Starting a starter

1.  In a large bowl empty yeast package into warm water and stir until dissolved.
2. Add four and stir until well mixed.
3. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature for 48 hours.
4. After the 48 hours, it will be bubbly and might have a yellowish liquid on top, pour this off and stir.
5. The starter is now ready to be used. this is considered ‘fed’. It can also be stored in the fridge in a glass container with a loose fitting lid.

Keeping a starter alive

Sourdough starter has two stages, ‘fed’ and ‘unfed’.  Starter is considered ‘fed’ after it has been given new flour and water, and ‘unfed’ when it hasn’t been fed in a while. Using your starter takes some planning. Most recipes will call for a ‘fed’  or ‘unfed’ starter.

Feeding Starter

Starter needs to be fed about once a week. 6-8hours before I plan to start the bread baking process.

I feed my 4 oz of flour and 4 oz of water both by weight.

If you are not ready to use the starter it can all go back into the fridge.  You don’t need to use your starter every week but every week you should take at least one cup of starter out  (called ‘discard’) and feed the remaining starter. The discard can be used in some recipes, given to a friend or thrown out.