Why should you make your own beautiful, tangy, crusty sourdough at home including the starter?
Because it’s simple. Really, really simple.
Yes, it takes time, but that’s something we have a bit more of now that many of us have cut out the commute and are still working from home.
We have those extra five minutes in the morning to feed our starter.
We have 20 extra minutes at lunch to pummel some dough like it’s the playground bully from our past.
We have three hours to let it sit next to us like a pet (but not pet it) while it proves and we prove we are working.
So let’s start with the starter. How do you create a sourdough starter?
You’ll need flour and water. And patience. That’s seriously it.
How to create a sourdough starter:
Day 1
In a bowl, combine 50g flour (strong bread flour or rye will do nicely) with 50g water. Cover with a tea towel and leave overnight.
Day 2
Add 50g flour and 50g water, mixing, covering and leaving overnight.
Day 3
Discard 100g of the starter (you can add this to some pancake mix so that you don’t waste it). Add 100g flour and 100g water to the remaining starter, mixing, covering and leaving overnight.
Day 4
The starter should have begun to bubble on top, but if it hasn’t, keep going. Discard 150g of the starter, then add 100g flour and 100g water, mixing, covering and leaving overnight.
Day 5
Discard 200g of the starter. Add 150g flour and 150g water, mixing, covering and leaving overnight. It should look all bubbly on top and have a pleasantly sour smell.
Day 6
Discard 250g of the starter. Add 200g flour and 200g water, mixing, covering and leaving overnight.
Day 7
Use your starter to make some sourdough!
Don’t forget that when you use your sourdough starter, always keep some aside for your next batch so that you don’t have to start from scratch. You can keep it in the fridge and feed it just once a week, pretty much indefinitely. A lady called Lucille from Newcastle, Wyoming, has one that dates back 122 years.
And you should name your starter, because then you’ll probably take better care of it.
For more articles like this, like Foodie on Facebook
