Sourdough starter
Rye flour is the key to success for a good sourdough starter for me. So before you start this recipe, visit your organic supermarket, healthfood store or order a packet of rye flour online. You will also need plain white flour, some water and a few days of patience! Once your sourdough starter is active, try this recipe for an easy sourdough loaf.
Day 1
Mix 25 g of rye flour with 25 g of plain white flour and 75 ml of water in a jar. Close loosely with a lid and leave in a warm place (± 25°C /77°F ) out of the sun for about 24 hours.
Day 2
In a clean pot, mix 35 g of your starter with another 80 ml of water, 30 g of rye flour and 70 g of flour.
Day 3
Do the same as day 2
Day 4, 5 and 6
Now feed / refresh your starter twice a day (once in the morning and once in the evening) the way you did on days 2 and 3. Always use a clean jar. Around day 4 or 5 it may seem as if nothing is happening anymore, but it may be that other types of yeast are taking over from those that were active in the first stage. Don’t give up yet! If your starter isn’t bubbling away happily yet, just continue feeding it twice a day. You may have kept your starter in a cooler place and it might need some more time. You can now use less rye flour.
Day 7
On day 7, use a little less water when feeding/refreshing your starter in the morning. If your starter is already active, you can start baking in the afternoon.
Using an active starter
When the starter is ready, use part of it for baking and feed/refresh the rest as you did before. You can now be a little less precise with the exact amounts of flour when you feed the starter. By now you know what the consistency of the starter should be.
Storing your starter
If you don’t bake daily, you can store your starter in a tightly closed jar in the refrigerator and feed/refresh it once a week. Let the starter become active again before you put it back in the fridge again. When it is bubbling away again, you can put it back in the fridge in a tightly closed jar.
This recipe is based on that from theperfectloaf.com
