Food Network Magazine - (11)November 2020

How to Make a

Starter

6 6

QUESTIONS?

Our test kitchen pro Alexis

Pisciotta has answers!

Q: I missed a feeding.

Now what?

A:Feed your starter

every 12 hours at room

temperature for a day or

two to bring it back to life.

I left a starter in the fridge

for two months when I

fled my apartment at the

start of the pandemic—

when I came back, I fed it

three times and baked a

lovely loaf of bread!

Q: Does the type of

flour matter?

A: Yes! Use whole-

wheat flour to create

the starter—the extra

nutrients will help

kick-start the process.

I use unbleached

all-purpose flour for

feedings. The fresher

the flour, the better the

results; you want to

capture the wild yeasts

that exist on the flour.

Q: Do I have to discard

some of the starter?

A: You need to keep the

amount of starter in the

jar consistent or it will

grow exponentially and

take up space. You don’t

have to discard it though:

You can give some away,

or you can add some to

pancakes or waffle batter

for sourdough flavor (you’ll

still need a leavener).

Q: How do I know if

my starter is dead?

A: If the starter doesn’t

rise when you feed it, it

is likely inactive. You can

probably bring it back to

life after a few feedings;

if it takes many feedings,

you are basically just

growing a new starter,

which is fine, too!

This is what the starter looks
like in the beginning, before it
starts growing.

It’s growing! This is on day three;
you can see that the starter is
beginning to rise and fall.

The starter is good to go—it’s
super bubbly and at its height
it reached the top of the jar.

• 16-ounce glass jar with a lid
  (make sure it’s very clean)


• ½ cup whole-wheat flour


• Room-temperature water (ideally around
  70 ̊ or up to 80 ̊ if your house is very cold)
  
  
  • Small square of clean cloth
    (such as a cut-up dish towel)
  
  
  • Rubber bands
  
  
  • Unbleached all-purpose flour,
    for feeding the starter
  
  
  
  

WHAT YOU’LL NEED

Continue with the same discarding and feeding steps every

12 hours. The starter should rise and fall throughout the day.

Start feeding the starter every 12 hours, removing all but

¼ cup of the starter every time. Mark the level on the jar

with a rubber band so you can monitor how much it rises.

Stir together the whole-wheat flour and ⅓ cup water in the jar.

Cover with the cloth and secure with a rubber band. Set aside

in a warm place out of the sun to proof for 24 hours. The starter

may increase in volume dramatically and form small bubbles.

Stir the starter to deflate it. Leave ¼ cup of the starter in the

jar and compost or refrigerate the rest (see right for ideas on

how to use it). Stir ½ cup all-purpose flour and ¼ cup water

into the jar. Re-cover with the cloth and set aside in the same

place for 24 hours. This is called “feeding” the starter.

Continue with the discarding and feeding process every 12 hours

until the starter is very bubbly on top, there are bubbles on the

sides and it doubles in size and falls regularly throughout the

day (this may happen at any time between days 6 and 8). At

this point, you’re ready to bake!

Stir the starter again to deflate it, then feed the starter

again: Remove all but ¼ cup of the starter and stir in ½ cup

all-purpose flour and ¼ cup water. Re-cover and set aside

in the same place for 24 hours. It’s OK if the starter seems

to be inactive—just keep going.

HOW TO STORE Remove the cloth, cover with the lid and

refrigerate. Feed once a week. Bring to room temperature

1 to 2 days before using, feeding every 12 hours.

NOVEMBER 2020 ●FOOD NETWORK MAGAZINE 107

DAYl

DAY2

DAY3

DAY4

DAY5

DAYS6to8

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• • •

• •


• •


• •


• •


• ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••