Heavenly BAKING

Five-day sourdough starter

Making a starter is a way of creating a living, wild yeast that will help your bread rise and give it a unique, slightly ‘sour’ flavour.

200g Marriage’s Dark Rye
Wholemeal Flour

you will need:

1 litre container with a lid

DAY 1 In the container, mix 100g rye flour with 100ml water to make the starter. Loosely place the lid on top and leave at room temperature.

DAYS 2-4 Each day, feed the starter at around the same time, by mixing in 10ml water and 10g rye flour. Leave at room temperature with the lid placed on top.

It will begin to bubble and grow.

DAY 5 The night before, or at least eight hours prior to making the bread, feed the starter with 70ml water and 70g rye flour. Leave at room temperature.

✣ Don’t throw away the remainder; keep it in the fridge. While you’re not using the starter, feed it 10g rye flour and 10ml water every couple of weeks. Before using to make bread again, just repeat the Day 5 feed. You will be able to see if your starter is active, as it will grow and bubble. If you find that the starter is not very active, then simply repeat the Day 5 feed again. If your starter changes colour or grows mould, you may need to start again.

Sourdough

Sourdough oneupmanship became a bit of an obsession during the lockdown. It’s a true labour of love, but worth the effort. Using a large casserole dish will help it to rise and gives the bread a crunchier crust. We had many a failed attempt before switching to using this method!

Makes 1 x 900g loaf • Ready in 2 hrs 40 mins, plus proving

200g sourdough starter