- 1 cup Whole wheat flouror whole rye flour
- ½ cup Watercool
To feed the Sourdough Starter Daily
- ½ cup All-purpose flourunbleached
- ½ cup Watercool if your house is warm or lukewarm water if your house is cool
Sourdough Starter
Every time I log on to Instagram these days, it seems that Sourdough Starter is the one thing that everyone is making. I wanted to share my recipe if the mood takes you! I made a sourdough starter a few years ago and I’ve managed to keep it alive and fed ever since using the method I describe below!
It’s a super simple process, but it requires some diligence to keep it going. You could try setting an alarm if you’re worried you’ll forget to feed it! Start by mixing flour and water together in a jar and leave to rest at room temperature. Get into the habit of discarding and feeding daily. You won’t notice much change on day 2, but by the third day, you’ll probably see some activity like bubbling. A tangy, fruity aroma will start to develop and you should notice some evidence of expansion. Continue following the steps below until you are ready to start using the starter. Enjoy!
To make the Sourdough Starter, you will need the following ingredients:
Steps to make Sourdough Starter
1 | Combine the ingredients | 1 |
Combine 1 cup of rye or whole wheat flour with ½ a cup of cool water in a large glass or jar. Stir the flour and water together so that there is no dry flour visible. | ||
2 | Leave at room temperature | 24h |
Cover the starter loosely and leave to rest at room temperature in a warm place for 24 hours. | ||
3 | Day 2: Discard half | 1 |
Discard half of the starter (approx ½ a cup). | ||
4 | Add flour and water | 2 |
Add 1 scant cup of all-purpose flour and ½ a cup of water (warm or cool, depending on your house temperature). Stir the flour and water together so that the new ingredients are fully incorporated with the old. | ||
5 | Leave at room temperature | 24h |
Cover the container loosely again and leave to rest at room temperature for 24 more hours. | ||
6 | Day 3: increase to two feedings | 24h |
Feed the starter twice on Day 3, with about 12 hours between feeding. For each feed, weigh out ½ a cup of starter and discard the rest. Add 1 scant cup of all-purpose flour and ½ a cup of water. Stir and leave to rest before repeating. | ||
7 | Day 4 & 5: repeat | 48h |
On Days 4 & 5, repeat the steps from Day 3. | ||
8 | Check the starter | |
The starter should have doubled in volume by the end of the 5th day. It should have lots of bubbles and there may be some little cracks on the surface, filled with smaller bubbles. The starter will have a tangy aroma. If your starter hasn't doubled in size and doesn’t have many bubbles, continue discarding and feeding every 12 hours for as long as it takes to create a risen and bubbly starter. | ||
9 | Feed a final time | 8h |
Feed the starter for a final time, once it is ready to use. As before, discard all the starter except for ½ cup). Feed with 1 scant cup of all-purpose flour and ½ a cup of water. Leave to rest at room temperature for 6-8 hours until it is active, with bubbles breaking the surface. | ||
10 | To use | |
Remove the sourdough you need for your recipe, but make sure ½ a cup of starter remains. Transfer the remaining starter to a large jar. Feed with 1 scant cup of all-purpose flour and ½ a cup of water and leave to rest at room temperature for a few hours before transferring it to the refrigerator. | ||
11 | Store | |
Store the starter in the refrigerator, and feed it regularly with 1 scant cup of flour and 1/2 cup of water once a week. | ||
