What is sourdough starter? 

The sourdough starter it is a mixture composed of water and flour which is left to ferment spontaneously using substances that naturally start the fermentation process.

The sourdough starter or sourdough is a "live" yeast, different from brewer's yeast, commonly used for leavened products such as pizza and bread. 

It is a dough which, once prepared for the first time, must be combined with water and flour to obtain another dough from which, following a long leavening, a part will be retained which will be used for the next dough.

Simply put, sourdough is a living dough that is always fed, thus becoming inexhaustible.

The brewer's yeast ( or Saccharomyces cerevisiae ) it is instead a product available in fresh blocks (you can find them in the refrigerated counter of the supermarket) or in dry powder (which keeps for longer) and must simply be added to the bread or pizza dough.

It owes its name to the fact that the unicellular microorganisms from which it is generated have been used since ancient times for the artisanal production of beer.

Sourdough as you make it at home

Mother yeast has been re-evaluated in recent years and is widely used at home also because bread and pizza with mother yeast have a better flavor and fragrance and the dough is more digestible.

The sourdough must usually be refreshed weekly and the leavening of bread and pizza takes longer, by continuing to refresh it from week to week you will have a stronger sourdough starter over time and will obtain excellent results.

Sourdough can be made gluten-free

Of course, gluten-free sourdough can be made, you need to use a naturally gluten-free flour, such as rice flour or sorghum flour, the important thing is that we have a very fine grain to help leavening.

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