Author: Ben Starr
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Welcome to The Ultimate Food Geek
I’m Ben Starr, and whether you discovered me by watching YouTube, MasterChef, HGTV, or The Rachael Ray Show, or if you’ve been a follower of my previous website, benstarr.com, across much of its 20 year existence, you are very welcome here. This site is currently focused on Simple Sourdough recipes, as that’s what’s hot on…
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Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookies
This isn’t just a way to cram sourdough starter or discard into a cookie recipe. These cookies are BETTER than the best chocolate chip cookies. Note that this recipe is PERFECTLY balanced for 100% hydration starter, meaning you feed your starter equal WEIGHTS of flour and water each time you feed it. If your cookies…
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Sourdough English Muffins
This is the easiest way to make sourdough English muffins that are a bit more authentic (ie, more like crumpets, which they technically are), and less like the tasteless, cardboard muffins from the grocery store. (The “Print” feature is at the bottom of the recipe.) BUTTERMILK VIDEO (a MUST-watch) HOW TO MAKE STARTER Kitchen Toys…
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Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls
Cinnamon rolls are a bit more involved than my usual lazy recipes, but this is absolute easiest sourdough method on YouTube, and you’ll never taste a more delicious one! (The “Print” feature is at the bottom of the recipe.) Easiest way to make sourdough starter. Buttermilk 101 Toys in the video: I am an Amazon…
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How to make Sourdough Starter from ANY Flour (old method)
(Printable link at the bottom of the recipe!) A proper sourdough starter can be made from ANY flour (even bleached, all-purpose flour) and filtered water. In my YouTube series, I explain in plain English, with terrible illustrations, and in exhaustive detail, the science behind what sourdough starter really is, and how it works. Endure it,…
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Simple Sourdough (old)
I don’t recommend this method any longer! I have devised an easier and more efficient method, so please USE THIS RECIPE. But if you like extra work, and a higher electricity or gas bill, you can use this older method. Questions? Problems? Check this out! The Dutch oven I use most often to bake this…
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The easiest way to turn a whole pumpkin into food
I know you. Because you’re like me. You pulled out all the stops for Halloween, but now there’s still a few uncarved pumpkins sitting in your front yard. They’re okay there for awhile. (Maybe people will think you’ve decorated for Thanksgiving. Riiiiiight.) Most pumpkin varieties will even endure sub-freezing temps for a few nights, so…
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Sicilian Sunday Lunch
(Most photos in this post appear courtesy of Christian Eggers. You should follow him on Instagram. Seriously.) It feels a bit weird to be writing this blog post. Looking back, I posted only once in 2018, and once in 2017. I stopped blogging about FRANK dinners in 2016 because we started doing them back-to-back, so…
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One-Bowl No-Mixer Pumpkin Muffins
So it’s no secret that I’m enamored with pumpkin, and I have dozens of pumpkin recipes that get busted out in the fall. But for many folks, the idea of setting up the stand mixer to cream butter and sugar…or having multiple bowls and measuring cups to clean up afterward…it’s just too much to contemplate…