Easy Sourdough Starter Creating an easy sourdough starter involves capturing wild yeast and bacteria from the environment to cultivate a natural leavening agent. Here's a basic recipe to make your own yeast sourdough starter:
Ingredients:
4 tbsps Organic All Purpose Flour
4 Tbsps Warm Water
A clean glass or plastic container (quart-sized)
Instructions:
Day 1:
In the clean ball jar, mix 4 tbsps of all-purpose organic flour with 4 tbsps of lukewarm water until it forms a thick but smooth paste.
Cover the container loosely with a lid and jar. Let it sit at room temperature (around 70°F or 21°C) for 24 hours.
Day 2:
Check for any signs of bubbles or a slightly increased volume. If you notice any, it means wild yeast is starting to develop.
Keep adding to the mixture the same amounts of equal flour/water mixture.
Day 3:
By now, you should see more bubbles and a noticeable rise in volume.
Add flour/water mixture.
Days 4-7:
Keep doing this until the jar is full and the sourdough starter is really bubbly.
Around day 4-7, your sourdough starter should be ready to use. It should have a tangy aroma, a bubbly and frothy texture, and should double in size within 4-6 hours of feeding.
Maintaining the Starter:
Once your sourdough starter is established, you can refrigerate it and feed it once a week to keep it active. Bring it to room temperature and feed it with equal parts flour and water before using it in recipes.
Remember, creating a sourdough starter can take some patience, as the wild yeast and bacteria need time to develop. The exact time for readiness may vary based on environmental factors. Once your starter is active, you can use it to make delicious sourdough bread and other baked goods.
My starter was the best at 2 weeks time. Don't discard. Discarding it made my starter not as strong and to take longer to rise. Which made me grumpy. You want your starter to be strong.