Since today is so much cooler and less muggy than last week, I decided to make my 2nd starter today. On a side note, it is so strange to be getting rain in September! We certainly did need it though. We are up for more heat, humidity, and rain next week though so hopefully, this 2nd starter will live through that.
Instead of using my mail-order starter, I decided to try making one from scratch. Thank you to Josh’s granny for the suggestion! Of course, I googled “making sourdough starter from scratch” and up came a post on the King Arthur Flour website. This was even simpler than using the mail-order starter: 1 cup of whole wheat flour mixed with 1/2 cup of cool water. I did have to add about a 1/4 cup more water though because I could have picked up the mixture with my hand using just the 1/2 cup of water, and the mixture is supposed to be “goopy,” not a dough ball that you can pick up. Hopefully, this addition doesn’t mess with the starter. At least, all I lose out on if I kill this starter is a cup of flour and some water.
The ingredients this time around: whole wheat flour and spring water
This is what I ended up with after the additional 1/4 cup of water. It looked closer to the picture on the King Arthur Flour website. I am so so thankful for pictures!
I used a wide-mouth container this time rather than a mason jar. It was easier for stirring. I also have the container sitting in an area of the kitchen that is used less often than over by the olive oil. Hopefully, the starter will like it better over there!
We use so much of our kitchen that there isn’t really a place where it won’t get moved around all the time, but this sourdough starter will just have to be not finicky! Here’s to hoping Thing 2 doesn’t end up going down the drain in the sink like Thing 1!