Sourdough Bread Starter

[LudlowStreet]

MN help me!
I've been given a sourdough starter in a jam jar. I just want to make some sourdough bread and have some starter left for the next loaf.
I've looked online for a recipe but after wadding through so many websites with nonsense lifestyle shit and no sign of the promised sourdough bread recipe with a simple flowchart I've given up.
Please MN, what's the recipe?

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Now mix?

Honestly, just bin it and buy sourdough bread. The starter will haunt you for life. When you go on holiday you will need a kind neighbour to come in and feed it for you ( like you would for the cat), or some people take their starter on holiday with them.
Release yourself now.

Lol at Hydrangea58's post 😅

Happy baking, Op.
When it works, it's great.

I added a bit of water as well, so I now have this.

So I didn't weigh the flour, I just chucked some in, maybe about 250g and an egg cup of water. It's now on the kitchen counter covered with a teatowel.

I'm not quite sure what you're trying to make TBH but those quantities aren't going to make you a loaf of bread. Google a recipe!

Very humorous but you can leave a starter in the fridge for quite a while and then bring it back to life!

I make it every week, I find it very easy as I use a no-knead method -

300g flour (Tesco Finest very strong bread flour)
300g water
350g starter
7g salt

Into a bowl, stirred with a fork to mix, covered, then left for 18 hours. Poured into a pre-heated dutch oven, baked for 45 minutes at 240, the last 10 minutes with the lid off.

Kneading is a short cut. The 18 hours prove develops gluten strings. I use an Alaskan starter from Freshly Fermented: it has some sweetness which gives a lovely balance to the sourness.

I tried Google yesterday, drove me nuts with all the lifestyle shit. Should I add more flour?

I'm going to go back add some more flour water and salt. Should I then put it in the airing cupboard?

I'm not sure if you looked at the link I sent you op, but it gives a good recipe with detailed steps. I'll link the video that goes with the recipe and hopefully it gives a better idea of what you need to do..

Just Googled 'Dutch oven' it's a casserole dish, right? Do I need to flour or grease the inside or anything? And do I cook with lid on?

I figured if I just leave it now I can bake it tomorrow?

I did click on one video, but it was 28 minutes long so didn't watch it.
Maybe I just don't have the patience for sourdough

No you don't, I leave mine in the fridge for weeks at a time without feeding and it always revives perfectly well, it just lies dormant. I have got some in the freezer just in case but have kept going for several years with several long dormant spells so far.

It is like a pet though in that it is a living organism with characteristics of its own and the more time you spend with it the better you get to know it, so you learn and adapt your technique.

I never discard either, if I am reviving it from dormant over a few days it does create quite a lot but then I use it to make crumpets which is easy peasy compared to the yeast versions I've tried. Once in regular use I just use half and then re-feed again to get back to volume, I don't weigh and measure for feeding as I know what works for it by eye now.

I wrote one out, tried and tested but hey ho.

Oh okay, that wasn't mine but no worries. Its only about 5 minutes. I guess it's always there now if you wanted to check it out another time..

The instructions I follow are here -

https://freshlyfermented.co.uk/instructions/fresh-alaskan-sourdough-instructions/

The dutch oven I use is here -

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07B7BB4PY?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title&th=1 It's very expensive but will pay for itself after about 6 months (I used to spend £6.50 a week at the artisan baker).

I think that's the one (sort of) I've been following. It a mixture of them all really.

It's growing!!!!

So plan is, leave it overnight. Then preheat the casserole dish and bake it in the oven (lid on or lid off?).
Do I need to kneed it?

Why on earth didn't you weigh the flour etc? Any type of bread needs exact measurements for it to succeed. You can just throw flour at it and say "oh well" then expect it to work!

Also, do not use a bloody casserole dish! A Dutch oven is cast iron - very different!