Sourdough Starter
Starter lasts forever as long as you periodically feed it and make sure that it doesn’t get moldy. I have made starter once, and refreshed it for 2 years at the time of this writing. If you want starter, let me know and I can give you some. If you want to make your own, here is the recipe I used.
Starter will usually last about 3 days on the counter before it starts looking grey. If you aren’t going to use it, put it in the fridge and it will last 1-2 weeks. Typically, I pull off the grey stuff and you can see the beautiful beige under it. Then refresh it.
Refreshing Starter
You will often hear people saying you need to “feed” the starter. That just means making fresh starter from the old one. I typically keep 300g starter on hand at any given time. This way you can make 1 loaf of bread and have enough leftover starter to refresh it
Ingredients
100 g sourdough starter
100 ml water
120 g all purpose flour
Instructions
Microwave the water for 45 seconds so it gets between 115 to 125 deg Fahrenheit. *
Put the water in your container
Add the starter
Mix until the water and starter become a liquid
Add the flour.
Mix until combined
* The heat is important because it should be hot enough to melt the starter into a consistent liquid. I used to use warm tap water, but it was not hot enough and the starter would be lumpy. Then it would not mix evenly with the flour.
When is Starter Ready?
Sourdough starter is just yeast and yeast survives. You can basically use starter as is and it will eventually make a good dough. But you don’t want to wait until eventually. You want to make it as soon as possible.
2 nights before, take the starter from the refrigerator. Let the starter come to room temperature over night.
The next morning refresh the starter. A fresh starter will rise between 2 - 6 hours. When it has risen it is ready to use.
You can continue refreshing the starter and it will rise quicker. This will also make a fluffier bread.
The more times you refresh your starter the better it will become. A very fresh starter will double to triple in size every 4 hours.