How To: Feed & Keep a Sourdough Starter
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Listen, everyone seems to do sourdough a little differently. I'm going to let you in on a little secret...that is because it's so forgiving. Truly, it is! Baking with sourdough is much easier than it seems, but tiny mistakes can cause big problems. Follow this how to guide to feed and keep a sourdough starter to avoid those mistakes!
I use this organic all-purpose flour from Costco and filtered water, to keep my sourdough active and happy and it works perfect for me!
See below
Can last generation after generation if you treat it right. But don't worry - you can always find a replacement here if yours gets neglected.
Feed & Keep a Sourdough Starter
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Category
sourdough
Author:
Nicole Bimber
Prep Time
5 minutes
There are many right ways to do this, this is just my way of doing it. Feel free to do whatever works best for you and your kitchen!
Ingredients
Directions
Place a clean glass 2 cup jar on a scale and tare out the scale (set to zero).
Pour active sourdough starter into the jar. Look at the weight in grams on the scale (see notes below for how much water/flour you will add depending on this weight).
Add water and stir well. This will be watery.
Add flour and stir well again, this should be more of a pancake batter consistency, a bit thicker than that.
Cover with a loose fitting metal lid (not tightened all the way) or a tightened plastic lid.
Leave in a room-temperature environment for roughly 12 hours. See below for timing instructions that will be specific to your kitchen and the time of year.
Use at it’s peak for all of your favorite sourdough recipes!
Alternatively, you can store this in the refrigerator to extend the time before you need to feed it again. Simply allow it to return to room temperature, feed again, and keep on keepin’ on.
Recipe Note
Water/Flour Feeding Ratio:
What I like to do, and what has always worked flawlessly for me is to make sure I at least double my water + flour for how much starter I pour into the jar. For example, if I put 10 grams of starter in the jar, I know I'm going to put at least 20 grams of water AND 20 grams of flour to feed said starter. I may use 50 grams of each, how much you feed will depend on how many times you want to feed your starter before using it/how much you need when you do use it/how active your starter is. This is all unique to your specific baking circumstances and needs.
Timing:
Depending on what time of year it is, what temperature you keep your house at, and then what temperature your kitchen is typically kept at (cooking warms mine up a ton), will effect how long your sourdough starter takes to "peak." Peak occurs when your starter is at the absolute highest it will go before it begins to descend. It is ideal to use your starter as soon as it's peaked, before it falls. You want to learn your sourdough starter to see when it peaks to plan for when you'll use yours. I find mine is usually ready around the 12 hour post-feeding timing. This could be shorter, or longer for you.
This how to is courtesy of Nicole Bimber from Nourished Market.
https://nourishedmarket.com/