Sourdough Starter Mix Recipes

Steps:

• For the levain: Combine the all-purpose flour, whole-wheat flour, water and starter in a medium bowl and mix to combine. Cover and let sit at room temperature until bubbly and increased in volume by about 20 percent, about 8 hours.
• For the dough: Add the all-purpose flour, water and whole-wheat flour to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Weigh out 7 ounces of the levain (about 1 cup) and add to the mixer (discard any remaining levain). Mix on low until a shaggy dough forms. Cover the bowl and let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.
• Add the salt to the dough and mix on medium speed for 2 minutes; the dough should feel a bit sticky and wet but look smooth and very stretchy. Scrape the dough into a plastic or glass container about twice its size. Cover and let sit at room temperature until puffed, about 45 minutes.
• Put the dough on a floured work surface, flatten it gently, then fold in thirds like a business letter. Transfer it back to the container. Cover and let sit at room temperature for 45 minutes.
• Repeat the folding process one more time, transfer back to the container, cover and let sit at room temperature for another 45 minutes. After the third 45-minute rest, the dough should feel soft and pillowy; when pressed with a finger, it should leave an indentation that begins to spring back.
• Gently scrape the dough onto a lightly floured work surface. Divide in half using a bench scraper. Shape each piece loosely into a round by gently tucking the edges under. Cover with a kitchen towel and let rest for 30 minutes.
• Drape 2 kitchen towels into 2 medium (8-inch) bowls and dust very generously with flour. Dust the top of the dough rounds very lightly with flour and flip over using a bench scraper. Flatten one piece of dough into a circle, then fold the left and right sides of the dough over the center. Keeping tension in the dough, begin folding down from the top edge in 3 segments, sealing the bottom edge with the last fold. Loosely cup the dough and, using your hands and the tension between the board and the dough, pull the bread very slowly towards yourself while creating a taut ball. Gently flip the dough ball over and into one of the prepared bowls. Cover loosely with another kitchen towel. Repeat the process with the second piece of dough. Place both in a warm place to rise until about 1 1/2 times their size, 2 to 2 1/2 hours.
• About 20 minutes before baking, position an oven rack in the lower third of the oven, put a 4-quart Dutch oven and lid on the rack and preheat to 500 degrees F. When preheated, carefully transfer the hot Dutch oven to a heatsafe surface with oven mitts (leave the lid in the oven). Flip one round of dough over into the Dutch oven. Using a sharp knife, scissors or bread lame, score the top of the bread in a cross or desired pattern. Return to the oven, immediately cover with the lid and bake for 20 minutes. Lower the temperature to 425 degrees F, uncover and bake until dark brown, about 10 minutes more. Transfer the bread to a cooling rack to cool completely. Return the empty Dutch oven to the oven, raise the temperature to 500 degrees F and let heat for 10 minutes before repeating the baking process with the second dough round.

Steps:

