Activating the Culture: Sourdough
Helpful Things to Know Before You Start
You may maintain your jar of starter with aerobic (air exposure) or anaerobic (no air exposure) fermentation, but it is better to use a tightly sealed jar to avoid mold or cross-contamination. If you are using a GF starter, your starter is much more likely to get mold than a glutenous flour is, so please use a sealed jar and scrape down the sides after each feed. This is most important during activation, when mold is most likely to occur, but is a good habit to be in.
All measurements are by weight. I will include at the bottom a sort of by volume measurement. Just keep it in your mind that volumetric measurements are not as reliable as weight, so your results may be quite inconsistent, and possibly even disappointing. That’s not to say you won’t have great results, because you probably will! If all else fails, bread pudding. That’s what you do with the loaves that didn’t work out like you hoped (you can also cut up the bread and freeze until you have enough). Why are we harping on this weight business? To put it simply, it’s because you’ve added more and new variables to your baking experience. Ambient humidity, compression of flour (sift to avoid that one), the absorption capabilities of this or that flour (some really are thirstier than others!), the actual fineness of the flour, so on. Beyond that, though, water and flours differ in density, so the flours won’t have the same volume to weight ratio as water does. For example: Our favorite brand of all purpose flour is approximately 146 grams per cup. Water is approximately 236 grams per cup (pro-tip: with water, the volume in mL is equal to the weight in grams). That’s a big difference especially when you want a 1:1:1 ratio by weight. A scale can be purchased rather cheaply, and we encourage you to do so. We have even seen functional scales at thrift shops for just a few dollars, so check there first and give an old scale a new life!
If you are measuring by weight its nice to know the weight of the jar you will be using so you know exactly how much starter you are working with. Unless you plan to use a fresh jar each time, just put the jar on the scale, zero it out and add the correct amount of starter. You can also write the weight of the jar on it, and then you’ve nothing to remember at all! We’ve done it both ways and each are equally as easy except if you use a new jar each time you will of course have to do extra dishes. Some of us would rather die than do more dishes, so your mileage may vary here.
How To Measure the Amount of Starter You Currently have: Take the weight of the jar and starter then subtract the weight of the jar. That amount is what you have in starter.
Gluten-Free starters are activated the same way, but generally will not have the same “pancake consistency” you get with glutinous grains (sometimes it will be same or runnier but usually it will be paste). They also tend to not double in volume after a feed. Don’t get discouraged by these two differences, as they have nothing to do with the performance of the starter.
Thick pancake batter
Take It One Day At A Time
(Select each day to view detailed instructions)
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Pour the dried culture in a jar.
Add 40 grams of room temperature water around 70-75 degrees Fahrenheit and stir.
Let the mixture sit for 20-30 seconds, then stir again.
Add 30 grams of flour and mix until thoroughly incorporated. Try to mix until there are little to no lumps of flour. This really can take a while if your flour is unsifted, but you’ve got this!
Cover the jar. You may use a “soft” lid like a coffee filter, muslin, t-shirt scraps, or similar held on with a rubber band or jar ring, but it is better to keep the jar sealed in a tightly closed mason jar, fermenting jar like Fido, or other hermetically sealed jar like Weck. We prefer Fidos and Wecks, but often use Mason jars.
Leave to ferment in a warm spot for 24 hours.
**You may need to add a little bit of extra water for the activation batch. The consistency you are looking for is a thick pancake batter.
By volume: 1/4 cup water & 1/4 cup flour. We understand that volume may be incorrect depending on the flour being used. You may need to add more or use less water. The consistency you are looking for is a thick, pancake-like batter (think Bisquick). When adding water start slowly. PLEASE NOTE: Volume directions vary from by weight.
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After 24 hours, simply give the mixture a gentle stir and then leave it undisturbed for another 24 hours. This extended period enables the culture to further activate as it consumes the nutrients provided.
