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Sourdough Starter


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Ingredients

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Sourdough Starter

  • 300 g whole rye grains, (organic or biodynamic is best)
  • 400 g filtered water, (do not use tap water)
  • 6
    3min
    Preparation 3min
    Baking/Cooking
  • 7
    Preparation
  • 8
    • Appliance TM 31 image
      Recipe is created for
      TM 31
5

Recipe's preparation

    Step 1
  1. Place 100g of the rye grains into the TM bowl. Mill for 1 minute at speed 10.

    Transfer rye flour to glass jar and add enough water to make a sloppy paste. Leave in a clean place uncovered at room temperature for 9 hours.

  2. Repeat Step 1 twice more. On the third time, cap the jar and keep on the bench if you are using within the next day or place it in the fridge. The starter should have a sour smell and small bubbles should be visible on the sides of the jar.

    If you are going to make bread every 1 or 2 days you can keep the starter on the bench and feed daily. Make sure you have enough room in the jar for the starter to grow.

    If you are only going to make bread once or twice a week, keep your starter in the fridge. 24 hours before you want to make your bread, take it out of the fridge and feed every 8 hours till bubbly and active.

    See Sourdough Bread for a bread recipe to use your starter.

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Tip

You can use other grains to feed the starter but rye has the greatest longevitiy and gives the best sour flavour.

Only use filtered water to feed your starter as the chlorine present in tap water can kill the yeasts and bacteria present in your starter.

If you are going away for 1-2 weeks just feed your starter before you go and keep it in the fridge. Make sure it has lots of room to grow otherwise it can spew out of your jar. When you get back, feed it and leave it at room temperature for a day or so to reactivate all the organisms inside.

If you are not going to be able to feed your starter for more than 2 weeks, give it to a friend to look after.

It's a good idea to keep a little of your starter in the freezer. That way if something goes wrong with your batch you can always take it out of the freezer, bring it back to room temperature, feed it every 8 hours for 3 or 4 times and then it should be ready to go again.


This recipe was provided to you by a Thermomix ® customer and has not been tested by Vorwerk Thermomix ® or The Mix Australia Pty Ltd and The Mix New Zealand Ltd.
Vorwerk Thermomix ® and The Mix Australia Pty Ltd and The Mix New Zealand Ltd assume no liability, particularly in terms of ingredient quantities used and success of the recipes.
Please observe the safety instructions in the Thermomix ® instruction manual at all times.

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  • I have tried many sourdough starter recipes with...

    Submitted by knittercook on 19. August 2019 - 07:48.

    I have tried many sourdough starter recipes with very little success, but this is a no nonsense, no faffing about starter that works! Most starters require feeding for around 5 days and involve throwing out starter and topping up with more flour and water and it’s hit and miss if they work.

    Thank you for a simple, easy to follow and most of all no fail starter recipe, off to bake some sourdough bread.........Smile

    My blog: shazknit.blogspot.com

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  • donkkey:Hi, There is a website called Udemy, there...

    Submitted by ceitnshaun on 9. July 2017 - 16:08.

    donkkey:Hi, There is a website called Udemy, there are video tutorials on it and awesome inctructions, wait til a sale is on and its only $15 for the course. There are more advanced courses after the basic start culture one... shes a great teacher. Alternatively, look on youtube andsee what you canfind.

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  • Hi Karen thanks for your sour-dough starter recipe...

    Submitted by higgie on 4. May 2017 - 12:02.

    Hi Karen, thanks for your sour-dough starter recipe. I'm really keen to try it but the recipe seems to make a lot and as I live solo, I bake bread only once a week. Can it be halved? Also, when you say "feed" it, you mean add more milled grain and enough water to make it sloppy? Thank you for your help and look forward to trying your recipes.

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  • It doesn't make much

    Submitted by Karen Scott - Consultant on 26. August 2015 - 20:17.

    It doesn't make much difference to the starter if you use freshly milled flour or not. It's just mich better for you to use freshly milled. 

    What I do know is only grow about 250g of starter and then use 50g in my bread and then feed it little bits to make up to about 250g for the next time I want to use it. This is much easier to achieve when you are baking regularly. This avoids the need for the wasteful dumping you mentioned.

    Karen Scott


    Thermomix Consultant

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  • In terms of how much you hold

    Submitted by Karen Scott - Consultant on 26. August 2015 - 20:15.

    In terms of how much you hold back, as long as you have some little dregs in the jar it will be fine. Just don't over feed it. The general rule of thumb is feed it equal quanitities of what you've already got. so, if you haev 1/2 tsp starter left in the jar, feed it 1/2 tsp of flour and 1/2 tsp water. The next feed you would give it 1.5 tsp flour and 1.5 tsp water and so on. Having said this, once it is mature and active sourdough starter is very forgiving and can usually handle large variations in feeding quantities with no problems.

