Sourdough starter

Clara Elsewhere:
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Published on side spring summer fall winter

How to kickstart a new sourdough starter from scratch, with minimal waste.

Ingredients

  • Rye flour
  • Water
  • Honey optional

Instructions

  1. In a clean jar, mix 20 g flour with 20 g water. Add a teaspoon of honey to give a little boost to your sourdough culture. Settle the lid back on the jar (without closing it), and keep it at room temperature.
  2. 24 hours later, add 5 g flour and 5 g water, and mix thoroughly.
  3. Continue like that for a few more days, adding 5 g flour and 5 g water to the mix every 24 hours. At some point, you should see your sourdough culture start making bubbles, and/or smell slightly different than just wet flour (think vinegar/alcohol/banana smells).
  4. Your sourdough starter should be alive and ready to use after a few days — depending on temperature. Its smell should be vibrant, and it should bubble up nicely whenever you refresh it.

Notes

  • Add an elastic band around the jar at the mixture level to keep track of its evolution.
  • If your sourdough culture seems slow to start, you can always remove a few spoonfuls from your existing mix before adding in the new flour and water.