Sourdough Starter

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Sourdough Starter

Don’t be afraid of starting your own culture, it’s a little like feeding a new family pet!

bread flour, preferably unbleached
20g (1oz) organic honey

1. Combine 200g (7oz) flour, honey and 150g (5oz) water in a bowl. Stir until you have a thick dough. Cover with cling wrap and leave in a warm place, preferable around 30c (85f) for 36-48 hours.

2. When the starter is beginning to bubble and show signs of life, it needs a feed.

3. Add 200g (7oz) flour and 100g (3.5oz) water and mix until well combined. Cover and leave in a warm place for another 24 hours.

4. When the starter looks active, it’s ready to make bread. If you’re not sure if it is active make the bread following the sourdough instructions but add 1/4 teaspoon dry yeast as well to help things along.

5. After your yeast looks active, you can keep it in the fridge. It needs feeding every 3 to 4 days or if you’re making bread more regularly, feed every time you make a loaf.

6. To feed your starter take 100g (3.5oz) start and add 200g (7oz) flour and 100g (3.5oz) water and mix until well combined. Cover and return to the fridge.

Prepare Ahead?

You need to start making this at least 2 days before you bake your first loaf of bread.

Recipes to Use Your Starter

Sourdough Loaf

Variations

vegan – if you’d prefer not to use honey, crush about 6 ripe organic grapes and use as a source of wild yeast instead of the honey.

rye starter – Use half rye flour and half wheat flour in place of the wheat flour.

Problem Solving Guide

gray mould – if your starter forms a mould on top, don’t stress. Just remove the top layer with a clean spoon and discard. Then scoop the clean starter into a clean bowl and give it a feed. Try and keep in a slightly cooler place.

watery liquid on top – this is a sign that the temperature is too cool for the starter. If it’s in the fridge, move out for a few hours to arm up. If you’re not up to the fridge stage, just move the starter somewhere warmer or wrap in a towel to keep the heat in.

no signs of bubbling – if your starter doesn’t ever start to bubble, it’s probably too cold and is going to take a lot longer. When I made my first starter in the winter it took about 10 days before the starter showed signs of life. Be patient and try to move to a warmer place.

starter smells funny – the starter should smell sweet and possibly a little alcoholic and fermented. IF the smell is bad, it probably means you have an undesirable yeast or bacteria growing. Time to throw it out and start again.

bread doesn’t rise properly – if your starter isn’t active enough, it won’t produce enough CO2 for your bread to rise properly. Next time add a little dry yeast to help things along. You’ll still get a lovely flavour from your starter and the yeast is just a little insurance policy that the bread will rise enough.

want to go on holidays? – well you could take your starter with you – they love to travel 😉

If it’s for less than 2 weeks, just give your starter a big feed before you go by taking 100g (3.5oz) starter and mixing with 800g (28oz) flour and 400g (14oz) water.

for longer periods it’s best to dry out your starter. To do this, weigh your starter and mix with half that weight of flour. Spread on a tray and dry out in a very low oven (100C / 200F) for about 2 hours. You want it to be dry and not brown. If it starts to brown, reduce the temperature. Cool and whizz in a food processor to form crumbs. Store in an airtight container. When you want to reactivate your starter combine with an equal amount of water and leave somewhere warm for 24 hours or until it is starting to bubble.

related links

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back to Simple Breadmaking Overview Page

sourdough starter recipe
bread flour, preferably unbleached
20g (1 oz) organic honey

1. Combine 200g (7oz) flour, honey and 150g (5oz) water in a bowl. Stir until you have a thick dough. Cover with cling wrap and leave in a warm place, preferable around 30C (85F) for 36-48 hours.

2. When the starter is beginning to bubble and show signs of life, it needs a feed.

3. Add 200g (7oz) flour and 100g (3.5oz) water and mix until well combined. Cover and leave in a warm place for another 24 hours.

4. When the starter looks active, it’s ready to make bread. If you’re not sure if it is active make the bread following the sourdough instructions but add 1/4 teaspoon dry yeast as well to help things along.

5. After your yeast looks active, you can keep it in the fridge. It needs feeding every 3-4 days or if you’re making bread more regularly, feed every time you make a loaf.

6. To feed your starter take 100g (3.5 oz) starter and add 200g (7oz) flour and 100g (3.5oz) water and mix until well combined. Cover and return to the fridge.