How to make a sourdough starter

This takes five days. It requires patience but it is definitely worth it. There are two ingredients: flour and water. I always use rye flour as it has more naturally occurring bacteria which aids the fermentation process.

I mix half a cup of water with half a cup plus a tablespoon of rye flour.

I mix them well with a spatula and cover with cling film.

I leave it in a warm spot overnight (I leave it in front of the stove). That's it until tomorrow! DAY TWO. This is what it should look like.

Add the same quantities of rye flour and water as yesterday. Stir vigorously. You want to get oxegen in. Small bubbles may start to appear at this stage. If they don't there is no cause for alarm as if yet.

. DAY THREE. Your starter should look a bit like this:

There should be some bubbles. Stir in the same amount of flour and water vigorously. You should see some more bubbles appear. I could feel a change in the consistency of my starter today. DAY FOUR. Today I got a distinctly sour smell when I took off the cling film. There were also more bubbles.

Stir in the same quantities of flour and water, cover and put in a warm place overnight. Your starter is probably getting quite big now so feel free to throw away some of it before feeding it. I am making a big starter as I intend to make a TON of bread next week. DAY FIVE. Today is the last day of preparing your starter! This is what mine looked like today.

Feed the starter with the same quantities of flour and water. Mine bubbled eagerly when I fed it today. Today my starter is not as frothy as a riper starter would be. However, you are ready to make bread tonight! Whoop whoop! After you make your bread store your starter in the fridge. Take it out once a week and feed it. Leave it at room temperature for a few hours and then return it to the fridge. It is dormant in the fridge. It is a very good idea to freeze some of your starter so you can restart it if anything happens to your original starter. I will definitely be doing that this time.