Homemade Sourdough Starter

• Vegan

• Baking & Spices

  • 2 cups All-purpose flour
  • 1 packet Rapid rise dry yeast

• Liquids

  • 2 cups Water

Found on jennifercooks.com

Description

Ingredients

• 1 packet rapid rise dry yeast
• 2 cups lukewarm water
• 2 cups all-purpose flour

Directions

• Day 1:
• Dissolve yeast in a large non-reactive mixing bowl with warm water. (Glass, crockery, plastic or stainless steel)
• Stir in flour and whisk until well mixed.
• Cover tightly with a lid or plastic wrap and store at room temperature for 24 hours.
• Day 2:
• You may see a little bubbling or you may not by day 2, that’s ok. Discard half of the starter.
• Add 1 cup all-purpose flour and 1 cup lukewarm water.
• Whisk until smooth.
• Cover and let rest at room temperature for another 24 hours.
• Day 3:
• You should be seeing some bubbling by now and an increase in volume. Now you will start with regular daily feedings.
• Discard 1 cup of starter.
• Add 1 cup all-purpose flour and 1 cup lukewarm water; whisk to mix well.
• Cover and let rest at room temperature for another 24 hours.
• Day 4:
• Repeat day 3 process.
• Day 5:
• Repeat day 3 process. By now the starter should have at least doubled in size and have lots of bubbles at the top. Starter should have a sour, tangy aroma.
• To Use:
• If you’ve been keeping your starter in the refrigerator, you’ll need to feed the starter and warm it up to room temperature for at least 4 hours - so plan ahead. Once the starter is bubbling and doubling in volume, remove what you need for your recipe and set it aside. Feed the remaining sourdough starter with 1 cup lukewarm water and 1 cup all-purpose flour; whisk until smooth. Allow the starter to feed for 2 hours at room temperature, then place back in the refrigerator.
• Maintaining Your Sourdough Starter
• If you’re a hardcore baker and intent on using your sourdough starter multiple times a week, then you’ll want to keep it at room temperature, feeding once-a-day like this:
• Maintaining At Room Temperature: Daily Feeding
• Stir the starter well and discard all but 1 cup of starter.
• Stir in 1 cup lukewarm water and 1 cup all-purpose flour.
• Mix until smooth.
• Cover and repeat every 24 hours.
• This is what I did in the beginning, but now I’m a little more laid back about it so I do the following method:
• Maintaining in the refrigerator: Once-A-Week Feeding
• Once you have a viable starter, store the starter in an airtight container. I keep mine in a large hermetic clamp jar in my refrigerator.
• Once a week, take your starter out of the refrigerator. (There may be dark brownish to grayish liquid on top. drain this off; this is just alcohol from the fermentation process.)
• Discard all but 1 cup of starter - this discarded portion can be used in the pancakes I mentioned about. I usually do this process on Saturday mornings when I cook a late breakfast/brunch for my family. The discard can also be used in pizza dough, crackers and other baked goods - coming soon!
• Add 1 cup lukewarm water and 1 cup all-purpose flour; whisk until smooth and cover.
• Allow starter to rest on your kitchen counter, which will warm it up a bit and allow it to begin feeding. After 2 to 4 hours return to the refrigerator.