Call it a natural baker's talent at being able to coax magic out of water, yeast and flour, but creating a sourdough starter isn't as intimidating as it first seems. The key to making, and sustaining, a starter is getting the right mix of flour and water, and monitoring wild yeast activity (the livelier, the better).
Getting Started
The ingredients to make a good loaf of bread might seem simple — just yeast, flour, water and salt — but commercial breads these days are packed with over 20 ingredients, most of which are preservatives and non-natural.
Once the initial combination of flour and water is done, a starter needs to be maintained with good wild yeast activity by refreshing it daily; some bakers do it once or twice daily. Though the mix can be left in the fridge for a few weeks if no baking is done, it is not advisable to leave a starter in there for anything longer than two to three months without refreshing it with more flour and water.
Getting Started
The ingredients to make a good loaf of bread might seem simple — just yeast, flour, water and salt — but commercial breads these days are packed with over 20 ingredients, most of which are preservatives and non-natural.
Once the initial combination of flour and water is done, a starter needs to be maintained with good wild yeast activity by refreshing it daily; some bakers do it once or twice daily. Though the mix can be left in the fridge for a few weeks if no baking is done, it is not advisable to leave a starter in there for anything longer than two to three months without refreshing it with more flour and water.
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Good wild yeast activity bubbling in a sourdough starter.
Tricks of the trade
To be sure, getting started might be easy, but keeping a sourdough starter going is the tough bit. Imagine it to be a bit like feeding a pet; stay consistent with the daily timing of your feeding cycles.
If you are planning to place your starter in the fridge for a longer storage time, another important step is to feed the starter right before you store it in the fridge for longer time; this will help you get faster results when taking out of the fridge for your next bake.
Keep it alive
And don't panic too much if your starter seems less than lively, either. A good sign to assess whether your starter can still be used after a bout of accidental neglect is to brave up and take a good whiff. A basic rule of thumb: if you don’t dare tasting it yourself due to its foul smell, then it's time to throw it out and start all over.
To be sure, getting started might be easy, but keeping a sourdough starter going is the tough bit. Imagine it to be a bit like feeding a pet; stay consistent with the daily timing of your feeding cycles.
If you are planning to place your starter in the fridge for a longer storage time, another important step is to feed the starter right before you store it in the fridge for longer time; this will help you get faster results when taking out of the fridge for your next bake.
Keep it alive
And don't panic too much if your starter seems less than lively, either. A good sign to assess whether your starter can still be used after a bout of accidental neglect is to brave up and take a good whiff. A basic rule of thumb: if you don’t dare tasting it yourself due to its foul smell, then it's time to throw it out and start all over.
It is good practice to revive an old starter at least 3 days before starting to bake again. In the case of revival, you will need to first remove any hooch and eventual mold present on the surface of the old starter.
To do that, pour away the hooch and then 'rinse' the surface of the old starter by pouring a bit of fresh filtered water over it. Swirl the water around in the jar before pouring it away. This process usually removes most of the old starter crust and allows you to safely reach with a spoon the layer of starter located at the bottom of the jar, which is the part to be used for the first revival feed of flour and water.
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