Imagine eating a warm, crusty sourdough bread bowl brimming with a rich, savory harvest soup. This soup is bursting with comforting hearty flavors, with all the nutrition and flavor benefits from using a sourdough starter.
What is Sourdough?
Better yet, what is sourdough starter?
Sourdough starter is a wild, natural form of yeast – the leavening agent we use to make bread rise. By combining flour, water, & time, the bacteria found on flour and in the environment work together to produce acids and carbon dioxide. As it ages and is rejuvenated with more flour and water, it becomes mature and active enough to create a slow rising bread with a crusty exterior, soft airy interior, and slightly tangy flavor we know and love as sourdough. Plus, once you have a starter, you can have it for life. You don’t have to create a new starter every time you make bread.
Need more help?
If you’re new to sourdough and want to dive more into that world, I highly recommend checking out my book Classic Sourdough. Or those whole learn really well through a visual experience, my Mastering Sourdough Course has helped countless people break down concept of sourdough, making it easy to follow and bring into your current busy lifestyle.
Why Sourdough in Soup?
If you are like me and you’re looking to add a unique twist to your soups, consider incorporating some sourdough starter. I know you may be thinking this question, “What? Sourdough in soup?”, but trust me when I tell you that I may never go back to regular creamy soup again after trying soup with sourdough starter in it. Sourdough starter is a great way to add flavor, thickness, and nutritional value to your meals.
- Thickening: Sourdough starter, like a roux or cornstarch slurry, acts as a natural thickener for soups. The starches in the starter help to create a creamy texture.
- Flavor: Sourdough starter introduces a unique tangy flavor to soups. This can add depth and complexity to the overall taste, especially in milder soups.
- Nutritional boost: Sourdough starter is packed with beneficial microorganisms and nutrients. Adding it to soup can greatly enhance the nutritional value of the meal.
- Waste reduction: If you’re a sourdough baker, you know that you often have to discard a portion of your starter before feeding it. Using this “discard” in soup is a great way to minimize waste and make the most of your starter.
Between the delicious flavor, natural probiotic benefits, and being a beautiful way to level up soup night, it makes this sourdough soup an easy choice for dinner tonight.
Don’t forget the bread bowl
What better way to enjoy this delicious hearty loaded sourdough soup than to enjoy it inside a homemade sourdough bread bowl? This recipe combo is a sourdough starter lover’s dream, delivering that perfect tangy flavor in both the crusty, chewy bread bowl and the rich, satisfying soup within. Imagine dipping chunks of sourdough bread into a hearty, veggie-packed soup—it’s the ultimate comfort food experience especially in the cold winter season. Forget store-bought bowls, we’re going all in on homemade goodness, from sourdough starter to steaming bowl to flavorful filling.
Video Tutorial
Here’s an easy walk through on how to do both my bread bowls and sourdough soup!
FAQs
What kind of starter should I use? You should use a fresh starter for this soup. If you add a really old discard it’s gonna be pretty acidic and sour which means that it’s more likely to leave kind of more intense tang in your soup so if you have discard starter that’s still on the fresh end (I’d say within a few weeks), it will keep the flavors more neutral.
What if I am new to the sourdough life and need all the help? I got you! I highly recommend checking out my book Classic Sourdough. Or those whole learn really well through a visual experience, my Mastering Sourdough Course has helped countless people break down concept of sourdough, making it easy to follow and bring into your current busy lifestyle.
What if I don’t want potatoes in my soup, do you recommend something else? Noodles give me the nostalgic vibes, so adding 10 oz. of noodles would be a fun substitution especially for those making it for little ones who love noodles.
Help! What if my soup is clumpy from the cream cheese? Don’t worry! The longer the cream cheese is heating up, the creamier the cheese will become and it will eventually melt completely. Patience is key when it comes to melting cream cheese.
Will the sourdough starter make the soup taste sour? No! While sourdough will add a subtle tanginess to the soup, it shouldn’t be overly sour. The flavors of the vegetables and other ingredients will balance out the tartness.
How long does the soup need to simmer? Simmering times will vary depending on the type and amount of vegetables used (like russet potato rather than noodles or a Yukon or red potato). Generally, simmering for 20-30 minutes will allow the flavors to meld and the sourdough to thicken the soup.
I want to try the soup with sourdough but I don’t really want to make the sourdough bread bowls, can I eat this just out of a regular bowl and still have a great experience? Absolutely, when I am rushed for time, I just make the soup and serve it for dinner in normal bowls.
Loaded Harvest Sourdough Soup
Ingredients
Group 1
- 2 tbsp butter or olive oil
- 4.5 oz yellow onion, finely chopped (about 1/2 a medium onion)
- 4.5 oz carrots, chopped (about 2 large carrots)
- 4.5 oz celery, chopped (about 2 celery sticks)
- 2 tsp dried parsley
- 1-2 tsp dried dill add more or less for flavor preference
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp salt or to taste
- ~1/2 tsp pepper or to taste
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
Group 2
- 1 cup milk or half and half
- 125 grams unfed sourdough starter*
- 4 oz cream cheese
Group 3
- 6 cup chicken broth
- 10 oz raw potatoes, chopped small or sub with 10 oz of noodles
Group 4
- 4-6 oz rotisserie chicken or baked chicken, in pieces
- ~4 oz bacon
- shredded cheese or extra bacon to top optional
Instructions
- Get a large sauce pan or stock pot and melt your butter (or add your olive oil) on medium heat.
- Add your chopped mire poix (onions, carrots, and celery), and add the seasonings (parsley, dill, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and pepper), and let that cook for about five minutes.
- Once the five minutes are done, your mire poix vegetables should start to soften slightly. Now add your garlic and cook for 30 seconds to a minute until aromatic. Be careful not to burn the garlic.
- Add more butter or oil, if needed to avoid sticking to the bottom of the pot or burning. You can also turn down the heat if needed as well to slow down burning.
- Add the milk (or half and half for a creamier soup) and mix that together until it’s combined with the veggie blend.
- Stir in the unfed sourdough starter. The fresher the unfed discard starter is, the better*.
- Slowly stir in the cream cheese and let the cream cheese and sourdough starter melt together.
- Once that mixture starts to soften and melt add the chicken broth. NOTE: if the cream cheese looks a little lumpy at first don’t freak out yet it’ll continue to melt as the broth heats up.
- Continue to whisk occasionally so that nothing burns on the bottom of the pot.
- Once all of the ingredients in the pot are all mixed in and warmed up, add in the raw potatoes. I personally leave the skins on mine for flavor and nutrition from the fiber in the skins, but you can peel the potatoes if you prefer.
- Turn heat down to low or a really light simmer for about 20 minutes until the potatoes are fork tender.
- While the potatoes are simmering, cook your bacon to your preference; I like mine crispy!
- Once the potatoes are soft, add in the cooked chicken and cooked bacon and stir until all incorporated.
- Before serving, add extra cheese or bacon on top and enjoy!
