Are you ready to take the plunge and bake your own sourdough bread? With just two ingredients and a pinch of patience, you can have your own sourdough starter in a week’s time that’s ready to bake sourdough bread, biscuits, pizza crust, and so many tasty sourdough recipes.
If you have the desire to create your own starter, you’ve come to the right place! Starting a sourdough starter from scratch can seem so intimidating. I remember when I first started reading about sourdough there were so many terms, gadgets, and schedules revolving around the whole process. I was straight-up overwhelmed.
But if you don’t recall, we are called Simplicity and a Starter here. So, it is my mission to offer some simplicity when it comes to making your very own sourdough starter.
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What is Sourdough?
Sourdough is a slow-fermented food. When you use sourdough starter in long-fermented recipes like sourdough bread, pizza dough, or cake, for example, a sourdough starter will break down the phytic acid naturally found in wheat. During this process, carbon dioxide will be produced, creating all of those lovely bubbles you see in sourdough starters.
The CO2 will naturally leaven the dough during fermentation. This creates that light and fluffy texture we all love about bread and baked goods.
What is a Sourdough Starter?
At its very basic level, a sourdough starter is a natural leavening agent made up of a culture of natural yeast and bacteria.
Natural yeast can be found in our flour and in the air all around us. When you mix dry flour and water together over and over again, bacteria and wild yeast will begin to grow and get stronger.
And when the yeast, or sourdough starter is strong enough, it can be used to naturally leaven our bread. How incredible is that?!
Why bake with Sourdough?
There are different reasons that many home bakers prefer to bake with an active sourdough starter rather than commercial yeast, but three stand out: flavor, health, and pure enjoyment.
Flavor:
Unlike many bread products you will find in the grocery store, sourdough bread has a signature tang that is full of rich flavor. This is due to the fermentation process.
Once you take that first bit of sourdough, don’t be surprised if you can’t ever go back to ordinary bread.
Health:
During the long fermentation process, your sourdough starter will feed on the flour (yes, like a living thing!), specifically breaking down the phytic acid naturally found in flour.
This makes digesting sourdough bread a much easier process. Many with gluten intolerances, except those with celiac, are able to enjoy sourdough bread because of this reason.
Pure Enjoyment:
Lastly, there is just something so fulfilling and magical about making sourdough bread from scratch. It is wild witnessing two very basic ingredients, flour and water, become the catalyst of your delicious and beautiful bakes.
There is something comforting about the whole process. Mixing, stretching, and seeing the dough rise from start to finish. Making sourdough forces you to step away from the hustle and bustle of your life and purposefully slow down. It’s a step into the past as we practice passed-down traditions.
Baking with sourdough has captivated my heart and I hope it will yours as well.
All About the Tools:
Jars: Before any ingredients are mixed, it is important to decide on a home for your starter. Weck Jars are quite popular within the sourdough community, but many also love mason jars or even an emptied and cleaned RAO’s marinara jar.
For best results use a glass jar. It is easy to sanitize and the glass won’t contaminate your sourdough starter.
I personally have two preferred jars for my sourdough starter. One is a bail lid jar and the other is a wide-mouth mason jar with a reusable wood suction lid. Both of these have wide mouths on top which makes it so much easier to thoroughly mix my sourdough starter.
Mixing Tool: A kitchen spoon or rubber spatula will do the trick. Some of my sourdough-baking friends also like using a wooden spatula like this. Ultimately you want something that will reach all of the flour when mixing and is easy to clean.
Kitchen scale: Now hear me out. I remember when I first was about to start my sourdough journey and my sister-in-law told me to buy a kitchen scale. Immediately I asked, “Is that necessary?” Now on the other side and with years of experience, I can tell you with confidence that it is.
Many of us are accustomed to measuring by volume with our measuring cups and spoons, so imagining having to use a kitchen scale seems out of our comfort zone.
The thing is, measuring by volume isn’t a consistent way to measure. My grandma was always a stickler about reminding me to spoon flour into my measuring spoons and level it with a knife. Other times I would just dunk and pack my flour in a measuring cup. Both were considered a “cup” of flour, but they would in fact be two different amounts.
When using a kitchen scale, you are given accuracy in your baking.
In hopes of further convincing you, kitchen scales are such a cheap investment! I bought this reasonably priced kitchen scale on Amazon and it has been trustworthy ever since.
Rubber band: Whether it’s a rubber band, a hair tie, or some people will even use a sharpie on the outside of their class jar, these are all ways to help see the growth of your sourdough starter. Before you can bake any sourdough treat, your starter must double in size.
Place the rubber band at the height of your sourdough starter after you’ve just fed it and track how much it rises throughout the day.
All About the Ingredients:
Flour: Before baking sourdough bread, I had no clue there were so many different types of flours! I mean, I’ve walked down the grocery aisles plenty, but I could have only named white flour and whole-grain flour. Let’s just say I’m a little more well-versed now.
So which type of flour is the best flour? This can be somewhat up for personal preference based on cost and availability. Some will only use organic flours, while some never do.
At the very minimum, you want to select a flour with high gluten content, like rye flour or whole grain flour. These higher gluten-content flours have more natural bacteria present which will jump-start the development of your natural yeast cultures in your starter.
I actually did an experiment of making 3 sourdough starters – one with rye flour, one with whole wheat, and one with unbleached all-purpose flour. All starters eventually took and baked bread, but my rye flour starter was the most active starter of the three.
On day 3, you will switch over to feeding your starter either unbleached bread flour or unbleached all-purpose flour.
