Getting Startered

Your first week

This beginning process is the longest step, from start to a loaf of bread will take about a week but can take as little as four days. Once you move on to making your first loaf, you will begin by making your first sponge and feeding your starter followed by a 12 hr wait period. The remaining 5 steps of the bread making process will happen over the next 8-12hrs. It can be helpful to review this timeline in relation to your schedule in advance of when you start to determine the day and time of day it is likely to be best for you to first create your starter.
After you've completed your first loaf, you will be able to use your starter to bake every 4-7 days. Our 1-3 loaf recipes all use 1 cup of starter so you can select the right quantity of bread for your needs each bake. If you'd like to bake more loaves or more often see the Doubling your starter section in Knead to Know for information on multiplying your starter
It is very important that everything involved in this part of the process is as clean as possible. Wash all your tools and your hands well and make sure to sterilize your bowl and jar. See the section Sterilize by Boiling in Knead to Know, or you can use a dishwasher if one is available to you.

As you begin

Tips for success

1) Timing:
Create your starter at a time of day when it is typical for you to be home and awake, idealy at or around the time when you wake up or go to bed each day. Be aware that while the time lines noted are the target window, a couple of hours either way won't hurt your starter process.
2) Room Temp:
Don't be concerned with the overall temperature or humidity of your kitchen. It's more important that you don't place your starter, sponge or dough near a heat source such as the counter above your dishwasher or near your stove top.
3) Flour:
The BLBW Method uses the following flours:
Unbleached Bread Flour, Unbleached All Purpose Flour and 100% Wheat Flour

All of which can be used to create and feed your starter. While you can use a 100% wheat starter and feed, I recommend against it as it is not as cost effective nor is it ideal for this method. When making bread recipes use the flour(s) specifically called for or consult the Flour section of "Ingredient Adjustments or Exclusions" in Knead to Know before making any adjustments.
4) Water:
This entire method and all it's recipes were designed, and are intended to be made, using cold tap water, directly out of the tap with no alterations. If you can safely drink your water so can your wild yeast. If you live in conditions that require you to boil or filter your water due to health safety reasons, do the same for your starter and bread as you would for any other cooking or food preparation process.
5) Yeast:
Temps over 95 degrees Fahrenheit will begin to kill yeast which is why our method uses cold water as an easy safe guard. If you keep your house warmer or colder than the 70-80 degrees Fahrenheit range expect your starter to be more or less active accordingly.
6) Salt:
Salt is one of the key ingredients to making bread so you'll want to make sure you have it on hand for your first loaf of bread. All of the recipes on this site were designed using generic common household table salt.

Day 1

Make your Starter

Ingredients

Flour
1 1/4 cup
Water - cold
1 cup
Distilled white vinegar (5%)
1 tsp
Potato - raw and peeled
1 small

assignment_late Be sure to use food grade Distilled White Vinegar, no stonger than 5%. Vinegar is a very important component to this step! Wild yeast is hardy and thrives in a slightly acidic environment that other microorganisms cannot tolerate. At this stage, wIthout the vinegar, you have an increased risk of dangerous bacterial growth as well as dramatically slowing the growth rate of your yeast as they have to compete with other microorgansims for food and water.

Wash raw potato well in hot water, peel throughly and place in your sterilized mason jar
In your liquid measuring cup combine 1 cp cold water with 1 tsp vinegar (5%)
In a sterilized 4 cp bowl, mix together the flour and vinegar water
Carefully pour/scrape your mixture into your sterilized 1qt mason jar covering the potato
Dampen your coffee filter with water and drape to fully cover the mouth of your mason jar so the starter can breathe ( If you do not have a coffee filter you can also use cheesecloth, muslin or other clean fabric )
Rest at room temp for 24hrs

assignment_late Don't place your starter anywhere dark. Mold likes nothing better than the absence of light and a damp food source. Even with sterilization and vinegar, you risk mold growth if your starter is deprived of light. It's imporatant that your starter be out of the way of your everyday kitchen activities so you aren't constantly moving it but it will need access to a light source during regular daylight hours. Light also helps yeast growth, although not required, don't be concerned if you have it in an area where it recieves more than 12hrs of light.

Day 2

Remove the coffee filter

Remove the coffee filter and discard. If there is a thin layer of liquid on the surface of your starter, slowly and carefully pour only the liquid off your starter and discard the liquid. Do this throughout the starting process, before stirring, any time there is liquid at the surface.
Thoroughly stir your starter and cover with the jar lid, tightening lightly
Rest at room temp for 24hrs

assignment_late At this stage there may be some brown/black discoloration to the potato, flour mixture or the liquid forming on top, especially if you are using 100% wheat flour. This is natural oxidation and is completely safe and normal. While it is unlikely to occur, very rarely your starter could turn pinkish or reddish or show signs of mold. In this case discard the starter and begin again because dangerous microorganisms have ruined your starter. This is more likely to occur with a dormant or neglected starter but can happen when you are in the beginning stages.

Day 3

Check your starter

If there is a thin layer of liquid on the surface of your starter, slowly and carefully pour only the liquid off your starter and discard the liquid. Do this throughout the starting process, before stirring, any time there is liquid at the surface.
Thoroughly stir your starter and recover with the jar lid
Rest at room temp for 24hrs

Days 4-6

Bubble Watch

Repeat "Day 3" (step 5) every 24hrs, until you see the liquid layer on the surface increase to an amount of roughly 1- 2 tsp
After you get a liquid pour off that is roughly 1- 2 tsp: Thoroughly stir your starter and recover with the jar lid as usual
Rest at room temp for 12hrs
Remove your jar lid and check for bubbles starting to displace any liquid on top of your starter
When you see bubbles: DO NOT STIR or otherwise disturb
Recover with the jar lid and leave your starter jar covered and at room temp for the next 12hrs, until bubbles completely cover the surface of your starter, you may even see a full layer of foam develop.
At this point move on to step 7 even if you are not yet at day 5

Days 5-7

First feed and sponge

12 hrs from when you first see bubbles, the surface of your starter should be completely covered with bubbles, you may even see a full layer of foam develop. This means it's time to feed your starter and make your first loaf sponge. Click the "First Loaf Recipe" link below for your next steps.

BLBW Sourdough Starter

Total Ingredients

Equipment