Dispite what you may see on other sites, it is fairly simple to create your own sourdough starter. 

After all, it is simply flour and water.  Remember the "paste" you made in school to glue paper together? Perhaps you even made chains of paper links for your Christmas tree.

Now take that same paste and set it aside in a warm place.  What should happen is that you will start to see tiny bubbles (no this is not Hawaii) popping up.  Feed those little bubble producing "critters" and soon you will have an authentic homemade sourdough starter. 

Do you feel like a pioneer or gold miner?  Same thing they did. 

And you won't even have to carry it around under your arm pit to keep it warm.

START A STARTER

In a clean jar, place two tablespoons of flour.  Add one tablespoon of filtered water.  I would suggest not using regular tap water since some municipalities and water suppliers add enough chemicals to kill a horse, let alone the beneficial "critters" that will inhabit your starter.

Stir well.  Cover either with a lid with several tiny holes punched in it or with a closely woven cloth.  You want some air to get to your 'baby", but not bugs.  Fruit flies seem to like developing starter really well.

At 12 hour intervals, your baby needs to be fed.  I would suggest the following ratio for a "meal" for the newly developing baby.  One portion of starter, four portions of flour and three portions of water.

If you use a scale, and I strongly suggest you use a scale in all of your baking to achieve consistent results, use the same ratio.  Example:  10 grams of starter, 40 grams of flour and 30 grams of water.

If you chose to use measurements, follow the same ratio.  Example: one teaspoon starter, 4 teaspoons flour and 3 teaspoons of water.

At each feeding, discard all of the starter except for the single portion which you are going to feed.

After about 4 days of this schedule, you should see bubbling action.  That means your starter is alive and well.  Continue this schedule for about 7 days to ensure that your starter is really viable.

 

NOTE:  Some purists advocate that you MUST use unbleached, unbromated organic flours in your breads.  I successfully use generic breads that I purchase in 25 pound bags in the world's largest box store.  I purchase their generic all purpose flour and my bread flour is purchased from their wholesale member's club store. The choice is yours.

 

 

INSTRUCTIONS FOR FEEDING SOURDOUGH STARTER

 

 

FOR FLOUR BASED:

 

 

1. Put one teaspoon of starter in a clean container. Add four teaspoons of flour and 3 teaspoons of filtered (non chlorinated) water. Stir well.

 

2. Repeat the above at 12-hour intervals, discarding the excess.

 

I do this at 6 am and 6 pm as that suits my work schedule.

 

If you flush the excess down the drain, use plenty of COLD water. Also wash your utensils and containers with COLD water.

 

Remember, the paste you made as a kid was just flour and water!

 

3. When the starter is nice and bubbly, you can start building up to the quantity you need for your recipe.

 

4. Use this ratio: one portion of starter, 4 portions of flour and 3 portions of water. Example: ¼ cup of starter, one cup of flour and ¾ cup of water will give you more than a cup of starter, which is what a lot of recipes call for.

 

Others use the ratio of 1/2/2 or even 1/6/6. But the 1/4/3 works for me.

 

5. After you remove what you need for your recipe, feed the starter again and refrigerate.

 

6. I usually start feeding on Thursday evening for a Saturday bake. That way I know my starter is good and healthy.

 

Another thing you can do with the excess starter is store it in a large container in the fridge and use it for sourdough biscuits and pancakes. Waste not, want not!!!!

 

POTATO BASED:

 

1. Put one Tablespoon of starter in a clean container. In a separate container, mix 3 Tablespoons of dried potato flakes, one cup of warm water and a half-cup of granulated sugar. Mix well and add to starter.

 

2. Use the steps for flour-based starter, except discard about half the mixture. Mix the added ingredients well before adding to starter. Use the ingredients and proportions in step 1.

 

This starter will separate. Just keep mixing it. This is a very liquid starter.