I have tried making sourdough over the last few years with varying success. During lockdown I took the opportunity to experiment and
finally perfect a recipe and produce a good loaf.
The first thing you will need to make is a starter. This is the very
foundation of the sourdough. It’s easy to make, you just need to be
patient. Once it’s made and alive it will essentially last forever if
looked after properly.
Making a sourdough starter takes about 5 days. Each day you ‘feed’
the starter with equal amounts of fresh flour and water. As the wild
yeast grows stronger, the starter will become more frothy and
sour-smelling.
Sourdough starter
You will need a 500ml jar with a lid, a tea towel and a rubber band
Instructions
Day 1: Make the initial starter
Weigh the flour and water, and combine them in your glass jar. Stir
until combined into a smooth batter. It will look like a thick dough.
Scrape down the sides and loosely cover the container with a clean tea
towel secured with a rubber band. Place the container somewhere with a
fairly consistent room temperature of 25°C and leave it for 24 hours.
Day 2: Feed the starter
Add the flour and water and stir to combine. Cover with the tea towel
and leave for 24 hours. It should smell fresh, mildly sweet, and
yeasty.
Day 3: Feed the starter
Check your starter. By now, the surface of your starter should look
dotted with bubbles and be visibly larger in volume. It should also
start smelling a little sour and musty. Weigh the flour and water for
today, and add them to the starter. Stir until combined into a smooth
batter. It will look like a sticky, thick dough. Scrape down the sides
and loosely cover the container with the tea towel. Let sit for 24
hours.
Day 4: Feed the starter
Check your starter. By now, the starter should be looking very bubbly
with large and small bubbles, it will also have doubled in volume. If
you stir the starter, it will feel looser than yesterday. It should also
be smelling quite sour. If you taste a little it should taste sour and a
bit vinegary. Weigh the flour and water and add them to the starter.
Stir until combined into a smooth batter. Let sit for 24 hours.
Day 5: Starter is ready to use
Check your starter. It should have nearly doubled in size since
yesterday and be sour and pungent. You can now consider your starter
ripe and ready to use. Keep it in the fridge until ready to use. It’s
best to remove it from the fridge for a few hours before using to allow
the yeast to wake up. Always replace the amount you take away from the
mixture, if you’re not using it regularly you’ll still need to take some
mixture and discard it then replace with fresh flour and water. I do
this on a weekly basis – every Sunday.
Serves: 8
Time to prepare: 12 hr
Time to cook: 45 mins
Dietary requirements: Vegan