How to Make a Rye Sourdough Starter
It’s actually really easy to make a rye sourdough starter… all that it requires is mixing a little bit of flour and water together every day for 7 consecutive days (1 week), which only takes 2 minutes per day. So simple!
I like to use this rye sourdough starter to make my rye & millet sourdough loaf but it can be used for any other sourdough bread or rye sourdough recipe. This recipe is wheat-free and free from any refined or processed flours.
Here is a step-by-step recipe to get you and your sourdough started:
Ingredients (per day):
-1/2 cup stoneground whole rye flour
-1/2 cup filtered water
Instructions
Day 1:
-mix 1/2 cup rye flour with 1/2 cup filtered water
-place in a sealed jar and store in a warm, humid place (like on top of a fridge or on top of a cupboard)
-leave for 24 hours
Day 2:
-mix 1/2 cup rye flour with 1/2 cup filtered water
-mix together with day 1’s sourdough starter (which might be bubbling a bit and starting to smell sour, but if not then do not worry)
-seal jar and leave for another 24 hours (in a warm & humid place)
Day 3:
-mix 1/2 cup rye flour with 1/2 cup filtered water
-mix together with the sourdough starter (which will probably be bubbling and smelling sour – yes this is normal!)
-seal jar and leave for another 24 hours (in a warm & humid place)
Day 4, 5 and 6:
-Repeat day 3
Day 7 and beyond:
-on day 7 the rye sourdough starter should be bubbly, fermenting (smelling sour – this is good!) and ready to use, however, if the jar was stored in a place that was not warm or humid enough then the process (see day 3) may need to be repeated another day or for a few more days
-if the sourdough starter is bubbling & smelling sour then it is ready to use!
-now the starter must be stored (in the sealed jar) in the fridge and must be fed once every week (repeat day 3 but keep in the fridge) to keep it “alive”
-if you use some of the starter, then you should also top up the sourdough starter so that you still have some left the next time that you want to use it (repeat day 3 but keep it in the fridge)
-the color, the amount that it bubbles and the smell may vary with every batch (do not stress about the way that it looks, it will very seldom go “bad”)
Why is it good to ferment grains?
Grains are easier to digest when fermented or soaked and therefore the nutrients in them are more easily absorbed.
Because… when you ferment or culture grains, the antinutrients, phytates and hard-to-digest parts in the grains are broken down.
