Activating and Caring for Your Sourdough Starter

When you want to make sourdough bread or other recipes, you need to activate your starter. Here's how:

• Grab a bowl and mix in a 1:1 ratio of flour and water. (For bread, usually 1 cup of each works well.)
• Add a big spoonful of your starter and mix it all together.
• Put a big spoonful of the mixture back into your starter jar and return it to the fridge.
• Alternatively, you can activate your starter in the jar by adding a 1:1 ratio of flour and water, mixing it, and letting it sit. Just make sure to leave some starter in the jar.

I usually activate my starter right before bedtime and let it sit overnight. Then, I use it first thing in the morning. Alternatively, you can activate it in the morning and use it in the afternoon. Timing can vary, so find what works best for you.

If you haven't used your starter for a while and want to restart using it, remember to feed it a little flour and water to reactivate it.

Sourdough Bread Recipe

Ingredients:

• 735 g water
• 250 g active starter
• 1050 g unbleached all-purpose flour or bread flour
• 24 g salt

Instructions:

1. Mix together water and starter, then add the flour and mix. The dough will be sticky.
2. Wait 20-30 minutes, then add in the salt with wet hands.
3. Cover the dough and let it rest for another 30 minutes.
4. Stretch and fold the dough (or use a coil stretch method) 3-4 times.
5. Cover the dough and let it bulk rise/ferment for 6-8 hours on your counter.
6. After the bulk rise, shape your loaves and add any desired add-ins.
7. Transfer the dough into a banneton basket or a bowl with a tea towel, sprinkle with flour, and cover it as airtight as possible.
8. Place the covered dough in the fridge for 8-24 hours (ideally 8-12 hours).
9. Preheat your dutch oven in the oven at 450°F.
10. Take the dough from the fridge, place it on parchment paper, and score it.
11. Place the dough in the preheated dutch oven with the lid on and bake for 25 minutes.
12. Remove the lid and bake for an additional 15 minutes.
13. Once baked, remove from the oven and let it cool before slicing.

Enjoy your freshly baked sourdough bread!

Result