All-Purpose Starter

Name: All-Purpose Starter
Ingredients: 2 cups filtered or bottled water , heated to 110° to 120°F (just hot to the touch); 1 teaspoon sugar; 1 teaspoon instant yeast; 8 ounces bread flour

Chef

Cookbook

I'm Just Here for More Food

Published by Stewart, Tabori & Chang

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This image courtesy of Joseph DeLeo

This can be used in the construction of just about any yeast bread—strike that—any yeast bread.

NotesWays to keep a starter warm: A screened-in porch in summer would be perfect. If you don’t have one, park the jar under a desk lamp, or wrap a heating pad set to low around the jar, secured with a rubber band or two.

CostInexpensive

Easy

Total Timea day or more

Make Ahead RecipeYes

Dietary Considerationegg-free, halal, kosher, lactose-free, peanut free, soy free, tree nut free, vegetarian

Equipmentblender

Five Ingredients or LessYes

Type of Dishbread, yeast bread

Ingredients

2 cups filtered or bottled water, heated to 110° to 120°F (just hot to the touch)
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon instant yeast
8 ounces bread flour

Instructions

In the carafe of a blender, combine all ingredients. Blend for 10 seconds, or until smooth. Pour the mixture into a clean, quart-sized glass jar. Barely screw on the lid—gasses need to be able to escape. Skip this step and there’ll be broken glass to pick up later.
Stash the jar in a warm (80° to 85°F would be nice) place for 24 hours. Use right away or feed it another cup of warm water mixed with a cup of flour and stash it in the refrigerator. Every time you use a cup of culture, feed the starter a cup of water and flour.