How to Prepare Sourdough? How is it fed?

One day, everyone will make sourdough bread :) When we became interested in sourdough years ago, very few people around me had this occupation. Now, the enthusiasm for healthy eating and preparing sourdough recipes is increasing. It is another pleasure to have a leaven prepared by one's own labor and to keep it alive, and to eat the bread prepared with it.

Since you are thinking of embarking on this exciting adventure, welcome aboard. From today you have 10 days to start baking your first bread.
Preparing yeast is not a very difficult process. Since the feeding routine after the 2nd day continues the same, you will develop and mature your yeast just by watching and observing.

Although each sourdough is roughly the same, everyone's bread is different and tastes different. Everyone's yeast is unique. So maybe the pleasure it gives is personal.

When your yeast is ready and you make the first successful bread, it's time to find a name for your sourdough. We are talking about a family member who will live with you for many years and maybe come on holidays with you :) It is customary to give him a name. My yeast's name is Leyla, I'm sure you can find a name you like and give it character.

How to Prepare Sourdough, How to Feed?

The flour we will use should be organic flour if possible. It doesn't matter the brand, you can use folk bread organic whole wheat and white flours as there is always a possibility to find them. Mix 1 kg of organic white flour and 1 kg of organic whole wheat flour in a storage container to use to prepare and feed yeast.

From now on, we will use this mixture of flour when preparing the yeast. The water we use should always be at room temperature.

Keep 2 jars that you will only use for yeast. One stays clean. You use the same jars alternately.

Necessary materials:
• 1 kitchen scale
• 2 Medium size jars
• 1 wooden or bone spoon
• Cd pen or string for marking

The yeast preparation phase is the same from day 2 to day 10. You need to pay attention to always try to feed the yeast at the same time. How do we get hungry at the same time when our eating order is settled, this is it 😊

If you're ready, let's start…

1 days:
• 100 gr mixed flour
• 100 ml of water

2 days:
• 100 gr yeast
• 50 gr mixed flour
• 50 ml of water

3 days:
• 100 gr yeast
• 50 gr mixed flour
• 50 ml of water

……

10 days:
• 100 gr yeast
• 50 gr mixed flour
• 50 ml of water

From day one, your yeast will bubble up day by day. Towards the last days, it will become very sour and its bad smell has decreased, its color will become lighter and more foamy. On the 10th day, our yeast will be ready, but the number of days may increase depending on the ambient temperature. To understand this, you need to see your yeast rise twice.

On the day you feed the yeast, draw a line or tie a string around the yeast level of the jar. When the yeast feeding time comes the next day, if it has doubled in size, our yeast is ready. Even if this double swell is on Day 2, complete Day 2.

How do I store yeast?

Now that our yeast is ready, it can be fed regularly and continue its life. Normally kept at room temperature, yeast should be fed at the same time each day. But since we won't be making bread every day, this only wastes flour and water. Yeast slows down in cooler environments and they consume less flour and water. That's why refrigerators are ideal environments. We can keep our yeast in the refrigerator and feed it at intervals of 4 days.

How do I feed yeast?

The term yeast feeding sounds funny to some, but it's actually just a feeding. They continue their lives by consuming the flour and water you give them. For the yeast feeding process, remove your yeast in the refrigerator and leave it at room temperature for 1 hour so that our slowed yeast can be activated again.

After 1 hour, into a clean jar;
• 100 gr yeast
• 50 gr mixed flour
• 50 ml of water

Mix them all well and leave them at room temperature for 1 hour. Light air bubbles will begin to form. Put it back in the fridge. Your yeast will continue to live happily until the next feeding.

How to feed yeast to make bread? (Pre-yeast preparation)

The sourdough that you will use during the bread making stages is called “Pre-Yeast”. Pre-yeast is fed and raised separately from the yeast you already feed. For pre-yeast, remove your yeast from the refrigerator 1 day before making bread. For 1 bread, we use 500 g of flour and 100 g of yeast. You multiply the following ingredients according to the number of breads you will make.

In a clean jar;
For 500 gr flour;
• 20 gr yeast
• 50 gr mixed flour
• 50 ml of water

With this feeding process, you will have 120 gr pre-yeast. You will use 100 gr of it to make bread. If you do the feeding process around 23:00 at night, your yeast will be ready for use at around 8 am. If sourdough waits for too long, its activity slows down and the bread you make cannot rise very much. That's why you should use your sourdough at its most active time.

I feed the yeast I took out of the refrigerator to prepare the pre-yeast, while I have it ready. Feed it with the normal feeding method and leave it at room temperature for 1 hour, then put it back in the closet.

Water has accumulated on my yeast and it smells bad, what should I do?

Sometimes we neglect our yeast. Well, life is hard, the hustle never ends. In this rush, feeding yeast is sometimes forgotten, and the yeast that runs out of food begins to die slowly. In such a case, less water begins to accumulate on your yeast. The smell is also slightly sharp. He is not dead yet and can be saved. Usually it is necessary to throw it in the trash and prepare new yeast, but before starting this long process again, I tried to save it and was able to save it every time.

Pour the water of the yeast that has accumulated water on it and scrape most of the upper part and throw it away. Put the 20-30 g of the remaining part at the bottom in a clean jar and mix 50 g of flour with 50 ml of water and leave it until the next day.

If your yeast has risen and the sharpness of its smell has decreased, take 30 g of yeast and feed 50 g of the mixture with 50 ml of water and throw the rest away. Feed this way for 1 more day. Do not put the yeast in the refrigerator during this process. Feed outside for 3 days.

At the end of the 3rd day, if your yeast has regained its health, swelled 2 times and its smell is as clean as before, congratulations, your yeast has not died. We put it in the refrigerator again and let it continue with its life, never to neglect it again.

If you still do not like it, if you smell bad, if it does not rise as you want, the yeast is spoiled. Roll up your sleeves to throw it all away and prepare new yeast.

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