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There are many reasons as to hey people enjoy sourdough bread. Some believe it to be tastier than other bread, while others use sourdough because it is easily digestible and more notorious than other types of bread.
The popularity of sourdough bread has meant that more and more people are keen to make their own. Although preparing sourdough bread at home is possible, some tips need to be adhered to when creating your first batch of sourdough bread.
Ingredients Needed for Sourdough Bread
- Mature Starter
- 700 Grams of White Bread Powder
- 300 Grams of Whole-Wheat Flour
- 20 Grams of Kosher or Sea Salt
Explaining a Mature Starter
A list of ingredients is always important, but those new to creating their own sourdough may be confused as to what a mature starter is. It is essentially a form of yeast that is created at home and requires its own preparation.
Although this can be as easy as mixing flour and water together, it can be a time-consuming process as it needs to be fed over a series of days.
Creating Your Own Mature Starter
Those wishing to create their own starter will need to allow for five days for the starter to be fed, as the yeast will need to form live bacteria to create a wild yeast. This is the foundation of sourdough bread and where the name sourdough derives from.
The First Day
Mix 100 grams whole grain rye flour with 125 grams of water and ensure all the dry bits have been incorporated into the mix. The starter then needs to be placed somewhere warm, with a temperature of between 26 °C and 29 °C.
The Second Day
Although it is not unusual to see some fermentation, do not be disheartened if you do not see any progress during the second day.
A second jar will be needed along with 75 grams of the mixture, adding 50 grams rye flour along with 50 grams of all-purpose flour to 115 grams of water, which needs to be heated to around 26 °C.
The mature starter needs to be stirred and then kept in the same spot as before for another 24 hours. The rest of the mix
The Third Day
At this point, people can see differing results concerning their mature starter. It is important not to overthink the process and continue feeding the mixture. Those that are concerned that the process may be slow should ensure that there has been no change of environment when storing the mature starter.
Using the jar cleaned from the day before, place a jar on the scale and scoop in 75 grams of the mixture that has been fermenting overnight to 50 grams of ryes flour, 50 grams of all-purpose flour and 115 grams water.
Finally, mix all the ingredients before covering the jar and resting for another 24 hours.
The Fourth Day
The fourth day should show more proof of fermentation and introduces two refreshments as opposed to one seen on previous days. In the morning, take a clean jar and place 75 grams of the mixture with 50 grams of rye flour and 50 grams all-purpose flour along with 115 grams of water, this time letting it sit for 12 hours.
The rest of the mixture can be discarded, and from here on the same jar can be used to complete the mature starter process. Once 12 hours has passed, discard the contents to 75 grams and add the same ratio of ingredients as before and then allow the mixture to rest overnight.
The Fifth and Sixth Day
For the fifth and sixth day, those preparing their own mature starter simply need to repeat the process every 12 hours using the same ratio of ingredients and allowing to rest in the area, ensuring the same temperature is retained.
Day Seven Onwards
Day seven introduces another change to the process, in that the mixture is reduced to 50 grams. This is then added to 50 grams rye flour, 50 grams all-purpose flour and 100 grams water. As before, it is important to ensure that all the ingredients are mixed thoroughly.
The mixture then needs to rest for 12 hours before repeating the process.
Although many will find that they are ready to make their first sourdough loaf, other mature starters may need feeding for longer. It is worth noting that some mature starters can take as long as 14 days before they are ready, so patience is essential when baking sourdough bread.
Although many enjoy the preparing of sourdough, others will be keen to get started with their recipe as soon as possible.
As such, some may prefer to opt for a kit that offers everything needed to create tasty sourdough bread, such as the At Home: Your Signature Sourdough kit.
As well as offering everything needed for the preparation of sourdough, all the ingredients needed are provided, ensuring that you can get started with the creation of your loaf sooner rather than later.
