With tips for how to use, maintain and store the starter
Sourdough starter is the key to sourdough bread. With an active and healthy starter, you are one step closer to beautiful sourdough. Growing your own starter isn’t as difficult as you would imagine. It does take some time to cultivate a starter from scratch but it is a quite fascinating process(at least to me). All you need is flour and water (and a bit of patience) and let them work the magic.
How to grow a sourdough starter from the beginning?
Day 1
In a jar/ glass (something transparent for easy observation), mix 30g of flour and 30g of water with a chopstick/ fork until there’s no dry flour. Lightly cover the container and leave it aside at room temperature for 24 hours.
- tips: use rye or wholemeal flour (or add 10% of rye and wholemeal flour) to jumpstart the process (there are more nutrients that bacteria and wild yeast need in rye and wholemeal flour rather than baker’s / all-purpose flour)
Day 2
Discard half of the flour-water mixture (30g) from the container. Add 30g flour and 30g water and combine well. Mark the container to indicate the height of the starter by using a rubber band or tape. Cover and leave it aside at room temperature for another 24 hours.
Day 3
There should be some activity shown in the flour-water mixture by now. By eye, you would be able to see some bubbles around the container and on the surface. Also, it may grow a little in height. If you smell the mixture, it may smell like vomit or stinky socks. Don’t worry. It is completely normal at the early stage of growing a starter and it is a sign that the bacteria is working. From now on, increase feeding frequency to twice a day. It is better to feed it at the same intervals, e.g. 12 hours apart.
Discard all but 30g of the starter and add in 30g of flour and 30g of water. Mix well, cover and leave it aside for 12 hours. Repeat.
From Day 4 to Day 14
Repeat the same step as day 3. Frequent feeding leads to a healthier and stronger starter. Try to feed the starter at the same time and same ratio (starter : flour : water = 1 : 1 : 1 = 30g : 30g : 30g or any amount that suits your need) during this period. Make sure to mark the container and write down the time you feed the starter so you know how fast the start will double the size.
Once the starter is doubled within a similar timeframe, it is ready to make the bread with it. Smell the starter at this stage, it should smell a bit milky (assuming you use white flour) and mildly sour. If you use rye or whole meal flour, it should have a slightly earthy but pleasant aroma.
Do I have to continue feeding my starter twice per day even though it already doubled the size within the same timeframe in the first week of feeding?
Feeding your starter frequently ensures you a strong and healthy starter for sourdough baking. I understand that in the early stage of feeding, it seems wasteful to chuck some of your starter and add in new flour and water every day. But I rather continue feeding my starter until it is strong and active than have a starter that can neither leaven the bread nor enhance the flavour of my loaves.
When I started to cultivate my starter, I continued feeding it twice a day for the whole month. After 2 months, I slowly change the flour type I feed my starter and it takes some time to adapt.
Is my starter ready to use?
For me, I look for the time that my starter doubles the size and also how consistent the time it takes to double. Usually in summer, my starter grows 100% between 4-6 hours and in winter it is doubled in 8 hours. I’ll use it as soon as it grows twice the size.
When the starter is ready, the texture should be thick and bubbly. If your starter is getting runny, it may pass its peak time and using it at this stage may result in flatbread (the starter loses its leavening power). You can still use the starter that passes its peak for the flavor. Add a small amount of commercial yeast to assist with the oven spring. (check what if I don’t have enough starter to make bread for using both ripen starter and yeast for sourdough bread)
There is a simple test to see if the starter is ready to use. It is called ” the floating test”. Take a small amount of active starter (doubled-sized starter) and put it in a glass of water. If the starter floats, it is ready to use.
How to maintain a starter?
If you bake sourdough frequently, I suggest keeping a small quantity of starter, leaving it on the counter and feeding it every day.
If you only make bread once a week or less, leave the starter in the fridge. Whenever you need it, take it out and feed it. To ensure high activity of the starter, I often do a two-time feeding – that is I take out the starter from the fridge and feed it with a small ratio (1 : 1 : 1). Once the starter doubles the size, I’ll feed it again. And I’ll use the starter after it reaches double volume.
- tips: keep your starter relatively small (15g) so when you do double feeding, you don’t need to chuck away any starter
If you don’t bake bread at all for the week, feed your starter once per week to protect the starter from starving. Cold environments slow down the activity of wild yeast and bacteria, yet they still need food to maintain their basic living requirements.
How to store a starter?
One way of storing a starter is to freeze the starter if you plan to use it within 6 months. After feeding, use ice trays to portion the starter and freeze it. Remember to defrost the starter the day before making bread. Feed the defrosted starter again before use.
Another way is to dry your starter. Simply spread thinly of your starter on a nonstick baking paper and leave it at room temperature for a couple of days and let it dry out. Either blend the dried starter into powder or break the starter into small pieces and store it in an airtight container. When needed, hydrate the dried starter by adding the same amount of water and flour and let it grow until doubles. Use it when it reaches its peak.
- tips: add additional ingredients to the starter and dry the starter for garnish. For instance, add cocoa powder/charcoal powder to the starter. Dry and grind the starter, use it as dusting flour before scoring. Go wild with other ingredients like beetroot powder, fruit powder/ puree or spices.
At the end
Cultivating a starter can be fun. I remember I spent so much time just staring at my starter, looking at the bubbles, and smelling my starter to get a sense of it. Come join me on the sourdough baking journey – start with growing your own sourdough starter.
