sourdough starter

ingredients

possibilities

your can use any flour.

i do think it's preferable to start with rye flour. it has, in my experience, been the most robust flour for this purpose. once the starter is active (after about a week) you can switch to any flour.

i usually maintain two starters. One in which I continue to use rye flour. i like to use this yeast to make rye bread[a]. the other i continue to feed with only white flour. i use it to make whole wheat[b] and sourdough[c] breads.

[a] rye

[c] sourdough

[b] whole wheat

a process

1. mix the flour and water together in a glass jar which can be closed. put the lid on the jar. leave it on the counter for 24 hours.

> it is important that the jar be glass. it is helpful if the jar has no shoulder. it is not necessary that it can be closed. but it is nice.

2. after 24 hours remove some portion of the starter. half is good. the amount is flexible.

> the portion of the starter that has been removed is called discard. you can discard it. or, you can make sourdough pancake/gallete/crepe something with it. I prefer to do the latter.

3. replace what was removed with a with mixture of 50% water and 50% flour.

4. go to step 2. repeat this for about a week.

> each of these cycles will begin with the starter rising as the yeast becomes more active, and deflating as the yeast runs out of food to consume (the flour). once the starter is doubling in size at the peak of it's activity, it is strong enough to be used. the usually happens after about a week.

5. the starter should be used for making bread when it is at the peak of it's cycle. when it is most

active.

epilogue

once the starter is robust and usable, it is not necessary to continue to feed it every day. it can be paused by placing it in the refrigerator. before using it, you'll need to revive it by feeding it the water and flour solution.

recipes