• Day 1:To begin your starter, mix 50g flour with 50g tepid water in a jar or, better still, a plastic container. Make sure all the flour is incorporated and leave, semi-uncovered, at room temperature for 24 hrs.
• Day 2:Mix 50g flour with 50g tepid water and stir into yesterday's mixture. Make sure all the flour is incorporated and leave, semi-uncovered, at room temperature for another 24 hrs.
• Day 3:Mix 50g flour with 50g tepid water and stir into yesterday's mixture. Make sure all the flour is incorporated and leave, semi-uncovered, at room temperature for another 24 hrs.
• Day 4:You should start to see some activity in the mixture now; there should be some bubbles forming and bubbling on top. Mix 50g flour with 50g tepid water and stir into yesterday's mixture. Make sure all the flour is incorporated and leave, semi-uncovered, at room temperature for another 24 hrs.
• Day 5:The mixture should be very active now and ready for making your levain. If it's not bubbling, continue to feed it on a daily basis until it does. When it's ready, it should smell like yogurt.
• You now have a starter, which is the base to the bread. You'll need to look after it, but naming is optional! Keep it in the fridge (it will stay dormant) and 24 hrs before you want to use it, pour half of it off and feed it with 100g flour and 100g water. Leave it at room temperature and it should become active again. The longer the starter has been dormant, the more times it will need to be refreshed - the process of pouring off half the starter and replacing it with new flour and water - to reactivate. If your starter is ready to use, a teaspoonful of the mixture should float in warm water.
• For the levainMix 1 tbsp of the starter with 100g flour and 100g water (this is the same process as feeding the starter, but you should do this in a new, separate bowl, keeping the original starter as back-up, as this is the mixture you'll use to bake your bread). Leave the levain for 8 hrs at room temperature until it becomes active. When ready, a teaspoonful of the mixture should float in warm water.
• For the breadPour 600g tepid water into the levain and stir with a rubber spatula to mix together - don't worry if there are unmixed bits of levain. Tip in the flour and mix everything together with a rubber spatula to make a rough dough, ensuring all the flour is incorporated evenly and that there are no dry bits up the side of the bowl. Cover and leave somewhere warm for at least 30 mins, or up to 4 hrs.
• Sprinkle over the salt and add 50g water to the dough. Pinch and scrunch the salt and water through the dough with your hands. If the dough goes stringy (like old chewing gum), just keep working it until it's one smooth texture. Leave for another 15 mins.
• Wet your hands, grab the dough from one side and stretch it over itself, then repeat with the other side. This stretching technique helps develop the gluten. Pick the dough up and curl it around onto itself, then cover and leave for another 20-30 mins. Repeat this process two more times (three in total), then leave the dough for another 2-3 hrs until it's risen by about 30% and looks bubbly and soft.
• Using a rubber spatula, scrape the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and split in two. Fold each piece onto itself to create a ball, then leave uncovered for 30 mins. The dough balls will spread during this time.
• Dust two bread-proving baskets generously with flour. Scrape one of the balls of dough off the work surface, then fold it onto itself to create a tight ball that's trapped in all the air. Lift the ball into a basket, seam-side up, then transfer to the fridge to chill overnight, or for up to 18 hrs. Repeat with the other dough ball.
• Heat the oven to 240C/220C fan/gas 9 and put a lidded casserole dish in the oven to heat. Cut a sheet of baking parchment into a square slightly larger than the base of one of the loaves. Carefully remove the hot casserole dish from the oven and remove the lid. Invert one loaf onto the baking parchment, then, working quickly, score the top at an angle. Use the corners of the parchment to lift the loaf into the casserole dish. Cover with the lid and bake for 30 mins, then carefully uncover and continue to bake for another 10 mins (or longer for a darker finish). Carefully lift the bread out of the dish using a spatula, transfer to a wire rack and leave to cool to room temperature before slicing. Repeat with the second loaf.

Steps:

• In a covered 4-qt. glass or ceramic container, mix flour and yeast. Gradually stir in warm water until smooth. Cover loosely with a kitchen towel; let stand in a warm place 2-4 days or until mixture is bubbly and sour smelling and a clear liquid has formed on top. (Starter may darken, but if starter turns another color or develops an offensive odor or mold, discard it and start over.) , Cover tightly and refrigerate starter until ready to use. Use and replenish starter, or nourish it, once every 1-2 weeks. To use and replenish starter:Stir to blend in any liquid on top. Remove amount of starter needed; bring to room temperature before using. For each 1/2 cup starter removed, add 1/2 cup flour and 1/2 cup warm water to the remaining starter and stir until smooth. Cover loosely and let stand in a warm place 1-2 days or until light and bubbly. Stir; cover tightly and refrigerate.To nourish starter:Remove half of the starter. Stir in equal parts of flour and warm water; cover loosely and let stand in a warm place 1-2 days or until light and bubbly. Stir; cover tightly and refrigerate.

Steps:

• In large non-metallic bowl, mix together dry yeast, 2 cups warm water, and 2 cups all purpose flour and cover loosely.
• Leave in a warm place to ferment, 4 to 8 days. Depending on temperature and humidity of kitchen, times may vary. Place on cookie sheet in case of overflow. Check on occasionally.
• When mixture is bubbly and has a pleasant sour smell, it is ready to use. If mixture has a pink, orange, or any other strange color tinge to it, THROW IT OUT! and start over. Keep it in the refrigerator, covered until ready to bake.
• When you use starter to bake, always replace with equal amounts of a flour and water mixture with a pinch of sugar. So, if you remove 1 cup starter, replace with 1 cup water and 1 cup flour. Mix well and leave out on the counter until bubbly again, then refrigerate. If a clear to light brown liquid has accumulated on top, don't worry, this is an alcohol base liquid that occurs with fermentation. Just stir this back into the starter, the alcohol bakes off and that wonderful sourdough flavor remains! Sourdough starters improve with age, they used to be passed down generation to generation!
• Use this starter to make the Sourdough Chocolate Cranberry Cake, and the Sourdough Chocolate Cake.

