Building Your Starter Food

BUILDING YOUR STARTER

Steps:

• In a small nonreactive bowl or 2-cup glass measuring cup, stir the flour and juice together with a spoon or whisk to make a paste or sponge with the consistency of thin pancake batter. Make sure all of the flour is hydrated. (Transfer the remaining juice into a clean jar and refrigerate it; or just go ahead and drink it.) Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and leave it at room temperature for 48 hours. Two to three times each day, stir the seed culture for about 10 seconds with a wet spoon or whisk to aerate it. There will be few or no bubbles (indicating fermentation activity) during the first 24 hours, but bubbles may begin to appear within 48 hours.
• Add the new ingredients to the Phase 1 seed culture and stir with a spoon or whisk to distribute and fully hydrate the new flour. (The liquid can be cold or at room temperature; it doesn't matter.) Again, cover with plastic wrap and leave at room temperature for 24 to 48 hours, stirring with a wet spoon or whisk to aerate two or three times each day. There should be signs of fermentation (bubbling and growth) during this period. When the culture becomes very bubbly or foamy, continue to Phase 3. This phase could take anywhere from 1 to 4 days. As long as you aerate the seed culture regularly, it will not spoil or develop mold.
• Add the new ingredients to the now bubbling Phase 2 seed culture and stir with a spoon or whisk as before, or knead by hand. (The seed culture will be thicker because the ratio of liquid to flour has decreased with each addition.) Place it in a larger bowl or measuring cup, cover with plastic wrap, and leave at room temperature for 24 to 48 hours, aerating with a wet spoon or whisk (or knead with wet hands) at least twice each day. Within 48 hours the culture should be very bubbly and expanded. If not, wait another day or two, continuing to aerate at least twice a day, until it becomes active and doubles in size. (If the seed culture was active and bubbly prior to entering this phase, it could become active and bubbly in this stage in less than 24 hours. If so, proceed to the next phase as soon as that happens.)
• Measure out 1/2 cup (4 oz / 113 g) of the Phase 3 culture and discard or give away the remainder (or save it for a second starter or as a backup). Add the new ingredients to the 1/2 cup Phase 3 culture and mix to form a soft dough. Again, cover with plastic wrap and leave at room temperature until the culture becomes active. It should swell and double in size. It can take anywhere from 4 to 24 hours for the Phase 4 culture to become fully active. If there is still little sign of fermentation after 24 hours, leave it at room temperature until it becomes very active, continuing to aerate the culture at least twice daily. The seed culture should register between 3.5 and 4.0 if tested with pH paper. (Wipe a small dab on the paper and match the color against the guide.) When the culture has grown and smells acidic (somewhat like apple cider vinegar) or has a pH of 4.0 or lower, you can either proceed to the next stage or place the seed culture in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
• Combine all of the ingredients in the bowl of an electric mixer with the paddle attachment and mix on slow speed for 1 minute. Or, combine all of the ingredients in a bowl and use a large spoon or your hands to mix until the ingredients form a rough, slightly sticky ball. Transfer the starter to a lightly floured work surface and knead for 2 minutes, until the starter is fairly smooth and all of the ingredients are evenly distributed. Place the mother starter in a clean, lightly oiled nonreactive bowl, crock, or plastic container large enough to contain the starter after it doubles in size. Cover loosely with plastic wrap or a lid (don't tighten the lid, as the carbon dioxide gas will need to escape). Leave the starter out at room temperature for 4 to 8 hours (or longer if needed), until it doubles in size; the timing will depend on the ambient temperature and the potency of your seed culture. Once it's doubled, the starter should register 4.0 or less if tested with pH paper and have a pleasant acidic aroma. When the starter is fermented, degas it by kneading it for a few seconds, then form it back into a ball, cover tightly, and refrigerate. After a few hours in the refrigerator, vent any carbon dioxide buildup by briefly opening the lid or plastic wrap. The mother starter is now ready to use and will be good for up to 5 days. To use it after 5 days, you must refresh all or part of the mother starter, as described below.
• Whenever the mother starter gets low, rebuild it (also called feeding or refreshing it) using 4 ounces (113 g) of the old starter and repeating the instructions above. You can even start with as little as 1 ounce (28.5 g) of mother starter and rebuild it in increments over a number of feedings, using the same ratios as for a 4-ounce (113 g) batch. For example, after a few weeks in the refrigerator, the protein and starches will break down, giving the starter a structure or consistency of potato soup. This is okay; the microorganisms are still viable, though fairly dormant (and maybe even a little drunk on the alcohol they've produced, which rises to the top and looks like gray water).
• To rebuild your mother starter, use 1 ounce (28.5 g) of mother starter and add 3 ounces (85 g) of flour and 2 to 2.25 ounces (56.5 to 64 g) of water. This will produce about 6 ounces (170 g) of starter. You can then build all or part of that into a larger piece using the same ratios: 100 percent flour, 33.3 percent starter, and 66 to 75 percent water. So for 6 ounces (170 g) of starter, use 18 ounces (510 g) flour (6 multiplied by 3) and 12 to 13.5 ounces (340 to 383 g) water (18 multiplied by 66 percent or 75 percent-lower hydration for all white flour, higher hydration for all whole grain flour). As you see, you can build a small piece of starter into a large piece very quickly.