The Sourdough School

BALM – Proven as one of the healthiest approaches to bread in the world.

Based in the walled gardens of Dr. Vanessa Kimbell's beautiful Victorian home in rural Northamptonshire, UK, we tutor individuals and train bakers and healthcare professionals in Baking as Lifestyle Medicine (BALM). Personalising bread to your lifestyle, gut microbiome, and unique genetics for optimal health—tailoring fermentation, fibre, and diversity so that your daily bread becomes the foundation of your health.

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How to Recognise if a Sourdough Starter is Ready to Use?

Learning Objective

In this lesson, you will find out how to tell if your starter is ready to use. You will learn about the visual clues for when the starter is ready and how to taste it to test its readiness.

Learning Outcome

You will know how to check if your starter is ready to use by looking and tasting it. You will understand that there are many factors involved that mean your starter will behave differently to someone else's.

When you first start baking sourdough you need a starter.  Once you have either created one or been given one then you are ready to start baking. You'll need to follow a refreshment process, but understanding when a starter is ready to use takes time and you'll need to get to know your flour and your environment. It's not always straight forward. Why? Well, let's just start with the fact that every flour is different & every kitchen is different. To access to the most comprehensive online sourdough course and our library of video tutorials, sourdough recipes, expert interviews and tips, subscribe now to The Sourdough Club. Learn to make Sourdough and you can order a free starter to get you going. Start your journey today & discover why sourdough is the healthiest bread. Find out more about how sourdough is the healthiest bread, and apply our 7 core principles to your baking to help your digestion & benefit your overall health & wellbeing. There is a world of information inside the club with core knowledge, so you learn to understand sourdough and a have whole community of bakers to support you. It's alive with baking and conversations, with the latest research, tips, regular inspiring recipes and brilliant webinars, an interactive forum, as well as discounts for members. You also get updates with news to be in the know before anyone else about the latest books by Vanessa Kimbell, and courses at the Sourdough School. To join the Sourdough Club click here If you are not able to join at the moment then please subscribe to our Sourdough Club magazine and keep up to date In the meantime, please do follow us on Instagram & Facebook LOVE BAKE NOURISH  

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All reasonable care is taken when advising about health aspects of bread, but the information that we share is not intended to take the place of treatment by a qualified medical practitioner. You must seek professional advice if you are in any doubt about any medical condition. Any application of the ideas and information contained on this website is at the reader's sole discretion and risk.

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