36 Hour Instant Pot Sourdough Starter – and how to manage

Sourdough StarterOne of my bucket list items has been to make a sourdough starter. After playing around with all kinds of things over this quarantine, I have one. And, I have used the instant pot to speed things up. Well, you kind of knew that was coming right?  Well, I am a huge fan of the yogurt setting. It is great for fermenting things.

I made this starter about five months ago, and am happy with all the many loaves of bread I have enjoyed since.

I am updating and adding as my journey continues. In general, like most things I do this is less of a science lesson and more of a playbook of sorts.

Some disclaimers on this sourdough starter

  • These steps have had the starter going and it has been getting close to double in about 4-5 hours outside the instant pot.
  • It will need more than 36 hours to get completely established, which essentially means that you are assured that it will generate workable sourdough bread.
  • This said, the instant pot is definitely cutting down the process and time needed.
  • Sourdough StarterI have tried these for small things like rolls and crepes and pancakes and used this for whole wheat loaves of bread.
  • This starter is made with whole wheat flour.
  • All these food experiments are making my scientist husband very nervous.

In a nutshell

Anyhow, in an essence, this is my 36 hour instant pot sourdough starter.

The process consists of five feedings (a process of removing and adding more flour to the mixture).

I use whole wheat flour, NY tap water, a wooden spoon and a 16 oz mason jar for this.

Sourdough Starter

Doing this with all purpose and bread flour will work and you do not need to change the process too much.

My starter lives in my refrigerator and is fed about once or twice a week. If I see it getting watery on top, I feed it, equal parts of flour and water (about 75 grams)

Terminology and General Process as I understand it related to the Sourdough Starter

Starter

We are essentially creating natural live culture, that can be used in place of yeast for baking. Using preferably whole grain flour and water, we are effective fermenting it allow it to develop a natural culture.  The resulting natural culture is a starter. Small amounts of the starter is used to develop bread or any other dough that needs yeast. Natural yeast is slower, but results in a more full flavored bread or other fermented product.

Temperature

Temperature matters. The starter develops best in about 75 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit. By using the instant pot to jump start this process, I am effectively speeding up the fermentation and also guaranteeing that there is no variability in the temperature. Now the temperature for the yogurt mode is about 110 which is higher than the preferred temperature for a starter.  To counter this,  I set it for about 3 hours and leave it in for 9 hours in the instant pot. This gives the starter a boost without over-doing the heat.

Hydration

The percentage and proportion of water to flour in the mixture. So, in this case since I use a 1 is to 1 ratio, this is a 100% hydration starter.

Why whole grain?

The natural nutrients in the whole grain flour, work well in catching and trapping natural yeast.

What is feeding?

The process of adding new flour to the mixture to keep the culture active and alive.  I remove about 2 tablespoons of the starter and refresh with about 75 grams of new flour.

  • What is discard? The part of the culture that is removed is called a discard. Use the discard for other recipes. There are a bunch of them on this site. My favorite way to use a discard is to use it in Indian recipes like this dhokla or sourdough naan.

Sourdough Starter

Why is it quicker?

Essentially, a sourdough starter is happy at about 70 degrees F. The yogurt setting provides 110 degrees consistent heat, speeding this up but not killing the progress. You can try this in an oven with the pilot light setting. The temperature there is about 90 degrees.

 

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36 Hour Instant Pot Sourdough Starter

36 Hour Instant Pot Sourdough Starter

My 36 hour starter, done in the instant pot.

Ingredients

  • 2 cups of whole wheat flour
  • water as needed

Instructions

  1. In a large mason jar mix 3/4 cup of the flour with 3/4 water, using a wooden or plastic spoon. Cover and place on a trivet (with handles), it is easier to get them out this way. Set to the yogurt setting for 3 hours. After about 9 hours, check your starter.
  2. Remove and you should see some frothiness in the starter. Remove about 1/4 of the starter. Mix in 1/4 cup of the flour with 2 tablespoons of water. Set the yogurt mode for 3 hours. Check the starter after 6 hours.
  3. Remove half the starter. You can collect your removed starter or discards for other recipes. Then mix 1/4 cup of flour with 2 to 3 tablespoons of water (you want the consistency of thick pancake batter. Set the yogurt mode to 2 hours. Repeat the process after 6 hours. Do this 4 to 5 more times.
  4. By the end of this, your starter should be doubled and it should smell fruity.
  5. So, essentially the time is 9 hours, plus 4 iternations of 6 hours =24 plus 9 hours. With a little room to spare you get to the 36 hours.
  6. Your starter is ready for use. To ensure that it is established and can live in the refridgerator. Leave this outside for 3 days, repeating the discard and replenish process 2 times a day. Your starter should be consistently doubling withing 4 hours.
https://spicechronicles.com/36-hour-instant-pot-sourdough-starter/

 

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