Sourdough Starter
A sourdough starter is a living culture of wild yeast and friendly bacteria kept alive in a simple mix of flour and water. It leavens bread naturally, gives sourdough its gentle tang and long keeping quality, and needs regular feeding to stay healthy, much like a pet in the kitchen.
Builds on
What it is
Left to sit, flour and water catch wild yeasts from the grain and air along with lactic and acetic bacteria. Together they form a stable, slightly sour culture. The yeasts provide the rise while the bacteria build acidity and flavour, and the balance between them shapes how tangy the bread turns out.
Why it matters
A starter does more than lift dough. The slow fermentation develops complex, faintly sour flavour, strengthens the crumb, and helps the loaf stay fresh longer than yeasted bread. Those acids also make the bread gentler on digestion for many people, part of sourdough's lasting appeal.
Keeping it alive
A starter must be fed with fresh flour and water regularly or it weakens and sours. Bangalore's warmth is genuinely kind to a culture, keeping it lively and quick to wake, though on hot days it works fast and needs feeding more often. A healthy starter smells tangy and fruity, never sharply of nail polish.
At Love Made Edible
Our sourdough loaf is raised entirely on our own wild starter, fed on a steady rhythm so every bake carries the same gentle sourness and open crumb.
Related terms
From the journal
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a sourdough starter made of?
Just flour and water, left to gather wild yeast and beneficial bacteria over several days. No commercial yeast is needed. Regular feeding with fresh flour and water keeps the culture active and ready to raise bread.
Is sourdough starter hard to maintain in Bangalore?
Not really. The city's warmth suits a starter and keeps it lively, so it wakes quickly and ferments well. On very hot days it simply works faster and benefits from being fed more often to stay in balance.
Tastethetechnique
Everything in our kitchen is baked fresh to order — eggless and vegan variants available.