How to Make It:
Day 1: Here we go!
Ingredients:
¾ cup + 2 tablespoons (113 grams) all-purpose flour
½ cup (113 grams) water
In a 2-quart-sized container, combine flour and water, stirring to combine. Mixture will resemble thick batter. Cover loosely and let sit at room temperature (about 75°) for 24 hours. (Can you believe that’s all it takes?)
Day 2: Feed the beast.
Ingredients:
¾ cup + 2 tablespoons (113 grams) all-purpose flour
½ cup (113 grams) water
Open up your starter and check for tiny bubbles that may have begun to form around the top. Bubbling indicates that yeast has begun to grow. If you don’t see any yet, don’t fret. Weigh out flour and water and add to yesterday’s mixture. Stir to combine. Starter will feel like thick dough. Cover loosely and let sit at room temperature (about 75°) for another 24 hours.
Day 3: Feed the beast again.
Ingredients:
¾ cup + 2 tablespoons (113 grams) all-purpose flour
½ cup (113 grams) water
By day 3 you should be seeing some activity, and your starter should start to smell tangy and—get this—sour. Measure the flour and water and combine them in your container. Cover loosely and let sit at room temperature (about 75°) for another 24 hours.
Day 4: Feed the beast again. For real.
Ingredients:
¾ cup + 2 tablespoons (113 grams) all-purpose flour
½ cup (113 grams) water
By day 4, your starter might be producing lots of bubbles, large and small. It should smell pretty pungent (vinegary and yeasty). It should also appear a bit looser (not quite so thick and sticky). Measure your flour and water and add them to your container. Stir to combine and cover loosely. Let sit at room temperature (about 75°) for another 24 hours.
Day 5: Are we there yet?
¾ cup + 2 tablespoons (113 grams) all-purpose flour
½ cup (113 grams) water
Open up your starter. By day 5, there should be lots of bubbles, and your starter should smell very strong. It should also appear looser and have bubbles running throughout. These are the signs that your starter is ripe and ready to use.
Once your starter is “ripe,” you no longer need to add bulk to it. From here on out, you will discard about half,* and feed it with flour and water on a daily basis. At this point, we like to move our starter to a smaller, more manageable container, about 1 quart.
Remove 4 ounces (113 grams / ½ cup) of starter, and place it in your new, clean container, discarding the rest. Measure flour and water and add to starter, stirring to combine. Cover loosely and let sit at room temperature (about 75°) for another 24 hours. After this it’s ready to use.
To maintain your starter:
Continue this process, discarding all but 4 ounces (113 grams / ½ cup) of starter and adding ¾ cup + 2 tablespoons (113 grams) all- purpose flour and ½ cup (113 grams) water once a day.
Once your starter is well-established (after 2 weeks or so), you can keep it in the refrigerator and feed it weekly. Just don’t forget to take it out and feed it once a week or the starter will die, and you’ll have to begin the process all over again.
*Always discard your starter in the trashcan. Pouring it down your sink will clog it up. Alternatively, you can gift your starter to a friend, or use it to make pancakes or waffles.
