Category: Breads -

Sourdough Starter Recipe     

Ingredients:
2 cups thick potato water
2 tablespoons sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour

Preparation:
To make thick potato water: Boil the potatoes with skins until they fall apart in the pot. Remove the skins and mash the potatoes into a puree. Cool for 1 hour. Add water until you have a soupy liquid.

Then place all starter ingredients into a crock and beat by hand until you have a smooth, creamy batter (similar to pancake batter). Cover with a clean cotton or linen cloth and fasten with a rubber band around the top. Set aside in a warm place for 3 days to begin fermentation.

Starter can be used after 3 days, but it’s best to wait a few more days. Add fuel in the form of equal parts flour and water (start with 1⁄4 cup), and a spoonful of sugar. Mix well, making sure to get out any lumps, and put back in that warm spot to keep fermenting. Your sourdough should develop a pleasant, sour aroma.

Once your sourdough is established, feed it daily, or every other day, depending on how often you use it, with equal parts flour and water. (I’ve been advised to use only white flour or you run the risk of turning it rancid.) Every time you use your sourdough, feed it before stowing it away. Feeding sourdough is really more of an art than a science. I have not found the definitive source on how often to feed it. You really must use your baking intuition and your sense of smell and make sure to feed it often enough to keep it bubbling and fermenting; but not too often so that you end up with an unusable quantity, having wasted cups and cups of flour. If your pot is becoming too full and you won’t be using your sourdough for a few days, toss out half of it, and feed it small doses of flour to increase its volume gradually.

Whatever the case, it’s a good idea to stir it every day to aerate, regardless of whether you’re feeding it or not. Always stir with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula – never metal. Metal causes a chemical reaction with the sourdough.

Date added: 2013-09-20
Number of visits: 2749