How To Use Your Sourdough Starter In Sourdough Recipes

There are 2 ways you can use your sourdough starter in sourdough recipes: the Levain Method and the No-Discard Method.

Let’s explore the pros and cons of each approach to help you determine which one might work best for your sourdough baking needs.

The Levain Method

The Levain Method involves creating a separate starter culture that you’ll use specifically for your recipe. This involves taking a portion of your main sourdough starter and feeding it to create the levain.

Pros of the Levain Method:

Flexibility – The levain gives you the ability to create a starter that is tailored to the specific recipe. For example, if you have an all-purpose flour starter but the recipe calls for 100% whole wheat, you can make a whole wheat levain.

Starter Maintenance – By separating the levain from your main starter, you can keep your primary starter small and more manageable, making it easier to maintain.

Cons of the Levain Method:

Additional Steps – Creating the levain adds an extra step to your baking process, which can be time-consuming for beginner bakers.

Increased Dish Washing – The levain method requires an additional container and utensils, leading to more dishes to clean up.

Potential for Forgetting – If you’re not diligent, it’s easy to forget to maintain both your main starter and the levain, which can lead to issues.

For example:

Let’s say your regular sourdough starter is made with all-purpose or bread flour, but you want to make a 100% whole wheat sourdough bread. In this case, the Levain Method allows you to take a portion of your main starter and feed it into a 100% whole wheat levain specifically for that recipe. Here’s how that would work:

Suppose your recipe requires 100g of sourdough starter. Instead of using your regular starter directly, you would take 25g of that starter and feed it with 50g of whole wheat flour and 50g of water. This creates a 125g whole wheat levain that you can then use in your 100% whole wheat sourdough bread recipe.

The advantage here is that you get to maintain your original starter, while also customizing a levain that perfectly matches the needs of the specific recipe. This allows you to bake a truly 100% whole wheat sourdough bread, even if your regular starter isn’t formulated that way.

The Levain Method gives you this flexibility to create starter cultures tailored to the recipe at hand. Whether it’s a whole wheat, rye, or any other specialty flour blend, the levain can be dialed in to ensure your final bread has the desired characteristics.

This level of control and customization is a key benefit of the Levain Method, as it allows you to optimize the leavening agent for each unique sourdough recipe. It’s a versatile technique that expands the possibilities when baking with your sourdough starter.

The No-Discard Method

The No-Discard Method involves using your main sourdough starter directly in the recipe, without creating a separate levain.

Pros of the No-Discard Method:

Simplicity – This method is more straightforward, as it eliminates the need to create a levain, reducing the number of steps in your baking process.

Less Waste – When the starter reaches its peak, you feed it. What you discard goes straight into making dough

Fewer Dishes – With only your main starter to maintain, you’ll have fewer containers and utensils to clean.

Cons of the No-Discard Method:

Lack of Customization – You’re limited to using your main starter as-is, without the ability to tailor it to the specific recipe.

When deciding between the Levain Method and the No-Discard Method, consider factors such as your baking frequency, the complexity of your recipes, and your personal preferences. The Levain Method offers more flexibility and control, while the No-Discard Method is simpler and generates less waste.

Ultimately, the best approach will depend on your individual needs and experience level as a sourdough baker. Experiment with both methods and find the one that works best for you and your baking style.

Step By Step Instructions

Let’s dive deeper into the step-by-step process for both the Levain Method and the No-Discard Method when incorporating your sourdough starter into bread recipes.

The Levain Method:

Let’s say the recipe calls for 100g of sourdough starter.

Take a portion, like 20g, of your main starter.

Feed the 20g of starter with an equal amount of flour and water. For example, 50g of flour and 50g of water. This creates 120g of levain.

Let rise at room temp until it reaches its peak (approx. 4-8hr. at 70F)

Then measure out 100g to use in your bread recipe. Any remaining levain can be added back to your main starter, saved in a jar to use for discard recipes or thrown away.

Proceed with the rest of your bread recipe, using the 100g of levain as the leavening agent.

Maintain and feed your main sourdough starter as usual, keeping it separate from the levain used for baking.

The No-Discard Method:

Let’s use the same example, where the recipe calls for 100g of starter.

Take your existing sourdough starter, which let’s say is 50g.

Feed the 50g of starter with an equal amount of flour and water, creating 150g of fresh starter. The feeding ratio would be 1:1:1 (50g starter : 50g flour : 50g water).

From the 150g of fed starter, you will “discard” 100g by using it for your bread recipe.

The remaining 50g becomes your new standing starter, which you can now maintain and feed as usual.

The key differences between the two methods are the extra step of creating a separate levain in the first approach, versus directly using your main starter in the second method.

Both are valid techniques, and the choice will depend on your personal preferences, recipe requirements, and the size of your main sourdough starter.