I made a sourdough starter a year ago and have been happily dibble dabbling in sourdough ever since. I love it and my family loves it. It’s easily become a regular part of our life. When I initially started it, I had no idea what I was doing, had confused myself, and so just played around until I got into a rhythm that I liked. The whole process is still very much evolving and I am by no means an expert though. How I do things, constantly gets tweaked and changed and I’m fine with that. There is a LOT to understand with sourdough and bread making in general and I still feel I only have a tiny grasp of it all.
I’m fine with this though. I’m happy to keep fiddling, tweaking and learning. I’ve had a few questions lately of how I started my starter. I partially documented it here, but was never really sure whether it would work properly. It did work though and a year down the track the starter is strong, happy to get reduced to nothing, frozen, bulked up, popped in the fridge, loved on the bench. It’s very much still there.
So could I do it again? Could I make another? Was it a fluke the first time? Were the planets aligned and the sourdough fairies happily hovering when it all happened the first time? Let’s find out. Let me see if I can make another, and this time show a bit more of the process, (as long as it didn’t turn grey, smell like vomit, smell like acetone, grow purple mould, or simply just die.)
Day one- Added 50g rye flour and 50mls water together. Weighs 100g.
Smells like- rye flour and water
Looks like- rye flour and water
Day two- First feed. Adding 50g rye flour and 50mls water to flour and water mixture. Now weighs 200g.
Smells like- rye flour and water.
Looks like- rye flour and water.
Day Three- Second feed. Adding 100g white flour and 100mls water to the mixture. Now weighs 400g.
Smells like- Fruity and floury, things are starting… Go on, take another smell to make sure.
Looks like- It’s puffed up a little, it looks a little stringy when you stir through the feed. That tiny black speck in the middle is a bubble.
Day Four- Third feed. Adding 200g of white flour and 200mls water. Now weighs 800g.
Smells like- a bit fruity, a bit yeasty, a bit…?
Looks like- more bubbles, with a few white streaks with the change of the flour.
Day Five- Fourth feed. First I need to divide the starter, (otherwise it will be too big). Take it back down to 100g of starter and add- 50g white flour and 50mls water. Now weighs 200g. (This is repeating Day Two)
Smells like- A bit fruity, a bit yeasty, nothing unpleasant at all.
Looks like- Bubbles. Lots of action going on now.
Day Six- Fifth feed. Repeating Day Three. 100g of flour and 100mls water, now weighs 400g.
Smells like- fruity/yeasty kind of action.
Looks like- bubbles, a whole lot of them.
*****
8 hours later (all feeds were done at approximately the same time each day 11-12pm)
Now as this was just an experiment and I didn’t really need another starter (or to be using up any more flour). I decided to mix up a dough. The bubbles were good and big, and ready to rock.
Into the mixer, with 200g of starter, 375g flour, 250mls water. Quick mix with the dough hook, then forgot about it for 2 hours, (I usually leave it for 40 minutes.) Added 1 tsp salt, mixed again with the dough hooks and then by this stage it’s late and I couldn’t be bothered thinking about anything bread, so whacked a plastic bag over the top of the mixing bowl and popped it in the fridge.
Day Seven- 7am out on to a lightly floured bench, for a quick stretchy, push it all in the middle kind of knead. Then back into the mixing bowl with bag over the top, and placed in the warmest spot in the flat. Couple of hours later and it’s doubled in size. Back to the lightly floured surface. A stretchy, round knead again, a little shaping and then on to a paper lined tray with a bag over the top again. Chase the sun once more and forgot about it for half the afternoon. Doubled in size (ish).
Pre-heated oven, then
slashed and into the oven at 240C with steam.
So did it work? Yes, I think it just might have.
*****
If you are interested in getting into sourdough, there is some more information on other methods, troubleshooting, and maintaining the starter below. (There is a LOT of information to take in, but it’s a versatile beast that works in many mysterious ways for a lot of different people.) These people who have shared their vast sourdough knowledge on these sites have been doing it far longer than I have, so please have a read, and happy playing with your new pet.
