Refreshing A Sourdough Starter (2)
The sourdough from the previous post can be used right away, but it won't be very strong when you make bread for the first time (the recipe for the sourdough bread is coming up).
The starter you keep in the fridge (the 100 grams of sourdough) will gain strength - but make sure it doesn't stay dormant (not used) for more than 2-3 weeks in the fridge. You have to feed the bacteria, so that it doesn't die (add a small quantity of water and whole rye flour); or, keep the starter in the freezer, thaw and feed a day before you use it.
I received questions like 'Do we need to make the 4 day starter every time we make bread?' The answer is: no, you make the 4 day starter once, keep it in the fridge and take from it the quantity you need for a certain recipe. In a few hours or overnight, this small quantity will become stronger - and, of course, you will refresh the old starter with 100g of the new sourdough.
For example - a recipe needs 500g fresh sourdough:
- Take about 100g starter from the fridge
- Measure the flour: about 40% of the 500g needed in the recipe is flour and the rest (60%) is water. We want the sourdough starter to be thick as cream. This would be about 200g flour and 300ml water.
In a bowl, combine the flour, the sourdough starter and the water.
The mixture should have the consistency of a thicker cream - cover with a lid and leave for 3-5 hours or overnight.
Make sure the bowl in which you make this mixture is large - about 4 times larger.
Otherwise, it might rise too much and come out of the bowl.
Notice how nicely the sourdough has risen after a few hours, it's got air bubbles and it fills the bowl.
This means it's ready for baking the bread.
Use the quantity you need for the recipe and don't forget to save some for the next bread recipe. So, take 50-100g of this fresh sourdough starter and place in the fridge.
Here is the recipe for the first sourdough bread and you can find the rest of the recipes under Breads category.
Enjoy!
