Sourdough Starter
Making a sourdough starter is not hard. You need flour (lots of it), water, time, and patience. This is my beginners guide.
RECIPE NOTES: Having a sourdough starter is like owning a pet. It requires water, food (flour) and warmth to thrive. It is also incredibly rewarding! If you are new to baking sourdough bread, I recommend making your sourdough starter in summer (if you can) as it is generally much easier then. The warmer temperatures of summer (24–28°C) encourage the growth of the wild yeasts and lactic acid bacteria you want, so your starter becomes active more quickly. In winter, your starter can seem inactive simply because it's too cold. However, it is not impossible and if you feed it daily and keep it warm, most starters come to life within two weeks. You need an electronic scale, two glass jars, a couple of elastic bands and a small square of baking paper for this recipe.
SOURDOUGH STARTER
flour, 50g - plain/rye/spelt flour works well (I like using an organic, wholemeal spelt flour)
water, 50g - spring water or filtered if your tap water is heavily chlorinated
DAY 1 - Mark in your calendar when you started your sourdough starter.
Add 50g of water to a clean jar.
Add 50g of flour and stir well with a spoon. It will be like a thick, flour paste.
Cover the jar with a small square of baking paper and secure it with a rubber band (you don’t want a tight-fitting lid).
Leave it at room temperature in a warm place (but not in direct sunlight) until day 2.
DAY 2 - it will look the same as it did yesterday.
Add 50g of water and 50g of flour to the jar.
Stir again well with a spoon and cover it like you did for day 1.
Leave it again in a warm, room temperature spot until day 3.
DAY 3 - it might have a slightly sour smell - today is when you start discarding some of the mixture
Using another, clean jar, add 50g of water and 50g of flour to the jar.
Add 50g of the sourdough starter mixture from day 2 (you now have a 1:1:1 mixture of water, flour, sourdough starter).
Stir again well.
Cover and leave again in a warm, room temperature spot.
Discard the remaining mixture from day 2 left in the jar and wash the jar ready for day 4.
DAY 4 - you might start seeing a few bubbles in the sourdough mixture
Using the clean jar, add 50g of water and 50g of flour to the jar.
Add 50g of the sourdough starter mixture from day 3 (you will again have a 1:1:1 ratio or water, flour and sourdough starter).
Stir again well and cover.
Discard the remaining mixture from day 3 left in the jar and wash the jar ready for day 5.
DAY 5 - if your sourdough starter has bubbles, you can start collecting the discard instead of throwing it away (it can be used to make the most delicious bakes!)
Using the clean jar, add 50g of water and 50g of flour to the jar.
Add 50g of the sourdough starter mixture from day 4.
Stir again well and cover.
Place an elastic band around the jar to mark the top of the mixture in order to see if it rises between feeds.
You can pour the remaining sourdough mixture from day 4 into a large jar, cover loosely and place it in the fridge until you have enough to bake with (about 2 - 3 feeds).
DAYS 6 to 14+
You should start seeing lots of bubbles within the starter, the mixture rising and falling between feeds and it should have a slightly sour smell (like yoghurt).
Keep feeding it daily and keep it in a warm spot.
WHEN IS IT READY TO USE TO MAKE SOURDOUGH BREAD?
When usually between 7–14 days it:
Doubles in volume within 4–8 hours after feeding.
Is full of bubbles.
Smells pleasantly tangy like yoghurt.
Consistently rises and falls each day.