There’s something so satisfying about creating something with your own hands and energy. I’ve worked in tech for the last 8 years, and aside from manipulating a keyboard, controller, and occasional Legos, I haven’t given myself the joy and space to dig into tangible, physical activities that help me to learn and grow as a being. Enter, sourdough.
I created a sourdough starter as both my ‘start’ as a baker, and to maintain the energy, spirit, and integrity of homemade. I wanted my bread to originate from the energies of joy, freedom, and pure passion – maintaining a sourdough starter encapsulates all of this for me and more.
Here’s the recipe I’ve used to create a quick starter that’s simple to maintain and produces high quality bread. I use this guide when I have doubts or questions about the process.
as used in:
- sourdough loaf
- lavender chamomile rolls
- focaccia loaf
- lil’ baby
basic sourdough starter
Equipment
- 1 kitchen scale optional
- 1 24 oz. glass container with lid
Ingredients
- 1 cup (125 g) bread flour
- 1 cup (240 g) water
- 1/4 teaspoon (1 g) active dry yeast
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in container, stirring until well combined.
- Cover mixture loosely with plastic wrap and leave on your counter for 12 hours.
- Add 100 g of flour and 100 g of water to mixture, stirring until well combined.
- Cover mixture loosely with plastic wrap and leave on your counter for 12 hours. You will do this one more time (adding flour + water and letting it rest), resulting in 3 days of allowing your mixture to develop.
- After the third day, remove 100 g of the mixture from your container. You can use it for recipes!
- After removing 100g of the mixture, add 50 g of flour and 50 g of water to the remaining starter. Stir until well combined.
- That's it! You've created an active starter, and have 100 g of 'discard' to use immediately. To maintain your starter, store it in the fridge and feed it equal parts of flour and water that equals the amount of starter you use.