How to make and keep sourdough starter

• Vegan

• Baking & Spices

  • 400 g Flour, strong white

• Liquids

  • 400 g Water

Found on garlicmatters.com

Ingredients

• 400g strong white flour
• 400g tepid water

Directions

• Combine equal amounts (weight wise) of water and strong, white bread flour in a glass or plastic jar/container (not metal) until you have an even batter. The best thing to do is to place a bowl on a scale, tare it to zero and pour 100g flour and then 100g of water - both ingredients should be even in weight and the total weight on your scale show 200g.
• Cover your container with a lid or a plastic foil, allowing a little access to air. I use a glass jar that used to have a rubber seal around the lid, which I removed for the purpose of growing the starter in it. I can close the lid, but there is a very small gap which doesn’t make the jar airtight - and that’s perfect!
• Place the jar in a room/cupboard where there is a stable temperature in a range of 70F-75F and leave your sourdough starter for 24h.
• Uncover the container with the sourdough starter you made yesterday. You might see the first few bubbles on the surface, but if you don’t, don’t worry and follow with the first feeding as below:
• In a separate plastic or glass bowl, combine 100g flour and pour in 100g of water - both ingredients should be even in weight.
• Add your old starter to the new one and mix vigorously, allowing lots of air in. Rinse the old jar/container and pour the sourdough starter back in. (This will keep things tidy and allow you to see the progress of your starter clearly.)
• Cover with a lid or a plastic foil, allowing little access of air and place the jar in a room/cupboard where the is a stable temperature in a range of 70F-75F and leave your sourdough starter in peace for another 24h.
• Uncover the container with the sourdough starter you fed yesterday. You should notice that the sourdough starter increased in volume, that there are definite bubbles appearing all over the surface, and that it has a slightly sour, yeasty, but healthy smell - a bit like overripe fruit.
• If that’s the case - perfect, follow with the feeding as in day 2. If not, refer to solutions in the notes at the end.
• Uncover the container with the sourdough starter you fed yesterday. By day 4 there should be plenty of bubbles in your starter creating a sort of foamy layer at least ¼ through the depth of your starter and also a significant increase in the volume of the starter - it should appear like it has risen. It should smell fruity, yeasty, slightly sour and there should be no doubt that it is alive and healthy.
• If that’s the case - perfect, follow with the feeding as in day 2. If not, refer to solutions in the notes at the end.
• Discard half of it and store the rest refrigerated in an airtight, glass or plastic container. Read how to keep sourdough alive forever in the post below.