Sourdough Starter Masterclass

Whether you’re an experienced home baker, or you’re just setting out — you’ll know that you can only get better at baking, by actually baking! The same goes for effectively preparing, feeding and looking after a sourdough starter — or ‘Mother Dough’.

What is Sourdough Starter —

Sourdough starter is a fermented mix made from two ingredients; flour and water.  It can be made from any grain, and is used to make sourdough bread. 

Flour and water are mixed together and left to ferment.  During the fermentation process the naturally occurring wild yeast and bacteria found within the grain begin to breed. This breeding produces carbon dioxide (air bubbles). It are these air bubbles that are responsible for making bread rise during the baking process. It can be used in place fresh yeast or dried yeast to make bread.

What should I do with my Sourdough Starter —

On arrival, transfer the starter into a clean, sterilised glass jar or tupperware pot of any size – but at least 200ml capacity and place it in the fridge. 

Feeding your Sourdough Starter —

As long as you’re storing your starter in the fridge, you’ll generally need to feed it twice a week to keep it alive. Feeding your starter is very simple:

Step 1: Discard around 20% of the volume (give to a friend or simply bake with it!)

Step 2: Add back in 100-200% of the volume you discarded with equal quantities of grain-based flour (wheat, rye, barley etc) and tepid water. As the volume grows continue with the same ratios.

For example:

Feed One:
100g sourdough starter
20g discard (80g remaining)
Add 40g of water/flour (120g)

Feed Two
120g sourdough starter
25g discard (95g remaining)
Add 50g of water/flour (145g)

If you’re planning to feed and bake on the same day, always feed 1-2 hours beforehand and leave out at room temperature to warm up.

Reviving your Sourdough Starter —

If you haven’t used it in a while and it’s been in the fridge a long time the mixture will have slowed down and gone to sleep. It may also have separated and formed a grey/brown mixture on top smelling strongly of vinegar. Don’t throw away all of it away as some of it can be saved!

Rebuild the starter by removing the liquid and add a teaspoon of the starter into a jar. Add 4 tablespoons of flour and 4 tablespoons of water and leave in a warm place for 8 hours, repeat and then build it up until it’s nice and bubbly. Throw away the rest of the mix.

Remember —

If the sourdough is not bubbling, the bread will not rise!

Sourdough starter is never an exact science. There is never an exact recipe or process that works for every starter as every environment is different. Equally, as your starter ages, it will take on new characteristics that will impact the regularity and volume of feeding.