible to cover them all here. However, there is one recipe idea that Erik shared that will be a hit with kids or just as a fun breakfast idea. Egg-in-a-hole is pretty much exactly as it sounds, below are some very basic instructions:

1. Cut a slice of your sourdough, and cut a hole in the middle of your slice (you could use a biscuit cutter if you want it to be precise).
2. Butter a skillet, heat it to medium-high heat, and place your bread down on the skillet.
3. Toast on one side for about 2 minutes, then flip the bread. Crack an egg in the hole of the bread, season with salt and pepper, and wait until the egg is cooked the way you want it.
   • Alternatively, you could fry an egg and simply place it in the "hole".
4. When it is cooked enough on one side, flip it once more, cook for about one more minute, then take it off the heat and serve immediately.
5. Put as many toppings on it as you like. Erik suggested avocado. You could add some arugula or sprouts if you want to make it even more green, maybe add some salsa or hot sauce, the possibilities are endless!

Equipment

• Mixing bowl
• Proofing basket
• Cast iron pot OR enameled Dutch oven

Storage

• At room temperature, your bread should last 3-5 days, and maybe even up to a week if store properly.
• In freezer bags, you can store your sour dough in the freezer between 3 and 6 months.

More North American Recipe

More Bread Recipes

Learn More About Erik's Business Sourhouse

Find Erik and co-owner Jenny on their website Sourhouse

Listen to Erik's Episode

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