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Sourdough Starter

Baked Goods · Biscuits · Sourdough

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Sourdough Starter

Ingredients

  • 1 Cup King Arthur Organic Pumpernickel Flour or Whole Wheat Flour
  • Unbleached All-Purpose Flour (for feeding)
  • Water

Directions

Day 1

  1. Combine 4 ounces (1/2 cup) whole rye flour (pumpernickel) or whole wheat flour with 4 ounces (1/2 cup) non-chlorinated cool water in a non-reactive container. Glass, crockery, stainless steel, or food-grade plastic all work fine for this.
  2. Note that whole grain flour (whole wheat or rye) is used at the beginning of the process. This is because whole grains contain more nutrients and sourdough-friendly microorganisms than all-purpose flour.
  3. It’s also important to feed your starter with non-chlorinated cool water; from now on, we’ll refer to this simply as “water.”
  4. Stir everything together thoroughly; make sure there’s no dry flour anywhere. Cover the container loosely (I use a coffee filter held in place with a rubber band) and let the mixture sit at warm room temperature (about 70°F) for 24 hours.
  5. A note about room temperature: the colder the environment, the more slowly your starter will grow. If the normal temperature in your home is below 68°F, I suggest finding a smaller, warmer spot to develop your starter. For instance, try setting the starter atop your water heater, refrigerator, or another appliance that might generate ambient heat. Or, set it near a heat source (baseboard heater, etc.). Another option: set the container of starter on a folded dish towel laid atop a heating pad on its lowest setting. A temperature-controlled bread proofer is the absolute ideal solution; if you bake lots of yeast bread, you might consider investing in one of these tools.

Day 2

  1. You may see no activity at all in the first 24 hours, or you may see a bit of growth or bubbling. Either way, discard half the starter (4 ounces), and add to the remaining 4 ounces (a scant 1 cup) Unbleached All-Purpose Flour, and 4 ounces (1/2 cup) cool water (if your house is warm) or lukewarm water (if it’s cold).
  2. Mix well, cover, and let the mixture rest at room temperature for 24 hours.
  3. Note: Why do you need to discard half the starter? It seems so wasteful… Well, it’s necessary for three reasons. First, unless you discard, eventually you’ll end up with The Sourdough That Ate Milwaukee – too much starter. Second, keeping the starter volume the same helps balance the pH. And third, keeping the volume down offers the yeast more food to eat each time you feed it; it’s not fighting with quite so many other little yeast cells to get enough to eat. Also, you don’t have to discard it if you don’t want to; you can give it to a friend, or use it to bake with.

Days 3, 4, & 5

  1. By the third day, you’ll likely see some activity – bubbling; a fresh, fruity aroma, and some evidence of expansion. It’s now time to begin two feedings daily, as evenly spaced as your schedule allows.
  2. For each feeding, weigh out 4 ounces starter; this will be a generous ½ cup, once it’s thoroughly stirred down. Discard any remaining starter.
  3. Add 4 ounces (a scant 1 cup) Unbleached All-Purpose Flour, and 4 ounces (1/2 cup) water to the 4 ounces starter.
  4. Mix the starter, flour, and water, cover, and let the mixture rest at room temperature for approximately 12 hours before repeating.
  5. Repeat two-a-day feedings on days 4, 5, and as many days as it takes for your starter to become very active.
  6. After about a week of consistent feeding, your starter should be ready to use in a sourdough bread recipe.
  8. How do you know when your starter is ready to use?
  9. After 12 hours, the starter will have risen nicely. You’ll see lots of bubbles; there may be some little “rivulets” on the surface, full of finer bubbles. Also, the starter should have a tangy aroma – pleasingly acidic, but not overpowering. The starter should at least double in volume 12 hours after it’s been fed.
  10. Once the starter is ready, give it one last feeding. Pour off all but 4 ounces. Feed as usual. Let the starter rest at room temperature for 6 to 8 hours; it should be active, with bubbles breaking the surface. Remove however much starter you need for your recipe (no more than 8 ounces, about 1 cup); and transfer the remaining 4 ounces of starter to its permanent home: a crock, jar, or whatever you’d like to store it in long-term.

Maintenance and Storage

  1. For frequent bakers: If you are baking with your starter more than once a week, keep it at cool room temperature (65 to 50 degrees F) and feed it once a day as instructed above.
  2. For occasional bakers: If you are baking once a week or less, you want to slow the starter’s growth by storing it in the refrigerator. To prep your starter for cold storage, give it a regular feeding then let it ripen at warm room temperature until you see a good amount of activity, 3 to 4 hours. Then store in the refrigerator. Check the starter at least every other day and feed it weekly as instructed above, making sure to let it ripen at warm room temperature before you refrigerate it again. A refrigerated starter should smell pleasant and sour and you’ll see some bubbles on the surface. You should NOT see watery liquid on the surface or smell alcohol. If you do see liquid, try feeding it more frequently.
  3. With time, you’ll get to know your starter and the environments and temperatures in which it will thrive best.

Notes

Water:

If you know your tap water to be high in chlorine, fill a vessel and let it sit uncovered overnight to release the chlorine before using to mix a starter. Alternately, you may use filtered water. Aim to keep your starter at 75 degrees F. If your environment is much colder, you might want to start with warmer water.

Flour:

After the initial mix, you will feed your starter white flour — both all-purpose and bread flour work — just make sure it is unbleached and look for one that has a protein content between 11 to 12 percent for best results.

Jar:

To ensure you don’t bring unwanted mold or bacteria into your starter, sterilize your jar by running it though a hot dishwasher wash cycle, or for canning jars, boil for 10 minutes.

Scale:

A kitchen scale is optional but if you plan on keeping up your sourdough starter for a long period of time, it will make the feedings a bit easier, less messy and faster.