A wild yeast started also known as a sourdough starter has been used for generations to raise bread. Making a wild yeast starter involves two steps, the first is making a seed culture and then turning that into a mother starter. The seed starter cultivates the microorganisms to get the mother starter going. Once you have the mother starter you will be keeping it in the refrigerator and will feed it to keep it alive. The mother starter will be at 75% hydration, that means it will be 75% water to 100% flour. This is firmer than the wet sponge starter that is more common in most recipes. This method was developed by Debra Wink at King Arthur Baking institute.
SEED CULTURE
Phase 1 (Day 1)
Volume Grams Ingredient
3 1/2 T. 28 Hard Red/White or Rye flour
1/4 c. 57 unsweetened pineapple juice or
filtered water (room temperature
In a small bowl, stir together the flour and juice or water. It will be thin like pancake batter. Cover loosely with plastic and leave at room temperature for 48 hours. Stir 2-3 times a day for a minute with a wet spoon. Nothing will happen for the first 24 hours, then small bubbles will begin to appear. Even if not much is happening proceed to the next step.
Phase 2 (Day 3)
Volume Grams Ingredient
2 scant T. 14 Hard Red/White or Rye flour
2 T. 28 unsweetened pineapple juice or
filtered water (room temperature)
Use all 86 Phase 1 seed culture
Add the new ingredients to the phase 1 sponge and mix until the new flour is fully hydrated. Cover loosely with plastic and leave at room temperature of 24 to 48 hours. Stir 2-3 times each day with a wet spoon as before. There should be signs for bubbling and growth at this time. When the dough becomes very bubbly at the end of 48 hours or which ever comes first move on to Phase 3.
Phase 3 (Day 4 or 5)
Volume Grams Ingredient
5 1/4 T. 43 Hard Red / White or Rye Flour
3 T. 43 Filtered water at room temperature
Use all 128 Phase 2 sponge
Add the new ingredients to the phase 2 sponge and stir well. The mixture will be thicker, but it will still be very wet and sticky. Cover loosely with plastic and leave on the counter for 24 to 48 hours. Stir with a wet spoon 3 times a day as before.
Phase 4 (Day 5 or longer)
Volume Grams Ingredient
7 T 57 Hard Red / White or Rye Flour
3 T. 43 Filtered water at room temperature
Use half 106 Phase 3 sponge
Give away half of the phase 3 sponge. Add the new ingredients to the other half and mix just like before. Cover and leave at room temperature it begins to bubble and foam. At this point it should nearly double in size, but it will fall when jostled. This can take around 4- 24 hours. If you see no life after 24 hours continue mixing every couple of hours. Patience, it will become active it may take a few more days. Once it's active you can now start building your mother starter. The seed starter will be fine if covered and refrigerated for 2 days before making the mother starter.
MOTHER STARTER
This is the starter you will keep in the refrigerator as a permanent starter from which you will use for various breads. The seed starter is alive and full of microorganisms and we are going to take it and add a larger amount of flour to it to form the mother starter. At first the mother starter will be wet but after 3 feedings it will become more dough like in texture. This starter is known as a stiff starter since the hydration is 75%.
Volume Grams Ingredient
2 1/3 c. 11 Hard Red / White or Rye Flour
1 c. 227 Filtered water room temperature
(add 2 T. more water for rye flour)
2/3 c. 99 about half the seed culture
Combine all of the ingredients in a bowl mix by hand or with your mixer. When combined let the dough rest for 5 minutes. Than knead for another 2 minutes until all of the ingredients are evenly distributed and the dough is smooth. Cover and put in a large bowl and leave on the counter for 4-8 hours until it doubles in size. It may take longer so give it time. Once it's doubled in size do the flower peddle technique and round the dough. Form it back into a ball and cover tightly and put into the refrigerator. After a few hours open it back up and let some of the carbon dioxide out and recover it tightly again and place back into the refrigerator. The mother starter is ready to use now or for up to 3 days from now.
Feeding The Mother Starter
The starter needs to be fed on a regular basis or it will start to loose it's strength if it's over a week old and has not been fed. You will need to rebuild it by discarding all but 99 grams or (3.5 oz) and keep the rest as your new seed culture. And add the amounts of flour and water as listed below. Cover and put in a large bowl and leave on the counter for 4-8 hours until it doubles in size. It may take longer so give it time until it doubles then put it back into the refrigerator.
Volume Grams Ingredient
2 1/3 c. 11 Hard Red / White or Rye Flour
1 c. 227 filtered water room temperature
(add 2 T. more water for rye flour)
2/3 c. 99 (new seed culture) or 1 week old mother starter
Bring your starter back to life if left for over 2 weeks:
Any mother starter that's older than 2 weeks has lost it's gluten strength and will have to be built back up in small increments. To do this, add 1 oz or (28 g) of the old mother starter to 3 oz (86 g) of hard red or white flour. If you would like to use rye you can use the same amount of flour. To this add 1/4 c. water. This will produce a little more than 3/4 c. or 6 oz. You will follow the same instructions as building the mother starter. You can continue building the mother starter by using the same rations: 100% flour, 75% water, and 33.3% starter. In a short time you will have new revitalized mother starter
Converting Your Wheat Mother Starter Into A Rye Starter:
Unless you make rye often you don't need to keep a separate starter. As you feed your starter use rye flour instead of the hard red or hard white. Note the feedings require an extra 2 T. of water if you are using rye flour. The reason for this is because rye has more bran and requires more water to hydrate it. After a couple of feedings you will have a basically rye starter with the same 75% hydration as your wheat mother starter.
