Using Sourdough Starter in a bread machine

It is my favorite smell, next to chocolate.

I have a question: Can any of these starters be used in a bread machine? I generally use my bread machine to mix and rise 1 time, then shape and cook.

They can, but sourdough leavens more slowly than commercial yeast so you’ll likely need to allow more time for the rise.

So if I start it in the bread machine and it doesn’t rise much during the “make dough” process, just take it out and form it and then let it rise in the oven (with the light on)? Sometimes it is difficult to get dough to rise at my house in the winter. I use the bread machine because I have arthritis in my hands.

My new starter is sitting on top of my water heater - it is getting down to 24 degrees tonight! I’ve even hung a lightbulb near it next to the water heater to ensure it is warm enough. I often wonder how they made bread back in the middle ages with no electricity and fires that vary in temperature.

This is a cool sight - I found a person asking about Irish Soda bread and was suddenly on a site with a lot of Irish recipes. Thank you for creating Breadtopia!

That should work. Keep a close eye on it. Dough in a warm place like that can rise a lot faster than in a cool place and you don’t want it to over proof.

I’m wondering, do I need to put my starter on a towel on the granite counter top or is leaving it directly on the granite okay? I was thinking the counter top would be too cool for it to rise correctly

@Deb_L Hi! I’m not a teacher at all, just a novice baker but I do think your jar of starter would be better off placed on a trivet or plate, etc. so it’s not touching the granite counter directly. I’m not sure if just placing it on a towel would insulate the jar from the coolness of the granite as much as elevating the jar off the granite would. Though I don’t think the granite counter would cause any harm, it is a cooler surface and would probably mean your starter may take longer to feed properly.

Leah

Thank you Leah, I wished it came with written instructions, instead of having to watch a video, have limited wifi for videos.

@Deb_L I hear ya! I’m a novice baker and and found this forum to be a wealth of information. We’ve got some very experienced and informative bakers here. I’ve learned a lot and it’s helped me in my bread journey. Of course, today’s bake would have gone a bit better IF I had remembered to turn on the timer when I put my dough in the oven. It baked longer then it should have, LOL! Let’s just say, it’s got a darker and crunchier crust than usual but thankfully I was able to catch my mistake in time to save the loaf which still looked pretty good, albeit a bit darker than usual. Good thing my sweet husband likes crust!

Leah

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I am too & we both like crusts, so it’s good to know how to get real crusty, :smiley: