Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- DAY 1Add 50 grams of spring water and 50 of grams unbleached bread flour to a clean jar. Mix very well to ensure there are no pockets of dry flour. Loosely cover the jar with a lid and let it sit for 24 hours.You will need a jar with room for the starter to grow.
- DAY 2To prepare the sourdough starter, begin by transferring 50g of your existing starter into a clean jar. Next, add 100g of water and 100g of flour to the jar. Mix the ingredients thoroughly. Then, loosely cover the jar with a lid and let it ferment for 24 hours. This process allows the yeast and bacteria to develop in the new flour and water mixture. You may notice a yellow liquid forming on top or at the bottom of the jar; this is normal and should not be drained. Just leave it as is.THE OTHER 50G GRAMS OF STARTER YOU WILL DISCARD IT. YOU CAN COMPOST IT, FEED IT TO YOUR CHICKENS, BUT DO NOT PUT IT DOWN YOUR DRAIN, IT MIGHT CLOG YOUR PIPES.
- DAY 3Mix the starter, then take 50g into a clean jar. To it, add 100g water and 100g flour. Mix very well, then loosely close with a lid and let it ferment for 24 hours.Discard the rest of the starter. This is called “sourdough discard"What is the reason for discarding half the mixture?If you add 100g of flour and 100g of water every day without discarding, by day 7, your jar will be overflowing with starter. Also, for the starter to get stronger, it needs the correct ratio of starter to fresh flour and water: 1:2:2. Sourdough starter feeds on the fresh flour and water you add daily. Basically, you would end up with a lot of extra starter by the end of the process, and none of it would mature.
- DAY 4Mix the starter then measure out 50g into a clean jar. Add 100g of water and 100g of flour to the jar, and mix everything together very well. Loosely cover the jar with a lid. Use a rubber band to mark the level of the starter right after feeding it, so you can monitor its growth. The sourdough starter should rise by 20% to 35%.
- DAY 5Repeat the same process as days 2-4
- DAY 6If your starter hasn’t doubled in size yet, don’t worry! You’re not doing anything wrong. Sometimes, it just needs a little extra time, and that’s completely normal. During one of your feedings, try adding one tablespoon of whole wheat flour; this will give it an extra boost! Continue feeding it every 24 hours until it doubles in size. Once it has doubled, you can proceed to the Day 6 instructions.Feed and discard every 12 hours.For example, at 8 a.m w do your regular discard and feed, then wait for it to double then at 8 p.m. discard and feed. The sourdough starter should double in size after each feeding.Your sourdough should now be stabilizing, doubling or tripling in size after a feeding.
- DAY 7Feed every 12 hours. ( you still need to discard and feed as you have been doing)By day 7 your sourdough should have plenty of beneficial bacteria present that makes a sourdough bread rise! Your starter should be very active and bubbly. when you look closely you can almost see it “breath”Your sourdough starter is mature and ready to bake with in just a few days! I would love to ensure it is healthy enough to rise a loaf. Repeat day 7 for 2-3 more days, and then you can start putting it in the fridge.After today, you no longer need to discard half every day. You can go back to feeding it once a day or if you keep it in the fridge, you can feed it every 3-7 days.
- We did it! we grew our very own sourdough starter from scratch! This was a fun journey. Its so mesmerizing to me that water and flour can make this! Just look how beautiful she is! it took you a week to grow her. This is your baby, don’t forget to feed it. The more often you feed your sourdough starter the stronger it will become. I feed mine every 3-4 days and i keep it in the firdge in between feedings.