Quarto Cooks | 2 April 2020Sourdough Starter Recipe Share article facebook twitter google pinterest MAKES 800g (1¾ lb) Ready in 8–21 days INGREDIENTS 1kg (2¼ lb) white flour water A basic sourdough starter can be made with any white flour – it doesn’t have to be fancy or expensive. I think organic flour is best as you are trying to harness the natural organisms present on the grain, so the more the better, although it isn’t absolutely necessary. Tap water is perfectly fine for sourdough starters and doughs – you can use slightly warm water if the weather is cold and you want to give your starter or dough a boost. The number of days it takes to make the starter will vary so the times in the chart should be used as a guide. In warmer weather the starter will ferment faster in which case go with the lower end of the scale or even less time and the reverse is true in very cold weather or if your kitchen is especially cold. Follow these important points when making your starter: Leave the starter in a warm place During summer the kitchen work surface is fine, in winter choose a constantly warm area – on top of the fridge, for example. Keep at room temperature throughout and once your starter is ready to include in recipes, refer to How to store your starter. Use a clean jar Transfer the starter to a clean jar every day at the beginning of the process. For details of changing jars later on in the process see Once the starter is established. Mixing the starter Always mix the starter with clean hands or a clean spoon until all the flour is hydrated and no dry patches remain. STEP BY STEP TO MAKING A STARTER Day 1 Place ingredients in a jar, stir, cover with a cloth, secure with an elastic band and leave in a warm place Ingredients to be added: 25g white flour 25g water Day 2 After 24 hours transfer the Day 1 mixture into a clean jar and stir in the Day 2 ingredients. Cover as before and leave in a warm place Ingredients to be added: 25g white flour 25g water Day 3 After 24 hours transfer the Day 2 mixture into a clean jar and stir in the Day 3 ingredients. Cover as before and leave in a warm place. There may now be some bubbles of activity as the yeast and bacteria multiply. If not, then find a warmer spot and repeat the day 2 process for an additional 1–2 days. Ingredients to be added: 25g white flour 25g water Day 4 Weigh out 20g of the starter from Day 3 and place in a clean jar. Discard the remaining Day 3 starter. Add the Day 4 ingredients into the jar. Mix until well combined with no dry patches of flour. It will be a fairly stiff dough. Cover as before and leave in a warm place. Ingredients to be added: 50g white flour 30g water Day 5 Weigh out 20g of the starter from Day 4 and place in a clean jar. Discard the remaining Day 4 starter. Add the Day 5 ingredients into the jar. Mix until well combined with no dry patches of flour. It will be a fairly stiff dough. Cover as before and leave in a warm place. Ingredients to be added: 50g white flour 30g water Day 6 Weigh out 20g of the starter from Day 5 and place in a clean jar. Discard the remaining Day 5 starter. Add the Day 6 ingredients into the jar. Mix until well combined with no dry patches of flour. It will be a fairly stiff dough. Cover as before and leave in a warm place. Ingredients to be added: 50g white flour 30g water Day 7 Weigh out 20g of the starter from Day 6 and place in a clean jar. Discard the remaining Day 6 starter. Add the Day 7 ingredients into the jar. Mix until well combined with no dry patches of flour. It will be a fairly stiff dough. Cover as before and leave in a warm place. Ingredients to be added: 50g white flour 30g water Day 8-14 If the starter has at least doubled in volume and has visible bubbles 12 hours after the last refreshment then it may be ready. If it seems alive but not moving much, continue the same pattern of discarding and refreshing 24 hours apart until at least doubled in volume 12 hours after refreshment. Use slightly warm water and move the starter to a warmer place if it seems inactive or is not increasing in volume every day. Ingredients to be added: 50g white flour 30g water Day 14-21 Continue with storage at room temperature and refreshments at least 24 hours apart even if your starter seems quite active after the first week. Once you have a good, strong starter you can be more flexible about storage and maintenance and expect consistent results when you bake. Ingredients to be added: 50g white flour 30g water ONCE THE STARTER IS ESTABLISHED If you are refreshing your starter every day it isn’t necessary to change the jar every day once the starter is established. However, I find that it is best to change the jar every 3–4 days to avoid any build up of old starter on the sides or contamination with less friendly bacteria that may negatively impact the starter. HOW TO STORE THE STARTER If you bake regularly then it may be most practical to keep your starter at room temperature. A refreshment once every 24 hours when you are often in the kitchen is not time consuming and the upside is you are never more than a few hours from being able to mix a dough. There is a difference though between keeping a starter alive and having it at its peak for mixing dough. A refreshment once in 24 hours, or even, should you forget to refresh it, after 36 or 48 hours, will be enough to keep it alive. However, to have a vigorous starter a morning refreshment on day 1 followed by an evening refreshment 12 hours or so later will allow you to mix a dough on day 2. If you go on holiday or bake once a week or perhaps once a month then it makes sense to keep your starter in the fridge. Refresh it as normal and when it is at its peak i.e. at the point you would usually use it to mix a dough, pop it in the fridge. It will be fine for weeks potentially – it depends on how cold your fridge is. My policy is to refresh a refrigerated starter every week, if possible, but not to leave it for any longer than three weeks. It’s important to refresh the starter, even if you’re not going to use it – refreshment will wake it up before it goes dormant once more. After 24 hours transfer the Day 2 mixture into a clean jar and stir in the Day 3 ingredients. Cover as before and leave in a warm place. There may now be some bubbles of activity as the yeast and bacteria multiply. If not, then find a warmer spot and repeat the day 2 process for an additional 1–2 days Weigh out 20g of the starter If the starter has at least doubled in volume and has visible bubbles 12 hours after the last refreshment then it may be ready. If it seems alive but not moving much, continue the same pattern of discarding and refreshing 24 hours apart until at least doubled in volume 12 hours after refreshment. Use slightly warm water and move the starter to a warmer place if it seems inactive or is not increasing in volume every day Modern Sourdough $35.00$22.00 Buy in UK / Europe Buy in US / Canada Share article facebook twitter google pinterest If you have any comments on this article please contact us or get in touch via social media.
