Sourdough Starter

In a clean glass jar, stir the whole rye flour and warm water into a thick, lump-free paste — the consistency of pancake batter. Scrape down the sides, mark the level with a rubber band or tape, and cover loosely so gas can escape but the surface stays protected. Rest at warm room temperature, 24–26°C, for 24 hours. Rye carries a dense population of wild yeast and lactic bacteria plus the enzymes that feed them, so it kick-starts a culture faster than white flour ever could.

Begin daily feeds. Discard all but about 50 g of the slurry, then stir in equal weights of fresh flour and warm water — roughly 50 g each. Switch to unbleached bread or all-purpose flour now; it builds the gluten strength you want in a leaven. Re-mark the level, cover loosely, and keep warm. Feed once every 24 hours for days 3 and 4. Discarding keeps the culture young and the acid low enough for the yeast to multiply; without it the mixture turns too sour for the yeast to thrive.

From around day 5, feed twice daily, every 12 hours, discarding to ~50 g each time and refreshing with equal flour and water. The culture should now be reliable: rising and falling on a predictable rhythm. Watch one full cycle from feed to peak — when it consistently doubles within 4–8 hours and smells sweet-sour and ripe, it is mature. Confirm readiness with the float test: drop a spoonful of peaked starter into water. If it floats, it is buoyant with gas and ready to leaven bread.

To keep the starter alive long-term, settle into a maintenance feed: carry forward 50 g of mature starter, discard the rest, and refresh with 50 g flour and 50 g water (a 1:1:1 ratio). If baking often, hold it at room temperature and feed once or twice daily. If baking occasionally, store it in the fridge and feed weekly — let it warm and rise once at room temperature before each bake. A well-kept starter improves for years, deepening in flavor and reliability.