My frugal and delicious journey with sourdough began at the end of January this year, when my husband mentioned that he really loves sourdough bread and asked me to make him some. HA, that task is about as simple as a non-magician pulling a rabbit out of a hat. But for my husband’s sake, I had to do this….the bread, not the rabbit! And so my sourdough journey began

Note: It’s been quite the journey with sourdough. So that I can keep this blog within a 10-15 minute read, this will be the first in a series of sourdough themed blog posts. Please be sure to read to the end and enter my contest to win a special sourdough prize!

My frugal and delicious sourdough journey continued with a phone call…

While I was chatting with my sister on the phone one evening, I told her that I needed to start making sourdough for my husband. Coincidently she had just started making sourdough for her and her husband. How fortuitous!! She told me she started her sourdough journey from a dehydrated starter that she purchased from a friend. Well that seemed like a much easier, faster and more effective way to start. So she sent me a package of the dehydrated starter like she used. And that is how my sourdough journey continued.

A dehydrated sourdough starter made this frugal and delicious journey a lot easier

Game changer! This cute little package of dried sourdough starter would save me weeks of agony and work to create a starter and eventually a gorgeous boule of sourdough bread. All I needed to do was rehydrate the dried starter. Then I had to “feed” it by measuring/weighing water and flour to make it grow. Bottled water and bread flour are recommended. Instructions are included with each purchase of this fabulous sourdough starter.

My Frugalness Almost Killed The Starter

In my true frugal self…I secretly feared failing at my first sourdough starter attempt. So I decided to use only 1/2 the package of starter. And save the other half for later….”just in case”. This decision meant 1/2 the amount of water etc. Sadly, it did not work…well, not at first. But I was determined. I talked to my starter as I continued to feed it. I prayed over it as I stirred during each feeding. And I even sang to it. Because I hate failure. I refused to give up. And then suddenly my starter began to grow and thrive!

Please note, this practice is NOT advised by the creator of this dehydrated starter and using only half at a time normally does not work and is not recommended.

Naming Your Sourdough Starter

During my sourdough research, I discovered that many people name their starters. It’s kind of important to give it a name, because it is a living thing and needs your care. Naming it adds the extra personal touch to help it “grow”.

People come up with some really fun, unique, trendy, dough themed names like….”Doughloris”, “Doughlene”, “Frakendough”, “Clint Yeastwood”, “Breadie White” and “Frodough”.

I named mine in honor of the dehydrated sourdough starter source explained below. Warning, this may bring tears to your eyes.

The “Sour Texan” Sourdough Starter

Taylor and Daniel Brown were the sweetest, cutest most loveable young couple ever! They even worked together and everyone loved them both. One evening Taylor and Daniel headed home from work in separate vehicles. Taylor arrived home and Daniel was not there yet. So she called him wondering where he was. He told her he had stopped at “Whataburger” to get something to eat and he’d be right home. Sadly, Daniel never made it home. He had an accident, rolled his truck and died at the scene.

My heart hurts just thinking about this.

Taylor had to find a way to make extra money. So, she started drying her sourdough starter, packaging it and selling it. She named it “Sour Texan”.

This is the source of dried sourdough starter that my sister sent me.

I emailed Taylor to ask if it was OK that I name my starter “Daniel”. She said for as much as Daniel loved her sourdough bread, it only seemed appropriate that I lend his name to it. In my own little way, Daniel lives on and I couldn’t be happier about it. Maybe that’s why my half batch attempt worked?!

How To Order The Dehydrated Sourdough Starter I Have…

Taylor is not high tech, so if you’d like to order a package of her dried starter…here’s her email address sourtexan@gmail.com. Please tell her Chauncey sent you!

Sourdough Groups

I joined 2 Facebook groups “Sourdough for Beginners” and “Sourdough Discard Recipes”. From these sources, I learned a LOT! I stalked an incredible amount of posts and comments with so many tips and tricks. They helped me build confidence and I still continue to follow and learn.

I’ve made many of the creations that members shared and I can barely keep up with the demand from my family and friends for all the sourdough deliciousness. Let me say…sourdough is not just for bread anymore!

The frugal and delicious part of my sourdough journey…

I am thoroughly enjoying this sourdough journey. Making bread and not buying it is so cost effective and rewarding. Experiencing that soft flavorful bread with all the little holes cradling butter and other toppings and ohhhh that crunch and chew that you expect from a perfect sourdough crust and hearty spongy bread…YUM!! It’s seriously difficult to stop eating it!

Working with the doughs and smelling the comforting aromas in our home is such a joy. I love giving gifts of sourdough breads and treats to family, friends and my husband’s hospice nurses. A whole lot of joy is created with a low cost gift from the heart, that reaps priceless amounts of gratitude. I highly recommend this journey!

My frugal and delicious sourdough creations…

Here’s some of the delicious items I have made with sourdough starter and sourdough discard. Please take a moment to drool over the photos of deliciousness below!

Due to my daily time constraints and caring for my husband, I’ve had to adjust the way I make sourdough bread. I don’t do all the normal stretch and folds of the dough. I use the quick and easy method that only requires mixing the dough, letting it rise, then shape and bake. It achieves almost all the same results without all the extra time and efforts. It’s ideal for me…for now. Here’s the recipe I have been using most often…https://www.pantrymama.com/the-easiest-sourdough-discard-bread-youll-ever-make/

Note: Depending on the hydration content in the starter, I often need to add extra flour.

Help a frugal and delicious gal out

That’s it for this part of my sourdough journey. Now to some important business at hand.

Soooo, I had hoped to take time off from working on my blog to be with my husband while he is on hospice care. But, Google has informed me that due to inactivity on my site…I no longer meet Google standards and they will be dropping my site from monetization rewards and certain searches.

I worked so hard for many years to get to this point of Google acceptance and monetizing my site. I just spent $507.12 in March to my web host, so I could protect and continue visibility of my website for one more year. Despite all this, if I don’t start getting activity on my site, it will be dropped from Google.

PLEASE help me gain a bigger audience and more followers/subscribers and maybe even have one of my blog posts (like this one) go viral so I don’t get dropped from Google. To help gain more attention, I’m offering a little contest with a Free giveaway! Details below…

Sourdough Contest Time!!!!

I am going to giveaway a package of Taylor’s “Sour Texan” dehydrated sourdough starter!! All you have to do is like (or love), comment and share my Facebook post about this blog and also subscribe to my blog website…https://frugalanddelicious.com. You will have one entry into the contest for every like, love, comment, share and subscribe!! The drawing will be May 1st, 2024!!! So get to clicking!!

Stay tuned…

Well folks, I’ve got a bowl of dough on the rise that needs a trip into the oven. So I must away. Stay tuned for my next sourdough blog post,

Sending you all my love and hugs. Be safe, be kind and have fun each and every day.

Chauncey