Create your own Sourdough starter!
Sourdough is one of the healthiest breads to eat. Its full of natural bacteria that is grown from leaving your mixture to ripen and feeding it, over a period of a week to ten days.
The trick with making your own starter is patience and lots of it! If you expect to have a strong well fermented starter after three days, you'll be disappointed. If you plan to make a sourough bread, give yourself a couple of weeks to prep! once you've made your starter then you'll have it for as long as you want it...they last for years apparantly! Mine is 6 months old and is going strong!
You will need:
A glass bowl/Jar
75grams rye flour
90 grams of white
enough tepid (ie not hot or cold) water to make a thick batter consistency
Step 1: Mix the flour and the water in a glass bowl with a spoon to form a thick batter, it doesnt matter if there are floury lumps.
Cover the bowl with cling film and let sit for 24 hours on a shelf somewhere warm.
Step 2: Now you need to feed the mixture. To do this simply add the same amount of flour and water into a jug and mix. Then pour this mixture into the bowl stirring the bowl with a whisk to get the air going through the batter mixture.
Cover the bowl with cling film and let sit for 24 hours.
Step 3: Take your bowl and empty 2/3 of the mixture away. If your'e concerned about waste put it in the compost bin, I do.
Step 4: Feed the remaining mixture the same amount of flour and water, as above and add to the bowl.
Cover the bowl and let sit for 12 hours.
Step 5: After 12 hours, repeat the emptying step as above and re feed.
Step 6: Over the next few days keep an eye on your early starter, it may start to show signs of life! oxygenation and bubbling, however this is not a suitable mixture to use, so repeat the emptying and feeding process at least another three times over the next few.
Step 7: at day 8-9 by now there will be a thickness and rise in your mixture. Through your glass bowl you should be able to see oxygenation holes.
Your sourdough starter is now ready to use!
Some more information on the health benefits of Sourdough bread below, courtesy of
Sourdough bread preparation improves nutrition by:
pre-digesting starches, making the bread more easily digestible
lowering insulin response/improving glucose tolerance
protecting Vitamin B1 from the damage of the heat of baking
breaking down gluten, which may result in a bread that gluten-sensitive people can eat
zinc
iron
magnesium
copper
phosphorus
I hope you choose to make your own starter! There will be blogs to follow which will detail how to maintain your starter and re use as and when you like.
Jess
