Keeping Sourdough Starter (Updated)

Sourdough Starter

Sour Dough Starter

Stir before the Feeding.

Take 100 gr Starter and 200 gr remaining
Feed with 50g flour and 50 ml of water

Keep at room temperature, use the sourdough starter in three days, otherwise refrigerate until you need it.

I have been keeping my sourdough liquid starter since three months ago.  Now I took it out from the refrigerator, and it looks like this, a whiteish colour on the bottom and with a little black line on top.

It is OK I understood, I stirred it up, and the colour stays creamy white.  And now I let it rest on the kitchen bench.

After stirring thoroughly, it becomes even creamy white. 

Fix the lid and secured tightly7 

Leave it on a bench at room temperature for overnight.

I will bake the bread tomorrow; hopefully, it is going to work.  I must use 100 g of the sourdough liquid, and I must not forget to feed the sourdough to keep it a life.

The starter will remain a life for an average of 3 days after it has been refreshed.
Accordingly, it should be refreshed at 3-day intervals by adding 50 % of its own weight in water and flour.
I will take 100gr for my baking, and I have 200g sourdough starter remaining, so I will feed with 50g plain flour mix with 50g water.
(Based on  Éric Kayser)

It is going to be a fun baking day,  and a fancy bread baking.   I have decided what type of bread I will bake, and it is a mixed nut crown loaf as I am in luck that I have active ingredients at hand.

Mixed Fruit and Nut Crowns
250-275 g mixed fruit and nuts (you could put more-30% of the weight of the dough)
-Raisins, currants, apricots, prunes, pecans, almonds, macadamia nuts, and cashew nuts.
500g all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting
325g water at 20 degrees C
100g liquid sourdough starter
3g dry yeast or 5g fresh yeast
10g salt
30g softened butter


Wish me luck, I need that, but I am looking forward to having a lot of fun in the kitchen, I must start at 12 00 noon enable me to have the fresh bread at 4.30 in the afternoon.  Or start in the morning to have the bread for a late morning tea.

If I could not do it by tomorrow for reasons, so  I shall bake the bread on the following day.

Keeping the sourdough starter well is one of the keys for successful baking bread.  And it stays for a long time, almost forever.

My dream of having a fancy home-baked bread hopefully could be achievable.


How to make the sourdough starter, please look on an older post!


Monday. I decided to bake the bread and started at one o'clock.  It was full-on, especially we both were busy in the morning.  They were baked at six o'clock and tasted at seven.  


And this is the result, I show you the pictures, and I am happy enough, it was a good baking day.  

Freshly Baked
Mixed Fruit and Nut Crowns  Bread

Slices of the Crown Bread

Delicious bread.  This bread is rich but not too sweet, in fact, it needs lots of butter to have.
The good thing is the bread freezes well, a good supply of home-baked bread is always appreciated by the family.

I did not forget to feed the sourdough liquid, and within three days, I could do another baking, or simply keep in the refrigerator for safekeeping.

Feeding the Sourdough Starter

The sourdough starter is staying in the family, and it keeps well for future baking.

The Preparation and The Baking of The Crown Bread.

Chopping the dried fruits and the nuts.  Roasting the nuts, my tip is roast the nut according to how long it takes to bake, do not cook all the nuts at the same time.

Mixed Fruits and Nuts

The Ingredients
Plain flour, sourdough liquid, water. salt, dry yeast, butter

Roasted Nuts, and Chopped

Mixed dried fruits, Chopped.

Mixing the Dough and The Fruits and Nuts

Shape into a ball and place it in a large bowl and cover with a damp cloth
 to proof for 1 hour and 30 minutes

The bread dough was proofed, it's almost double.

Time for shaping, the mixed nut crown should be looking good, there are steps to follow to make the perfect shape.

Cut the ready dough into two.

Now, here two pieces of dough with the same weight.

Roll the dough very lightly, shape into small balls and rest for 15 minutes,
cover the dough with a damp cloth

Working with 1 piece of dough at a time,
use your fingers to make a large hole right through the centre
Working carefully, stretch and pull the dough as evenly as you can to make
the crown larger and larger.

The crown is nicely shaped, now place it on a baking tray,
and lined with baking paper

Cover with a damp cloth and leave to proof for 2 hours

Covering the Crown with the damp cloth to proof as stated above

Baking Time

To bake the sourdough bread has methods, and this method is different from others.  So far, I manage but not perfect just yet.  Particularly the bread does not spit well during baking.

Score the bread,  before putting in the oven splash 20 mil of water on the baking tray
 which is ready there at the bottom of the oven and bake for 18-20 minute.

 Scoring the bread is the skill which required to learn correctly, and I will get there eventually. The steam and the heat will help the process of baking.

Bake in a hot oven at 230 degrees C

Freshly baked mixed fruit and nut crown bread.
Beautiful rustic golden brown look, sadly the scoring did not
do any good but acceptable.

Slice and taste when it is cold.   Keep it in an airtight container to freeze if you wish to.


The recipe based on Éric Kayser.  I learnt a lot from his book and a few changes that I did to the method, and they worked.




Until Next Time
Susy