Phyllis, Our Sourdough Starter.

Homemade sourdough is a thousand year old art, and something you can do right from your own kitchen. There is no shortage of tasty treats you can come up with beyond your own artisan bread. All the options you have from the leftover starter alone is unlike anything you‘ll find in the stores. Plus, homemade always tastes better 😉
Do yourself a favor and create a new kitchen and family staple everyone can enjoy anytime!

Ingredients

First Feeding
100g Whole Wheat Flour
100g Water

Daily Feeding 0
30 g Whole Wheat Flour
70g All Purpose Flour
100g Water
100g Unfed Starter/ Left Over (Phyllis from yesterday)

Sourdough Starter Method

The very first day combine 100g Whole Wheat Flour with 100g of water and mix very thoroughly. Be sure to use a large jar with a lid, it doesn’t have to be air tight. We prefer to use a 1.5L Weck glass canning jar.
On day two discard all but 100g of your starter then add 100g of water and mix throughly, next add 30g of Whole Wheat Flour and 70g of All Purpose Flour and mix until you have a smooth paste.
Repeat step two once a day for 1 to 2 weeks until your starter consistently doubles in volume. Your starter might be ready sooner than two weeks but we found this to be the average. Some people say to feed the starter twice a day but we only do this on days that we are going to bake.
We like to add a rubber band or a piece of tape to the jar to mark the starting point, that way you will be able to tell how much your starter has grown. This also allows you to judge if the starter is growing (eating/digesting) or deflating (hungry).
Don’t forget to name your starter as well, we called ours Phyllis.
Once your starter is all bubbly and happy you can start baking. For the best results you want to make sure you are working with a starter that is still in the growing phase.
Typically when we bake we feed Phyllis first thing in the morning and she is the ready to bake with in 2-4 hours, between 70°-80° is ideal. If you live in a colder climate or its chilly in your house you can place your starter in the oven with only the light on, this provides a nice environment for proofing your starter or bread and stays at a very consistent temperature.
Following the method above your starter should be about 200g before feeding, the average volume of starter needed for a loaf of bread is about one cup or 227g. When baking we will just feed the existing starter with out any discarding. 200g starter, 200g water and 200g flour ( 60g whole wheat 140g A.P. ). This will give you a total yield of 600g, giving you enough for baking and still leave plenty of starter for the next batch.
Once your starter is ready just continue with step 2 everyday and it will live a long and happy life. If you find you are not baking every day or need to take a little break just do a regular feeding then place the starter in the fridge, this will give you about a week in between feedings. If you decide that you want to bake just pull your starter of a day or two in advance and begin regular feedings again
If you take an extended trip or decide you need a longer break spread your starter out in a thin layer between two pieces of parchment paper and let it dry completely, usually about five days. When fully dry break into small pieces and place in an air tight container and store in a cool dark place. To revitalize simply add water and feed with flour, your starter should come to full strength in about a week.
Instead of just throwing away that excess unfed starter you can use it in many other things, like biscuits, pancakes and our favorite crackers. Look for other recipes here on our site.