How to work with Martin’s Sourdough Starter

Sourdough Starter Procedure

• Activate the dormant starter
• To make it most vigorously active, regularly feed and water the activated starter, at least once or twice more before you make dough.
• Make dough
• Bake it or not (vegans can eat raw or dehydrate)
• Eat well
• Live well

Activation Procedure Video

Activation Procedure Detail

• Transfer the starter from the zip lock into a glass jar, about 1 pint size is good
• Add 30 grams (2 Tablespoons) water (filtered water is preferred)
• Let the dry wafer absorb the water and soak until softened
• Mash the softened wafer to thoroughly disperse
• Add 30 grams (3 Tablespoons) unbleached flour (whole grain flour, particularly rye, will yield the most active culture)
• Thoroughly mix the contents together
• Cover loosely with the jar lid or a paper towel secured by a rubber band
• Leave at room temperature, watch for bubbles to form, and for the level in the jar to rise. It probably will take 24-36-48 hours for the dormant dry wafer culture to activate.

Initial Starter Feeding

• Add and mix in the following amounts of water and flour
• Cover loosely with the jar lid or a paper towel secured by a rubber band
• Active starter, when fed, will form bubbles and rise to double volume in as little as 4-6 hours

Typical Regular Starter Feeding

• Typically you have removed ~100g (~1/2 Cup) from the jar to make dough for baking
• Add and mix in the following amounts of water and flour (or make proportional adjustments if you need to prepare more or less)
• Once established, it’s generally OK to seal the jar so the starter doesn’t dry out or attract insects or become moldy

Sourdough Culture Theory

We are a symbiotic colony of microorganisms:

• Native Wild Yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae
• Native Wild Bacteria Lactobacillus acidophilus

We eat sugar. In the absence of sugar, we can convert starch (in flour) into sugar for our food.

Depending on the nature of our environment (water and oxygen levels), we produce (excrete) various amounts of:

• Lactic Acid (the aroma of yogurt and buttermilk)
• Acetic Acid (vinegar)
• Ethanol (alcohol)
• Carbon Dioxide (gas bubbles like in beer and champagne)