Sourdough Starter
Now there are many many sourdough starter recipes you can find online (and in cookbooks) and 99% of them I could not understand. They all had food words that I found unfamiliar and it all just seemed too hard. This recipe is for those people like me that needed things simplified, where simple words and instructions are needed. I don't really care why things happen, I just want them to happen.
Now the first time I tried this starter recipe I used only plain flour as per recipe and it did not work, so I adjusted the recipe to include the dark rye flour as I did read somewhere to use it and I had it at home. You only use dark rye flour the first time, after that when you feed the starter use only plain flour. You could probably use whole meal flour instead of the dark rye if that is what you have at home.
I name my starters. My first successful one is Heidi and while writing up this page I'm starting another one calling her Polly, and then I made a third one I named Isabel. Heidi stays at home, Polly I took to bake at work and Isabel I share with family and friends.
The weather will affect how your starter behaves, temperature, humidity, altitude all affect how a starter works. Warmer places things happen quicker than in colder areas.
Making a starter can take about one to two weeks.
With the water I read to use filtered water. I don't, I just boil up my kettle, let the water go cold, then use that.
Black liquid called hooch can form on a starter. It forms when your sourdough starter is hungry and needs to be fed. Hooch is actually alcohol and is a by product of the fermentation occurring in your starter. Some people stir it back in, then feed their starter, other people discard it and feed their starter. I still haven't had this happen to my starter, but if I did, if I had just a bit and it was light or greyish, I'd stir it in, feed the starter and keep going. If I had a lot, like 1-2cm or it was really dark black, I'd pour it off, replace it with water, and then feed the starter. You can prevent hooch by keeping your starter fed well and often.
With regards to the jar, I just use gherkin or large jam jars, as they have a wide opening and I always have them in the house. I like to have two available and when one jar gets messy I transfer to a clean jar as making a starter can get messy.
Why do we discard and throw away the starter when feeding it, because as a home cook if you didn't discard it, you would have so much starter you would never be able to use it all. However, I only throw the discard away initially, once my starter is established I keep the discard in a separate jar that I don't feed and I use that in other recipes which I will share also.
The only time you need to give up and throw it out because of mould, not hooch, mould. Mould is fuzzy and different to hooch. I have never got mould on mine, but supposedly it can happen.
If you want to watch this process, go to msemilyrose11 on Instagram, she has it in her highlights.
Though I love my fast no knead bread recipes, sourdough bread does taste better, you just need the time to make it.
Now the first time I tried this starter recipe I used only plain flour as per recipe and it did not work, so I adjusted the recipe to include the dark rye flour as I did read somewhere to use it and I had it at home. You only use dark rye flour the first time, after that when you feed the starter use only plain flour. You could probably use whole meal flour instead of the dark rye if that is what you have at home.
I name my starters. My first successful one is Heidi and while writing up this page I'm starting another one calling her Polly, and then I made a third one I named Isabel. Heidi stays at home, Polly I took to bake at work and Isabel I share with family and friends.
The weather will affect how your starter behaves, temperature, humidity, altitude all affect how a starter works. Warmer places things happen quicker than in colder areas.
Making a starter can take about one to two weeks.
With the water I read to use filtered water. I don't, I just boil up my kettle, let the water go cold, then use that.
Black liquid called hooch can form on a starter. It forms when your sourdough starter is hungry and needs to be fed. Hooch is actually alcohol and is a by product of the fermentation occurring in your starter. Some people stir it back in, then feed their starter, other people discard it and feed their starter. I still haven't had this happen to my starter, but if I did, if I had just a bit and it was light or greyish, I'd stir it in, feed the starter and keep going. If I had a lot, like 1-2cm or it was really dark black, I'd pour it off, replace it with water, and then feed the starter. You can prevent hooch by keeping your starter fed well and often.
With regards to the jar, I just use gherkin or large jam jars, as they have a wide opening and I always have them in the house. I like to have two available and when one jar gets messy I transfer to a clean jar as making a starter can get messy.
Why do we discard and throw away the starter when feeding it, because as a home cook if you didn't discard it, you would have so much starter you would never be able to use it all. However, I only throw the discard away initially, once my starter is established I keep the discard in a separate jar that I don't feed and I use that in other recipes which I will share also.
The only time you need to give up and throw it out because of mould, not hooch, mould. Mould is fuzzy and different to hooch. I have never got mould on mine, but supposedly it can happen.
If you want to watch this process, go to msemilyrose11 on Instagram, she has it in her highlights.
Though I love my fast no knead bread recipes, sourdough bread does taste better, you just need the time to make it.
Recipe
Recipe adapted from msemilyrose11 on Instagram
Makes 1 starter
The start:
1/3 cup dark rye flour
2/3 cup plain flour
Just under 1 cup room temperature water
700g glass jar
To feed: each time
1 cup plain flour
Just under 1 cup water
I like to start this in the morning.