     

    Karen Scott


    Thermomix Consultant

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  • Sorry for my tardy

    Submitted by Karen Scott - Consultant on 26. August 2015 - 20:12.

    Sorry for my tardy reply

    premilled flour is fine. Rye grains milled freshly give the most robust starter and the most nutritious bread.

    Karen Scott


    Thermomix Consultant

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  • The starter is ready to use

    Submitted by Karen Scott - Consultant on 26. August 2015 - 20:09.

    The starter is ready to use when it double sin size in an 8 hour period after feeding. You shoudl be able to see lots of little bubbles on the side of the jar.

    Karen Scott


    Thermomix Consultant

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  • Mix it in as gently or

    Submitted by Karen Scott - Consultant on 26. August 2015 - 20:08.

    Mix it in as gently or aggressively as you like. The organisms are microscopic and are not bothered by a good mixing.

    Karen Scott


    Thermomix Consultant

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  • Hi KazTM, Sorry for my tardy

    Submitted by Karen Scott - Consultant on 26. August 2015 - 20:02.

    Hi KazTM, Sorry for my tardy reply to your question! If you are still interested in getting a sourdough starter going I would suggest following the steps over a number of days until you get the bubbles in the jar. There is no point using it until then as it will have no rising power for your bread.

     

    Karen Scott


    Thermomix Consultant

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  • Yes I mean add another round

    Submitted by Karen Scott - Consultant on 26. August 2015 - 19:58.

    Yes I mean add another round of fye flour and water. Add it to what you alredy have in the jar and mix weel to combine. Sourdough starter has no used by date. I have been running mine for over 3 years now and it is still going strong.

    Karen Scott


    Thermomix Consultant

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  • The consistency of the

    Submitted by Karen Scott - Consultant on 26. August 2015 - 19:57.

    The consistency of the starter doesnt matter so much. A wide variation of consistencies will work. It is ready to use when it has tlots of visible bubbles and at least doubles in size in an 8 hour period (after being fed).

    Karen Scott


    Thermomix Consultant

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  • Hi, silly question but when

    Submitted by penny78 on 19. May 2015 - 16:52.

    Hi, silly question but when you 'feed' the starter, do you mix this in gently? or not at all?.

    Thanks in advance.

     

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  • I've tried this starter twice

    Submitted by Linda D16 on 21. April 2015 - 17:19.

    I've tried this starter twice now. It started to go stringy but after adding more flour and water, it has separated and is not getting bubbly. Maybe the weather is too cold. I dont have a hot water system inside or any space above my fridge where I can let it sit. tmrc_emoticons.(

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  • oooops. I just made this

    Submitted by Margarita Helen on 15. February 2015 - 11:08.

    oooops. I just made this starter for the first time and didn't read the recipe properly. I used all 300 grams first step. Typical me. Oh well, let's see what happens!

     

    Also, Would love to see answers to the other questions posted here. Very valid questions, ones I have in mind as well.

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  • HELP!   When is the sourdough

    Submitted by denisejoy67 on 9. October 2014 - 20:27.

    HELP!  

    When is the sourdough ready to use...mine doesn't seem to have "risen" much.

    DeniseJoy

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  • Great recipe! I wasn't sure

    Submitted by rosiecorney on 28. December 2013 - 18:19.

    Great recipe! I wasn't sure what to do after adding the 3rd lot of rye but let it sit uncovered for 9 hours and it really went nuts! So think it worked tmrc_emoticons.) Used my 200g in my first batch of bread and the rest went into the fridge. Highly recommend using a HUGE jar - like the 1kg Nescafe coffee jars. I used a 500g Moccona jar and it wasn't big enough.

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  • I hope the answer is not

    Submitted by Nana107 on 30. November 2013 - 17:47.

    I hope the answer is not above and I have missed it.  On the 3rd time should I put it in the fridge after adding milled flour and water or after sitting 9 hours after that action.

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  • Hi I am finding this is way

    Submitted by allykatblue on 1. October 2013 - 19:03.

    Hi

    I am finding this is way too much for one jar (all my big ones are in use holding all my seeds and nuts in the pantry LOL) so had to put some in a second jar just to get all of the second lot in. i will use less for the third lot and put some in each jar. One of the jars will become my frozen store (if it all works well). Now I just need to figure out how I will use it!

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  • Hi I am finding this is way

    Submitted by allykatblue on 1. October 2013 - 19:03.

