Why do you need to build up a sourdough starter?
Throughout my books on sourdough, and when I teach people to bake sourdough at The Sourdough School, I use more descriptive terms to help bakers understand how to make the healthiest and most delicious bread. By making it clear what stage the starter is at, you really transform people’s understanding of sourdough, making it clear that starters have a lifecycle. The first build starter is when you get your starter out from the fridge after a period of being dormant and wake it up by refreshing it. You can learn more about the ingredients and kits you need here.
When you first create a sourdough starter, you’re essentially cultivating a community of wild yeast and beneficial bacteria from the flour and water. This starter is what gives your sourdough bread its rise and distinctive flavour. However, a freshly mixed starter isn’t immediately ready for baking; it needs time and regular feedings, which we call “refreshments,” to become strong and active.
What is a Starter Refreshment?
A starter refreshment is simply feeding your starter with fresh flour and water. When you do this, you’re providing the yeast and bacteria with new food (the flour) and hydration (the water), which encourages them to grow and multiply. The more they grow, the more bubbles and activity you’ll see in your starter, and the better it will perform in your bread dough.
The First Build: Why It’s Important
When you refresh your starter for the first time after it has been sitting in the fridge or has been inactive, the yeast and bacteria are likely a bit sluggish. They’ve used up most of the available food, and their activity level has decreased. This first refreshment is about waking them up and getting them back to work. However, after just one refreshment, the starter is often not yet at full strength. The yeast and bacteria haven’t had enough time to multiply to the levels needed for making a robust dough, especially for more complex breads like a boule.
What Happens After the First Refreshment?
After the first refreshment, your starter will start to become more active, but it might still be a bit weak. You’ll see some bubbles forming, and it may begin to rise slightly. This is a sign that the yeast and bacteria are starting to wake up, but they’re not yet in full swing. If you were to bake with it at this stage, you might get a decent result for a simpler bread, like a tin loaf, where you don’t need as much leavening power. A tin loaf is more forgiving because it’s baked in a supportive tin, which helps hold the shape, even if the dough isn’t as strong.
However, for breads that require more strength, like a boule, where the dough needs to hold its shape without support, the yeast and microbes need to be in larger numbers. This is where a second refreshment comes in. By feeding your starter again, you give these organisms more food and time to multiply further, increasing their activity and strength.
Why Multiple Refreshments Matter
Each refreshment builds up the population of yeast and beneficial bacteria in your starter. After the first refreshment, the starter is often still on the weaker side. With a second or even third refreshment, the yeast and bacteria multiply further, creating a much more vigorous starter. This stronger starter is what gives you the airy crumb and complex flavour in breads like a boule, which require more rise and structure.
Using Your Starter at Different Stages
So, while a first build starter can be used for a simpler bread like a tin loaf, it’s often not yet strong enough for more demanding bakes.
What should I do with my starter between bakes?
When you’re not baking, you can store your starter in the fridge. The cold temperature slows down the activity of the yeast and bacteria, meaning you don’t need to feed it every day. However, before you bake again, you’ll need to take it out of the fridge and give it one or more refreshments to bring it back to full strength.
At this stage having refreshed your starter once you can then use that starter to continue with a second starter refreshment, or for example you can use it in our Russian Rye Bread recipe on page 127 of ‘The Sourdough School’ recipe book or our Chocolate Rye Boule recipe on the Sourdough Club.
Please note: when you make our Rye recipes you can use the leftover starter from the 1st build AND the 1st build starter. You may need both to have enough starter for the recipes.
