Sourdough Starter, with invaluable guidance from Sandor Katz’s Wild Fermentation
2 cups flour: all-purpose, or rye, or wheat or a combination
2 cups filtered water
Optional: organic thin-skinned fruit: a few grapes, or 2 plums, or 2 pluots, or 2 pears. The fruit must have edible skin
Stir ingredients together in a clean jar or container. You can use a glass jar or anything suitable; I used a beanpot.
Add fruit, if using.
Place jar on your counter at warm room temperature. Cover with cheesecloth or other breathable material.
Stir the starter daily. After 3-5 days you should see bubbles rising. The batter should smell pleasantly sour. If there’s no action, you can add a teaspoon of regular active dry yeast and/or move the jar to a warmer spot. Conversely, if you see mold, or it smells foul, throw it out.
Once the sourdough starter is active, remove the fruit, if used. Now begin feeding your starter with two tablespoons of flour daily. This can be any flour you have: all-purpose, wheat, rye, polenta, whatever.
Feed starter 3-4 days. It should thicken and begin bubbling vigorously. It may also separate and look frankly unappetizing. Don’t be alarmed. Just stir it up. Once it’s thickened to a pasty consistency, it’s ready to use. At this point, you can put the lid on and refrigerate it, feeding it once weekly.
Not too pretty. But lively.
Notes: I began my sourdough starter with 1 cup all-purpose flour and 1 cup rye flour.
Using filtered water is critical to your sourdough starter’s success. Tap water is chlorinated. Chlorine kills the yeasts we’re trying to cultivate.