Here I go again!

I’m creating a new sourdough starter from scratch, and I thought I should share the process. By “from scratch,” I mean with just flour and water. I’ve seen recipes use active dry yeast, apples, grapes, or even 2 day old food, but your flour already has the yeast and bacteria you need. You just need to give them a hand! And be patient, as is the way of a good baker.

Recipe

pbv: part by volume

• 1 pbv flour (e.g. 1/2 c or 2.5 oz)
• 1 pbv water (e.g. 1/2 c or 4 oz)

1. Thoroughly mix ingredients in a container and cover while still allowing air exchange (use a thin towel, paper towel, or an upside-down lid screwed on loosely).
2. Let sit at room temperature for 12-24 hours.
3. Mix up a new batch, stir old batch, add half the old to the new, and mix thoroughly.
4. Repeat until starter doubles in volume between feedings.
5. Refrigerate starter and feed weekly.

Comments

• Keep smelling the starter and keep a good eye on it. When done it should smell appetizingly sour.
• Warmer kitchens need more frequent feedings.
• This can take a week or two, and you can go through an entire bag of flour creating a new starter this way.
• Use the flour you’re going to be baking with. If you want to bake with both whole wheat and unbleached, use 1/2 pbv of each. Using whole wheat also adds more food for different bacteria to eat.
• What we’re doing here is cultivating all kinds of yeasts and bacteria that naturally occur on the flour and in your kitchen, and then we introduce them to a new environment full of food. Those yeasts and bacteria that eat the flour quickly should eventually win out, but that’s not guaranteed.
• If you see mold or it smells like rot, discard and start over. You might need to feed more often.

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