Makes 1 starter
The start:
1/3 cup dark rye flour
2/3 cup plain flour
Just under 1 cup room temperature water
700g glass jar
To feed: each time
1 cup plain flour
Just under 1 cup water
I like to start this in the morning.
Day 1: Place dark rye flour and plain flour into your jar. Add 2/3 cups water, give it a good stir, keep adding water only until the mixture is like a really thick pancake batter, you just want all the flour mixed in well. If you've added too much water, just add a bit more plain flour. Place lid on top, do not screw it shut, just pop it on top. If your jar does not have a lid, just place a paper towel on top secured with a rubber band. Leave it on your kitchen bench. See you tomorrow.
Day 2: You may have bubbles starting in your starter, you may not, either way we continue with the recipe. Discard half of your sour dough starter into your bin (do not pour it down your sink). Now feed your starter with 1 cup plain flour and a little less than 1 cup of room temperature water. Mix well to combine. I like to pour it into a clean jar as the process gets very messy. Place lid on top, do not screw it shut, just pop it on top. Leave it on your kitchen bench. See you tomorrow.
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Day 3: Okay so this morning I noticed mine grew a little and dropped back down overnight, if yours hasn't yet, that's okay, it may just be hotter where I am. Today we are feeding the starter just like yesterday. Discard half of your sour dough starter into your bin (do not pour it down your sink). Now feed your starter with 1 cup plain flour and a little less than 1 cup of room temperature water. Mix well to combine. I like to pour it into a clean jar as the process gets very messy. Place lid on top, do not screw it shut, just pop it on top. Leave it on your kitchen bench.
Now if yours grew like mine did, grab a large rubber band and place it over the jar in line with the top of the starter, this is the line where you will see how much it grows. See you tomorrow.
Now if yours grew like mine did, grab a large rubber band and place it over the jar in line with the top of the starter, this is the line where you will see how much it grows. See you tomorrow.
How I knew it grew overnight, as I use clean jars, you can see it is now dirty on the empty section,
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Day 4: Okay so this morning my starter went nuts and grew out of the jar and dropped back down overnight, if yours hasn't yet, that's okay, it may just be hotter where I am. Today we are feeding the starter just like yesterday, no matter where your starter is at. If yours has a greyish liquid called hooch on top, stir it back in then, discard half of your sour dough starter into your bin (do not pour it down your sink). Now feed your starter with 1 cup plain flour and a little less than 1 cup of room temperature water. Mix well to combine. I like to pour it into a clean jar as the process gets very messy. Place lid on top, do not screw it shut, just pop it on top. Leave it on your kitchen bench.
Now if yours grew like mine did, grab a large rubber band and place it over the jar in line with the top of the starter, this is the line where you will see how much it grows. See you tomorrow.
Now if yours grew like mine did, grab a large rubber band and place it over the jar in line with the top of the starter, this is the line where you will see how much it grows. See you tomorrow.
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Day 5: Okay so this morning my starter went nuts again and grew out of the jar and dropped back down overnight, if yours hasn't yet, that's okay, it may just be hotter where I am. Today we are feeding the starter just like yesterday, no matter where your starter is at. If yours has a greyish liquid called hooch on top, stir it back in then, discard half of your sour dough starter into your bin (do not pour it down your sink). Now feed your starter with 1 cup plain flour and a little less than 1 cup of room temperature water. Mix well to combine. I like to pour it into a clean jar as the process gets very messy. Place lid on top, do not screw it shut, just pop it on top. Leave it on your kitchen bench.
Now if yours grew like mine did, grab a large rubber band and place it over the jar in line with the top of the starter, this is the line where you will see how much it grows. See you tomorrow.
Now if yours grew like mine did, grab a large rubber band and place it over the jar in line with the top of the starter, this is the line where you will see how much it grows. See you tomorrow.
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Day 6: My starter grew yesterday, but not crazy out of the jar today, which was nice as less to clean up. No matter what yours is doing today you will be feeding it twice. Once in the morning, once in the evening. I did the morning one at 7am and will do the evening one around 7pm.
If yours has a greyish liquid called hooch on top, stir it back in then, discard half of your sour dough starter into your bin (do not pour it down your sink). Now feed your starter with 1 cup plain flour and a little less than 1 cup of room temperature water. Mix well to combine. I like to pour it into a clean jar as the process gets very messy. Place lid on top, do not screw it shut, just pop it on top. Leave it on your kitchen bench.
Now if yours grew like mine did, grab a large rubber band and place it over the jar in line with the top of the starter, this is the line where you will see how much it grows. Repeat this process again in roughly 12 hours. See you tomorrow .
