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emilyvsmith badge: Community Member

Making Sourdough Starter

Please let me know if I can use KAF Unbleached Bread Flour in my sourdough starter in place of the KAF Unbleached All-Purpose Flour.

Thanks for any help you can give me.

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CookinATX
  • Reply by CookinATX on January 09, 2012 at 1:02 pm
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Yes.

I created my starter with 100% whole wheat. I'm converting some of it to white bread flour. Never used A/P...which is fine too.

Chris

stevenc12
  • Reply by stevenc12 on January 10, 2012 at 1:40 am
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You can make sourdough starter from ANY kind of flour. The results will be somewhat different depending on the kind of flour but it's all still starter. If you happen to use whole-wheat flour, you're not going to get much leavening. You might want to only have a portion of the starter being whole wheat. Bread flour has a higher gluten content than all-purpose flour and it's likely to have more leavening effect.

GinaG
  • Reply by GinaG on January 10, 2012 at 2:56 pm
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Yes, you certainly can! In fact, most sourdough starters as well as the bread made with it indeed call for bread flour.

KAF AP has a somewhat higher protein content than other brands of AP which is why many people have used it interchangeably with bread flour in recipes with acceptable results.
GinaG.

kidpizza
  • Reply by kidpizza on January 10, 2012 at 3:16 pm
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EMILYVSMITH:
Good afternoon. Emily, you have been given excellent information as to your question. I will just touch it up a bit.

Yes, you can start a sourdough starter with any flour such as a AP flour of the unbleached Gold Medal/Pillsbury type....but & however once started It is best fed with a UN~BLEACHED flour & at Minimum strength KAF AP flour which is a good proxy for bread flour. Bread flour & Hi~Gluten flour can also be employed. Yes, it is a good idea to use W.W. flour but together with white flour...also use a little lite rye flour once in awhile mixed in with the white flour. One more thing when feeding your starter sometimes it is mentioned thusly. 1 cup of flour & 1, cup of water. Incorrect information...Why??? because they do not weigh the same amount. When feeding you feed equal amounts by weight thusly, 5,oz flour 5,oz water.

I hope this info will help you in your in your bread baking. Good luck & enjoy the rest of the day young lady.

~KIDPIZZA.

Harrison Brook

I use KA bread flour exclusively for my starter. I don't think gluten makes much difference as far the starter is concerned. You're really growing a yeast culture with the right acidity (flavor).

P.S. I had left my starter dormant in the fridge for 3 months. I finally dragged it out and fed new 50/50 mixture, let it set a day and fed it again. Lots of bubble action going on. Not made any new sourdough just yet.