Steps:

• Day 1:To begin your starter, mix 50g flour with 50g tepid water in a jar or, better still, a plastic container. Make sure all the flour is incorporated and leave, semi-uncovered, at room temperature for 24 hrs.
• Day 2:Mix 50g flour with 50g tepid water and stir into yesterday's mixture. Make sure all the flour is incorporated and leave, semi-uncovered, at room temperature for another 24 hrs.
• Day 3:Mix 50g flour with 50g tepid water and stir into yesterday's mixture. Make sure all the flour is incorporated and leave, semi-uncovered, at room temperature for another 24 hrs.
• Day 4:You should start to see some activity in the mixture now; there should be some bubbles forming and bubbling on top. Mix 50g flour with 50g tepid water and stir into yesterday's mixture. Make sure all the flour is incorporated and leave, semi-uncovered, at room temperature for another 24 hrs.
• Day 5:The mixture should be very active now and ready for making your levain (starter). If it's not bubbling, continue to feed it on a daily basis until it does. When it's ready, it should smell like yogurt.
• You now have a starter, which is the base to the bread. You'll need to look after it, but naming is optional! Keep it in the fridge (it will stay dormant) and 24 hrs before you want to use it, pour half of it off and feed it with 100g flour and 100g water. Leave it at room temperature and it should become active again. The longer the starter has been dormant, the more times it will need to be refreshed - the process of pouring off half the starter and replacing it with new flour and water - to reactivate. If your starter is ready to use, a teaspoonful of the mixture should float in warm water.The starter can now be used to make white sourdough bread.

Steps:

• Dissolve yeast in 1/2 cup warm water, rest for ten minutes.
• Mix in flour, sugar& remaining water.
• Allow to stand, loosely covered, in a warm place for 3 or 4 days. Use a large (preferably ceramic) bowl as it will rise considerably.
• Every time the batter is used to make a product set aside 1 cup to be used as a"starter" for another batch.
• Keep covered in the fridge (a pint jar works nicely).
• To make it into a basic batter again, add another 2 cups flour& 2 cups warm water and allow to stand at room temp overnight It is now ready to use, but again reserve a cup of the starter.

Steps:

• Day 1: To begin your starter, mix 50g flour with 50g tepid water in a jar or, better still, a plastic container. Make sure all the flour is incorporated and leave, covered with a tea towel, at room temperature for 24 hrs.
• Day 2: Mix 25g flour with 25g tepid water and stir into yesterday's mixture. Make sure all the flour is incorporated and leave, covered with a tea towel, at room temperature for 24 hrs.
• Day 3: Today you might see a few small bubbles forming and the mixture should smell grassy and a little acidic. Mix 25g flour with 25g tepid water and stir into yesterday's mixture. Make sure all the flour is incorporated and leave, covered with a tea towel, at room temperature for 24 hrs.
• Day 4: More bubbles should have appeared today and the mixture should smell of yeasty beer. Mix 25g flour with 25g tepid water and stir into yesterday's mixture. Make sure all the flour is incorporated and leave, covered with a tea towel, at room temperature for 24 hrs.
• Day 5: Fermentation should have set in now and the mixture might be ready to use. If a teaspoon of the starter floats in warm water, it's ready. If not, mix 25g flour with 25g tepid water and stir into yesterday's mixture. Make sure all the flour is incorporated and leave covered, with a tea towel, at room temperature for 24 hrs.
• Day 6: The mix should be really bubbly and be giving off a strong smell of alcohol. Test in the same way as yesterday. If it's not ready, continue mixing 25g flour with 25g tepid water into the mixture daily until it becomes active.If your jar is becoming full, spoon half the mix out of the jar and continue.You now have rye starter, which is a malty flavoured base to sourdough bread. Keep it in the fridge (it will stay dormant) and 12 hrs before you want to use it, spoon half of it off and feed it with 100g flour and 100g water. Leave it at room temperature and it should become active again. The longer the starter has been dormant, the more times it will need to be refreshed - the process of pouring off half the starter and replacing it with new flour and water - to reactivate.Use the starter to make rye sourdough bread.

