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  • This one I followed but changed the flour to what ever I had. This was nicked from the guardian.

    rhubarb 30g, finely sliced (ideally with a mandoline)
    water 100g
    organic strong white bread flour 50g
    organic wholegrain rye flour 50g
    "The rhubarb has natural yeast and acts as a catalyst to start the fermentation," explains Gellatly. "But people also use grapes, tomatoes or sometimes they put in a bit of yoghurt just to start the process: it's a sure-fire way of getting it right. But I've never had one fail with rhubarb." An accurate set of digital scales is essential.
    Day One

    Place the finely sliced rhubarb in a bowl, then pour on the water and mix the flours so it becomes a thick paste. Leave for 24 hours loosely covered with clingfilm somewhere warm.
    Day Two

    At around the same time the following day, mix in 50g water, 25g strong white flour and 25g rye flour and leave somewhere warm, again loosely covered. "If there's a little bit of skin on top just mix that in," says Gellatly.
    Day Three

    Repeat as day two.
    Day Four

    You should start seeing the beginning of the active fermentation. Then repeat as day three.
    Day Five

    By now, the starter should be bubbling away and smell tangy. Mix it to combine and then pour 30g of the starter into a larger bowl. Pick out any bits of rhubarb and discard, as the rhubarb has done its job, but it should have all broken down by now anyway. Whisk in 125g water and stir in 30g rye flour, 30g strong wholemeal flour and 80g strong white flour until well incorporated, loosely cover and leave in a warm place.
    Discard any leftover starter. "The reason you are doing this is because if you have too much of the original starter in there it will feed on the flour too quickly and it will become dormant by the time you are ready to make bread," says Gellatly. Alternatively, pass it on to someone else to make their own one.
    **Day Six **

    Same as day five.
    Day Seven

    MAKE BREAD! "You can follow whatever sourdough recipe you like," says Gellatly. "One of mine is in The Complete Nose to Tail cookbook, but I'm sure that Paul Hollywood has got one in his book. You can also use the starter in other breads, combined with commercial yeast. So if you wanted a nice sandwich loaf, put some starter in and it will add a nice depth of flavour, some background tanginess. But generally it's for the sourdoughs, the big boys."
    Caring for your starter

    You now have a living, breathing starter – but don't be scared. "It's very robust," Gellatly assures us. After making a loaf, you will need to replenish your starter with half and half flour and water, in equal quantities to the amount that you took out. If you don't plan to make bread for a while, you can freeze your starter, or even better dehydrate it. Alternatively, just begin this process again from scratch.

    I don't throw away the discard I either make pancakes with the left over.

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