SOURDOUGH STARTER RECIPE UK RECIPES

Steps:

• On day one, heat the milk in a saucepan over a gentle heat. Place the yoghurt into a bowl and stir in the warmed milk. Cover and leave in a warm place for 12-24 hours until thickened. Stir in any liquids that may have separated.
• On day two, stir the strong white flour into the yoghurt, incorporating evenly. Cover and leave at room temperature (about 20C) for two days. The mixture should be full of bubbles and smell pleasantly sour.
• On day four, add the measured flour to the starter with the water and the milk. Cover and leave at warm room temperature for 12-24 hours.
• On day five the starter should be quite active now and be full of little bubbles. Remove half of the starter and discard. Add the flour and the water to the remaining starter and mix thoroughly. Cover and leave at warm room temperature for 24 hours.
• On day six the starter should be ready to use. You can keep the starter at room temperature, but you will need to feed it daily. Combine equal parts of the starter, water and flour and mix thoroughly. You may have to discard some of the starter so that you do not end up with too much. Keep covered and use as needed.
• If baking less often, keep the starter covered in the fridge, feeding it once every five days or so by mixing equal parts of starter, flour and water.

Steps:

• Starter – use this handy chart to help you keep track of your feeding times. On the first day, put one tablespoon of flour and one of water into a 500ml glass bowl and mix together. Wet a clean tea towel, wring it out well, lay it over the bowl and leave in a warm place for about 12 hours. After the 12 hours have passed, add another tablespoon of flour and another of water, mix together, cover with the damp tea towel and leave for another 12 hours. On day two (24 hours since beginning your starter), stir in a third tablespoon of flour and a third spoon of water, stir to mix, cover again with the damp tea towel and leave in a warm place for 12 hours. For the second feed of day two, add a tablespoon of flour and one of water, stir to mix, cover with the damp tea towel and leave in a warm place for 12 hours. For the first feed of day three (36 hours since beginning your starter), increase the feed by adding two tablespoons of flour and two of water, stir to mix. Re-dampen the tea towel if necessary, lay it over the bowl and leave in a warm place for 12 hours. On the second feed of day three, add two tablespoon of flour and another two of water, mix together, cover and leave for another 12 hours. At this point your starter should be bubbly and ready to create your ferment. If the starter is not showing bubbles, repeat the 12-hour flour and water feeding routine, and ensure the starter is kept constantly in a warm place. Click this link to find a handy Sourdough Starter Chart which when printed has space for you to enter the day and time that you feed your starter with flour and water and to help monitor progress. This Guide to Sourdough Making contains lots of hints and tips for successful sourdough bread making.