Steps:

• Wash the grapes and wrap them in a muslin or fine cheese cloth.
• Loosely tie the open end with a string or elastic band and lightly crush the grapes inside with a rolling pin.
• Combine the flour and water in a large plastic, ceramic or stainless-steel bowl.
• It is best if you can find one with a lid.
• Squeeze some of the juice from the grapes into the flour and water mixture, before completely burying the little bag inside the mixture.
• Cover with the lid or a plate and leave for 10 days to two weeks at room temperature, around 20 C or 68 F.
• The grapes should start to ferment and the bag should balloon slightly with the gases being given off by the grapes.
• Pull the bag out of the mixture and squeeze any juice back into the white mixture.
• Throw away the grapes and the bag.
• Stir the starter, which should now be slightly pink and have a sour, grapey smell.
• Now you should pour away about a third of the initial starter mixture and stir in one batch of its food.
• In the beginning, you will have to feed your starter twice a day (best done at regular intervals) for two weeks.
• Just before you feed the starter, make sure you also throw away 200ml of the basic mixture.
• This might seem like a waste but if you don't you will have far too much starter!
• After two weeks, your starter should really be alive and kicking.
• Taste a bit and it should have a slight fizz to it.
• If the starter doesn't taste fizzy, keep feeding it until it does.
• A slightly lower room termperature can slow things up a bit.
• When it tastes fizzy you are ready to start making bread.
• To keep your starter going (it is a living thing, after all) you should only need to feed it once a week and leave it in the fridge, unless you are making bread more than once a week.
• If you are not making bread very often, you can leave feedings for two weeks.
• Make sure you keep it in the fridge, which slows the starter down.
• If it is kept at room temperature, it will need to be fed every day.
• Between making bread, give the starter at least a day to recover.

Steps:

• Day 1: Make sure neither your hands nor your containers have any traces of soap or detergent, which will prevent your starter from growing. Place grapes in a medium bowl and use your hands to crush them, reserving as much liquid as possible in the bowl. (You can also do this in a food processor.) Alternatively, purée the soaked raisins with the water in a food processor. Add the rye flour and mix with your fingers until all of the flour is wet and fully incorporated. Place in a small lidded container. Cover and let rest at room temperature until Day 3 (48 hours).
• Days 3-6: Place 100 grams (¼ cup + 2½ tablespoons) of the Day 1 starter into a container; discard the remaining starter. Add 100 grams (¼ cup + 3 tablespoons) water, and stir to combine thoroughly. Add 100 grams (¾ cup + 1½ tablespoons) dark rye flour and stir again until there's no visible flour. Cover and let rest at room temperature for 24 hours.Repeat this step of feeding 100 grams of the previous day's starter every 24 hours, for a total of 4 feedings.
• Days 7-9: Place 75 grams (¼ cup + ½ tablespoon) of the Day 6 starter into a container; discard the remaining starter. Add 75 grams (¼ cup + ½ tablespoon) water, and stir to combine thoroughly. Add 75 grams (½ cup + 1½ teaspoons) whole wheat flour and stir again until there's no visible flour. Cover and let rest at room temperature for 24 hours.Repeat this step of feeding 75 grams of the previous day's starter every 24 hours, for a total of 3 feedings.
• Days 10-20: Place 75 grams (¼ cup + ½ tablespoon) of the Day 9 starter into a container; discard the remaining starter. Add 75 grams (¼ cup + ½ tablespoon) water, and stir to combine thoroughly. Add 75 grams (½ cup + 1½ teaspoons) whole wheat flour and stir again until there's no visible flour. Cover and let rest at room temperature 12 hours. Repeat this step of feeding 75 grams of the previous day's starter every 12 hours-that's twice a day-for a total of 22 feedings.
• Days 21-24: Place 50 grams (3 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon) of the Day 20 starter into a container; discard the remaining starter. Add 100 grams (¼ cup + 3 tablespoons) water, and stir to combine thoroughly. Add 150 grams (1 cup + 1 tablespoon) whole wheat flour and stir again until there's no visible flour. Cover and let rest at room temperature 6 hours.At this point, it's preferable to refrigerate the starter for 60 more hours before using it to bake bread, for additional fermentation. But it will be fine to use after 6 additional hours at room temperature (i.e., 12 hours after final feeding). Congratulations, you have created the "mother" starter!
• Maintaining your starter: By "stiffening the mother," you can slow down fermentation while maintaining a healthy ecosystem for your starter.Once every 3 days, remove the starter from the refrigerator and leave at room temperature for 6 hours. Place 50 grams (3 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon) of the existing starter into a container; discard the rest. Feed the starter using the same proportions as Day 21: 100 grams (¼ cup + 3 tablespoons) water, and 150 grams (1 cup + 1 tablespoon) whole wheat flour. Cover and let rest for 6 hours, then return to the refrigerator. If you're going to be away for more 9 days, you need to slow the growth of the starter. Remove from refrigerator place 100 grams (¼ cup + 2 ½ tablespoons) of starter into a container; discard the rest. Let it sit at room temperature for 6 hours; then add 350 grams (1¼ cup + 3½ tablespoon) water and 750 grams (5¼ cup + 2 tablespoons) of whole wheat flour. Mix well to incorporate. Refrigerate for up to 9 days. If you're going away for up to 9 days, have a friend feed it according to the 3-day feeding schedule. (Think of your starter as you would a pet: it's a living creature that must be fed and watered regularly!)

