Buliding Your Starter – Days 4-7

Hi all! Just checking in today. Hopefully you noticed some changes in your starter. Mine rose a bit more today and is starting to develop a pretty bad smell… Who knew that would ever be a good thing??

Here’s the level it was at after feeding yesterday, just a bit below the tape…

And here it is today! It is definitely above the tape – success!

Sorry about the picture, all my photo stuff is packed up and ready to be moved! So camera phone it was…

I highly encourage you to smell your starters every day. Don’t just stick your nose in there and take a big ol’ whiff… You might knock yourself out with the smell. But, smelling it can help convince you that something is happening in there ,if you’re doubting. The starter should start producing a “sour” smell in the near future, if it hasn’t already.

One thing I forgot to mention is that yeast has more activity in a warm environment. If your house is 60 degrees, it’ll still work, it just takes longer. To help give it a boost either turn the heat on in your house, or find a warm place for it to sit (which is what I like to do since the heater gets so expensive!). Try the top of your fridge, in your laundry room, over the stove… anyplace up to about 78F is good. Even a bowl of hot water in the microwave helps a lot.

I’m going to be going on a short vacation for the next few days, so I won’t be posting much. Just follow the same routine as yesterday (throw out half, then add 2 oz bread flour, 2 oz water). You’ll pretty much keep this up until it is “ready” to be used (which I’ll post about when I’m back).

I hope you all have a really awesome Thanksgiving! Remember that Thanksgiving isn’t just a holiday to eat lots of tasty food (although it is a BIG plus), but it is a holiday to really think about all the blessings you have. Tell your friends you appreciate their friendship and all they do for you; thank your boss for giving you a job; thank you parents for raising you right; and thank your significant other for… well, being significant.

If I have time tomorrow, I’ll post a recipe for a vegan pumpkin pie! Don’t get your hopes up, but keep those fingers crossed!  Check back tomorrow for the best pumpkin pie you’ve ever had! It’s both vegan and soy-free. Awesome!

Building Your Starter – Day 3

Welcome back! How are your starters doing? Mine hasn’t had much progress. I marked the top of my starter with a piece of tape, and, while there was a little bit of growth, it was nearly at the same point. I could see some little bubbles forming on the side of the jar, so I know it’s working!

Now you just have to feed it again. First throw out about half of what you have. There is a reason behind doing this. Whenever you feed your starter, you want to double what you have on hand so that the yeast have enough to feed off of. So if you start with one cup, you double it to two. The next time you feed it, you’d have to add another two cups for a total of four. The next time you’d end up with eight…

As you can see, it can get out of hand. Once you start using the starter in your recipes, you won’t have to throw half of your starter every time you feed it. But, until we get a strong starter going, we need to keep the amount in check.

So, throw out about half of what you have. I made a guess and then weighed my jar:

This is about 17.5 oz. If you recall, my jar weighed 13.75 oz. So, there’s a little less than 4 oz left in the jar, just what I wanted! Remember we added a total of 4 oz of flour and 4 oz of liquid the first two days for a total of 8 oz. Thus, the 4 oz I have left is just about half.

Now, feed your starter just like you did yesterday. Add 2 oz unbleached, unenriched bread flour and 2 oz water. Mix together and replace the lid.

If you did it right, the level of your starter should now be at the same level it was yesterday. I left the tape in place when I fed mine today, and afterward it was about the same height:

Hopefully we’ll start to see a little more activity by tomorrow. Even if you don’t see any activity, don’t despair! I can’t stress enough how sourdough takes patience – not just building the starter, but in making the bread, too. This does not translate into “difficult” or “time-consuming,” as the hands-on time is just like any other bread you make. You just have to plan ahead a little better.

I’d love to hear how your starters are doing! And, as always, I’m so happy to answer any questions you have – email me at ovenmittsblog (at) gmail (dot) com, and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can!