Sourdough Starter
Meet Zelda, the Sourdough Starter. She’s the newest edition to my culinary bag of tricks. Nine days ago, she was nothing but a blob of flour and water. However, with regular feedings, she grew into a vibrant and bubbly sourdough starter!
Servings: 10 servings
Ingredients
- 630 grams filtered water (See Notes 1 and 3)
- 630 grams bread flour (See Notes 2 and 3)
Instructions
- Day 1: Combine 70 grams filtered water and 70 grams bread flour in a non-reactive bowl. Stir until smooth. Cover loosely, and place in 70° F to 75° F area. (See Notes 4 and 5)
- Day 2: Add 70 grams filtered water and 70 grams bread flour to Day 1 mixture. Stir until smooth. Cover loosely, and place in 70° F to 75° F area.
- Day 3: Pour 140 grams of starter into a clean bowl, and discard the rest. Feed the 140 grams with 70 grams each of filtered water and bread flour. Cover loosely, and place in 70° F to 75° F area.
- Days 4 - 8 or 9: Each day, pour 140 grams of starter in a clean bowl, and discard the rest. Feed the 140 grams with 70 grams each of filtered water and bread flour. Cover loosely, and place in 70° F to 75° F area.
- Day 9 or 10: When the starter becomes more active, pour 140 grams in a clean bowl and discard the rest. Feed the 140 grams with 70 grams each of filtered water and bread flour. Cover loosely, and place in 70° F to 75° F area. (See Note 5)
- The starter is ready when it is nicely fermented, smells a bit sour, and doubles in volume within 2 to 3 hours of it being fed. (See Note 6)
- Refrigerate the starter, loosely covered until needed. Generally, the mature starter should be fed as on Day 3 about once every month.
- Two days before making bread using a refrigerated starter, refresh the starter by feeding it at room temperature each of the two days. The refreshed starter can be used make bread on the third day. Before returning the remaining starter to the refrigerator, set aside 140 grams and feed it with 70 grams each of filtered water and bread flour.
Notes
- It's important to use filtered water to make sourdough starter. The reason is that tap water contains chlorine, and chlorine can kill the yeast or retard its growth.
- It's possible to use other types of flour to make starter. In general organic flours work best. However, avoid bleached flour.
- Rather than using grams as your measurement you can use ounces. I like to use 2.5 ounces (½ cup) of bread flour and 2.5 ounces (about 6 tablespoons) of filtered water. The measurements aren't important. What is important is that you use equal parts by weight of the flour and water.
- A key to making this starter is using equal parts by weight of the filtered water and bread flour to both build the starter, and feed it. Therefore, it's best to weigh the ingredients.
- The starter should be covered to keep any stray insects out. However, it should only be loosely covered. The reason is that the process of fermentation that takes place releases gases, and the gases need to be able to escape.
- If after 9 or 10 days, the starter doesn't double in size within several hours of feeding, continue to discard half, and feed what remains with equal parts of filtered water and bread flour.
- During the fermentation of the starter, a brown alcoholic liquid called "hooch" may form on the top. This is an indication that the starter needs to be fed. Before feeding the starter, pour off the hooch.