My Top 5 Sourdough Cookie Recipes by Make It Dough (2024)

FAQs

What is the secret to a good sourdough starter? ›

Over the years, I've found keeping the mixture warm at around 80°F (26°C), and high hydration (100% water to flour in baker's percentages) helps get things started. In addition, while not mandatory, using certain flour also helps increase the chances a starter will take hold quickly (see below).

If you have too much starter compared to the additional flour and water you're adding, your hungry starter consumes all the nutrients and then it's not as bubbly.

The process of slow fermentation allows the bacteria to break down the carbohydrates and gluten and also neutralizes the phytic acid, making it easier for the body to digest. Fermented sourdough also contains healthy resistant starch and doesn't raise blood glucose levels as much as conventional wheat cookies.

Due to its wide availability and affordability, all-purpose flour is often my top recommendation for creating and maintaining a sourdough starter. In fact, I've been feeding my own sourdough starter Central Milling's all-purpose flour for the past 4 years.

It would be best if you discarded some portion of your starter each time you feed it unless you want to continue to let it grow. Eventually, you need to discard the used “food” (flour and water) that's been used to sustain your starter during the last fermentation period.

If you don't get rid of the excess, eventually you'll have more starter than your feedings can sustain. After a few days, your daily 1/4 cup flour and water won't be enough to sustain your entire jar of starter, and your starter will be slow and sluggish, not much better than discard itself.

Overworked sourdough can become tough and lose its ability to rise properly. If your dough feels tight and is difficult to shape, it might be overworked. Remember, sourdough requires a gentle touch and should not be kneaded as vigorously as other types of bread dough.

More stretch and folds

Typically, people do about 3-5 stretch and folds in the process of making a loaf of sourdough bread. If you do 2-4 more of them, it helps produce a more sour dough.

Whole wheat bread in actuality contains more resistant starch than sourdough bread, and also has more fibre, meaning it is friendlier to the gut and easier to digest.

Is it healthy to eat sourdough everyday? You could eat sourdough every day, but it isn't necessarily healthy to do so. A healthy diet is characterized by balance and moderation. Whether or not it is healthy for you to consume sourdough every day depends on the rest of your diet.

Is discard the same as starter? ›

Active starter and discard both come from the same sourdough starter. However, they are in different phases. Active starter has been fed flour and water within the last 12 hours or so and is growing until it hits its peak. Once it begins to fall it is considered discard.

Cool down your dough for a tastier, chewier cookie.

There's a few reasons why, but one important part is it gives the butter in your dough a chance to firm up before baking. The colder your dough is before it heads into the oven, the less it will spread during baking, which makes for loftier cookies.

Flavor and Texture: Milk adds a creamy and slightly sweet flavor to the cookie dough, enhancing its taste. It also contributes to the dough's texture, making it smoother and more cohesive. 2. Moisture: Milk contains water, which helps maintain the dough's moisture content.

The longer you go in between feedings, the more acetic acid your starter will develop. This acid creates a more sour flavor.

because it reacts with the acid from the sourdough starter to create carbon dioxide gas, which provides leavening. You don't want to add baking soda to the starter you are maintaining, because baking soda will raise the pH. The yeast will not grow unless the pH is around 3.5.

A 100% hydration sourdough starter is a culture which is kept and fed with water and flour at equal weights. Like for instance 5 oz water to 5 oz flour. A 166% hydration starter is fed with equal volume of flour and water, which most typically is one cup of water (8.3 oz) and one cup of flour (5 oz).

Example of How To Increase Your Sourdough Starter

If you have 50g of starter in your jar, but you would like to have 200g of starter because you want to bake a few different things then you would need to add 100g of each flour and water to that starter to make 200g (because 200g divided by 2 is 100g).