Making a sourdough starter from scratch using King Arthur recipe- can I use wheat flour for my feedings?

The recipe starts by using either pumpernickel or whole wheat flour on Day 1 ( I used wheat). From then on, it states to use regular flour, which I've been doing. The starter isn't quite matured yet, but I'm curious what would happen if I used the wheat flour at this point. For reference, I'm obsessed over the rich, darker and flavorful breads from Lodge Baking Co. in Los Angeles. I've never liked straight rye or pumpernickel (that I'm aware of), but I love rich, darker loaves and wondering how to achieve this and if using more wheat in my starter might add some flavor depth. Thanks in advance!

Sarah Stacpoole
  • 2177 views
  • 1 Comment

1 Comment

HalfPint
HalfPint July 20, 2020
I read somewhere (The Fresh Loaf blog ?) that feeding starter with whole wheat flour was like "giving teenagers tequila". It will make the starter very active. Whenever my starter gets a little sluggish, I'll do the next feeding with whole wheat flour. I've read (again) somewhere that whole wheat starters tend to not be as stable. Which makes sense since it's rich in wild yeasts and other bugs that might not be so great.
 
Recommended by Food52

Popular on Food52