Levain Starter
Total Time: 3-4 hours
Makes: 10-12
A levain is the stage between the starter and the bread dough. If you don’t already have your own sourdough starter, ask someone you know or even a local baker to share some of theirs with you. Alternative, check out the many online resources for making your own starter from scratch. Once you have your starter sorted out, you’re ready to feed it and make your levain.
75 g sourdough starter
230 g filtered or mineral water at room temperature
200 g organic strong wholemeal rye flour
A levain is the stage between the starter and the bread dough. If you don’t already have your own sourdough starter, ask someone you know or even a local baker to share some of theirs with you. Alternative, check out the many online resources for making your own starter from scratch. Once you have your starter sorted out, you’re ready to feed it and make your levain.
- Place 75 grams of sourdough starter in a large glass mixing bowl and stir in the water and flour and mix to a thick paste.
- Cover the bowl with cling wrap and set aside at room temperature for at least 4 – 8 hours. By this time, you should start to see a lot of bubbles through the glass. This shows it is ready to bake with. The levain will remain active for up to 3 days at room temperature.
- At this point take out 75 grams of your starter and place this in the refrigerator to use as the starter for your next batch of levain and flatbread.
Recipe @jules_mckie for The Australian Superfood Co. Styling & photography @jules_mckie