If you're like me, then you are wanting to find a healthier alternative to store bought breads and other baked goods. It seems like there is an endless list of hazardous additives and harmful ingredients in everything I buy from the grocery store. I have really had to be careful and read the ingredients labels before purchasing. From what I have learned so far, sourdough is "healthier" not just because you know all the ingredients that goes into it, but also because your starter is digesting and breaking down the gluten as your dough rises for hours and hours. This process helps make your bread easier to digest. I thought that was so cool when I found that out.
Anyways, I finally got my sourdough starter going strong! Here's how I did it! It is not as complicated as you might think. I named my starter Arthur, because I am always using the king arthur flour brand. :)
Step 1: Add 1 cup of bread flour and 1/2 cup filtered water to a wide mouth quart size mason jar (I find this jar the easiest to work with).
Step 2: Mix the flour and water together. Add additional water or flour to achieve a pancake batter consistency.
Step 3: Cover with a tea towel or paper towel and let it sit 24 hours under the light that is above your stove. This will be a warm place for it to rest in your kitchen. Some people let it sit inside the oven with the light on, but it was too warm in there for my starter.
Step 4: If your starter isn't bubbly, wait another 24 before feeding it. If your starter is bubbly and rising, feed it about 1/4 cup of flour and 1/4 cup of water. Again, if it is not the right consistency, add flour or water as needed. I didn't do exact measurements. I simply got the right consistency.
Step 5: Let it sit another 12-24 hours. Discard about half of the starter, and feed it 1/2 cup flour and 1/2 cup water roughly. I put my discard in another jar and now have 2 sourdough starters.
That's it! All there is left to do after that is feed it daily (or keep it in the fridge and feed it weekly), and then bake with it! You basically want to maintain your starter and keep it nice and bubbly and rising. It took me about a month to get it really going strong, so don't feel bad if your first starter dies and you have to start all over! I learned that I'm not the only one that has happened to! LOL!