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Sourdough Starter

Tools & Cookware

Ingredients

Instructions

Day 1

In your container, mix 120 grams of flour with 120 grams of water. Use a fork to ensure it's all mixed together well (it should end up being thick like peanut butter, add water _sparingly_ to get to that point). Cover the opening of the container with a loose lid or wet towel. You want to keep moisture in but not seal it. Leave this on your counter outside of direct sunlight and in a relatively warm place.

Day 2

You should notice some bubbling in your container, this may take longer than 24 hours depending on temperature and other factors. (If there is no bubbling by 48 hours, throw your starter out and begin again, perhaps using filtered water or a warmer location.)

Discard all but 1/2 cup of starter (~130g), and put this 1/2 cup of starter aside. Clean out the jar with some warm water to get off any bits stuck to the side. Put your starter back in and add again 120 grams of water and flour, mixing together with a fork. Cover the container and leave it for another 24 hours.

Day 3-6

Repeat the process from day 2, except as the starter continues to grow, you want to only feed it when it shows signs of hunger. When the starter is hungry, it will have sunk down from its peak rise point, leaving residue on the walls of the container above the bulk of the starter. Depending on the temperature and other factors, you may need to feed your starter one or two times per day. Just keep an eye on it every couple hours to see when it gets hungry.

After about 4-6 hours of the final feeding on day 6, the starter should have doubled in size. You can do a float test to determine if the starter is ready for breadmaking. Take one spoon of the starter, and gently drop it into a tall glass of water. If the starter floats, it is ready for breadmaking later that day.

If, by day 6, the starter is not very active and doesn't pass the float test, it's possible that the temperature is too cold or there are other factors hindering its growth. It can take up to two weeks to get a starter really going, so be persistent and keep following the pattern of discarding, feeding when its hungry, and checking if it's ready.

Once your starter is ready, the "discard" becomes what you use to bake bread with. Usually 1/3 cup of starter is a good amount for a loaf of bread, just make sure you have enough starter (1/2-1/3 cup) left in your container to feed and grow.

Storage

An established sourdough starter can be stored in the fridge for quite a while and come right back when needed. If you've just used your starter to make bread or it has recently peaked, you can place the starter in the fridge to slow its metabolism and take it out when you're ready to feed it again.

I have stored my starter in the fridge for 20 days and used it to make bread 24 hours after taking it out of the fridge and feeding it.

Safety

As a sourdough starter is made up of a bunch of living organisms, sometimes things can go wrong, especially when it's getting established. Trust your senses. If you notice oddly coloured (green, black, blue, etc) stuff in your container, a really foul smell, or any other signs that something is not right, throw out your starter and wash your container with warm water and soap. A little flour and water is not worth risking your health over.