Throughout the Disney Parks, you’ll find all types of sourdough snacks. Boudin Bakery in San Francisco California is a mecca for a sourdough bread bowl which is likely why Disney California Adventure has an entire Mickey head made of this popular dough. Les Halles Boulangerie-Patisserie in EPCOT at Walt Disney World has a bread bowl full of melty, gooey cheese. The possibilities for this bread are practically endless, but before you start dreaming up the next sourdough concoction, you’ll need a starting point, well… a starter, to be exact.
A little bit about sourdough starters:
Starters are living, eating entities that need to be fed weekly. The longer you have a living starter, the more fermented and sour it will become, giving the tangy punch expected from a proper sourdough bread. There are many places to buy a sourdough starter (even online) if you want to make bread immediately, but if you have the patience to start your own, follow this recipe and you’ll be making dough in no time.
Step One:
Whole Wheat Flour -120g (1 cup)
Warm Water- 120g ( ½ cup)
Mix flour and water in a quart mason jar with a wooden or plastic spoon. Cover the mason jar loosely with a lid, a bit of cloth, or a coffee filter fastened by a rubber band. Allow the jar to sit at room temperature until it begins to bubble (24-48 days, depending on room temperature).
Step Two:
When the starter becomes active, discard ½ of the mixture. Now you will “feed” your starter with:
Bread Flour -1 cup
Warm Water- ½ cup
Repeat this step every other day for one week, discarding ½ of the mixture each time.
Step Three:
After one week, if your starter has remained healthy and active, you can tighten the lid and move it to the refrigerator. You MUST feed the starter weekly by bringing it to room temperature, repeating step two, and allowing it to become active before returning it to the refrigerator.
Here is a starter that is 3 months old, it is slightly darker in color and becomes much more active when fed:
Start your starter today and follow along with Disney Dining as we add more recipes like Sourdough Mickey, Sourdough Boules, and Sourdough Mickey Pretzels!
