Einkorn Sourdough Starter From Scratch
Learn how to make and feed a sourdough starter with einkorn flour. You’ll have a healthy einkorn sourdough starter for baking flavorful, naturally leavened bread in seven days!
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Fermentation time: 7 days
- Total Time: 168 hours 10 minutes
- Yield: 12 ounces
- Category: sourdough
- Method: fermentation
Ingredients
- organic all-purpose einkorn flour
- filtered water
- established starter (optional, see notes)
Instructions
- The feeding ratio is adjustable in these instructions. I suggest following the ratio as written for the first 7 days; then you can adjust it to be thicker or thinner as desired. If you use whole wheat einkorn flour instead of all purpose, you may need to adjust the amount of flour and water. Whole wheat flour generally absorbs more water.
- (Day 1) In a bowl combine 50 grams of organic all-purpose einkorn flour and 40 grams of water.
- Use a spatula to combine the flour and water. Stir until there are no clumps and the mixture is smooth yet thick.
- Scoop the mixture into a clean glass jar.
- Loosely set a lid on the top or secure a breathable covering to the jar (i.e. cheesecloth) and leave the mixture on the counter for 24 hours.
- (Day 2) Stir sourdough starter mixture.
- Add 50 grams of organic all-purpose einkorn flour and 40 grams of water to the starter mixture in the jar. Mix and scrape down the sides.
- Replace a breathable lid. Leave the mixture on the counter for 24 hours.
- (Days 3-7, Feeding and Discarding) to a clean bowl add 20 grams sourdough starter mixture from the previous day, 50 grams of organic all-purpose einkorn flour and 40 grams of water
- Stir until evenly combined, and scoop into a clean jar.
- Replace the breathable lid and allow it to ferment for 24 hours.
- Discard any remaining original starter mixture. Or you can find fun ways to use sourdough starter discard here.
- Repeat steps 9 through 12 every 24 hours until you reach 7 days.
- (The Night Before Baking) You can adjust the amounts here and feed your starter however much you need to.
- 8 hours before starting a baking recipe, in a bowl combine: All of the starter, 100 grams organic all-purpose einkorn flour, 80 grams of water and stir until evenly combined.
- Scoop the starter into a large jar with plenty of room for tripling in size. Place the breathable lid on the jar allow it to ferment for 12 hours.
- (Baking Day) Perform a float test by dropping a teaspoon of starter into a cup of room-temperature water. If it floats, it’s ready for use. If your starter does not float, continue to feed and discard until it passes the float test.
- If your starter passed the float test, put a little bit starter aside to continue feeding as in steps 9-12. Use the rest of the starter for your baking recipe.
Notes
- using dried starter, or live starter to establish your new einkorn starter is a great option. To use already established starter to create yours, skip to step 9 to begin the feeding and discarding process. Here are some options for sourdough starters to create your own starter with:
- This recipe is formulated using organic all-purpose einkorn flour. If you use a different type of flour your starter will be a different consistency and texture.
- The type of flour you use will influence the flour to water ratio you should use. Whole grain flours, especially sprouted flours, work well with a 1:2 flour to water ratio. White flours like bread flour and all purpose work best with a ratio between 1:1 and 2:1 flour to water.
- You may notice some early watery separation. This is normal and just means you need to adjust the flour to water ratio. Simply add more flour to your feedings to thicken the starter.