Books
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Other bloggers creating starters
Christine recently made a starter using dates and sugar, restablishing her sourdough relationship from times gone by. Also, Richard has made his own starter and is now jumping into the sweet world of sourdough.
I’m happy to see you’ve obviously caught the sourdough bug. Did you know that there’s a serious school of sourdough bakers in Europe that insist on creating a new sourdough starter every 6 mos or so? I found that interesting, in light of the more conventional belief that the older, the better.
But you must be very careful, lest you allow the sourdough bacteria to draw you in to the fascinating world of fermentation.
I know I’m just dabbling in the shallow end of fermentation, I think there just might be a whole new world to discover down the track.
I would love to do a sourdough school in Europe…oh! That would be good.
You’re quite the baker. Great looking loaf. I don’t always have a starter going, but I love bread made with a sourdough starter.
So do you just make a starter now and then? What process would you use to start it up? I’m fascinated by all the different ways it can be done…
Great post. I had a sourdough starter going almost 10 years ago but never could get into the regular baking routine so it met it’s demise. I may have to give it another go.
Thanks David. It took a while to get in to a rythym with it and for the whole process not be taking over the day.
Maybe try keeping some in the freezer?
Posts like this are a wonderful resource for those of us starting out. It’s difficult to know what our starters should look and smell like at all of the different stages.
Also a bit intimidating when after two weeks I don’t think mine has as many bubbles as yours did after one. I also need to aim for a more open structures in my finished bread.
If I ever need to start again I think I’ll definitely start with some rye flour next time.
Ohh it’s gettng addictive!!
Richard, you know you are going to nail this sourdough caper, I’ve got no doubt!
So impressive! Congratulations. The final product looks just great.
Thanks Kari. It never stops amazing me the creations you can make with just flour and water….and a little salt.
Has it been a year already since you made your starter? I am so impressed. You obviously have the touch as you seem to have done this new starter with no trouble at all. Go Brydie!
Yep a whole year! I was a bit surprised at that as well. I wonder how many kilos of flour have been consumed in that time….
Great job! Your starter looks raring to go!
Celia do you ever get tired of seeing those happy bubbles? I still smile when the starter is at it’s peak and the bubbles are singing out, “hey come on, use me now!”
Oh you two are teasing me I know…, its so darn interesting isn’t it this bread making yeasty bubbling thingo. I just don’t eat enough bread but geez but I’d love to play with this fermenting goodness. I just might too
Great post subject and photo’s, too, thanks Brydie. Making me feel a bit guilty about the starter I have languishing, neglected in the fridge. I’m never quite sure how long I can leave it there, unloved, before I try to kick it into life again. Don’t want to throw it out if I don’t need to, but don’t want to kill family with botulised bread either.
I read a post somewhere in blogland about reviving starters at different stages in the fridge, and how long you could really keep it going. Can’t remember the outcome or the link though… so that was helpful
Plump it up again and pop some in the freezer maybe?
Botulised bread….maybe get the teens to try it first.
you make it seem so easy though I wonder how I would go with all that time – am just starting on a batch of my fave potato bread but one day will test the kindness of the sourdough fairies – one day….
but for now … I am interested in what you do when you have to divide the starter – I think it is called toss off and have seen people talk about recipes with this – do you use it or just chuck it?
Johanna I never have any to chuck out any more. This second starter was just an experiment so only the one lot to chuck out- but only because I already had so much. The first time I did it, I used it for some loaves and just added a little dried yeast to back it up. Initially when I was starting out and I had excess starter I made sourdough flatbreads, (like naan). These days though, I fit the bulking up to what I need.
(geez, I hope that makes sense!)
Excellent sequence of photos, Bryds. Sooo…now you have two pets, eh? Will they merge together and ‘become one’? I have to say it was your droolworthy sourdough posts that got me motivated again. Thanks!
No, only the one pet again now…actually two today as I’m bulking a rye one but the other one was,errr, deleted. I did feel a little guilty, he had worked so hard and all, but I really didn’t need another.
