Recipes / Notebook
Sourdough starter · Notebook transcription · Printable
Sourdough Starter for Keeping and Sharing
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon active dry yeast
- ¾ cup milk
- ¼ cup warm water (105–115°F)
- 1 cup flour
Original notebook directions
- Dissolve yeast in water.
- Stir in milk, then gradually add flour and beat until smooth.
- Cover with a towel and let stand about 24 hours; bubbles will form.
- Stir well, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and let ferment 2–3 days.
- Pour into a glass jar and seal. Store in refrigerator.
- When clear liquid has risen to the top, it is ready. Stir before use.
- Use 1 cup for bread.
- To starter add ¾ cup milk and ¾ cup flour; cover until bubbles form (about 12 hours), then refrigerate.
- Use 1 cup weekly.
Notebook note: If bread volume decreases
Dissolve 1 teaspoon yeast in ¼ cup warm water. Stir in ½ cup milk, ¾ cup flour, and remaining starter.
Recipe history and handling
This is a separate starter from the author's mother's sourdough starter. The recipe includes ongoing feeding instructions and can be portioned to share with others.
Food-handling note: The handwritten method calls for milk-containing batter to stand for multiple days. This is preserved as a notebook record, not a validated food-safety method. For actual preparation, use a tested sourdough-starter process and clean, food-safe containers. Do not use the presence of a clear liquid layer alone as proof a starter is safe.