A Beginner’s Guide to Sourdough Starter
A healthy sourdough starter is your passageway to a well-risen, flavourful loaf. Keep it fed and watered, and you’ll be well on your way to success. Here are our suggestions and top tips to achieve this.
What is my starter made from?
Your starter is made from just flour and water, which goes through a cycle of natural bacteria and yeast feeding on the fresh flour. After each feeding, your starter will rise until there’s no more food left, then it will collapse into a sour puddle as it needs more nourishment (much like me).
How do I store my starter?
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In the fridge: It will take about 24 hours after the last feeding until it runs out of steam and wants to be fed again.
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At room temperature: It will last 8–12 hours, depending on how warm your kitchen is.
Refresh frequency: You don’t need to feed it every day. I keep mine in the fridge and start to feed it 1–2 days before I want to use it. (If there’s a dark liquid on top because you haven’t fed it for a while, just tip this away and keep the starter underneath.)
For a healthy starter, we advise refreshing at least once every three weeks. The more often it’s refreshed, the quicker the time between refreshing and baking. When you’re ready to mix your dough, your starter should be at its most lively point. For example: if you want to start mixing dough on Saturday morning, take your starter out of the fridge and refresh it on Wednesday, with top-up refreshments on Thursday and Friday.
Refresh method:
As a general rule, I keep 20% of the starter and make it back up to 100% with flour and water. I like to use slightly more flour than water as it makes the starter more stable and less sour-tasting. With practice, you may not need to weigh or measure the flour and water, you can judge the consistency by eye, aiming for a smooth, thick, cake-mix-like texture.
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Tip around 50g of your starter into a mixing bowl.
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Stir in 40g water and 50g flour (we like Mulino Marino 00 Soffiata, as it makes a very lively starter).
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Cover the bowl with a dinner plate and leave at room temperature.
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Repeat 24 and 48 hours later. The starter will resemble a thick batter, and after three days it should be very bubbly.
If you need more starter, simply increase the quantity of flour and water on the second and third days. Don’t forget to return some starter to the fridge before you bake, ready for next time.
When do I use my starter?
You want to use your starter just as it’s peaking or just after, before collapsing into a puddle again. At this stage it’s most active and hungry, giving you the best results.
Simple test: Take a teaspoon of starter and drop it into water. If it floats, it’s ready. If not, leave it a little longer.
Top Tips:
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Tap water contains chlorine, which can harm the organisms in your starter. For best results, use cool boiled water, or water that’s been left to stand in a jug overnight.
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Water that has sat for a while may lose some oxygen, so give it a shake in a bottle or whisk it before use. The added oxygen really helps the yeasts along.
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Each time you refresh, you’ll discard a portion of starter. The leftover is called sourdough discard. It won’t be suitable for baking bread, but there are plenty of recipes that make good use of discard so it doesn’t go to waste.
Caution: Your starter should be cream coloured, perhaps with some dark liquid on top. If it develops any unusual colours, it’s best to discard it and start again.