    Hi

    I am finding this is way too much for one jar (all my big ones are in use holding all my seeds and nuts in the pantry LOL) so had to put some in a second jar just to get all of the second lot in. i will use less for the third lot and put some in each jar. One of the jars will become my frozen store (if it all works well). Now I just need to figure out how I will use it!

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  • How much do you hold back?

    Submitted by josieab on 14. September 2013 - 08:21.

    How much do you hold back? And how do you store it if you plan on baking it the next day?

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  • Hi Karen, I've made 2 loaves

    Submitted by josieab on 14. September 2013 - 08:19.

    Hi Karen, I've made 2 loaves and pancakes with your starter recipe but I'm still overflowing with starter. I was wondering, if the starter is left out at room temperature is a few tbs of fresh milled flour and water twice a day enough to feed it even if you've got 3/4 a jar full? I'm so reluctant to discard excess starter tmrc_emoticons.(

    I noticed a lot of other recipes tell you to "dump" all but a small amount of starter before a feed and to feed it with approximately the same amount as you have (ie. if you have 200g starter to feed it 100g flour and 100g water). Is it different when feeding it freshly milled flour?

     

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  • I have started using whatever

    Submitted by Karen Scott - Consultant on 10. September 2013 - 21:33.

    I have started using whatever type of flour I have on hand to feed my starter and it works well with wheat bakers flour as well as freshly milled wheat or rye flour. I have also started using the method where you hold back some of the dough from your loaf for your next loaf. This is much lower maintenance and works really well as long as you bake at least every second day.

     

    Karen Scott


    Thermomix Consultant

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  • I read this recipe this

    Submitted by KristyMacLac on 12. July 2013 - 21:52.

    I read this recipe this morning and went shopping - but was hung up on the 'biodynamic' bit instead of the 'grain'  bit. I bought the biodynamic rye flour instead of the organic rye grains. Will  this work starting with biodynamic rye flour? Or does it have to be freshly milled? Thanks

     

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  • I have had my starter going

    Submitted by JoMo4 on 21. June 2013 - 19:12.

    I have had my starter going for 5 days now and it is going CRAZY! And so am I, making lots of yummy sourdough bread. I simply add 200g of starter to my normal bread recipe and proceed as normal (with longer proving times of course).  Thanks for the instructions Karen. Now I just need more recipes to use it in   tmrc_emoticons.)

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  • Just wondering in step 2 you

    Submitted by donkkey on 16. June 2013 - 14:48.

    Just wondering in step 2 you say on the third time cap the jar and place in the fridge. But in one of the comments above it says leave in fridge if not using and leave out if you are using it. So I put it in the fridge after the third flour and water, so I have no bubles and no sour smell. I want to make a loaf of bread so do I now need to leave it out, if so when can I use it to make my bread.

    I work better when I'm shown something rather than read instructions.

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  • I have a question regarding

    Submitted by KazTM on 10. May 2013 - 11:38.

    I have a question regarding the starter.  I followed the instructions and was unable to achieve the bubbles in the jar.  What do you recommend?   I proceeded to make the bread anyway however it is very dense and heavy.  

     

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  • Thank you for these very good

    Submitted by kareen on 1. December 2012 - 22:38.

    Thank you for these very good instructions. I didn't have rye grains so I made it with spelt grains. Whoa. I ran out of room in my jar after the 2nd feed. so I separated it and kept the smaller portion out to make the bread.

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  • Yes that's exactly it. You

    Submitted by Karen Scott - Consultant on 6. September 2012 - 21:09.

    Yes that's exactly it. You have to feed the starter flour and water to grow it up. The mixture should be quite sloppy. If you keep it in the fridge when you're not feeding it and feed it regularly when you are using it and having it at room temperature, it could last for years as long as it doesn't get contaminated with other bugs (microscopic ones).

    Karen Scott


    Thermomix Consultant

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  • When you say "repeat step 1

    Submitted by KimA on 5. September 2012 - 21:47.

    When you say "repeat step 1 twice more" do you mean mill another 100g rye grains, add water and add this sloppy mix to existing mix in jar? And wondering if it has a use-by-date?!

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  • Yes add more water until it

    Submitted by Karen Scott - Consultant on 8. August 2012 - 19:05.

    Yes add more water until it is sloppy.

    It's ready to use when it has a nice (personal opinion!) sour smell and little bubbles have formed on the sides of the jar.

    Karen Scott


    Thermomix Consultant

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  • I have made the starter

    Submitted by rachelkmay on 6. August 2012 - 17:02.

    I have made the starter according to the recipe, but it isn't what I would call 'sloppy', its probably more 'doughy'.  Should I be adding more water?  Also how do you know when the starter is ready to use? 

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