Make Your Own Sourdough Starter Food

CHEF JOHN'S SOURDOUGH STARTER

Steps:

• Day 1: Mix 70 grams flour and 70 grams water together in a container with a lid. Container needs to be large enough to accommodate another 70 grams water and flour. Cover loosely so gases can escape. Leave for 24 hours at 70 degrees F.
• Day 2: Add 70 grams flour and 70 grams water. Stir. Cover loosely and leave for 24 hours at 70 degrees.
• Day 3: Remove half (140 grams) of the starter. Add 70 grams flour and 70 grams water. Stir. Cover loosely and leave for 24 hours at 70 degrees.
• Day 4 through about Day 10: Repeat Step 3 each day until starter smells fruity, yeasty, and is beautifully fermented. You can test this by seeing if the mixture doubles within 2 to 3 hours of feeding.
• Refrigerate until needed. Most people recommend you feed the starter once a month or so (Step 3).
• To make bread using a refrigerated starter: feed it at room temperature for two days. Use your refreshed starter to make bread on the third day. Remember to set aside 140 grams of starter and feed it again before returning it to the fridge.

SOURDOUGH STARTER

Steps:

• Day 1:To begin your starter, mix 50g flour with 50g tepid water in a jar or, better still, a plastic container. Make sure all the flour is incorporated and leave, semi-uncovered, at room temperature for 24 hrs.
• Day 2:Mix 50g flour with 50g tepid water and stir into yesterday's mixture. Make sure all the flour is incorporated and leave, semi-uncovered, at room temperature for another 24 hrs.
• Day 3:Mix 50g flour with 50g tepid water and stir into yesterday's mixture. Make sure all the flour is incorporated and leave, semi-uncovered, at room temperature for another 24 hrs.
• Day 4:You should start to see some activity in the mixture now; there should be some bubbles forming and bubbling on top. Mix 50g flour with 50g tepid water and stir into yesterday's mixture. Make sure all the flour is incorporated and leave, semi-uncovered, at room temperature for another 24 hrs.
• Day 5:The mixture should be very active now and ready for making your levain (starter). If it's not bubbling, continue to feed it on a daily basis until it does. When it's ready, it should smell like yogurt.
• You now have a starter, which is the base to the bread. You'll need to look after it, but naming is optional! Keep it in the fridge (it will stay dormant) and 24 hrs before you want to use it, pour half of it off and feed it with 100g flour and 100g water. Leave it at room temperature and it should become active again. The longer the starter has been dormant, the more times it will need to be refreshed - the process of pouring off half the starter and replacing it with new flour and water - to reactivate. If your starter is ready to use, a teaspoonful of the mixture should float in warm water.The starter can now be used to make white sourdough bread.

SOURDOUGH STARTER

Steps:

• In large non-metallic bowl, mix together dry yeast, 2 cups warm water, and 2 cups all purpose flour and cover loosely.
• Leave in a warm place to ferment, 4 to 8 days. Depending on temperature and humidity of kitchen, times may vary. Place on cookie sheet in case of overflow. Check on occasionally.
• When mixture is bubbly and has a pleasant sour smell, it is ready to use. If mixture has a pink, orange, or any other strange color tinge to it, THROW IT OUT! and start over. Keep it in the refrigerator, covered until ready to bake.
• When you use starter to bake, always replace with equal amounts of a flour and water mixture with a pinch of sugar. So, if you remove 1 cup starter, replace with 1 cup water and 1 cup flour. Mix well and leave out on the counter until bubbly again, then refrigerate. If a clear to light brown liquid has accumulated on top, don't worry, this is an alcohol base liquid that occurs with fermentation. Just stir this back into the starter, the alcohol bakes off and that wonderful sourdough flavor remains! Sourdough starters improve with age, they used to be passed down generation to generation!
• Use this starter to make the Sourdough Chocolate Cranberry Cake, and the Sourdough Chocolate Cake.

CREATING YOUR OWN SOURDOUGH STARTER

Steps:

• Please note that the process is simple, but will take anywhere from 3-5 days to develop.
• Day One: Pour 2 tablespoons of pineapple juice into a large clean glass bowl or jar. (Use a bowl or jar that will hold 3 times the volume, as the starter will double in bulk during the fermentation process.).
• Stir in 2 tablespoons bread flour.
• Cover container with plastic wrap and set in a warm draft-free area; 70-80 degrees Farenheit is perfect. Hotter temperatures (95-100 degrees) will kill it.
• Stir at least twice daily.
• Day 2: To the starter container add 2 tablespoons pineapple juice and two tablespoons bread flour and stir thoroughly. Cover with plastic wrap and set in warm place.
• Stir at least twice daily.
• Day 3: To the starter container stir in 2 tablespoons WATER and two tablespoons RYE flour and stir thoroughly. Cover and set in a warm place.
• Repeat Day 3 if necessary, using bread flour -- When your starter develops a bubbly froth, usually about 3 to 4 days, it is done. You have succeeded -- this can take up to 7 days in some areas,.
• The starter is now ready to use or may be stored in the refrigerator in a covered jar.
• CARE AND FEEDING OF YOUR SOURDOUGH STARTER:.
• The starter will get better with time, so take good care of it!
• If the starter is not used at least every 14 days, then it must be 'fed'.
• To feed, pour 2 or 3 tablespoons of the starter into a clean glass bowl (discarding or give away the rest).
• Stir in 1/2 cup of lukewarm water and 1/2 cup of flour into the starter.
• Cover bowl with plastic wrap or towel and place in a warm draft-free place for 12 to 24 hours, stirring at least every 12 hours.
• After 24 hours, the starter should have a plesant sour (yeasty/beer) aroma and is ready for use or may be poured into a clean glass or plastic container, with a lid, and refrigerated for future use. The starter should be used every 7 - 10 days.
• When Ready To Bake: Remove two tablespoons of starter, add equal amounts of flour and water to obtain the amount of starter required for the recipe (plus slightly more to replenish the starter). As an example, if the recipe calls for one cup of starter, remove a couple tablespoons of the active starter, stir in a little more than one cup of bottled water and 1 cup of flour. Adjust the water/flour as needed, the consistency should be similar to pancake batter.