How to Build up your Levain
If you observe in our recipe, at all times there is 100 gms of starter in the jar.
But while making bread recipes you would need to build up your starter to be used as per the recipe requirement.
So let us see how to build your starter to make any recipe?
We will do this using an example.
Let us say you are making a bread recipe that calls for 200 gms of Starter (Levain) to be used.
And keep one thing in mind a Starter is always 100% Hydration.
So you will be adding 100 gms Flour and 100 gms Water to make 200 gms of Starter.
And if you are following the recipe that I am sharing then you will be having 100 gms of Mother starter.
You never want to finish off the Mother Starter as that is what we will be preserving for a lifetime right!!
So what to do??
Take out 50 gms from your Mother Starter.
To that add 100 gms Flour and 100 gms Water.
Stir so that there are no bits of flour left out. Allow it to rise and double and then proceed with the recipe.
| Mother Starter | 50 gms |
| Weight of Flour | 100 gms |
| Weight of Water | 100 gms |
| Total | 250 gms |
In general, we always follow the 1:2:2 ratio while building up the starter which is 1 parts mother starter and 2 parts water and flour.
The reason for making additional 50 gms than what the recipe calls for is that we do not want to wipe the jar lid till the last drop right so it is always a better idea to have little more than what we need.
Now we have taken 50 gms from our Mother Starter right which means we still have 50 gms left in it.
So to that 50 gms we will be adding 25 gms Flour and 25 gms Water and storing it forever.
Hope this is clear.
How to build the starter in the same jar itself?
You can also build the starter in the jar in which you have your Mother culture.
Let us take the above example itself.
You need 200 gms for the recipe.
In you mother jar you have 100 gms of starter.
Just remember this key point, before every feed we need to discard right.
So discard 50 gms as always and instead of adding the usual 25+25 this time we will add 100 gms flour and 100 gms Water.
Your mother starter will now have a total of 250 gms out of which you can use 200 gms in your recipe.
To the remaining 50 gms add the usual 25:25 water:flour and store.
Just remember this golden rule of thumb:
Discard - Feed - Use - Feed Again - Store.
Susie says
Hi Sushma
I have tried a number of recipes and I am loving yours. Thank you so much. My question is when you feed your refrigerated starter once a week do you always use the whole wheat flour?
Thanks Susie
sushma iyer says
Hi Susie.. No you can use any type of flour - whole wheat or APF. I feed mine with APF
Shriram Parameswaran says
Very nicely structured and narrated post for a beginner like me in the sourdough journey.
Has anyone tried making the Sourdough starter with Aashirvaad Select (100% MP Sharbati wheat) flour?
sushma iyer says
Hi Shriram..
Thank you so much.. that was the whole point for this post.. For anyone to start their sourdough journey.. And yes I myself have made with Aashirvaad Atta.. The starter will be thick and paste like but as day passes it would become normal..
Regards
Sushma
Shriram Parameswaran says
Namaskarams
We are just going to commence our sourdough baking journey verybsoon, I hope.
Sourdough starter is getting ready and is eight days in the making. Eagerly waiting.
Chlorine in water and Iodine in Salt could kill the living organisms in the levain / starter, is what I hear and that makes sense.
So while we can use filtered and stored water (after chlorine has escaped) to get chlorine free water, which salt is recommended for sourdough baking.
Is the himalayan pink salt powder ok ?
And any idea which cast iron Dutch Oven is popular in India? Or is there any alternative to a D.O.?
We intend to start off with baking tins first for loaves and then graduate to a D.O. for Boules and Batards etc.,.
sushma iyer says
Hello Shriram..
Namaskaram..
So happy to learn your progress.. And your research on Sourdough is amazing. You are on the right track. Himalayan Pink Salt is absolutely fine. Works great.
Coming to D.O. You can check the LeCreuset India they have amazing collection. If you use Instagram you can check their page on Insta or do a quick Google Search too.
But if the shops are open I would say nothing like namma ooru iron pans so you can use iron skillet for both base and top. So not only for Boules you can use it in everyday cooking for making stir fry or dosas. I am talking about something like this in this picture that I found on google for you https://bit.ly/3aW0hy6 so you can buy these separately and use it for boules as well as everyday cooking
Hope this helps
Regards
Sushma
Shriram says
Namaskarams
And thank you for such a detailed response.