Steps:

• In a mixing bowl combine flour and water making sure there are no clumps. Then press the cranberries evenly into the wet mix cover with a lightly wet tea towel and keep in a warm place for 24 hours.
• Remove cranberries along with 90% of the mix before replacing with 100 grams of fresh flour flour and 100 grams water, cover with lightly wet tea towel and keep in a warm place for 24 hours.
• Repeat step 2, (this is re-feeding, providing the microbes with fresh food to thrive and grow).
• By now you might see some bubbles on the surface of your mix and a funky smell this is a good sign and typically it is ready for use, but I always like to go an extra day. If you are yet to experience this keep going until you do.
• This next day you are ready to transfer your dough to an airtight container and keep it in the pantry. Be sure to remove a portion every day either for use in a sourdough or to re-feed.
• Factor to consider.
• -The Cranberries contain natural sugars for the bacteria to initially feed off and begin to grow, you can do it without, but I like the little boost they can give.
• -You are growing bacteria which means they develop more efficiently in warmer temperatures, hence the reason for leaving in the warmer locations overnight.

Steps:

• Combine flour, water and yeast in a warm bowl.
• Use a wooden or plastic spoon to stir mixture till smooth.
• Cover the container with plastic wrap and place it in a warm, draft-free area for 36-48 hours; your starter should be slightly bubbly and give off a delicious sour, yeasty, aroma.
• Its consistency will be that of light pancake batter.
• Cover the sourdough container and put it to rest in the fridge.
• I use a Mason Jar.

Steps:

• Pour the water into crock or a wide mouth gallon jar.
• Pour in the yeast and let it dissolve. Add vinegar and flour, mix well.
• Cover with cloth and set in warm place to sour (2-3 days).
• When activity stops, the mixture flattens out.
• An amber colored liquor comes to top.
• AND IT SMELLS-- THAT'S IT.
• Mix it up.
• It will look like whipping cream.
• Put it in a glass jar with screw type lid, place in refrigerator.
• It will keep for months growing better as it continues to age at a very slow pace.
• It's super in pancakes, waffles, coffee cake, rolled biscuits, quick drop biscuits, cinnamon rolls, cobblers,bread, cake, etc.

Steps:

• To begin: Mix together 125 grams flour and 125 grams water with a clean hand in a medium glass bowl. Cover the bowl with a tea towel and let sit undisturbed at room temperature until the mixture is full of bubbles and has nearly doubled in size, usually 2 to 3 days. During this time, yeasts and bacteria from the air and from the flour and probably from you will set up housekeeping in the bowl (see Cook's Note).
• For daily feeding: Peel back any crust that may have formed and transfer 20% of the culture (50 grams) to a clean, wide-mouthed jar. Stir in 100 grams flour and 100 grams water, loosely screw on the lid and stash at room temperature for 24 hours. (The culture will have a stinky-sour smell at this point.) Discard the rest of the original mixture.
• Repeat step 2 every 24 hours for 5 days. By then the culture should smell yeasty-sweet-sour, which means you're ready to put the starter to work.