A starter is a dough that contains wild yeast and bacteria. The wild yeast produces carbon dioxide to make your bread airy. Since the bacteria transform the starch of the flour into lactic acid it gives the bread the sour taste. That is how the sourdough bread gets its unique and interesting taste. Use the starter with the flour and water mixture like we normally use commercial yeast. It works the same only but slower.
This sourdough starter is based on 30% rye flour and 70% bread flour because it is easier to maintain, plus the rye flour helps to expedite this process and it is very forgiving.
It is very important to work clean! Use a clean jar and always use a clean spatula or a large spoon when stirring or adding flour to the mixture. If there is any contamination, throwaway your starter and start over it probably has bad bacteria.
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Prep Time 50 minutes mins
Total Time 50 minutes mins
Ingredients
- 300 g rye flour,organic
- 1000 g water,distilled or spring water
- 700 g bread flour,organic
Instructions
La mise en place
Weigh 700 grams of bread flour and 300 grams of rye flour, mix them together with a whisk then store them in a bowl until you are ready to start building the starter. We are trying to work with a mix of 30% rye flour.
Day One
40 gramsflour (bread flour +rye flour)
Take a small clean jar and add water and flour, stir with a clean spatula or spoon for few seconds.I mark the starter jar with a rubber band so Ican see any activity easily. Loosely close the jar with a cheesecloth and store at room temperature (about 75 °F to 24 °C) for 24 hours. The cheesecloth will keep dust and bugs from getting in, but it will allow the bacteria from the air to get in the starter. There’s a slot of good bacteria hanging around.
Day Two
24 hours later, stir the starter, and keep it at room temperature for another 24 hours. Cover it with the cheesecloth. The starter will smell like stinky feet, it is very normal at this stage. The starter will develop a thick hardskin ontop, that is also very normal.
Day Three
24 hours later, stir the starter well and discard all but 30 grams. Add 30 grams of water and 30 grams of flour. Mix until smooth, and cover with the cheesecloth. This feeding is called a ratio of 1:1:1 by weight, and let it sit at room temperature (68°F – 73°F) for 12 hours.
Day Four and after…
Repeat the same last step every 12 hours. Stir the starter well and discard all but 30 grams. Add 30 grams of water and 30 grams of flour. Mix until smooth, and cover with a tight lid, and let it sit at room temperature (68°F – 73°F) for 12 hours. You will keep doing the same thing for the next ten days. By then we would feed our starter 14 times!!!!!
Day Ten
At feeding #15. Stir the starter well and discard all but 15 grams. Add 30 grams of water and 30 grams of flour. Mix until smooth, and cover with a tight lid, and let it sit at room temperature (68°F – 73°F) for 12 hours. This feeding is called a ratio of 1:2:2 by weight.
Day Eleven
At feeding #16. Stir the starter well and discard all but 10 grams. Add 40 grams of water and 40 grams of flour. Mix until smooth, and cover with a tight lid, and let it sit at room temperature (68°F – 73°F) for 12 hours. This feeding is called a ratio of 1:4:4 by weight.
Day Twelve and after
At feeding #17. Stir the starter well and discard all but 10 grams. Add 50 grams of water and 50 grams of flour. Mix until smooth, and cover with a tight lid, and let it sit at room temperature (68°F – 73°F) for 12 hours. This feeding is called a ratio of 1:5:5 by weight.
Keep doing the same thing every 12 hours for the next three days (for the next seven feedings). The starter will start to triple.
Day Fourteen
After two weeks of feeding, we would have 24 feedings!!! In the last feeding, the starter is tripling in volume in less than 8 hours. At this moment the starter is bubbling and vigorous. Stir the starter, remove what you need for the recipe and use it immediately, then store the remaining in the refrigerator up to one month without feeding it.
Bread Pot
I have been using different bread pots for baking the bread for over a decade. I used ceramic pots, blue steel pot, but by far this is my favorite one:CHALLENGER BREAD PAN.
This cast iron bread pan is designed to bake boules, bâtards, demi-baguettes, and other loaves of any size.
Video
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