- Welcome to my laboratory. (laughs)
I've been so excited to share this tutorial with you.
We are making a sourdough starter.
I think this is the thing that intimidates people
and keeps them from making amazing sourdough.
And I'm gonna show you exactly how to make it.
It is so easy.
Literally two ingredients: flour and water.
And you're gonna be a pro at making sourdough starter
in no time.
Alright, let's do this.
One of the best investments you can make
in your sourdough journey is a digital kitchen scale.
This will save you tons of time and dishes,
and it'll be way more accurate.
You can use a regular mason jar,
but I love using my Weck jar
because it weighs exactly 400 grams.
So it's really easy to calculate measurements.
Start by zeroing out the jar. Then add 100 grams of flour.
You can either use whole wheat flour or rye flour.
Using a whole grain flour to start this off will give
your starter a lot more food to grow.
Next, add 100 grams of filtered room temperature water.
If you have spring water, that's even better.
If you keep your house cooler, you can use lukewarm water,
but no warmer than 85 degrees Fahrenheit.
Also, avoid adding cold water,
which will really slow down the growth.
Initially, the mixture will be super thick,
which is why I like to mix it together with a fork.
This is especially true if you're using rye flour.
But this is totally normal.
Mix it together. Scrape down the sides.
You see how thick that is.
Then put a rubber band around your jar
to the level of the starter.
This will help you keep track of the starter as it rises.
Cover that with the lid.
And I love how the Weck jar comes with a loose-fitting lid.
If you're using a standard mason jar,
just set the lid over the top and do not tighten it.
You definitely want air to escape from the jar.
To keep track of your starter,
slap a label on there with the start date.
24 hours later, we see nothing is happening.
It actually looks exactly the same.
Continue to let it rest for another 24 hours.
Then on day three, you'll see some bubbling.
Also, make sure to let this rise at room temperature,
and don't be tempted to put it in a warm place.
Otherwise, it'll rise too quickly and exhaust the yeast.
Since we're seeing bubbling action in the jar,
we're gonna do our first feeding.
Discard half of the starter,
and you should have about 100 grams left.
You can see what I mean about easy math using a Weck jar.
The jar weighs 400 grams.
We have about 100 grams of starter in there.
Now we're gonna feed it with 100 grams of all-purpose flour
and 100 grams of room temperature water.
Thoroughly stir that together.
You wanna make sure
there aren't any bits of dry flour left in there.
Should be really well combined.
And once you've got it all mixed together,
scrape down the walls of the jar to keep it clean.
Also, adjust your rubber band to the level of your starter.
This way you can keep an eye on growth.
Cover that with your lid,
and let it rest for another 24 hours.
For best results,
try to stay on a consistent schedule
and feed the starter at the same time each day.
We are now on day four,
and we're definitely seeing some growth.
We a lot of rise above that rubber band line
and plenty of bubbling inside.
You wanna keep 100 grams of starter in the jar.
Go ahead and discard the rest.
Again, a kitchen scale will help you track
exactly how much starter you need left in your jar.
Now feed it the same way.
You'll need 100 grams of all-purpose flour
and 100 grams of room temperature water.
Thoroughly stir that together
until it's really well combined.
You'll also notice as time goes on
that the mixture will loosen up quite a bit
and be a lot easier to stir together.
Once it's well combined, scrape down the sides of your jar.
And I also like to clean the rim if it gets messy.
This will ensure
that the lid doesn't get glued onto the jar.
Your starter needs to be able to breathe.
We are now on day five, and we're seeing more growth.
If you get to day five
and the growth seems to have slowed down,
don't worry, just continue to feed it.
In all of my testing,
I've had several starters take a little pause
around day four or five, and it's totally normal.
Just keep going.
Keep 100 grams of the starter in the jar
and discard the rest.
Then feed it again the same way,
100 grams of all-purpose flour
and 100 grams of room temperature water.
Thoroughly stir that together
until all of the flour is incorporated.
Then clean the lid again if needed.
Cover with a loose-fitting lid
and let that rest for another 24 hours.
By day six, we're seeing quite a bit of growth,
lots of bubbling on top and throughout the mixture.
Keep 100 grams of your starter in the jar
and get rid of the rest.
Once you have a mature starter,
you can definitely use that discard
for so many great, delicious projects.
But while you're growing your starter,
you just wanna get rid of it.
Feed your starter exactly the same way,
100 grams of flour and 100 grams of room temperature water.
Thoroughly stir that together.
Then scrape down the sides of your jar.
Wipe off the rim.
Cover with the lid and let it rest.
When it's ready to use,
your starter should reach its peak bubbliness
between four to six hours after you feed it.
You'll see it's more than doubled in volume,
and it's super airy and bubbly.
Okay, it is day seven.
This is exactly what the starter should look like.
Sometimes it'll start doing this by day six,
and I've even had one do this by day five
where it more than doubles in volume.
Boom.
You wanna use it
when it's more than double in volume like this
before it starts to go back down.
This is like peak performance.
This is ready to make the best sourdough bread.
Let me show you this texture.
Take a look at that bubble-ish.
It really doesn't get any better than that.
This is amazing.
I feel like I'm gonna ruin it.
That's okay. I have to show you.
And it smells good.
So that's one way to know
that the sourdough starter is done is to do the sniff test,
and it smells so good.
It's like sour and just, mm.
It makes you want sourdough bread. I'm telling you.
Just sit here and smell it.
And then it is so bubbly.
Look at this, the texture here.
Look at these bubbles go.
I mean, wowie, wowie.
The way that you know that it has enough rising power
and that it's ready to use in recipes is
if you take a dollop of it
and you just kerplunk it into some water.
Oh, it's a big dollop. (laughs)
It doesn't wanna let go.
It'll float.
Look, it's floating like a little turd.
We've got a floater. (laughs)
Oh, okay.
And there you have it,
how to make a homemade sourdough starter
with just two ingredients.
Easy peasy. It just takes some patience.
And make sure to follow all of our tips
for how to make sourdough starter.
Remember to use room temperature water.
Don't be tempted to use too warm-up water
because you don't wanna speed through this process.
You wanna give the yeast and bacteria time
to grow and develop at room temperature.
If you speed through it, you can slow down your results.
I've had that happen.
So follow the process. Trust in the process.
And before long,
you guys are gonna be making the best sourdough bread
and sourdough recipes.
I cannot wait to share more with you.
We definitely have a great sourdough recipe coming your way.
I've made hundreds of loaves, and I have perfected it.
I cannot wait to share it.
Let me know where you spotted sharky in the video.
Also, if you have any recipe requests,
maybe sourdough recipe requests,
I would love to hear from you.
Once you've got your sourdough all active and bubbly,
you can also store it in the fridge,
which is what I do,
and then I just take it out of the fridge
and bring it to room temperature overnight,
and it's ready to feed and use the next day.
It's so convenient
'cause I cook sourdough bread once a week.
I make a couple loaves.
It lasts us all week. And I love it.
Also, if you're going on vacation, put it in the fridge.
It's really so easy to maintain.
You don't have to do it every day
once your sourdough starter is made.
So that's the good news.
I will share all of my tips and tricks also in the blog post
on natashaskitchen.com.
And let's see what else.
The cookbook. (laughs)
Every time, if you haven't already,
our cookbook is available for sale.
I will link to this in the notes.
(laughs)
I don't know what happened there.
Bye.