Getting Your Starter Started
The First Day: In a glass jar, soak your dried starter in 2 tbsp (30g) warm water for a 2-3 minutes. Then stir in 1 tbsp (8g) Arva Daisy Hard Unbleached Flour, close jar loosely and store at room temp for 24 hours.
Second Day: Add an additional 1 tbsp (8g) flour, and 1 tbsp (15g) water to the jar. Mix and store for another 24 hours.
The Third Day: Mix in 1 tbsp (8g) of flour and 1 tsp (5g) of water. In the next day or so you should start to see fermentation begin (growth and bubbles).
Once you see fermentation beginning discard half of the jar. Stir in 7 tbsp (100g) tepid water, and 13tbsp (100g) Daisy Unbleached Flour. In the next 12 hours it should produce a good sponge.
Continue to feed the starter every 12 hours by discarding all but 1 Tablespoon of starter and mixing in 7 Tablespoons (100g) of room temperature water and 13 Tablespoons (100g) of flour.
In order to make more starter depending on your recipe, simply add more flour or water to the starter to attain the weight needed for the recipe you are making.
What’s next? Keep feeding! A consistently fed starter is a happy starter. Try mixing in some rye or whole wheat flour to create new recipes.
How do I use it? Once your starter is happy and growing consistently it’s time to find a recipe! There are so many fantastic recipes in books and on the internet. Look for something simple to start, and don’t give up if it’s not perfect the first time! Even if it’s not the picture perfect loaf, keep trying!
Want to store your starter in the fridge? Once your starter is strong and growing consistently, simply feed as usual, place in the fridge for maximum 1 week. Feed the starter as usual weekly, or remove from the fridge and feed every 12 hours for atleast 3 days before using to make bread.