Bread is flour and water.
I’m always impressed how it is simple and genious at the same time. So I invite you to share this delight with me. But first some words about ingredient quality and so on.
Flour
Sourdough starter can be both wheat and rye.
I use a whole grain flour in most cases and this gives a good result.
My choice is whole grain flour Luomu Grahamjauho by Pirkka. Such type of flour is rich in useful elements and very tasty.
Water
I live in Finland and we have high quality tap water.
But in my opinion this water is too soft for baking bread. So I use mineral carbonated water for both sourdough starter and baking needs.
Environment
There are several approaches to the removal of sourdough starter. It seems like the difference is due to the temperature at which the starter develops.
One time there was a three-liter jar of sourdough starter in my refrigerator. I fed it every few days and sometimes didn’t know what to do with it. Additionally the starter by itself was not as good as I would have liked. The reason of this fact you will see below.
A little bit later, there was a smaller jar in my kitchen cabinet. I fed this starter once a day and its quality also left much to be desired. By this time I’ve found out that strong and delicious sourdough starter needs ~1-1.5% of old culture for every feeding. Thereunto the part of starter is just 3-4% of the whole bread weight. In practice it means ~10 g of fresh strong sourdough starter for an ordinary loaf.
But then I’ve understood that if the room temperature is about +19 C in winter time (for my home it’s normal) these approaches don’t work well.
Nevertheless now my starter lives in a small yogurt jar: it consists of ~ 50 g fresh and strong starter. I bake with it about 2-3 times a week, so it works best for me. And by the way as I experiment a lot with sourdough starter and in order not to get confused, I give them names.
Sourdough starter
how to improve your pastry: Meet this is CHRIS
Equipment
small yogurt jar
500 ml jar
measuring table spoon
Ingredients for one sourhdough starter feeding
2 tbsp water
2 tbsp whole grain flour
Instruction
Day 1
Mix well water and flour in a small jar. Cover loosely with a tissue and leave it in a warm place (kitchen cabinet is good) for 24 hours. At the end of this period the mixture, let’s call it sourdough starter now, will smell like a winery. Have you ever visited a winery?
Day 2
Add to the same jar 1 tsp of water and 1 tsp of flour. Mix well, then cover. Put an elastic band on the jar according to the level of the starter, it helps to control the situation.
Set aside for 24 hours.
Day 3
Transfer starter to a large jar, add 2 tbsp of water and 2 tbsp of flour. Wait for 24 hours.
Day 4
In a small jar mix 1 tbsp of starter, add 2 tbsp of water and 2 tbsp of flour. Mix well, cover, adjust the rubber band and set aside for 24 hours. Discard of the rest starter.
Day 5
Make sure the starter is doubled in size. In this case transfer the starter in a large jar, add 2 tbsp of water and 2 tbsp of flour to the same jar. Otherwise repeat the instruction of the 4th day.
Day 6
Add 3 tbsp of water and 3 tbsp of flour to the same jar. After 12 hours the starter is doubled or even tripled. So it’s ready for soughdough bread making.
Since that moment feed your sourdough starter every 12 hours by formula: 1 tbsp of starter, 2 tbsp of flour and 2 tbsp of water.
Store the sourdough starter in your kitchen cabinet and feed it daily if you plan to bake frequently. Otherwise, keep the starter in the refrigerator and feed it once a week. For example it works well during a vacancy.