If yours has a greyish liquid called hooch on top, stir it back in then, discard half of your sour dough starter into your bin (do not pour it down your sink). Now feed your starter with 1 cup plain flour and a little less than 1 cup of room temperature water. Mix well to combine. I like to pour it into a clean jar as the process gets very messy. Place lid on top, do not screw it shut, just pop it on top. Leave it on your kitchen bench.
Now if yours grew like mine did, grab a large rubber band and place it over the jar in line with the top of the starter, this is the line where you will see how much it grows. Repeat this process again in roughly 12 hours. See you tomorrow .
Fed 7am in the morning
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She rose, She fell
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Fed 7pm in the evening
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Day 7: No matter what yours is doing today you will be feeding it the same as yesterday. Once in the morning, once in the evening. I did the morning one at 7am and will do the evening one around 7pm.
If yours has a greyish liquid called hooch on top, stir it back in then, discard half of your sour dough starter into your bin (do not pour it down your sink). Now feed your starter with 1 cup plain flour and a little less than 1 cup of room temperature water. Mix well to combine. I like to pour it into a clean jar as the process gets very messy. Place lid on top, do not screw it shut, just pop it on top. Leave it on your kitchen bench.
Now if yours grew like mine did, grab a large rubber band and place it over the jar in line with the top of the starter, this is the line where you will see how much it grows. Repeat this process again in roughly 12 hours. See you tomorrow.
If yours has a greyish liquid called hooch on top, stir it back in then, discard half of your sour dough starter into your bin (do not pour it down your sink). Now feed your starter with 1 cup plain flour and a little less than 1 cup of room temperature water. Mix well to combine. I like to pour it into a clean jar as the process gets very messy. Place lid on top, do not screw it shut, just pop it on top. Leave it on your kitchen bench.
Now if yours grew like mine did, grab a large rubber band and place it over the jar in line with the top of the starter, this is the line where you will see how much it grows. Repeat this process again in roughly 12 hours. See you tomorrow.
Day 8: Today we are feeding her once today, then we will be doing a float test to see if the starter is ready to bake with. Discard half of your sour dough starter into your bin (do not pour it down your sink). Now feed your starter with 1 cup plain flour and a little less than 1 cup of room temperature water. Mix well to combine. I like to pour it into a clean jar as the process gets very messy. Place lid on top, do not screw it shut, just pop it on top. Leave it on your kitchen bench for about 2 hours (could be longer). The starter needs to grow to it's peak before we can do a float test.
If your starter is not like mine and it isn't growing like mine yet, you need to keep feeding it twice a day until it does. So many things affect starters, temperature, humidity, altitude etc. Starters can take 2 weeks to develop depending on these factors.
If your starter is not like mine and it isn't growing like mine yet, you need to keep feeding it twice a day until it does. So many things affect starters, temperature, humidity, altitude etc. Starters can take 2 weeks to develop depending on these factors.
Day 8: Part 2: Float test: Place room temperature water in a jug.
Add a blob of the starter to the water, if she floats she is ready to bake with, she is now an active starter.
If she sinks, you will need to feed her in the evening again like on day 7. You will continue the day 8 process again tomorrow.
When she floats she is an active starter, you can bake with her now, you can make discard recipes with her, you can share her etc. This starter can be used for the rest of your life. For discard recipes from now on when you feed your starter you no longer throw out half. That half I now store in a separate jar labelled discard and I use that to make muffins, crackers etc, I will share those recipes also.
Now as I'm baking a sourdough loaf tomorrow (you need all day to prep a loaf so you won't have time today. Don't let that scare you, it's easy, you just need time) I will feed her again tonight (this time I will keep the discard in a separate jar), so the starter is ready for baking with tomorrow. Leave the starter on the kitchen bench overnight, place the discard in the refrigerator.
If you are not baking with her tomorrow, feed her as per normal, keep the discard in a separate jar, place both jars in the refrigerator until you are ready to bake.
Add a blob of the starter to the water, if she floats she is ready to bake with, she is now an active starter.
If she sinks, you will need to feed her in the evening again like on day 7. You will continue the day 8 process again tomorrow.
When she floats she is an active starter, you can bake with her now, you can make discard recipes with her, you can share her etc. This starter can be used for the rest of your life. For discard recipes from now on when you feed your starter you no longer throw out half. That half I now store in a separate jar labelled discard and I use that to make muffins, crackers etc, I will share those recipes also.
Now as I'm baking a sourdough loaf tomorrow (you need all day to prep a loaf so you won't have time today. Don't let that scare you, it's easy, you just need time) I will feed her again tonight (this time I will keep the discard in a separate jar), so the starter is ready for baking with tomorrow. Leave the starter on the kitchen bench overnight, place the discard in the refrigerator.
If you are not baking with her tomorrow, feed her as per normal, keep the discard in a separate jar, place both jars in the refrigerator until you are ready to bake.
Now go to my sourdough bread recipe where I will show you how to make 2 loaves from one mix.
Enjoy!