I have seen many different methods of starting and maintaining a sourdough starter. No wonder it is so confusing for new people, trying to get started! Like I have told y’all before…I am 69 years old and I guess in all those years I have learned to be persistent (my husband would call it hard-headed!). I believe that if anyone else can do it…so can I, and I won’t give up trying!
In the title, I said a few weeks later. I know many people count the days, weeks and even hours since they first mixed up their original starter, but I have been too busy trying recipes (some good, some awful!), and I honestly have more to do with my time than count down the days, weeks and hours! I do, however, remember mixing up my original starter. I mixed 1/2 cup all purpose flour with 1/2 cup tap water that had been drawn up to let the chlorine evaporate. I remembered seeing that chlorine and other chemicals in water can kill the natural bacteria that needs to form in the starter. I didn’t see the part that recommended using bread flour instead of all purpose, however my starter did fine with all purpose. (I now use bread flour to feed my starter after I found out that is what gives better results.) But trust me when I tell you…you can develop a successful starter with all purpose flour. I did!
When you use the 1:1:1 ratio, as you should do in the first week, the starter will be thin. After a week of feeding 1/2 cup flour and 1/2 cup water to 1/2 cup reserved starter, I began to notice bubbles, but not as much as I would have liked to see. Reminding myself that patience is a virtue and Rome wasn’t built in a day, I pressed on! I decided to increase the amount of flour and water when I fed my starter. It created a thicker starter and I began to see more activity in my starter. I followed the recommended ratio of 1 part starter to 2 parts flour and water…1:2:2 ratio. While the activity did increase, and I was steady baking with the discard, it still didn’t show as much activity as I would have liked. So after another week or maybe two, without seeing much change at all, I began to experiment! ( I told you I am persistent!) I decided to increase the amount of flour to make a thicker starter. That is where I am today! I now have a food scale ( which I highly recommend) and I weigh all my ingredients when I mix my starter. My mix this evening was 50 grams of starter, 100 grams of unbleached bread flour and about 75-80 grams of water. A weird mix, I know, but it produced a nice thick starter which seems to work better for me. So let me encourage you to experiment to find that “happy mixture” that will produce the end results you are looking for. Just don’t get discouraged, and don’t quit without giving it your best effort. After all, you and your loved ones deserve the best, and you can do it!!! I believe in you!!!
