Sourdough starter for the home baker

Many sourdough starter recipes out there are derived from professional bakers who bake multiple loaves EVERDAY.   My initial sourdough starter resulted in a huge quantity of sourdough starter with a lot of wastage.  I needed to develop a sourdough that would suit my needs.  My sourdough starter had to:

• stay alive
• be available when I needed it
• require minimal maintenance
• be able to be repurposed into another product and not waste the discards .

Over the years, I've experimented and came up with a formula that achieved the above requirements.  My sourdough starter:

• has been thriving for over 5 years
• gives me about 60 grams of starter that I use to make a levain which is ample for home baking.
• only requires feeding every 7-10 days
• can be used for crepes, pancakes, chocolate lava cakes, etc. with no wastage.  See my Sourdough recipes

My Sourdough starter

After creating the initial sourdough starter, I maintain about 80 grams in the refrigerator at all times.  From this mother-dough, I will take about 60 grams to make the levain or pre-fermentee that will become the basis of the bread.  The remaining 20 grams will be fed to maintain the starter.  The longest time that I'll let my starter go without feeding is 7 days.

Tips for making sourdough starter for the home baker

Dry Flour Mix. 

I use a container and measure equal amounts of bread flour and whole wheat flour and store it.  This mix will be used to feed your starter on a regular basis so it’s just convenient to keep a pre-mixed combination of flours on hand.

Containers

Many people use mason jars.  I use a disposable plastic take-out container with lid.  I like to weigh just the container without the lid and write the weight on the underside of the container with a sharpie.  This allows me to know exactly how much starter is in the container at all times.

Feeding an established starter.

An established starter can go without feeding for up to 7 days.  (I've done 10 days but I wouldn't make that a habit!)  Whenever I need some sourdough starter to bake, I will take about 60 grams from the starter to make a levain or bake something else with the discard and feed the remaining 20 grams.  

Sourdough Starter from Scratch.

STARTER INGREDIENTS:

Flour blend that is used to make the initial starter and for feeding for about 10 days.

• 200 grams white bread flour
• 200 grams whole-wheat flour

• 115 grams water (lukewarm)
• 25 grams water (lukewarm) per feeding

• After the 1st day, nothing really appears to be happening.  You may see a few bubbles in the mixture.
• Let it rest on a counter until bubbles start to form, about 2-3 days depending on the temperature.   Some starters may develop a dark crust, but we’re looking for bubbles in the dough.

• You will now need to feed your starter on Day 3 and every 24 hours at about the same time of day for 8 days or until you see that your starter rises and falls predictably after every feeding.

Feeding your starter.

• Remove 20 grams of your starter and place it in a different container or remove as much starter that will leave 20 grams (This is the reason for measuring the weight of your container and writing it down on the underside of the container with the sharpie).  
• Add 37 grams of flour blend and 25 grams of filtered, room temperature water.  Mix using your hands.  
• Cover with paper towel and elastic and let rest at room temperature when making the starter or cover with tight lid and refrigerate when maintaining the starter.

• After about 8 days, your starter should rise and fall predictably. It is now ready!  From here, your sourdough starter has enough yeast and microbes to sustain itself and you can use it to bake your first sourdough recipe or maintain it for future use.

Maintaining & Training your starter!

I have discovered that the starter can be trained to eat slowly so as not to make it so labor and resource intensive!  Once your starter is established, you can then place it in the fridge, tightly covered and it will ferment slower.  It will last for 7-10 days without feeding.  You will notice that it starts to “relax” after a few days and will eventually become very soft as the active bacteria breaks down the flour.  The smell will also become more pungent the longer it feeds.

Continue to Feed your starter as directed, making sure you cover it and place it in the fridge to retard the fermentation. 

Downsizing your current starter.

If you already have an ACTIVE starter but feel that it's requiring too much flour and water to maintain, you can start putting it on a feeding regimen.  

• Remove 20 grams of your starter and place it in a different container or remove as much starter that will leave 20 grams (This is the reason for measuring the weight of your container and writing it down on the underside of the container with the sharpie).  
• Add 37 grams of flour blend and 25 grams of filtered, room temperature water.  Mix using your hands.  
• Cover with tight lid and refrigerate.