Mash-Based Sourdough Starter

Sourdough Starter

I maintain a very small amount of starter between bakes—no more than 60–70g—otherwise I just end up with too much waste or stored old starter. (You can use the old starter for pancakes, waffles, crackers, and other things.) However, when building an initial starter, there is benefit to volume—greater room for error.

Phase 1 (48 hours)

Ingredients

• 30g mash
• 30g whole wheat and/or rye flour
• 60g spring or filtered water
• 1g diastatic malt powder, or sprouted wheat flour (optional)

Steps

1. Stir ingredients and store in a clear glass container. (Plastic gets scratched and can hold bacteria. Stainless steel is fine, but you can’t observe the development of gasses.)
2. Cover to keep out contaminants.
3. Stir every 8–12 hours.
4. Bubbles may begin to appear during this stage.

Phase 2 (24-48 hours)

Ingredients

• 30g mash
• 30g whole wheat and/or rye flour
• 30g spring or filtered water
• All phase 1 starter

Steps

1. Stir and again return to covered clear glass container
2. Stir every 8-12 hours.
3. When quite bubbly, or when 48 hours has been reached, go to phase 3.

Phase 3 (24-48 hours)

Ingredients

• 45g whole wheat and/or rye flour
• 30g spring or filtered water
• 100g phase 2 starter

Steps

1. Stir and again return to covered clear glass container.
2. Stir every 8–12 hours.
3. When bubbly and expanded, move to the next phase.
4. Hold back unused phase 2 starter as an insurance policy.

Phase 4 (4-24 hours)

Ingredients

• 85g whole wheat and/or rye flour
• 57g spring or filtered water
• 85g phase 3 starter

Steps

1. Stir and return to covered clear glass container.
2. Starter should double within 4–24 hours.
3. Proceed to use and prepare starter per sourdough recipes.

Mash

This will make well over 300g more than is required for the starter. Adjust measurements as needed, however it may be difficult to work with smaller quantities.

Ingredients

• 300g water, 165°F
• 218g whole grain flour, wheat or rye
• 2g diastatic malt powder, or sprouted wheat flour (optional)

Steps

1. Preheat oven to 200°F
2. Heat water to 165°F in an ovenproof saucepan
3. Remove pan from heat and stir in the flour and diastatic malt powder, working quickly to avoid excessive loss of heat.
4. Cover pan and place in oven.
5. Turn oven down to 150°F, if possible, and leave the mash for 3 hours. If the oven cannot be turned low-enough, use the lowest possible temperature setting and cycle the oven off and on at a 10 minute cycle. After the first hour the heat can be turned off altogether, however if the oven supports a low-enough setting leave it on for the entire duration.
6. Allow the mash to cool, then refrigerate.