Having a jar of sourdough starter on your kitchen counter can be endlessly useful in baking. I make pancake batter, muffins, bread, tortillas, biscuits, and other baked goods with this simple mixture. The starter develops its culture from wild yeast in the air.
Makes 1 cup of starter.
Ingredients:
- 1/2 c rye flour (or use unbleached all purpose)
- 1/2 c warm filtered water
Directions:
- Mix rye flour and water in a clean jar or crock.
- Cover loosely with cheesecloth or an foil with a few tiny air-holes in it. Leave on counter at room temperature.
- Each day for a week, pour off all but 1/3 cup of the starter and feed it with 1/3 cup of rye flour (or unbleached all purpose) and 1/3 cup of warm filtered water. Mix well and transfer to a clean jar. After one week, starter is ready to use.
- Use the starter 1/3 cup at a time (instead of pouring it off), and continue to feed the remaining starter every day as above.
- If you are not going to use the starter for a while, and want to slow it down so you don’t have to feed it every day, cover it tightly and place it in the refrigerator. Take it out a day before you want to use it and feed it accordingly.
Note: Always smell the starter, and if it has a bad odor, discard it and start again. Good starter has a mild, sour, doughy smell.