AD| Organic Sourdough Starter Kit Review from Freshly Fermented

Have you ever visited a farmers market or farm shop? I’m lucky that where I live there’s a weekly farmers market. One of my favourite things to buy is sourdough bread.

There’s just something so wonderful about the taste and smell of sourdough. That tangy flavour and crisp, chewy crust! Just the thought makes my mouth water!

So, what makes sourdough different from the bread you buy at the supermarket? Well, sourdough is slow-fermented bread.

What does fermented mean?

Just to break that down for you, fermented foods are foods or even drinks that are produced through controlled microbial growth and the conversion of food components through enzymatic action. Yeast and bacteria break down those food components. For example, sugars such as glucose into other products such as organic acids, gases or alcohol.

Sourdough bread is unique because it doesn’t require commercial yeast in order to rise. That’s because it’s made with a live fermented culture, a sourdough starter. This acts as a natural leavening agent. 

Freshly Fermented

So moving onto the sourdough starter. How do you make this? Well, lucky for me, Freshly Fermented sent me one of their organic sourdough starter kit to review so that I can find that our for myself!

Freshly Fermented is a brand specialising in fermented foods with a wide range of organic and vegan cultured. The brand provides a range of products, from Kombucha, make your own yoghurt, sourdough, drinks and much more. All of these items are nutritious.

ORGANIC SOURDOUGH STARTER KIT

Freshly Fermented’s organic sourdough starter kit contains everything you need to start fermenting. I chose the Hampton White which is currently on sale for £16.80 (normal price £22.32 – prices correct at time of publication).

Each kit contains high-quality Kilner jars. They also include all the utensils required for the fermentation process. These kits make fantastic gifts for anyone looking to start their journey with sourdough.

EACH KIT CONTAINS THE FOLLOWING:

• 150g Organic sourdough starter (selected type)
• 1 litre Kilner jar
• 1 Large plastic stirring paddle
• 1kg Organic flour (type-specific) / 1.5kg Rye flour (organic not available) / 500g Organic rice flour for gluten-free sourdough

I chose the Hampshire White option for my sourdough starter kit. The instructions aren’t included in the parcel I received as it can be downloaded directly from the Freshly Fermented website.

Making the Sourdough Starter

I downloaded and printed the instructions off. They’re well written and easy to follow. I like that it has information in about how to store the sourdough, its uses, how to look after it and answers to some frequently asked questions.

The first step is to add the organic white sourdough to the kilner jar, after you’ve washed and dried the jar of course.

Once you’ve done this, you need to mix 75g of the flour with 75g of water (the water must be weighed). You then leave the sourdough at room temperature for 24 hours.

On day 2 you need to discard 150g of the starter and then feed the sourdough again with 75g and 75g flour, then leave for another 24 hours.

After this, the sourdough is activated and ready to use. If you want to bake with it, it’s recommended that you discard 150g of the starter and feed it once more with 75g and 75g of water 3-4 hours before you plan to use it.

If you’re not baking every week and don’t want to feed your starter every day, you can keep it in the fridge. It is best to feed your sourdough every week. Even if you feed it and then return it back to the fridge without using it. This keeps it in good health long term.

Final Thoughts

I really like this starter kit. It’s a great way to learn more about fermented foods, sourdough and of course to make your own sourdough starter. I’m going to use mine to make sourdough bread. Freshly Fermented have a great sourdough recipe on their website that I’m going to use. You can view it here.