Activating and Caring for Your Sourdough Starter

When you want to make sourdough bread you need about 1 cup of activate 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. It takes about 6 hours to activate. You can put the active starter in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.

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. I like to do 3 parts water to 4 parts flour.

Sourdough Bread Recipe

Preface

Most sourdough bread recipes are very involved. I have found a method that will get you 95% of the results with the least amount of time and effort.

Ingredients:

• 3 cups water
• ~1 cup active starter
• 7 cups unbleached all-purpose flour or bread flour
• 2 teaspoons salt
• Handful of chia seeds
• Handful of rolled oats

Instructions:

1. Layer ingredients in a bowl.
   • Water
   • Flour
   • Chia seeds
   • Rolled oats
   • Salt
   • Starter
2. Mix ingredients together very well. (You can use whatever mixing method works best for you, I use a potato masher.)
3. Put the dough in a covered 6 quart container and let it bulk rise/ferment for 6-8 hours on your counter.
4. After the bulk rise, you can either cook the dough immediately or place it in the fridge for 8-24 hours.
   • You can shape it into 3 loaves depending on how you plan on cooking it. (I keep it as 1 loaf.)
5. When you are ready to cook you sourdough, preheat your oven to 450°F. (I use a 7.5 quart dutch oven.)
6. Take the dough from the fridge, place it on parchment paper, and score it.
   • Alternatively you can use food grade a silicone baking mat that is reusable.
7. Place the dough with the mat in the dutch oven with the lid on and bake for 40 minutes.
8. Remove the lid and bake for an additional 15 minutes.
9. Once baked, remove from the oven and let it cool before slicing.

Enjoy your freshly baked sourdough bread!

Result