The recipes in this post for Sourdough Seed Culture and Barm come from Peter Reinhart’s book, The Bread Baker’s Apprentice. I’ve had great results with them and have attempted to abbreviate the very detailed instructions as much as I possibly can for you. I highly recommend the book if you really want to geek out on bread! I will follow this post with his Basic San Francisco Sourdough recipe from the same book.
The most difficult thing about cultivating a sourdough seed culture to turn into starter is having the patience to wait for fermentation. If you don’t have a friend to give you a discard of their starter, or if you really just want control of the culture from start to finish, this post is for you. Just know you’re about a week out from slicing into your sourdough bread.
Before we start, here is a list of ingredients and equipment you will need for the Seed Culture, Barm, and Basic San Francisco Sourdough Bread.
- whole rye flour
- bread flour or other high-gluten flour (like whole wheat)
- unsweetened pineapple or orange juice
- salt
- cornmeal or semolina flour (for dusting)
- olive oil
- medium and large mixing bowls (glass, plastic, stoneware, acrylic, stainless steel are all okay, just avoid uncoated metals like copper or aluminum)
- food scale (optional)
- proofing bowls OR sheet pan lined with parchment paper (I use the sheet pan)
- pizza stone OR sheet pan for baking (I have a pizza stone so I use it sometimes, not always.)
- spray bottle for water
- heavy-duty pan to fill with water for steam; should fit on the bottom of the oven
As I’m sure you are well aware, there are many approaches to the art of sourdough. While all you really need is flour and water, the use of the dark rye flour adds a more complex flavor and the acidity from the pineapple or orange juice can speed up fermentation. It is noted in The Bread Baker’s Apprentice to use filtered or spring water if you skip the juice.
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Sourdough Seed Culture
Day One
1 cup (120.5 g) whole wheat or whole rye flour
½ cup (113 g) unsweetened pinapple or orange juice, room temperature (or water)
Day Two
1/2 cup (64 g) bread or other high-gluten flour
1/4 cup (57 g) unsweetened pineapple or orange juice, room-temp
Day Three
11/2 cup (113 g) water, room-temp
cup (128 g) bread or other high-gluten flour
Barm aka Mother Starter
2 cups (255 g) bread flour or other high-gluten flour (such as whole wheat)
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (255 g) water, room temp
1 cup (198 g) seed culture
NOTE: If you have a food scale, measuring in grams will give you the most accurate result. It’s not totally necessary, but I’m in the habit of weighing ingredients so that’s what you’ll see in photos.
Day 1 Instructions:
Mix the flour and juice together until it forms a very sticky dough, making sure the flour is completely hydrated. Press the dough into a 4-cup measuring beaker, cover and mark the top with tape as shown. Let it sit at room temperatre for 24 hours. Don’t expect it to rise much, if at all.
Day 2 Instructions:
Add the bread flour and juice or water to yesterday’s seed culture. (The dough is very sticky and I found using two spoons made it easier to scrape off excess and fully combine the mixture.) Press the dough down and spread it as evenly as possible. Cover, repostion the tape, and let it sit at room temperature for 24 hours.
Day 3 Instructions:
This is the final feeding of the seed culture. The next step is the barm, aka mother starter. You will develop that in the next 2 – 4 days, depending on how your seed culture behaves.
Discard half of the seed culture (eyeball it) or give it to a friend to cultivate. Place the remaining half in a clean mixing bowl. Add the water and stir until smooth, then stir in the flour, making sure it is completely hydrated.
Place the seed culture back into the beaker, cover, and place another piece of tape to mark the top (this is the last time you have to use tape). Let it sit at room temperature for 24 – 72 hours, or until it has risen to 1 ½ – 2 times it’s original size, following the guidelines below.
If there is no noticeable rise after 24 hours, stir it for a couple minutes in a clean bowl, return it to the beaker, and let it sit for 24 hours.
If there is still no noticeable rise, stir it for a couple minutes in a clean bowl, return it to the beaker, and repeat this every 12 hours until it has risen. The stirring is necessary to prevent mold from forming.
Once it is 1 1/2 – 2 times it’s original size, it’s ready to be turned into barm.
Make the Barm
Mix together the 2 cups (255 g) bread flour, 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (255 g) room temp water, and 1 cup (198 g) seed culture until fully combined. Discard the remaining seed culture or give it to a friend to cultivate.
Transfer the barm to a container that is twice as big as the mixture.
Cover the barm tightly with plastic wrap or a plastic lid. Allow it to sit at room temperature for 6 – 8 hours, until it is bubbly. The plastic cover should balloon at this point if it’s on tight. Remove it to release the gas (careful not to breathe it in) then replace it and refrigerate the barm overnight.
It will be ready to use the next day and remain potent for 3 – 5 days, refrigerated. After that, or if you need more than half, you’ll need to refresh it.
Refreshing the Barm
The standard rule for refreshing the barm is to discard half, then double the remaining half with equal parts bread flour and room-temp water. You may triple or quadruple the amount for a less sour tasting dough.
Afer the discard I weigh the remaining barm, add half its weight in flour and half its weight in water, stir and cover. You may be far less precise and eyeball it for a similar result.
Cover and allow the refreshed starter to ferment at room-temp until it becomes bubbly. It’s now ready to use, or you may refrigerate it overnight for a more developed fermentation.
In my experience, the barm may be refrigerated without being refreshed for 3 – 5 days. Refresh it when you take it out to activate. It may also be frozen for a few months, then thawed and brought back to a bubbly starter when refreshed
Discard Ideas
There are many different uses for the discard. My favorite is to give it to a friend so they can have their own starter. I also love to use it to make pancakes, waffles, biscuits, and pizza crust! Sometimes I do simply toss it, but it makes me sad. There are tons of recipes out there, just search sourdough discard and see what comes up. Here’s a good pancake recipe to try.
Patience is a form of wisdom. It demonstrates that we understand and accept the fact that sometimes things must unfold in their own time.
-Jon Kabat-Zinn
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