How to Have a Sourdough Starter That Never Gets Hooch

Learn how to have a sourdough starter that never gets hooch again! With one simple tweak, you can give yourself the gift of a low-maintenance sourdough starter. Your starter will go from being a source of frustration and confusion to one of the greatest blessings of your kitchen!

Ready? Feed it RYE FLOUR. You can use whatever flour you want for your final loaf, but to have a successful, low maintenance foundation, there’s not a better flour out there than rye.

Dry Starter

I first heard this from Anja, a lady I follow because she shares so much the German way of life. Since that is my heritage, I have loved learning from her! She said that her grandma would put a wad of starter in the bag of rye flour when she wanted to take a break from her starter. WHAT? First of all, yes! That makes sense. Original sourdough bakers didn’t have refrigeration, and clearly had busy lives that couldn’t revolve around their precious sourdough’s schedule. Why haven’t we asked ourselves how they used to do it without all the modern conveniences?

Second, that tells us all we need to know about a healthy starter, doesn’t it? A starter is a live, active culture, which means it has to be fed. In order to bake well, it needs to have a higher hydration… but to keep a starter alive—it just needs food.

Why Rye?

Despite being an expensive flour in conventional grocery stores, rye is originally a “poor man’s grain” because it can grow and even thrive under the worst of conditions. In spite of poor soil conditions and freezing temperatures, this vigorous grain suppresses weeds and provides early spring fodder for grazing animals.

Rye flour is high in amylase enzymes, which is what the bacteria feeds on. This is the primary reason that starters love rye so much. However, rye flour does have more sugar than wheat, so that’s a contributing factor as well!

Where to source rye affordably

Azure is the best option. Where the average store will sell Bob’s Redmill for over $5/lb, azure’s organic rye is only ninety six cents a pound if you buy 25 pounds at a time! You can buy smaller portions that are still significantly less than Bob’s Redmill, but you’ll go through it faster than you think. If you grind your own grain, the rye berries are only ninety cents a pound.

How to feed your rye starter to never get hooch

When I use my starter, I will use all of what’s in the jar without scraping it clean. Then I will scrape all of the starter down to the bottom. (Often times, at this point, I will put my “dirty” jar in the fridge if I’m not planning to bake for a few days.)

With whatever is left in the bottom, usually 1-2 TBS, add water. If I’m planning on baking quite a bit, I’ll use 200 grams of water. But if I’m only planning to bake my usual boules, I’ll add 100 grams of water. Mix the residual starter well with the water. I scrape down the sides again with the water this time to get more off the walls.

(Side note: my favorite tool for dealing with the starter is a cake decorating spatula. It is strong and long, and is the tool I reach for time and again!)

Once the water and starter are mixed well, add the same amount of flour that you used for water. If you used 200 grams of water, add 200 grams of rye flour. If you used 100 grams of water, use 100 grams of rye flour. This is “100% hydration.”

A lot of times, 100% hydration starters made with white flour will get a brown liquid on top called “hooch.” It’s not a bad thing, it just means you need to give it more food. If you’re feeding it a flour deplete of nutrients, you’re going to have to feed it far more often. This is a waste of flour, and produces subpar results. However, if you feed it a flour loaded with enzymes and sugars, it’s going to grow far more robust in fermentation capabilities before it’s hungry again. The result is THE HAPPIEST starter that produces amazing results, even in whole grain breads.

Use Right Away, or Refrigerate

The amazing thing about a rye starter, is that even if you aren’t ready to use it once it’s doubled, you can place it in the fridge. For artisan loaves, I will use it within a week, straight from the fridge. For sandwich bread that has the structure of the bread pans, I will use it regardless of how long it’s been in the fridge! I never have “discard” starter available for the discard recipes, because it’s always ready to perk back to life after being in the fridge! (I do love some discard recipes, so I will make extra starter just for them.)

FAQ

How should I go about switching my starter to rye?

• I switch cold turkey. I know the fancy gurus will give you a complicated schedule of mixing in a small percentage at a time. In 15 years of sourdough baking, I have never had an issue when I’ve been in a pinch and run out of the flour I normally feed with. I have switched between rye, hard red and einkorn grains and never had trouble. Though, if you’re leery to try it my lazy way, set aside a small amount of your original starter (seriously, even a teaspoon is enough) and put it in the fridge. See how it does with the shock of a sudden feast, and if there’s trouble, you have your backup in the fridge. (I don’t think you’re going to need it.)
  

Where do I buy rye flour?

• If you’re wanting to switch today, run to your nearest grocer, and you’ll probably find a small bag of Bob’s Redmill for $5 or so. Buy that to use while you’re waiting for your azure (best price!) or amazon order to come in.

What is hooch!?

• Hooch is a brown liquid that forms on top of your sourdough starter when it is not getting enough nutrients. It is actually an alcohol, and is a byproduct of the fermentation going on in your starter! Hooch is not bad, or an indication that your starter is ruined. Simply pour it off, use the starter in a discard recipe, and feed it with rye next time! This is a picture of my friend’s rye starter. It has been in her fridge since EASTER, and she wanted to bake on Christmas break! She was sure she needed to trash it and start over, but I asked her to try to revive it, to see how long the process would be. She poured off the hooch, saved about a tablespoon and fed it. Here’s what it looked like before:

Here is what it looked like the next morning, after just ONE feeding! Amazing, right!? Over 6 months of dormancy, and it popped right back to life. Proof that sourdough is NOT high maintenance if you give it the right food!

Enjoy the happiest sourdough starter that never gets hooch today!

Switch to rye flour, and see your wildest dreams come true! (Comment below if you know what movie I’m referencing there!) If you’ve been frustrated by your hooch-filled efforts, or feel like sourdough is ruling your life, give this a try!

Comment below and let me know how making the switch to rye has impacted your starter!