Thanks for this timely post Brydie. I’ve been wanting to do a sour dough starter for quite a while, and lately have been thinking that I have to get back into the swing of making bread for myself, whether it be with a starter or just plain ole homemade!
I guess I also felt a little intimidated by it too. But I just may give it a go this week.
Is it best to use rye in the beginning, and does white have to be used from the 3rd day on? Or can you use any flour you like?
Your finished loaf looks so tasty! x
Pam have a flick through some of the links I did. I don’t want to give the wrong advice, but from the way I have played is…. Rye is a good one start off with as it ferments faster than the white. That being said, you can just start off with a white one (Richard’s link at the bottom started with just the white). You can keep using the rye throughout, or swap it over. I swapped it as the white is cheaper and it was just an experiment. Today however I’m swapping a white starter back to a rye as I’m making a 100% rye loaf that needs a rye starter. It’s a versatile beast!
So in short answer… both flours are do-able
Ooh lovely! Thanks for that Brydie. I actually prefer not to use white if I can help it. Much rather the heavier flours. But am open to using a mix at times.
If I ever get around to it, I’ll do a post on it and let you know.
and thanks, I will have a look through those links too.
i just may be joining you in making another. mine’s looking very sad after being neglected while i was on holiday. it has been revived from the brink several times before though. . .
Rachel I’m sure you can get it back. Lots of feed like love and I’ve heard soft singing helps…
Thank you, thank you, thank you.
This is exactly what I need. I will need to get my own starter up and running soon so this spells it right out for me.
Yah!
Happy to help out
but didn’t you get some starter given to you?
I did but it is always so good to read when someone who hasn’t been making it for 20 years tells it to you in really basic language with heaps of photos. Thanks.
Really glad it came across like that, as that’s what I was hoping for….saying that I hope it all works for you!
That looks like it would be amazing with an artisan jam and French butter. Oh, my!
xo
Dakota
Thanks Dakota. Jam, butter, sourdough… it’s up there with my favourite foods
Beautifully done, Brydie!
I made a starter whilst on vacation- and used it up there rather than bringing it home. Now I have to coddle the one I left behind- I need to get some more rye flour soon!
Your crumb shot is so tempting!
What if it smells like a cake on day three, lots of bubbles too.
Sounds good Debbie. If there are lots of bubbles, it’s happy so keep going
Oh wonderful. I started to make a starter following the tutorial at sourdough.com but it didn’t go quite as plan. I got to day 8 and forgot about it…no bubbles had appeared and I gave up but you make it look easy! I’ll definitely give it another go. Thanks.
Please do, and if you do end up following these instructions let me know how they work out for you.
Good luck!
Hi – thanks sooo much for the ‘recipe’ and photos to go with it. i have just started day one, and then realised…(dumb question – sorry) do i just leave it on the bench with a cover over it?
cheers
Kim
Yes, just leave it with a plastic bag or some cling wrap over the top and on the bench, or top of the fridge. Somewhere reasonably warm.
Good luck with the starter!
Just been directed here by http://www.seanasmith.com, and delighted to find this step-by step for making a sourdough which I am planning to start this very afternoon. Does it have to be rye flour, I am going to use wholemeal, so will see how that goes?
Hi Mairi, thanks for jumping on over
I haven’t used a wholemeal flour before for a starter, but definitely give it a go. The only reason I used the rye initially is because it kick starts a bit quicker than regular flours (ferments quicker), saying that you can also just do a starter from regular flour as well. I’d love to know how you go with it.
Good luck!
Thank you much for your straight forward, easy to follow steps! I’ve been wanting to do this forever (well, at least several years) but have been really intimidated. I so appreciated your laid back, conversational tone. Unfortunately unexpected social obligations/fun on day 7 and poor kneading (which I hope to now rectify) resulted in a dense loaf. However, the flavor was amazing! So I’m excited to continue practicing my newbie technique with my starter, though I’m a bit nervous about keeping it alive. Feels like a big responsibility!
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