SOURDOUGH STARTER

MAKES 2 TO 2½ CUPS (ABOUT 385 G)

This recipe and the Sourdough Pizza Dough (here) come from our friend Sean Coyne. Sean’s baking credits include several years as head baker at Jim Lahey’s Sullivan Street Bakery and director of Thomas Keller’s bread program at Per Se. Sean is a total pro. This sourdough starter works because organic, unbleached flour (especially rye flour) contains a variety of different natural, wild yeasts and bacterial spores. Just mix in some water and that moisture encourages them to grow. After a few days, the yeast and beneficial bacteria naturally propagate in the flour, and that’s your bread starter. Then you feed it fresh flour and water to help it grow stronger. Keep in mind that weight measurements are much more accurate than volumes. If you run into any trouble, make sure you’re measuring by weight.

¼ cup (25 g) unbleached unbromated whole-grain rye flour

2¾ cups (345 g) unbleached unbromated all-purpose flour (wheat flour)

1⅓ cups (320 g) warm (about 90ºF) water

DAYS 1 to 3: Combine the rye flour, a generous ¾ cup (105 g) all-purpose flour, and about 9 tablespoons (158 g) warm water in a medium bowl. (A glass bowl is best so you can see bubbles forming through the side.) Mix with your hands; this is to capture the yeast, bacteria, and microorganisms from your hands, which will help the sourdough ferment and grow. Mix just until all the flour is wet. The mixture should be somewhat liquid, like loose pancake batter. Let sit, uncovered, at room temperature for 3 to 4 days, stirring now and then. The consistency should still be like liquid pancake batter, but with bubbles. (The bubbles mean that the yeast is active and giving off carbon dioxide.)

DAY 4: Throw away all but about 1 tablespoon (9 g) of this liquid starter. (Or, to keep the remaining liquid starter active, see the Options.) By hand, mix 4¾ tablespoons (72 g) warm water into the 1 tablespoon starter, breaking it up with your hands. Add about ½ cup (60 g) all-purpose flour and continue mixing by hand until the mixture comes together. This process feeds and refreshes the liquid starter. Let this new liquid mixture ferment for 12 to 18 hours at room temperature.

DAY 5: Remove a generous 2 tablespoons (27 g) of this stiff starter to another mixing bowl. (To keep the remaining stiff starter active, see the Options.) Mix about 6 tablespoons (90 g) warm water into the 2 tablespoons of starter, breaking it up by hand. Add a scant 1½ cups (180 g) all-purpose flour and continue mixing until stiff. The starter should be so stiff that it’s difficult to mix in the flour. Let this stiff starter ferment for 12 to 18 hours. At that point, you will be ready to mix up pizza dough and still have enough stiff starter left over to make more dough later.

OPTIONS

You can keep the liquid starter from Day 4 going by feeding it, which allows you to always have starter on hand to make other yeast breads. To keep a small amount of the liquid starter going, follow the directions under Day 4, but instead of throwing away all the excess, put a generous 1 teaspoon (4.5 g) liquid starter in a small bowl. Mix in 2½ tablespoons (36 g) warm water and a scant ¼ cup (30 g) all-purpose flour. Leave the starter out at room temperature and refresh every day, using these same amounts. Or, put in the fridge and refresh it with the same amounts twice a week. You can keep the starter going forever, at either room temperature or in the refrigerator, as long as you keep feeding it.

You can also keep the stiffer starter from Day 5 going by feeding it. That allows you to mix up breads like Rustic Walnut Bread and Garlic Knots (here) in addition to pizza. To keep a small amount of the stiff starter going, follow the directions under Day 5, but instead of throwing away all the excess, put about 1¼ teaspoons (5 g) of the stiff starter in a small bowl. Mix it with 3¼ teaspoons (16 g) warm water and 4¼ tablespoons (33 g) all-purpose flour. Leave the starter out at room temperature and refresh every day, using these same amounts. Or, put in the fridge and refresh it with the same amounts twice a week. You can keep the stiff starter going forever if you keep feeding it.