SEED CULTURE
Phase 1 (Day 1)
Volume Grams Ingredient
3 1/2 T. 28 Hard Red/White or Rye flour
1/4 c. 57 unsweetened pineapple juice or
filtered water (room temperature
In a small bowl, stir together the flour and juice or water. It will be thin like pancake batter. Cover loosely with plastic and leave at room temperature for 48 hours. Stir 2-3 times a day for a minute with a wet spoon. Nothing will happen for the first 24 hours, then small bubbles will begin to appear. Even if not much is happening proceed to the next step.
Phase 2 (Day 3)
Volume Grams Ingredient
2 scant T. 14 Hard Red/White or Rye flour
2 T. 28 unsweetened pineapple juice or
filtered water (room temperature)
Use all 86 Phase 1 seed culture
Add the new ingredients to the phase 1 sponge and mix until the new flour is fully hydrated. Cover loosely with plastic and leave at room temperature of 24 to 48 hours. Stir 2-3 times each day with a wet spoon as before. There should be signs for bubbling and growth at this time. When the dough becomes very bubbly at the end of 48 hours or which ever comes first move on to Phase 3.
Phase 3 (Day 4 or 5)
Volume Grams Ingredient
5 1/4 T. 43 Hard Red / White or Rye Flour
3 T. 43 Filtered water at room temperature
Use all 128 Phase 2 sponge
Add the new ingredients to the phase 2 sponge and stir well. The mixture will be thicker, but it will still be very wet and sticky. Cover loosely with plastic and leave on the counter for 24 to 48 hours. Stir with a wet spoon 3 times a day as before.
Phase 4 (Day 5 or longer)
Volume Grams Ingredient
7 T 57 Hard Red / White or Rye Flour
3 T. 43 Filtered water at room temperature
Use half 106 Phase 3 sponge
Give away half of the phase 3 sponge. Add the new ingredients to the other half and mix just like before. Cover and leave at room temperature it begins to bubble and foam. At this point it should nearly double in size, but it will fall when jostled. This can take around 4- 24 hours. If you see no life after 24 hours continue mixing every couple of hours. Patience, it will become active it may take a few more days. Once it's active you can now start building your mother starter. The seed starter will be fine if covered and refrigerated for 2 days before making the mother starter.
MOTHER STARTER
This is the starter you will keep in the refrigerator as a permanent starter from which you will use for various breads. The seed starter is alive and full of microorganisms and we are going to take it and add a larger amount of flour to it to form the mother starter. At first the mother starter will be wet but after 3 feedings it will become more dough like in texture. This starter is known as a stiff starter since the hydration is 75%.
Volume Grams Ingredient
2 1/3 c. 11 Hard Red / White or Rye Flour
1 c. 227 Filtered water room temperature
(add 2 T. more water for rye flour)
2/3 c. 99 about half the seed culture
Combine all of the ingredients in a bowl mix by hand or with your mixer. When combined let the dough rest for 5 minutes. Than knead for another 2 minutes until all of the ingredients are evenly distributed and the dough is smooth. Cover and put in a large bowl and leave on the counter for 4-8 hours until it doubles in size. It may take longer so give it time. Once it's doubled in size do the flower peddle technique and round the dough. Form it back into a ball and cover tightly and put into the refrigerator. After a few hours open it back up and let some of the carbon dioxide out and recover it tightly again and place back into the refrigerator. The mother starter is ready to use now or for up to 3 days from now.
Feeding The Mother Starter
The starter needs to be fed on a regular basis or it will start to loose it's strength if it's over a week old and has not been fed. You will need to rebuild it by discarding all but 99 grams or (3.5 oz) and keep the rest as your new seed culture. And add the amounts of flour and water as listed below. Cover and put in a large bowl and leave on the counter for 4-8 hours until it doubles in size. It may take longer so give it time until it doubles then put it back into the refrigerator.
Volume Grams Ingredient
2 1/3 c. 11 Hard Red / White or Rye Flour
1 c. 227 filtered water room temperature
(add 2 T. more water for rye flour)
2/3 c. 99 (new seed culture) or 1 week old mother starter
Bring your starter back to life if left for over 2 weeks:
Any mother starter that's older than 2 weeks has lost it's gluten strength and will have to be built back up in small increments. To do this, add 1 oz or (28 g) of the old mother starter to 3 oz (86 g) of hard red or white flour. If you would like to use rye you can use the same amount of flour. To this add 1/4 c. water. This will produce a little more than 3/4 c. or 6 oz. You will follow the same instructions as building the mother starter. You can continue building the mother starter by using the same rations: 100% flour, 75% water, and 33.3% starter. In a short time you will have new revitalized mother starter
Converting Your Wheat Mother Starter Into A Rye Starter:
Unless you make rye often you don't need to keep a separate starter. As you feed your starter use rye flour instead of the hard red or hard white. Note the feedings require an extra 2 T. of water if you are using rye flour. The reason for this is because rye has more bran and requires more water to hydrate it. After a couple of feedings you will have a basically rye starter with the same 75% hydration as your wheat mother starter.
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