- Organic Bread Flour
- Water
- The feeding ratio is adjustable in these instructions. You can also feed less flour and water with the same ratio if you want to waste less ingredients. Lastly, I suggest following the 1:1 ratio for the first 7 days; then you can adjust to a thicker starter that holds a rise longer. Please read the blog post above this recipe for more on this.
- (Day 1) In a bowl combine 50 grams of organic bread flour and 50 grams of water.
- Use a spatula to combine the flour and water. Stir until there are no clumps and the mixture is smooth.
- 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 the sourdough starter mixture.
- Add 50 grams of organic bread flour and 50 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 of sourdough starter mixture from the previous day, 20 grams of organic bread flour, and 20 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 collect it in a discard jar in the fridge and find fun ways to use sourdough starter discard here.
- Repeat steps 9 through 12 once a day until it’s super bubbly and active. Once it is, it’s your “base starter” or “mother starter,” and you can put it in the fridge. You do not need to feed it every day when it’s in the fridge. However, if you go a long time without baking and leave it untouched for a while, you may need to revive it by mixing in some fresh water and flour, then discarding and repeating until it’s bubbly and lively again.
- (The Night Before Baking, make a levain) 8 hours before you plan to make bread dough, use your base/mother starter from the fridge to make a levain suitable for baking. Use the following ratios: 10% base starter, 50% flour, 40% water. (example: you need 200 grams of “sourdough starter” for a recipe, so you want to make about 250 grams.. You will mix 25 grams of starter, 125 grams of flour, and 100 grams water)
- (Baking Day) Perform a float test by dropping a teaspoon of levain into a cup of room-temperature water. If it floats, you know it’s good to use in a baking recipe.
- Put some levain aside to add to your base/mother starter jar (you want to make sure you always have a little for your next levain).
