When you’re first getting started baking with sourdough, sometimes it feels like people are speaking a completely different language. I know when I was just beginning I was completely overwhelmed with all the new terminology. So, I wanted to create a guide, a little dictionary if you will, that explains what everything means. Because once you understand the terminology, everything feels a little less overwhelming. At least, it did for me.
Starter
A natural, living yeast that is used to leaven bread. It is a living organism, so it needs to be fed and cared for in order to thrive and act as a leaven. Also referred to as your Mother Starter.
Your starter is a mixture of fermented flour and water, which cultivates the wild yeast in our environment to a form that can be used to leaven bread. It’s a natural yeast, a living organism, that makes bread rise.
A good, strong starter is the foundation of a great loaf of bread. Healthy starters are maintained with regular feedings. Along with raising the bread, starter also helps to give sourdough bread that amazing, tangy and complex flavor.
Gluten begins to break down during fermentation. Because sourdough bread has a long fermentation process, it’s easier to digest and many people with gluten sensitivities can eat this type of bread without all the side effects of store-bought bread.
Feed
Your starter is a mixture of fermented flour and water, which cultivates the wild yeast in our environment to a form that can be used to leaven bread. It’s a natural yeast, a living organism, that makes bread rise. And because your starter is a living organism, it needs to be cared for.
Feeding is the process of adding fresh flour and water to your starter to activate it for baking. Feeding your starter consistently is the key to creating and maintaining a healthy leavening agent for your bread. It only takes a few minutes.
When you feed your starter, you will transfer a small portion of your start into a clean jar and add in at least equal parts of flour and water. Mix it up until everything is combined and then watch it start to activate.
Refresh
Another word for feeding your starter.
Levain
An off shoot of your main (or mother) starter that you use for baking.
You’ll take a small amount of start and feed it in a new container for a specific recipe. Then you’ll use the entire levain in your baking. You won’t save any levain to feed like you would if you were baking with your mother starter.
Active (Ripe) Starter
This is what we call starter when it’s at its peak strength before it begins to fall. This is the prime time to use it to leaven your bread.
You’ll know your starter is active and at it’s peak when it has a sweet, yeasty smell, is full of air bubbles, has doubled (or even tripled) in size and the top is no longer domed. If the top of your starter is domed, that means it’s still growing and isn’t ready to bake with yet.
Discard
While it may seem wasteful, discard is an important part of sourdough maintenance. Discard refers to the portion of your sourdough start that you do not carry over. Typically, you’ll take only half (or less) of your start to feed in a new, clean jar. The rest becomes discard. Discarding helps your starter from getting too large and it also helps to keep the right acidity level for your starter to thrive.
Discard can be either thrown into the trash (don’t wash it down your drain) or used in many different recipes. You can use discard to make cookies, muffins, pancakes, crackers and so many more yummy things. You can also feed your discard to your chickens, use it to thicken your soup or dilute it and use it to help fertilize the plants in your garden.
Hooch
A black/grey liquid that forms on the top of your starter. It’s an indication that your starter is hungry and needs to be fed. Your starter did not die, it’s not bad … it’s just hungry.
If you want a really strong, sour flavor you can stir in your hooch and then feed your start. Or, you can pour off the hooch and then scoop a small spoonful from the bottom of your jar and then feed that in a clean jar. If your start hasn’t been fed in a long time, you may need to feed it a few times before it’s really active and ready to bake with again.
Fermentolyse
When you combine the flour, water and starter, but withhold the salt for 30-60 minutes. Salt can slow down yeast growth, so some people like to mix the dough without the salt to give it a head start since sourdough start is a natural yeast and takes more time to activate than commercial yeast. A fermentolyse gives the fermentation process and yeast development a jump start. It can also help to improve your dough’s elasticity and strength. (Full disclosure, I often skip this step, but I include it in my recipes.)
Autolyse
When you combine the flour and water about an hour before your starter (or levain) is ready. This gives the flour a chance to hydrate and the gluten bonds begin to develop before beginning your fermentation. This can reduce kneading time and strengthen your dough.
Bulk fermentation does not begin until you add the active starter to your mixture.
Bulk Fermentation
Bulk fermentation is the first rise in sourdough baking. This begins once your starter is mixed into your dough and ends when your dough is preshaped. This process usually takes about 7 hours if the dough is a consistent 75*F.
During the colder months, bulk fermentation can take 8-12 hours. During this time, fermentation creates carbon dioxide gases (which make the dough rise and increase in volume) and organic acids (which give the dough flavor and strength).
Stretch & Fold
The process in which you develop the gluten network in your dough, which is what makes your dough strong so it holds its shape and raises well in the oven. This replaces the “kneading” step in traditional bread making.
To perform a stretch and fold: reach to the bottom of the bowl, pull the dough up and over and place it on the top of the dough. Turn the bowl a quarter turn and repeat the stretching and folding motion 4-6 times. You’ll notice the dough changes through this process. Your first set looks a little bit shaggy, but by the end you should have a nice, smooth and elastic dough
Coil Fold
A folding technique that is used to develop gluten in a gentle way. They are typically used on higher hydration doughs (80% and higher).
To perform a coil fold, you’ll need to gently loosen the edges of the dough by pulling it away from the sides of the bowl. Place your fingers under the dough so that you can pick it up in the middle. Allow the dough to gently fall, using its own weight, while you support it in the middle until one side of the dough releases from the proofing bowl. Gently lower the dough to allow the dough to tuck under the middle. Repeat with the other side. Rotate your proofing bowl 90* and repeat until you’ve worked all sides.
Boule
A round loaf of sourdough bread.
Batard
An oval loaf of sourdough bread.
Banneton Basket
The container you use during your final proof or cold fermentation of your artisan loaf. Can be round or oval.
Lame
A tool that holds the blade you use to score your bread.
Score
The process of slicing the top of your bread to give steam a place to escape. It also can help make your loaf beautiful. It is both for decoration (shallow scoring) and expansion (deep scoring). The expansion score is like an exit sign for the steam.
If you choose not to score your bread the steam will just release through the weakest part of your dough, which results in a torn loaf and a more rustic look.
Hydration
Refers to the amount of moisture in the dough. Find this ratio by dividing the total weight of water (or other liquids) in the recipe by the total weight of the flour. For example, a recipe that uses 75 grams of water and 100 grams of flour has a 75% hydration level. Higher hydration sourdough bread is usually softer, with a more open crumb (large holes) and a thinner crust. My original artisan sourdough recipe is a 70% hydration loaf.
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