Have you ever found yourself admiring those beautiful loaves of sourdough bread at the bakery or on Instagram, wondering how you can make your own? Good news – you don't have to be a professional baker to make delicious sourdough bread at home! The key is in creating a sourdough starter, which is the foundation of your bread recipe. In this blog post, I'll take you through the step-by-step process of starting your own sourdough starter from scratch. So roll up your sleeves, grab your flour and let's get started!
Gather Your Ingredients Before we dive into the process of making a sourdough starter, it's important to have all the right ingredients on hand. You'll need flour, water, a glass container, a spatula and patience. Yup, that's it! You can use any type of flour, but I recommend organic whole wheat for the best health benefits. These are my preferred jars for my sourdough starter. They are the perfect size and I love the glass lids. I removed the clips and gasket and just set it on top. No more worrying about the cats knocking off the towel!! I also love these spatulas. They are the perfect size and length to easily reach all the way down in the jars and scrape the sides clean. Mix Your Flour and Water Mixing the flour and water is the first step in creating your sourdough starter. Combine equal parts flour and water in a glass jar or bowl and stir until it forms a thick, gluey consistency. Cover the container with a kitchen towel or cheesecloth and let it sit in a warm, draft-free area of your home, ideally around 70-80°F. Feed Your Starter After a day or two, you'll start to see some bubbles forming in your mixture, which means the natural yeast present in the flour and air is starting to activate. This is good news! Every day you need to feed your starter by adding another equal part of flour and water to the mixture. Feed your starter every day for two weeks, discarding about half of the mixture each time you feed it. Watch Your Starter Grow As your starter continues to ferment, you'll notice changes in its texture and aroma. It may start to smell sour, yeasty or even slightly alcoholic. You may also see the starter grow in volume as it becomes more active. Ready to Bake Once your starter is active and bubbly, you're ready to use it in your bread recipe! Simply remove the amount of starter you need for your recipe (be sure to save some for future loaves), and continue with your bread-making process. Remember to always feed and maintain your starter, even if you're not baking bread every day. Starting a sourdough starter may seem intimidating at first, but with a few simple steps and a little patience, it's a rewarding process that anyone can do. Not only will you be able to make delicious sourdough bread at home, but you'll also be cultivating a living organism that has been used for centuries. So go ahead and give it a try – your taste buds will thank you! For those of you who prefer video instructions, click here for a quick video I did explaining the process. xoxo, Melissa
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