Know Your Dough

Starting a Starter

CALL IT THE MOTHER, THE CULTURE, THE STARTER, OR YOUR OWN PET NAME—THIS IS THE CORNERSTONE OF ALL SOURDOUGH BREAD

Tools & Ingredients

Clear Glass Jar or Container: The starter will live—literally—in this container, so choose a high-quality glass container with plenty of room to grow. To track the rise and fall of the starter, place a rubber band around the glass jar at the original sourdough starter line on day one.

Digital Scale: This is essential for calculating the proper amount of each ingredient to add or discard.

Flour: We use a 50/50 blend of bread flour and whole wheat flour.

Water: Distilled or purified water, but depending on the quality of your local water, tap is fine, too.

Terms to Know

Hydration Level: This describes how much water is in a recipe in relation to flour. Our starter has a 100% hydration level, which means that there are equal parts water to flour (1:1 ratio).

Fermentation: The starter is basically flour and water that have gone through the process of fermentation, during which time the good bacteria and wild yeast present in the air and the flour are left to go through respiration. The mixture will begin to release carbon dioxide and ethanol—a sign of naturally forming yeast working some magic.

Feeding: After the first two-day rest for your sourdough starter, every day you’ll discard half (180 grams the first time) of the mixture and then replenish with the same amount of water and of flour mixture (180 grams each the first time). This is called feeding your starter. We use a 1:1:1 feeding ratio, meaning whatever is left of your starter after discarding (say, 100 grams) must be replenished by equal parts water (100 grams) and flour mixture (100 grams). Feed at the same time each day.

A blend