Easiest Sourdough Starter Ever | La Masa Madre más fácil
As a kid I wanted to be a baker, not a chef (I have a sweet tooth... you see?). Although life turned out differently, my passion for baking never faded and still I have the dream that one day I will open my own bakery serving great Spanish breads and pastries. My family and friends kept asking me for the recipe to do your own Sourdough Starter and I have explained it to them separately so many times, I decided to make a video about it in the simplest way I can. I have baked at home easily over 500 loaves (without exaggerating), we don't buy bread, we just eat what I bake. I will be showing you how to do the most basic loaf on a separate video, on this one I just wanted to show how to start your own sourdough, this is the real beginning which ultimately will make your first homemade sourdough loaf at home (and hopefully the next 500)!
INGREDIENTS:
2 tea spoons flour
2 tea spoons water
1 tea spoon grated apple
But it can be any other fruit
PREPARATION:
Grate 1 tea spoon in volume of both the zest and the flesh of the apple. Mix in a kilner jar or container with the water and flour for 15 seconds and let it rest at room temperature until the following day, just don’t close the lid to tightly, let it breath. I will call this “The Starter”, you should name it as you please, mine is called Pepito, but I had many in the past: Pepa, Pepe, Darling…
Feed your sourdough with the same amount of flour and water as you’ve got of Starter. On the first day, it will be 2 teaspoons of flour and 2 teaspoons of water. All you have to do is to mix it with a spoon, put the lid back on and leave it at room temperature in any corner of your kitchen.
Repeat step 2 daily, only changing the amount you feed it with. Remember, always the same amount of flour and water as you’ve got of Starter. As days go by you will increase it in equal amounts as your starter grows. From day 3 approximately, every time you feed your Starter, you will see it grow in size in the following hours and then go back down, this is normal and how it should be. As well don’t worry about the looks or density of texture, whether it is a bit more liquid or solid, it makes no difference, all we care is about the wild yeast which are growing as a colony.
Depending on temperature and the ingredients you use, your starter can be ready to be used to make your first loaf of bread anywhere in between 5 days and 9 days.
HOW TO FEED YOUR SOURDOUGH STARTER and HOW TO KEEP IT.
Feed your STARTER at least once a week, with the same volume of flour and water as you’ve got of sourdough starter, just mix it with a spoon and make sure there is ample room in your container to expand. Always keep your sourdough starter in the FRIDGE, sleeping (as I say), you exclusively take it out to either feed it or use it to knead a loaf of bread. The rest of its life will be spent on the back of any shelf of your cold and dark refrigerator. If you are going on HOLIDAYS FOR A MONTH, you can either FREEZE IT or leave it with your lovely NEIGHBOURS to care for it and a link to my "How to make a simple loaf of bread" video. Hopefully we can get more people to eat the BEST TASTING and HEALTHIEST bread around and infuse their home with the unique aroma of a freshly baked loaf, which I can assure it improves anyone's day who has a sniff of it, just like Tiger balm. I guess many are thinking, what if I am not that lucky and I've just got 2 WEEKS to go Spain, do I still need to leave it with the neighbours? The answer is you are still incredibly lucky you are going to Spain and as long as you feed it before you go and wish them a good farewell, your sourdough will be nearly as happy on your return as when you left them, just make sure you give them a deservedly good feed as soon as you are back. Happy baking everyone!