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Showing items 1 to 3 of 6

Showing items 1 to 3 of 3

Rye sourdough bread load with a poached egg
Rye sourdough bread
A star rating of 4.7 out of 5.21 ratings

This basic all-rye sourdough loaf has a deep malty flavour which works well with smoked fish or cured meats. Rye has less gluten than wheat so requires a slightly different technique

Sourdough starter kit
Sourdough starter kit
A star rating of 3.4 out of 5.5 ratings

For the keen baker, why not give the gift of a sourdough recipe kit? Fill a jar with everything they need and add the final flourishes to make it Christmas ready

Jar of sourdough starter
Sourdough starter
A star rating of 4 out of 5.52 ratings

Learn how to make a bubbling sourdough starter using white bread flour and water. After feeding the starter for five days, you can use it to make a sourdough loaf

  • 250g wholemeal rye flour
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    Method

    • step 1

      Day 1: To begin your starter, mix 50g flour with 50g tepid water in a jar or, better still, a plastic container. Make sure all the flour is incorporated and leave, covered with a tea towel, at room temperature for 24 hrs.

    • step 2

      Day 2: Mix 25g flour with 25g tepid water and stir into yesterday’s mixture. Make sure all the flour is incorporated and leave, covered with a tea towel, at room temperature for 24 hrs.

    • step 3

      Day 3: Today you might see a few small bubbles forming and the mixture should smell grassy and a little acidic. Mix 25g flour with 25g tepid water and stir into yesterday’s mixture. Make sure all the flour is incorporated and leave, covered with a tea towel, at room temperature for 24 hrs.

    • step 4

      Day 4: More bubbles should have appeared today and the mixture should smell of yeasty beer. Mix 25g flour with 25g tepid water and stir into yesterday’s mixture. Make sure all the flour is incorporated and leave, covered with a tea towel, at room temperature for 24 hrs.

    • step 5

      Day 5: Fermentation should have set in now and the mixture might be ready to use. If a teaspoon of the starter floats in warm water, it’s ready. If not, mix 25g flour with 25g tepid water and stir into yesterday’s mixture. Make sure all the flour is incorporated and leave covered, with a tea towel, at room temperature for 24 hrs.

    • step 6

      Day 6: The mix should be really bubbly and be giving off a strong smell of alcohol. Test in the same way as yesterday. If it’s not ready, continue mixing 25g flour with 25g tepid water into the mixture daily until it becomes active.
      If your jar is becoming full, spoon half the mix out of the jar and continue.
      You now have rye starter, which is a malty flavoured base to sourdough bread. Keep it in the fridge (it will stay dormant) and 12 hrs before you want to use it, spoon half of it off and feed it with 100g flour and 100g water. Leave it at room temperature and it should become active again. The longer the starter has been dormant, the more times it will need to be refreshed – the process of pouring off half the starter and replacing it with new flour and water – to reactivate.
      Use the starter to make rye sourdough bread.

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    Comments, questions and tips (7)

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    Overall rating

    A star rating of 3.9 out of 5.11 ratings

    tomaszYabede

    question

    Rye Sourdough Starter in Other Bread Recipes

    I have been using your rye sourdough starter recipe, and I’m very pleased with the results. I would like to ask if this starter can be used in other bread recipes, such as rolls or different types of loaves. Are there any specific adjustments I should…

    eleanorjohnstone

    Do you put the starter in an airtight container and cover with a tea towel or in a container with no lid and cover with a tea towel? When I came back to it after covering with a tea towel only, it had all dried out

    Andrea Coulson

    question

    Can I gradually change my current white sourdough starter into a rye starter by feeding it with rye flour instead of white or do I need to start from scratch? I wondered about trust with some discard?

    68cxky2sqx70941

    I have. It takes a little longer but still works. I did it over a week.

    Sheila Duncan Smith

    I'm pretty sure this is not the same starter recipe that used to be on here. I couldn't get on with this new recipe at all. I ended up with a jar full of spent flour. You are better to start with half the amount of flour and discard at least a couple of tablespoons after four days, so that most of…

    Nina.wow

    This was the first recipe I read for a sourdough starter, which did not work out. I since discovered that you are supposed to discard some of the starter each day which isn't mentioned here.

    Also I am not sure why this recipe says a plastic tub is preferable?

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