Sourdough Starter: Day 1

Today I am attempting my first ever Sourdough Starter.  Sourdough Starter is a mix of flour and water that houses an active wild yeast culture.  When making bread, use this starter in lieu of store-bought yeast, resulting in a tastier finished product.

I considered going through this process throughout the week, then reporting back to you all with the results afterwards.  Instead, I have decided to make this a live experiment where I will post frequent updates on my progress.  The process that I have in mind is a combination of several recipes I researched earlier in the week (here, here and here).  Assuming this is a successful experiment, I will post a final recipe at the end of the process.  Start to finish, I should have a live starter in under 7 days.  Continue reading for my Day 1 instructions.

Start with a clean, large jar or container.  To the jar, add one cup (by volume) whole wheat flour and one cup water, stirring to combine.  Add a leaf of organic red cabbage to the flour mixture and stir.  I tore my leaf up into big pieces.  Leave your jar on the countertop uncovered for 24 hours.  Stir the mixture 2 to 3 times (for about 1 minute) during that time period.

Notes

• Using whole wheat flour will promote more yeast activity.
• Adding the cabbage to the flour mixture should also help get the yeast party started.  The white film on cabbage, as shown on the picture above, is actually yeast.
• Stirring the mixture occasionally will aerate the starter.  Providing yeast with more oxygen will help speed up reproduction.

Well that’s it for today!  See you tomorrow.