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sourdough starter
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Sourdough Starter

Course Baking, Bread
Cuisine Italian
Author Vincenzo's Plate

Equipment

  • Jar
  • Teaspoon
  • Small bowl

Ingredients

  • 30 grams White Bread Flour
  • 30 grams Water
  • Apple

Instructions

  • DAY ONE – MAKE THE STARTER
  • Slice a piece of an apple and dice it into 6 small cubes.
  • Add 30g flour into the bowl of 30g water along with the diced apple and mix together using a spoon.
  • Once this is combined spoon it into a jar leaving the lid to rest on top – don’t screw it on tight!
  • Leave the jar in a spot away from direct sunlight and any sort of draft/breeze where there is a consistent temperature.
  • DAY TWO – BUBBLES
  • On this day, you might start to see a few bubbles and the starter will begin to smell differently – this could be sweet or even sour. This is an indication that your starter is alive - You don’t need to do anything, just observe.
  • If there are no changes at all, don’t panic, your starter might just need a little more time!
  • DAY THREE – MORE CHANGES
  • You should now start to see an increase in the number of bubbles in your starter and the smell is even stronger than it was yesterday.
  • The sourdough starter might even have started to rise.  If you don’t see any of these changes, it may be that your jar is in a spot where it is a little cold. Leave it for another day or two and continue to observe.
  • DAY FOUR – FEED YOUR STARTER
  • If you have noticed the changes above, and the smell is more of a fermented one, rest assured your starter is alive. Next it’s time to give your sourdough starter a name, after all, it’s your baby!
  • So now it’s time to start feeding the starter to build up her activity and strength.

Video

Notes

HOW TO FEED YOUR STARTER
What you need:
3 day-old starter
30g/1.05oz bread flour
30g/1.05oz water
  1. Pour the water into a bowl then scoop in a teaspoon (15g) of starter before adding the flour and mixing again.
  2. Don’t add any apple, you don’t need this any more so don’t scoop it in.
  3. Mix until it has combined well. Your consistency might vary but should be quite thick and clingy.
  4. Transfer this into a jar again and leave to grow making sure the lid is not screwed on tightly.
 
HOW MANY TIMES TO FEED YOUR STARTER?
You should repeat the above process twice a day approx. 8hr apart (no more than 14hr) for 3 weeks.
It’s a long time, I know, but once this is done…you will have your own living starter to use for a variety of recipes!
WHAT HAPPENS AFTER 3 WEEKS?
Once you have closely looked after your sourdough for 3 weeks, it should have risen and now it’s time to monitor her growth!
  1. Using a sharpie texta or a rubber band, indicate the top of the starter.
  2. Monitor it over the next 8 hours and you should see it become very gassy with bubbles breaking the surface, not to mention it will double in size!
  3. After seeing these results it is known as a ripe/mature starter and is ready to use!
HOW TO MAINTAIN YOUR STARTER:
  1. Once active, if you’re not making sourdough bread every day, you do not need to feed the starter as frequently. It’s now time to leave it in the fridge for one week.
  2. Following this time, feed it once a week and it should stay in the fridge.
  3. When you want to bake, give the sourdough starter at least 2-3 feeds making sure the environment is at a consistent room temperature. It should then change from a state of dormancy, to being active and alive again.
  4. Always check the quantity of starter needed for your sourdough recipe as you may need to increase the feeds by either doubling or tripling each ingredient, ie: 30g starter + 60g bread flour + 60g water.