Instruction manual

Follow these steps in order to bring your Rye's and Shine Sourdough Starter to life and start baking delicious bread in only 2 days.

See our Instagram page for a video of the step by step instructions below:

  1.  Add your Rye's and Shine Sourdough Starter to 2 tbsp of lukewarm water. Allow 10 minutes to dissolve. Stir.
  2. Add 2 tbsp of unbleached flour (white, whole wheat and rye all work!) Stir and loosely cover for 12-24 hours at room temperature.
  3. You may now start to see some small bubbles forming. Add 2 tsp of flour, stir and cover. Leave for 6-18 hours.
  4. Your starter should now start to grow and should be ready! You know your starter is ready when it doubles in size within 12 hours of feeding. If it doesn't double in size yet in 12 hours, it might need another day - move onto step 5.
  5. On a daily basis, discard half of the mixture and replace with 2 parts water and 3 parts flour, by volume, or equal parts flour and water, by weight. This is called "feeding" your starter.
  6. Simply discard half your starter every day and replace it by "feeding" and you can maintain your starter for years!
Some general principles and tips related to maintaining a Sourdough Starter and baking tasty sourdough loaves
  • The more water in the dough, the more holes the bread will have
  • Whole wheat and rye flour have less gluten than white flour will be less stretchy when kneading. Bread using this flour may turn out to be more dense and will require relatively more water than using white flour
  • Consider replacing a portion (ie. 10%) of white flour with some whole wheat or rye flour to add new flavours to your bread
  • The warmer the dough/starter, the fast it will rise
  • If you don't want to feed your starter every day, keeping it in the fridge will slow it down and you'll only need to feed it every 3-5 days
  • Always ensure your starter is bubbly and active before you use it. An inactive starter won't make great bread!
  • Experimentation is key and is part of the fun of baking sourdough. Adjust hydration levels, kneading time, proofing time, cooking time and flour combinations to discover your favourite loaf!