Whole Wheat Sourdough Starter
Making sourdough isn’t a fleeting hobby that I acquired during the COVID lockdowns. It’s a deep seeded passion that I embraced two years before.
March 2018 was when I first established my own sourdough starter and ignited a passion I didn’t see coming. I knew before I set out to make my own starter that I wanted to make my own artisanal bread. However, I didn’t foresee how much I would fall in love with the process and how fulfilling it would actually be. Personally, I feel that there is no greater satisfaction than taking a few simple ingredients and transforming it into a freshly baked loaf of bread.
The process of sourdough can seem daunting at first but once you get in the swing of it and bake a few loaves you catch on pretty quickly. For me, a few resources like this sourdough master class video really made me feel more confident in pursuing my sourdough journey. It’s an absolutely wonderful skill to have especially in times like these when your money can’t provide a lot. For very little money and effort, you can have a never ending supply of bread once you get your sourdough starter going. So on that note, I encourage everyone to grab some flour and water; let’s make our starter!
Whole Wheat Sourdough Starter
50 grams whole wheat flour
50 grams water
Day 1: mix together whole wheat flour and water. Place in a jar and let sit on your counter for about 12 hours or overnight.
Day 2: mix together 50 grams of whole wheat flour and water, let sit for another 12 hours or overnight.
Day 3: discard 100 grams of mixed starter and feed or replace with 100 grams of flour and water
Day 4: should start to ferment and bubble
Day 5: discard 200 grams of starter and feed with 150 g flour and 150g water
Repeat day 5 until the starter is very bubbly and yeasty with a fermented smell, taking anywhere between 7-10 days. It could be longer if the weather is particularly cold.
Maintenance: replace with as much as you discard, so if you discard 100 grams replace with 100 grams of flour and water the feeding. If the starter is left out on the counter it will need to be fed every 12 hours or so. However, if you refrigerate it you can feed it once a week. With regular feedings and maintenance your starter will keep forever.
*Notes: During the winter months depending on your climate, it might take up to two feedings to get your starter up to the activity needed for bread baking.
Likewise during the summer months your starter can become extremely active. At the height of summer after feeding my starter it could be ready in as little as 5 hours depending on the temperature.
The discard that comes from your starter can be reused so don’t throw it out! When feeding your starter, save any discard in a glass jar and keep in the fridge. The discard can be used for other breads, cakes and even granola.
You can easily use all-purpose flour instead of whole wheat flour if whole wheat isn’t your favorite. This is just my preferred flour for my starter. I feel that the whole wheat makes a more flavorful loaf.
Using a kitchen scale for your sourdough is a must. It ensures accuracy and consistency which is needed for proper sourdough starter maintenance.
To help track the growth of my starter I will mark the original height by wrapping a rubber band around the jar. It’s so exciting to watch it grow!