I just discovered a few days ago that Rock Tawa based in Coimbatore itself makes Dutch ovens . They have a 3 liter and 5 liter...https://rocktawa.com/rock-tawa-dutch-oven-pre-seasoned-best-cast-iron
Will pick one up soon after they are open up. Presently unresponsive due to Covid19 lockdowns I guess. Many thanks again.
By the way today is Day 11 and my Bubbles is still not active. Twice a day discard + feeding is going on at 0600 & 1800. Fingers and toes crossed.
sushma iyer says
Hehe.. I like toes crossed.. What flour are you using Wheat based aa??
Prescy Dias says
I am very happy you have taken so much trouble to explain this in detail and easy steps we can follow. I had some bad experiences years back and there was no one to explain or help out. One question..does the water have to be warm every time it is added. God bless you my dear and all your future endeavours.
sushma iyer says
Hi Prescy..
Thank you for your kind words.. so pleased to know that the information that I have shared is worth a read.. appreciate your feedback. and to answer your query Yes always use warm water.. Yeast loves warm conditions 🙂
Regards
Sushma
Archana Wani says
Hi Sushma,I am not able to understand the concept of changing starter percentage. Can you please help.
sushma iyer says
Hi Archana..
Baker's percentage is the term used to define the percentage of water in the dough aka bread. Flour is always 100 percent and all the other ingredients are calculated based on that. So if for eg: flour is 1000 gms then 70 percent dough means it has 700 gms of water in it.
For a beginner it becomes difficult to handle higher hydration dough like say 75% (750 gms of water as per the above example) or 80% (800 gms of water as per the example) as the dough tends to be sticky and runny.
This recipe is 70% which means the dough has 70 percentage of water in it. If you are not comfortable with the given amount you can use 68% and if you are a seasoned sourdough baker then you can also go for 75% that is what I have mentioned in the notes section.
I have tried this recipe with all the three hydration level and got good results. The more the hydration the better your bread will be.
Hope this helps
Regards
Sushma
Archana Wani says
Hi nice write up. Very comprehensive. I have a query is bulk ferment and bench rest same?
sushma iyer says
Hi Archana.. Thank you.. And to answer your query no they are not the same. You can read sourdough terminologies from here: https://spicesnflavors.com/beginners-sourdough-starter-recipe/3/
Regards
Sushma
Divya Nair says
Thank you Sushma for the detailed explanation. Even the minute details have been covered.
Reshma says
Thanks for amazing write up, very well written. I have a query can we use normal tap water to start with.
sushma iyer says
Hi Reshma..
Glad to know that you found the information useful. Thank you.
Coming to your query no normal tap water is not recommended. What you can do is boil the water well, allow it to cool till warm to touch and then use it..
Regards
Sushma
anisha mehul says
Good job!!
sushma iyer says
Hi Anisha.. Thank you 🙂
anisha mehul says
I am impressed with the level of research you have done and what is even more impressive is you took so much time to blog and share it with everyone.
sushma iyer says
Hi Anisha.. Thank you so much.. You are truly kind-hearted as not everyone can appreciate other's work. Thank you for those kind words.. I am glad that I could be of some help..
Regards
Sushma
Vijay says
Hey Sushma.....I am so happy to learn about your blog on sourdough. I have tried to get a starter going and buried some and eat resurrected some.
Am I glad to have made your acquaintance though.
I think the most important ingredient is flour.
For me APF has not been a 💯 . Where do you get your bread flour? I assume you live here in India.
My sour dough is like a pregnancy. Sometimes it's good sometimes I have miscarriages. HELP NEEDED
sushma iyer says
Hi Vijay..
I do not live in India, I live in New Zealand..
To answer your question I would say the flour really doesn't matter as I have had success with all the three types - Bread, Maida and Whole Wheat. I would say go for whole wheat in that case.. About sourdough failures I can understand I got my first success only in the third attempt.. It is all in the technique I would say.
Regards
Sushma
Rajalakshmy Varadarajan says
Hi I dodnt get my Sour dough tracker.
sushma iyer says
Hi Rajalakshmy..
You have to enter your email address in there and it would be sent to your inbox. Please shoot me a reply from your email address to [email protected] so that I can have look from my end.
Regards
Sushma