Sourdough Starter

Ingredients

Day 1

• 1 dl water
• 0.5 dl wheat flour
• 0.5 dl rye flour

Day 2

• 1 dl water
• 0.5 dl rye flour
• 0.5 dl wheat flour

Day 3

• 1 dl water
• 0.5 dl rye flour
• 0.5 dl wheat flour

Equiptment

• 0.6 l glass jar with a lid

Instructions

Preparation

Make sure that the jar in which you will put the sourdough is well cleaned and sterilize the jar in a hot oven 300°F/150°C for about 15 minutes. If there is a rubber ring on the lid, boil it in water to get it completely free of bacteria.

Day 1

Pour lukewarm water into the carefully cleaned glass jar with a lid (which holds about 6 dl). Add 0.5 dl wheat flour and 0.5 dl rye flour. Stir with a fork until you get a fairly viscous smooth batter. The amount of water and flour does not have to be exact, the important thing is that you end up with a consistency similar to a thick pancake batter.
Store the sourdough starter at room temperature with the lid ajar so that the bacteria in the air reach the batter. 

Day 2

Hopefully there are now some air bubbles in the sourdough and you can sense a mild and aromatic scent. Don't worry it hasn't started yet, the process can take one to two days depending on the room temperature and the type of flour you've used.

Feed the sourdough with 1 dl of water, 0.5 dl of rye flour and 0.5 dl of wheat flour and stir. Store at room temperature with the lid ajar. 

Day 3

Feed the sourdough with 1 dl of water, 0.5 dl of rye flour and 0.5 dl of wheat flour.
Stir and store at room temperature with the lid ajar.

Day 4

Now the sourdough is hopefully ready to be baked with. For each day that you feed your sourdough, it takes less time for it to start bubbling. A healthy and ripe sourdough usually begins to bubble 2–3 hours after feeding.

Try gently shaking or wiggling the jar and you will notice that it almost moves by itself. There is life in there and you can now start baking sourdough bread with it.

Please Note! Don't forget to feed your sourdough starter the day before you are going to bake with it. However, do not feed it immediately after you have baked with it unless you plan to bake with it the next day as well.

Storing

Storing sourdough in the fridge can slow down the fermentation process, which is useful if you want to keep your sourdough starter or dough for an extended period without having to feed it regularly. When stored in the fridge, the fermentation process is slowed down significantly, so you won't need to feed your sourdough starter as frequently. However, keep in mind that cold temperatures can also cause the gluten structure to become somewhat weaker, which might affect the texture of the final bread if it's stored in the fridge for too long. If you're planning to use your sourdough within a week or so, it's fine to keep it in the fridge. Just make sure to bring it back to room temperature and feed it before using it in your recipes.

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