Hoshino Natural Leaven Starter

Your utensils and bowls should be sterilized by boiling them in hot water.

You should also prepare a clean jar or container for storing the leaven.

Measure out the ingredients and combine with a spatula or spoon.

At first, it should appear crumbly (with 50 g leaven and 75 g water.)

Wrap the jar in plastic wrap, secure with a rubber band, and poke 5-6 holes in the wrap with a toothpick.

After a full 24 hours at a room temperature of 25C, it should smell fermented.

After a day and 1/2 or 2 days, the bubbles should reduce in size.

If it tastes bitter like beer, it's done.

The starter can now be used, but it stabilizes better if left overnight in the refrigerator.

The completed starter will continue to ferment, so be sure to store it in the refrigerator.

It should be used up within 2 weeks.

Here's a recipe for an oval-shaped pain de campagne.

And one for a pain de campagne using Lys d'Or Campagne, which also uses a ratio of 1.5 times the amount of water to natural leaven.