Whole-Wheat Sourdough Starter
This homemade sourdough starter recipe is the jumping-off point to making your own whole-grain sourdough bread (see associated recipe) at home. You need just two ingredients to make this starter--flour and water--but it takes at least 5 days for the starter to develop. Then, once it's ready, it's easy to maintain. Just store it in the refrigerator and feed it according to the directions below. Each time you feed the starter you discard half of it--but don't throw it away! It's perfect for using in pancakes or waffles.
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Recipe Summary
Nutrition Profile:
Ingredients
Directions
Tips
It's best to use a digital kitchen scale to weigh all ingredients for accuracy. Flour can settle and cause volume measurements to vary.
It may take the sourdough starter 7 to 10 days to fully develop when the room temperature is lower than 70 degrees F. Try storing the starter in a warm spot in your home, such as the top of the hot water heater or in the laundry room.
If you have refrigerated your starter, a day or two before you are ready to bake bread, remove 4 ounces of the starter and allow it to sit at room temperature for 1 hour. Then feed it and wait 12 hours. If growth is strong, feed again and wait 4 to 6 hours before making bread. Otherwise, resume the 12-hour feeding schedule until the starter is at full strength.
Use 4 ounces of the whole-wheat starter to seed a new batch of starter that uses 100 percent all-purpose flour if you want to make white sourdough. After a few feedings, the white flour will have replaced the wheat.
If 8 ounces of starter is not enough for your recipe, don't discard the starter in excess of 4 ounces for a couple of feedings. Keep adding 4 ounces of flour and 4 ounces of water each cycle. Feed in this manner until you have the amount needed for the recipe.
To make ahead
Starter will keep, covered, in the refrigerator, but you need to refresh it by discarding half and feeding it at least once per week.
