King Arthur Flour – Sourdough Starter Tips 2

(Continued) How to Feed & Care for Your Sourdough
Starter:

“Keeping a sourdough starter is somewhat like having a
pet because it needs to be fed and cared for. But its
requirements are simple and not time consuming. Baking
with sourdough is also a simple process. All it takes
is a little planning and timing. The results are so
satisfying, you’ll grow to treasure your invisible pet
the way our ancestors did.”

“When you receive your starter, refrigerate it if you
don’t intend to feed it immediately (at any rate,
starter should be fed as soon as possible after you
receive it). To feed it for the first time, snip off a
corner of the plastic bag and squeeze the starter into
a glass or ceramic bowl (not metal). Stir in 3 cups
of lukewarm water (what feels comfortable on your
wrist) and 3 cups of unbleached all-purpose flour. Mix
until it’s well blended and the consistency of pancake
batter. Let the replenished starter sit at room
temperature for at least 12 hours to give the yeast a
chance to multiply and become active before you put it
in the refrigerator. Ordinarily you would feed your
starter when you remove some to bake with it. A good
rule of thumb is to replenish it every two weeks or
so, preferably because you made a wonderful loaf of
sourdough bread, a stack of pancakes or a delicious
sourdough cake.” (This previous paragraph is for those
people who have ordered King Arthur’s Sourdough
Starter from their catalog.)

“During the time the starter is stored in the
refrigerator, it becomes relatively dormant which is
why it can survive so long with so little attention.
You’ll find that a clear, amber colored liquid will
accumulate on the surface of the starter. This liquid
contains 12% to 14% alcohol.”

“When yeast is in contact with air, it produces carbon
dioxide; when it’s not, it produces alcohol. When you
blend the alcohol back into the starter, it helps
produce the unique flavor you find in good sourdough
breads. For milder flavor, you can pour off some of
the alcohol if you wish although this will thicken the
starter requiring a bit more liquid to return it to
its “pancake batter” consistency. (To “sweeten” a
starter in another way, see Troubleshooting which
follows.) The alcohol itself dissipates during the
baking process.” (Continued)

~—06/30 08:58 pm LORELI Loafing and Laughing
in OcL
FOOD AND WINE BB TOPIC: BREADS BY MACHINE TIME:
06/30 9:08 PM