Slow bread for slow days - the perfect sourdough starter asks only for flour, water, and a little Karoo patience.
There's something fitting about making sourdough out here — it can't be rushed, it rewards a gentle daily ritual, and it turns the simplest ingredients into something alive. All you need is flour, water, a clean glass jar, and about a week.
You'll need:
- Stone-ground wholewheat or rye flour (to get things started)
- White bread flour (for the daily feeds)
- Lukewarm water (filtered or left to stand overnight, as chlorine can slow things down)
- A clean glass jar, loosely covered
Day 1 — Stir together 50 g wholewheat flour and 50 g lukewarm water in your jar until smooth. Cover loosely and leave in a warm spot, out of direct Karoo sun (around 21–26 °C is ideal).
Day 2 — You may see a few bubbles, or nothing yet — both are fine. Discard about half, then feed with 50 g white bread flour and 50 g lukewarm water. Stir well.
Days 3 to 6 — Repeat the same daily ritual: discard half, feed 50 g flour and 50 g water, stir, cover. You'll start to see bubbles rising and catch that lovely tangy, slightly sour smell — the sign that wild yeast is waking up.
Day 5 to 7 — When your starter doubles in size within 4 to 6 hours of feeding and looks light and bubbly, it's ready to bake with. To be sure, drop a teaspoon into a glass of water: if it floats, you're good to go.
A Karoo note: our warm days often wake a starter faster than the recipe books promise, so in the height of summer you may need to feed twice a day. Once your starter is established, simply keep it in the fridge and feed it once a week — a small, steady habit, much like life in the slow lane.
Enjoy, Ruth!