Everybody loves bread, delicious, soft, fluffy, crispy bread. We love sandwiches, garlic bread, pizza and many other things that have bread in them. But have you ever wondered what bread they actually made in the olden medieval times. Just so you know they didn't have yeast, which is what most bakers use right now. They made their own yeast, they called it starter. You are probably wondering the taste difference right now. Well let me tell you making your own starter is much better than using Yeast, trust me, you get a interesting flavor. In medieval times, the actually didn't have plates like you see in movies they did have goblets, yes, but they ate with their hands and used bread as their hands. They liked crispy crusted bread that was soft on the inside since it would absorb the flavors of what they were eating. They loved this. But soon the invention of plates overtook and now we use plates because of that. This bread is called Sourdough, if you want a Google definition here it is: "Sourdough bread is made by the fermentation of dough using naturally occurring lactobacilli and yeast. The lactic acid produced by the lactobacilli gives it a more sour taste and improved keeping qualities". Interesting right? Sourdough is so easy to make and it is better than Commercial store bought bread. Come on this journey to me and you will be addicted to baking.

Supplies

STARTER Ingredients

To Begin Your Starter:

- 1 Cup Wheat Flour or All-Purpose Flour

- 1/2 or 3/4 Cup Warm/Cool Water

- (OPTIONAL) Yeast

To Feed Your Starter:

- 1/2 Cup Flour and 1/2 Cup Wheat OR 1 Whole Cup Flour or Wheat

- 1/2 Cup Cool Water (if you have a warm house), or Lukewarm Water (if your house is cool)

Step 1: Step 1: Make Your Starter

Day 1: Combine your Starter ingredients in a non-reactive container like Glass, Stainless Steel, Or Food-Grade Plastic. Your starter will grow so make sure you have a bigger container at least 1-quart is recommended. Stir all your ingredients together, it should be gloopy, and not like a dough, make sure there is no dry flour, and cover the container with a cloth and leave it in a warm temperature for 24 hours (room temperature is ok).

PRO TIP: Cover your container with a cloth that was sprayed with water and place in your microwave or oven, with some hot water in some cups. It will create a warm slightly Sauna like environment encouraging your starter to grow, make sure to put the containers on a tray or on a piece of foil to catch any drips that may fall.

Day 2: There might not be any activity for the first 24 hours, or you might see a bit of growth and bubbling. To feed discard half of your starter and add your feeding ingredients of flour and water, stir and let it sit in the environment for 24 hours.

PRO TIP: If you think discarding it is wasteful (which I also think so) instead of discarding half of it, move the half to a different jar or container and feed, now you will have multiple batches, keep doing this for at least 5 days minimum, the batches can last for a long time, and there are 200 year old ones in the shops.

Day 3: By this day you will probably see some bubbling and a fruit like aroma, and some growth. If this happens you now need to feed the starter twice a day, (take care of it like a pet), Space your schedule evenly , like 7 in the morning and 7 in the night. keep feeding the same amount and keep splitting or discarding your starter, mix and keep in your environment.

PRO TIP: If you don't want to wait and you want instant starter add yeast to your starter ingredients,

Day 4: Half your starter or discard it, you starter should have doubled in volume ad there should be lots of bubbles, and also finer bubbles, it should have a tangy or sour aroma, and it should be "pleasingly acidic", but it is not overpowering or strong. If your starter didn't rise, discard, and separate and feed until you see this happening, as long as necessary.

Day 5: Repeat the steps and keep feeding as long as you need, to store it for a long time, put in the fridge with a lid on the container.

Step 2: Step 2: Making Your Dough

PLEASE NOTE DO THIS ONLY AFTER YOUR STARTER IS READY:

ULTIMATE STARTER:

- 1.5 Cups Flour/Wheat

- 1/2 Cup Water

- 2 Tablespoons of Starter.

DOUGH:

- 1 1/4 Cups Flour

- 1 1/4 Cups Wheat

- 3/4 Cups Water

- 1 Teaspoon Yeast

- 1 1/2 Teaspoon Salt

- Whatever Seasonings Or Flavor You Would Want

INSTRUCTIONS:

- To Make The Starter: Mix all the starter ingredients in a bowl and cover and let it sit for 14 to 16 hours

- To Make The Dough: Add the Dough ingredients and mix and knead for 5 minutes, the dough should look shaggy and shouldn't look smooth and kneaded.

- Cover the dough and let it rest for 30 to 45 minutes, do not let it rise too much

- Once the time is done, deflate the dough, and make it into a ball, and put it in a baking bowl or sheet on a greased tray or on parchment paper.

- Cover the loaf with a cloth or paper towel for 50-60 minutes in a warm place and let it rise

- Preheat the oven to 450 Degrees Fahrenheit

- Take the cloth off the bowl and look at your dough, take a knife and scratch it slightly or use scissors and make marks, do not go in deeply, 1/4 inch should be maximum, this is the marks you see on store bought bread, this will allow for expansion.

- Bake the bread for 15 minutes, then lower the temperature to 425 Degrees Fahrenheit, and continue baking it for 20-30 minutes to make your crust golden.

- Take the loaf from the oven after, 5 minutes of it being off and let it cool. Rest the bread for at least 24 hours for best quality before slicing.

- You can store the bread at room temperature , and loosely wrap it for 5 days for storage.