Last year, when I announced my annual sourdough starter giveaway in this column, I opened with this statement: “I think every kitchen should have a sourdough starter, because everything made with it is so delicious.” Clearly, others agreed: That January, I gave away 154 packets of sourdough starter, mostly to Flathead Beacon readers. You can help to break that packet-sending record by joining in the Sixth Annual Sourdough Giveaway.
Through January 31, I am offering free packets of my sourdough starter, plus instructions for waking up and caring for it. Simply fill out the giveaway form at TwiceAsTasty.com. While the starter is free, packaging and shipping cost me $5 per packet. The giveaway form offers several options for covering this cost.
Beyond sourdough’s tasty flavor, consider these reasons for participating in the giveaway:
1. You’re new – or returning – to baking with sourdough. You can create a starter with flour, water and time, but it’s easiest to adopt an active, fully developed starter. My starter was gifted to me in May 2014. It’s a 100% hydration, wheat-based starter that I primarily feed with Wheat Montana Natural White Flour and my unchlorinated well water. In 2017, I began dehydrating and shipping it around the world.
2. You struggle with digesting commercially processed bread. Research has shown that sourdough’s wild yeast and bacteria break down the phytic acid in wheat bran, making it easier to digest – especially when fermented for long periods. If health issues affect your wheat consumption, chat with your doctor or nutritionist about whether you should try homemade sourdough.
3. You joined last year’s giveaway but no longer have the starter. It happens: Summer hiking or paddling supplants winter baking days, a spouse or housemate tosses the starter amid fridge cleaning, a helpful child overfeeds the jar, throwing off its balance. I’m happy to send you a fresh packet.
4. Your starter has been dormant in your fridge for months and looks ugly. I will certainly ship you a new packet, but the jar lurking in your fridge may just need a reawakening. Sourdough is a resilient beast; you have to make an effort to kill it. Send me a photo and I’m happy to advise you on reviving a dormant starter. If you have a starter packet that you never rehydrated, it’s likely viable too; contact me if you need my rehydration instructions.
5. You have a jar of lively starter in your kitchen. Share it and expand on my giveaway. Scoop some into a clean jar and pass it to a friend. You can even dry and ship it like I do using instructions I’ll share this week on TwiceAsTasty.com.
This month, I’ll offer some of my favorite sourdough recipes in this column. Share your successes and ask any questions on Instagram by tagging your photos with @twiceastastyblog.