Sour Dough Starter Day 1

So I was craving sour dough bread and decided to post how I make my starter. It's really simple if you can be patient. It can take a week or more for your starter to be ready for use.
If you bake quite often and use yeast then your starter with ripen quickly as the starter will pick up the micro flora that is roaming in your kitchen air. If you are a novice it might take a little longer.

Day 1

You need to use a non-reactive bowl. I use a glass storage bowl to start and will later move my starter to a plastic ice cream bucket. You need a lid but you will not be tightly sealing the lid.
The molasses is a starter food source for the starter. Yes, you need rye flour. Don't fret if you end up with extra rye flour, in the event you had to buy a 5 lb bag of the stuff. I will show you a yummy and easy way to make deli style rye bread soon.

In your bowl combine the following:

1/2 C warm water
1/8 tsp molasses
3/4 C rye flour

Stir these things up and place lid on bowl but make sure it is loose. Place your starter in a warm area to start working for 24 hours.
This can be difficult in the winter. I usually use an electric heat pad with a kitchen towel wrapped around it and place my bowl on top. This year, however, my heat pad is in the garage under old towels for the cats to sleep on and stay warm. I actually went to shop for a new heat pad but the new ones have automatic 2 hour shut off. Bummer.

What I have decided to do, and is working great, is I place the bowl in my oven on the top rack and turn the oven light on. This light keeps the temperature about perfect for the starter, 70-80 degrees.

So this is all you do for the first day. I will be back tomorrow to tell you what to do for Day 2.

*****The mixture is ready to be placed in warm area for 24 hours*****

                   
               ***********Your oven light is a warm source for your starter************



See you tomorrow!!!