Sourdough Starter from Scratch

For a beginning starter you need to feed every 24 hours. At the first
feed, you probably will not notice much or any activity, except perhaps a
slightly winey aroma (especially if you use rye). Never mind: feed anyhow.
I suspect this is where most people go wrong - figuring that leaving it a
few more days will get it going! In reality, the yeasts are running out of
readily available food so they are less active, while the molds and other
'off' bacteria continue to multiply, so you wind up with a slimy goo. By
the second or third feed the starter will be bubbling nicely. By the
fourth or fifth feed it will be adequate to bake with, but it will
continue to develop for a few more days.

- Temperature should be 70-80F ( 20 - 25C ). You could go warmer than
this, but you would then need to feed more often; also, the nature of your
sour would be different, less desirable for a good loaf.

- Moisture comes from water which you add with the flour. I use 50/50 by
weight, which by volume is approximately 1/2 cup water per cup flour. You
don't need to be too precise, so volumetric measurement is fine, and
simple. You can use a more liquid starter, but you will have to feed more
often. [I've seen various discussions about tap vs bottled water, and tap
water works just fine. I suppose if you live somewhere that has
outrageously high chlorination it might be different, but in general if
you choose bottled water you do so for your own health, not the health of
the starter!]

To put it all together: Take 1/2 cup flour (preferably whole meal rye),
mix to paste with 1/4 cup water in a 1 cup size container. Cover and leave
for 24 hours at 70 - 80F. Throw away half of the mixture, and refresh with
another 1/2 cup flour and 1/4 cup water, cover and leave for 24 hours as
before. Repeat. By now, the starter should show bubbles. If using rye,
start using regular white flour after the third or fourth feed. Now you
have a starter which you keep alive indefinitely by regular feeding.

How should I feed my starter for best results?

What I do therefore is to do a very large dilution when I pull the starter
out of the fridge say 1/2 to 1 tablespoon to 1/2 cup flour and a similar
amount of water. This dilution relieves the acid inhibition and allows the
culture to actually divide and grow back towards the maximum possible. 12
hours later I refeed (doubling the starter) and repeat this until I have
the amount of starter I want built up. I always try and adjust this so
that there are at least a few doublings of the starter before I actually
incorporate it into a dough. I have used starters from Sourdough
International exclusively so cannot comment on the success of this
approach with non-traditional starters (i.e. anything that is fed on
something other than flour and water). This regimen gives a starter with
excellent properties, with respect to souring, leavening etc. This is
slightly more work than most people usually do but you will be rewarded by
an improvement in flavor, dough characteristics, etc.

What is good feeding? I believe that there are two important things:

First, don't starve the culture. This means that you should feed the
culture once it shows evidence of strong activity (frothing or rising
depending on the thickness of the starter) and not too long after that. If
you feed too infrequently the cell populations in the starter will begin
to decline due to starvation, etc.

Second, feed the starter by quadrupling (or even quintupling). This means
that you feed the starter three times it's weight each time you feed it
(i.e., if you have 2 oz of starter, feed it 6 oz of new food). If you
don't have a scale you can do the measurements by volume, but I think
weight is better. I also think that it is best to keep the starter at a
relatively thick consistency. Both the dilution at feeding and the thick
consistency are designed to encourage the presence of certain good
lactibacilli. FYI, when one feeds by such extreme dilution, it is not
necessary to maintain a particularly large amount. Starting with a
tablespoon of old starter and mixing this with a quarter cup each of
flour/water at each feeding will leave you with a sufficient amount of
starter.

-- Old Magic 1


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