How to Make a Sourdough Starter
Make a sourdough starter from scratch with just flour and water. In just a few weeks, natural yeasts and bacteria will create a thriving sourdough starter culture. With regular feeding, it will last for years, ready to bake delicious sourdough bread.
Servings: 1 sourdough starter
Equipment
- 2 16 oz clear jars with wide mouth and lid
- rubber band or dry erase marker
- sourdough starter worksheet optional
Ingredients
- whole wheat flour or rye flour, see recipe notes
- all-purpose flour or bread flour, see recipe notes
- filtered or bottled water see recipe notes
Instructions
Day 1
- Place a clean jar on the kitchen scale. Tare the scale to zero. Pour 50 grams of whole wheat flour and 50 grams of all-purpose flour into the jar. Add 125 grams warm (80-90ºF) filtered water. Stir well until the flour and water are incorporated. Use a dry erase marker or rubber band to mark the jar at the point the starter has been mixed. Cover lightly with the lid (don't screw the top on tightly) and store in a dark, warm (76-78º F) place for 24 hours.
Day 2 & 3
- After 24 hours, check on the starter. You may or may not see any signs of fermentation or activity. If you see nothing, let the starter sit for another 12-24 hours before moving on to day 2 & 3.
- Place a new/clean jar on the scale. Tare the scale to zero. Add 75 grams of the fermented mixture to the jar. Discard the rest (throw it away). Add 50 grams whole wheat flour and 50 grams all-purpose flour to the jar. Add 115 grams warm (80ºF) water to the jar. Stir well until the mixture is combined and mark with the rubber band/dry-erase marker. Cover loosely and let rest in a dark, warm place for another 24 hours.
- After 24 hours, check on the starter. This is day 3. Repeat the steps from day 2, adding 75 grams of the fermented mixture to a new clean jar along with 50 grams whole wheat flour, 50 grams all-purpose flour and 115 grams warm water. Stir together until combined. Cover and rest. in a dark, warm place for another 24 hours.Note: It is possible you will see a surge of activity on day 2 or 3 that drops off to nothing in the days after. This is normal (though it doesn't happen to everyone) as the bacteria/wild yeast are culturing. Your starter is not ready yet. Just keep feeding it.
Day 4
- Mix down the starter in the jar with a small spatula. Place a clean jar on the kitchen scale. Tare the scale to zero. Add 30 grams of the stirred-down mixture (starter) to the new jar. Discard the rest. Add 50 grams whole wheat flour and 50 grams all-purpose flour to the jar. Add 100 grams warm (80ºF) filtered water to the mixture. Stir together with a spatula. Mark the jar with a rubber band to watch for growth. Cover loosely and store the jar in a warm 78-80ºF place for 24 hours.
Day 5 and Onward Until Sourdough Starter is rising and falling predictably - multiple days in a row
- Repeat the steps of Day 4, placing 30 grams of the fermented mixture in a jar with 50 grams whole wheat flour and 50 grams all-purpose flour and 100 grams bottled water and stirring together until your sourdough starter is rising and falling predictably. Note: Creating a sourdough starter from scratch often takes 2-3 weeks of feeding until the wild yeast and bacteria are cultured and working together to be able to raise a loaf of bread.
After 2-3 Weeks
- During the First Week: You may notice some very pungent smells coming from your sourdough starter. That can be normal (depending on your environment and the flour you are using). You may also notice some bubbles and the starter becoming more runny shortly before the starter is ready to be fed.During the Second Week: Often during the second week you will start to notice very small rising taking place (this is where marking the jar comes in handy). Take note of the rhythm it starts to develop or rising and falling. If your starter seems to be producing a lot of liquid or smelling of acetone before you feed your starter during this time, you may want to move to feeding twice a day as your starter is showing signs that it needs to be fed again.Some starters will double in size by the end of the second week. Judge the percent rise based on where you marked the jar with your rubber band. Once your starter is doubling in size after every feeding a few days in a row, it can be used to make a loaf of bread.During the Third Week: Do not be alarmed if your starter takes a 3rd week to become fully active. Sometimes we skip a day and sometimes our temperature or environment play more of a factor than we realize. Continue feeding your sourdough starter and watching for any signs of rising or falling. If you aren't watching closely, this could happen during the daytime and by the time you get to your starter in the evening, it has already fallen back down.
Starter is Ready to Use
- You will know your sourdough starter is ready to use when it doubles in size, predictably after every feeding. It will have bubbles throughout the jar and a mild/milky aroma when it hits that peaked/doubled height. As your starter falls back down, it will smell more acidic, and that is your cue to feed it again.Note: Once your starter is predictably doubling in size, you can transition it over to feeding it only all-purpose or bread flour if desired. I like to gradually make this switch by decreasing the amount of whole wheat flour and increasing the amount of all-purpose flour over a couple of days.
Video
Notes
Sourdough Starter Worksheet: I like to use this starter worksheet to make notes of feeding times, temperatures and any other things you may be noticing with your sourdough starter to help the process.
Speed Up the Process: If you want to speed up the process and are seeing some bubbles, excess liquid on the starter or small signs of activity, you can begin refreshing your starter twice a day - once in the morning and once in the evening.
Whole Wheat and Rye Flour: Wild yeast is particularly attracted to whole wheat and rye flours because of the microorganisms that are present in these flours. If you can get your hands on rye flour, it is particularly effective and will make the process move faster. Do not try to use only all-purpose or bread flour or the process of making a starter will move much more slowly.
All-Purpose or Bread Flour: Having a balance of whole wheat and white flour in your starter gives you the best properties of each type of flour. Whole grains produce increased yeast activity and white flour increases extensibility and helps promote a balanced flavor.
Filtered or bottled water : Using filtered or bottled water is important when creating a sourdough starter. Tap water will sometimes have small amounts of chlorine or chloramine in it. This is not good for creating a sourdough starter. Once you've established your starter (meaning it is predictably rising/falling/floating in water at peak), you can switch over to non-chlorinated tap water.
A Few Helpful Hints:
- Creating a starter from scratch is a long process. Plan for 2-3 weeks at MINIMUM of daily feeding a starter. It doesn’t take much time, but it does take consistency.
- Choose the same time every day to feed your starter (give or take a few hours). If you forget to feed it, feed it when you remember.
- Sourdough is very temperature-dependent. Keep your starter as close to 78-80ºF as possible throughout the process and use your thermometer to check.
- Throw away all the “discard” your starter produces while you are creating a starter from scratch. The levels of wild yeast and bacteria are not good for eating yet. When your starter is predictably rising/falling and repeats the same behavior a few days in a row, you can now use the discard in discard specific recipes.
- If you ever see pink/orange or fuzz, that is mold. Mold spores cannot be removed from a starter through feeding. Unfortunately, you will need to start the process over.
