If youre taking a break from baking sourdough bread its a good idea to learn how to store it properly so that when you return to baking your starter will continue to give you awesome bread results. I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you if you.
Always keep the lid loose never tight.
How to care for sourdough starter. An active well-fed sourdough starter wont grow mold. You also need to monitor the temperature of the starter as the colder it is the slower it will feed and be ready for use in bread. If a starter gets too hot the yeast will also die.
A well-maintained starter is pretty difficult to killin fact you can often coax them back from the dead. If youre not baking every week and dont want to feed your starter every day you can keep it in the fridge. It is best to feed your sourdough every week.
Even if you feed it and then return it back to the fridge without using it. This keeps it in good health long term. You should feed it for the first two days twice a day about 12 hours apart.
Once in the morning and once at night. It should literally take just a couple of minutes each time. The King Arthur Flour starter measured in at 20 grams.
Using your sourdough starter. One of the most important steps in caring for your starter is to feed regularly. If you keep your feeding schedule up your starter will be strong and happy and that means great bread.
I like to feed mine the morning before I mix my dough per my recipe. Sourdough starters are often referred to as a percentage hydration for example 100 hydration sourdough starter. The percentage indicates the hydration of the flour in the starter.
For example a 100 hydration starter would be made from and fed with equal quantities by weight of both flour and water or 1 part flour and 1 part water. Thankfully a sourdough starter feeding and care routine can be as simple or as involved as you desire depending on how you store your starter and how often you bake. And unlike other pets a sourdough starter will reward you for your love and care by providing delicious crusty fluffy homemade sourdough.
To rehydrate their stiffy they simply need to add 50g of flour and 100g of water and the starter is back to 100 hydration. If you want to send them a recipe for sourdough bread you can find ours here. Be sure to send them some tips on maintaining their starter as well.
Maintaining a sourdough starter during times when you are not baking regularly can be a bit of a drag. In fact its completely unnecessary and a waste of flour. If youre taking a break from baking sourdough bread its a good idea to learn how to store it properly so that when you return to baking your starter will continue to give you awesome bread results.
If your starter passed the maturation test heres how to store it between uses. Refresh your starter using a 221 ratio meaning 2 parts water 2 parts flour and 1 part starter. This is a reduced starter amount compared to what I recommend for creating one from scratch.
Once a starter is mature it will do better with less starter in the mix. How to Make a Homemade Sourdough Starter To make a sourdough starter youll need two basic ingredients. Filtered water works best since high.
I prefer to use whole. What will you need to make and care for your sourdough starter Flour see below for more details on choosing your flour Chlorine free water. Glass or ceramic bowl Best to not use aluminium or stainless bowls apparently they.
Rye flour is a not so secret weapon for sourdough bakers. If your starter is taking a long time to double it may be lacking some of the microbial strength it needs to do its job in your baking. I regularly substitute about 10 percent of my AP flour when feeding for rye flour.
You can either dump it out or stir it in. Most likely your sourdough starter is hungry and needs to be fed so just give it some more flour and water and it should be fine. After day 7 do I keep discarding half of my sourdough starter.
Once the sourdough starter is established on day 8 all you have to do it just give it flour and water. Care for your sourdough starter by storing it like this. Contain in a glass or ceramic container never plastic.
Always keep the lid loose never tight. Some people store theres on the counter all the time while others keep theres in the fridge while they are not feeding it. Sourdough starter is a living colony of natural good bacteria and yeast that is used to leaven sourdough bread and other baked goods.
Because it is essentially a living thing you have to take care of it to maintain a healthy sourdough starter. My posts may contain affiliate links to productsservices I recommend. I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you if you.