The experts at Lakeland have shared this step-by-step guide to making and maintaining a sourdough starter
INGREDIENTS
- Approximately 650g strong white flour
- 650ml water
METHOD
DAY 1 In a bowl, mix together 50g strong white flour with 50ml water to make a thick batter, using your hand. Leave uncovered in your kitchen for 10-12 hours, or overnight.
DAY 2 Make the first ‘feed’ by mixing together 50g strong white flour with 50ml water. Add this to the original bowl of flour and water and mix thoroughly with your hand. Leave uncovered in your kitchen.
DAY 3 Discard 100g of the batter. Make the second ‘feed’ by mixing together 100g strong white flour with 100ml water. Mix thoroughly into the starter with your hand. Leave uncovered in your kitchen.
DAY 4 Discard 150g of the batter. Make the third ‘feed’ by mixing together 100g strong white flour with 100ml water. Mix thoroughly into the starter with your hand. You should by now see that the mixture is beginning to ferment, becoming light and bubbly, with a pleasant sour smell. Leave uncovered in your kitchen.
DAY 5 Discard 200g of the batter. Make the fourth ‘feed’ by mixing together 150g strong white flour with 150ml water. Mix thoroughly into the starter with your hand. Leave uncovered in your kitchen.
DAY 6 Discard 250g of the batter. Make the fifth ‘feed’ by mixing together 200g strong white flour with 200ml water. Mix thoroughly into the starter with your hand. Leave uncovered in your kitchen.
DAY 7 Your starter should be ready to use — it should be bubbly and light, with a pleasantly sour, vinegary smell. If necessary, leave for another day or two, following the procedure for Day 2 each day.
HOW TO KEEP YOUR STARTER GOING
Once your starter’s ready, it’s good to use in sourdough recipes — these will always state how much of the starter you need to use.
When you’ve removed the amount of starter needed for your recipe, cover the rest and refrigerate, then feed it once every week, with a mixture of 50g strong white flour and 50ml water.
And when you want to make more sourdough bread or pizza, feed the starter again the night before with 150g strong white flour and 150ml water. Keep it refrigerated, but remove from the fridge about 4 hours before you start baking to get the starter lively again.
Recipe by Lakeland