levain – the sourdough starter – the “mother”

to create all kinds of raised French and Italian breads, as well as pizza and other flat breads in this manner, is really a way of life. a commitment to life. ok, enough with the drama! plan to begin 4-5 days prior to pulling your first pain au levain or focaccia bread out of the oven! I love Lindley Mill's North Carolina Organic Bread Flour . Lately I have also been experimenting with making flatbreads with spelt, garbanzo, and barley flours, spurred on by research for my novel ~ so stay tuned for ancient Greek and Roman flatbreads to be featured in our Seasonable Feast Wood-Fired Oven Series. 

Building “the mother” takes 3 days. there, that's easy, right?

day 1

1/2 cup bread flour

1/2 cup water

a pinch of dry yeast

day 2

1/2 cup bread flour

1/2 cup water

day 3

1/2 cup bread flour

1/2 cup water

at the end of this time the mother should have doubled in volume each day. at the end of the third day there should be a network of tiny bubbles and an aroma of pickly-sauerkrautness. that’s good! unless you see cabbage, of course. congratulations, you now have a fully developed levain/mother on your hands. and possibly all over the counter...but the good news is the next part of the process only takes 8 hours, not days.

and then, on day 4 give her one more feeding - a boost of new energy! 

day 4

1/2 cup bread flour

1/2 cup water

stir this all well together and scrape down the sides of the container. 

in eight hours it is ready to use for your bread. reserve 1/2 cup of the levain/mother to continue feeding. here’s how.

feeding the mother

after this last, day 4, of feeding, the mother is ready to use. afterwards store in the fridge.

then once a week, either use 1/2 cup in your recipe or discard 1/2 cup of the starter, feeding it with 1/2 cup bread flour and 1/2 cup water. as Master French Baker Lionel Vatinet of La Farm Bakery, would say, how would you feel if you weren’t fed? use the same amount of ingredients as you did when you were building the levain in the first place. 

if a dark clear liquid forms on top, just stir it in, but if it turns pink, the mother has spoiled. throw it away.