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This will be your first feeding. You might notice a slight sour smell/yeasty smell today. Possibly even some bubbles. That’s good. You are on your way.
On day 3 you are going to stir the mixture, add 30 grams of room temperature water, and stir again.
Add 30 grams of flour and stir to incorporate until there are little to no lumps.
Cover and let ferment in a warm spot for 24 hours.
By volume: 1/4 cup flour & 1/4 cup water (Again, think thick pancake batter.)
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This will be your second feeding.
By day 4 you should be seeing some activity in the form of bubbles. If not that’s OK just keep going.
DO NOT THROW OUT THE SOURDOUGH STARTER.
Stir the starter.
At this point, you can remove some starter as it has built up quite a bit.
Weigh the remaining starter. Remove starter until you have 30 grams of starter remaining in the jar.(If you do not know the weight of the jar and are using a new jar. Place the jar on the scale and zero the scale out. Pour 30 grams of starter into the jar.) Set that extra starter aside to stick in some brownies batter. For real, you should try this.
Add 30 grams of room temp water and stir.
Add 30 grams of flour and stir to incorporate.
Cover and let ferment in a warm spot for 24 hours.
By volume: 1/4 cup starter, 1/4 cup water, & 1/4 cup flour. (Broken record. Thick pancake batter.)
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Day 5 is gonna look exactly like day 4.
Keep going.
Maybe do pancakes instead of brownies?
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At this point you can either do one of two things. Continue the feeding schedule of a 1:1:1 ratio (Starter:Water:Flour) every 24 hours OR that same ratio every 8-12 hours depending on how active your starter is at this point AND how often you will be baking bread.
Alternative feedings: Ratios for regular feedings (after activation) can also be 1:2:2 up to (but limited to) 1:5:5
Usually, sourdough will display signs of life by day 7 of the fermentation process. However, if you do not observe any activity by this point, there's no need to worry. Simply continue feedings and trust in the natural process of fermentation. Remember, patience is key when working with sourdough starters.
Additional Tips
When you are ready to bake, take a small portion of your starter out of the jar and feed it separately. Once it’s eaten, you will dry this starter and then put it in the freezer. We recommend you do this before your first two bakes, so you are never at risk of losing your starter and having to buy again if something terrible happens to it. To dry, simply spread it thinly on a parchment paper, wax paper, a plastic plate or tray, or a plastic bowl. It will lift up off of whatever you’ve spread it on once it’s dry. You can then bag and freeze it and know that you’re good to go no matter what!
Our gluten free starter is a blend of sorghum and brown rice flour. Start with a 1:1:1 ratio but depending on the flour you use, you may need to add more water. It should be the consistency of a thick pancake batter.
If you need more starter than you currently have, just keep building it up feeding the starter an equal 1:1:1 ratio until you have the amount you need. Make sure to leave enough to make your next batch of starter.
You should be feeding your starter daily. If you cannot feed your starter, you can feed the culture with the 1:1:1 ratio and let sit for an hour then place in the fridge. Doing this, you can stretch your feeding to once weekly and when you decide its time to bake, take out desired amount of starter and weigh it. Feed it its weight in equals parts water and flour. For example: 100 grams of starter will need to be fed 100 grams of water and 100 grams of flour. Let ferment for 5-8 hours and use in recipe.
When your starter has doubled or tripled in volume its ready to use. Alternatively, you can do the float test (WHICH IS HIGHLY UNRELIABLE). To run the float test fill a glass with water and place a spoonful of starter on the surface of the water. If it sinks, it’s not ready and should be fermented longer. If it floats, it’s ready. CO2 is a byproduct of fermentation. It’s this C02 that gets trapped inside the starter and causes it to float. Some starters just won’t ever pass the float test.
Gluten free sourdough starter does not ever really pass the float test. Go by visual cues when deciding it’s ready for use. It’s ready when it’s doubled in size and has lots of bubbles!