Lastly, make sure to use new flour. Many are unaware that flour does expire, so start with fresh flour for sourdough success.
Water: Now there has been debate in the sourdough community whether it matters what type of water to feed your starter. Some are in the camp for only filtered water, while others are in the camp for tap water.
I suggest no matter what start with filtered water. Tap water can be chlorinated which can kill a young sourdough starter. Once you have built a strong starter, then you may experiment with tap water and see how your own starter reacts.
I use filtered water from my fridge, but before I would buy a gallon from the store. Super cheap option!
Lastly, a sourdough starter does best in a warm environment. That being said, it also loves being fed with lukewarm water, but NOT boiling. Too hot of water can kill your starter. I suggest keeping some filtered water in your pantry or on your counter at room temperature.
How to Make a Sourdough Starter from Scratch: Daily Schedule
Sourdough Starter Recipe
Day 1:
On the first day, grab your kitchen scale and weigh out your clean jar of choice. First things first, it is important to note how much your jar weighs before adding your first ingredients as it will be helpful information throughout the sourdough starter-making process.
Next, add 60g (1/2 cup) of organic rye flour or whole wheat flour and 60g (1/4 cup) of room-temperature, filtered water to your jar.
Stir until all of the flour and water has been incorporated. Be sure to scrape all of the sides so that no flour is left behind. The consistency should be thick, like pancake batter, almost pasty.
Cover with a tea towel, plastic wrap, or a loose canning lid. You want to make sure that you cover the sourdough starter to prevent extra bacteria or insects from getting into your starter, but you also want to cover it loosely to allow CO2 to escape.
Leave your starter in a warm spot for 24hrs.
Day 2:
The next day, scan your sourdough starter for signs of fermentation. You might notice small bubbles on top and throughout your homemade sourdough starter. That is a sign that the fermentation process has begun! If you do not see any bubbles, that is okay. The tiny bubbles may have come and gone while you were sleeping.
Keep your sourdough starter covered and in a warm place for another 24 hours.
Day 3:
Today will be the first time you will feed your sourdough starter. To do so, you will need your kitchen scale, organic all-purpose flour or white bread flour, and room-temperature, filtered water. Weigh your sourdough starter and discard half of the new starter (about 60g).
Believe me, I’m not too fond of waste, but this is necessary in order to cultivate a healthy starter. In a few days, you will be able to use and save that discard for yummy recipes like sourdough pancakes or banana bars. But for now, discard half of the starter. Trust the process.
Mix equal parts water and flour (60g of each) into your jar and mix thoroughly with your remaining starter. Again, the texture will be thick and pasty, a little bit like peanut butter. Add more water if necessary.
Cover loosely and leave in a warm spot for another 24 hours.
Days 4-6:
For the next couple of days, repeat the exact same process described on Day 3. You will start to notice more activity from your sourdough starter. Place a rubber band on the outside of the jar to track how much it grows each day.
Feed the starter again when you noticed it has fallen back to its mixing height. Depending on the temperature of your environment and the ingredients used, this could mean 1-2 feedings a day.
Something you might notice during the next few days is a dark and pungent-smelling liquid on top of your sourdough starter. Don’t be alarmed, your starter is not ruined. This is known as hooch and it is a sign that your starter is hungry.
If you have brown liquid, or hooch, on top, you have two options. You can either remove the dark liquid or stir it in your starter. Some prefer stirring in the hooch to add a more sour flavor to their dough. I go back and forth. You choose!
Day 7:
Now you should begin to notice that your starter is rising at least double its size with plenty of bubbles on top and throughout. The texture should look light and puffy, but not runny. A bubbly and active sourdough stater’s aroma should be pleasantly sweet and yeast-smelling, not sour or like gym socks.
When all of these clues are present, you are ready to bake bread!
If not, don’t worry. It is quite common for some starters to need more time to develop a strong culture of bacteria. Continue to discard and feed your starter for another few days up to two weeks. Whatever you do, don’t give up.
Is My Sourdough Starter Ready?
The infamous question for every beginner sourdough baker….”How do I know if my starter is ready?”
What makes this question so frustrating is there is no exact timeframe for when a starter is ready to use. Instead, you will gauge if a sourdough starter is ready to use by some telltale signs. This sounds intimidating at first, but trust me, the more you practice and bake with sourdough, your confidence will grow as you grow to know your starter.
Here are some go-to signs of what an active starter will look like:
- The starter has doubled in size (I track this growth by putting a rubber band on the outside of my jar)
- You can see plenty of bubbles on top and all throughout the starter. Some may be small or large, either is great a sign!
- Your starter has a pleasant yeasty smell to it, not super sour or pungent.
If all of these are present, then your starter should be all set to bake homemade bread!
If you are still a bit unsure, one test that I have used in the past is the float test. To do so, fill a drinking glass with lukewarm water and drop a spoonful of your sourdough starter in the cup. If your starter floats, it is ready to use! If it sinks to the bottom of the cup, then allow your starter more time to ferment.
Troubleshooting:
Temperature:
Sourdough starters are huge fans of warm environments. When placed in a warm location, around 70 degrees, sourdough starters will feast on the flour and water and double in size quickly.
If your home tends to be on the cooler side, you might want to place your starter near a fridge or in a cabinet. Another good way to create a warm location for your starter is to place it in your OFF oven with the oven light on.
Now be careful with this practice, because many of the starters have accidentally been forgotten about and burnt to a crisp. It would be a good idea to put a sticky note on the oven reminding you it’s in there before preheating!
Ratio:
If you read about sourdough long enough, you will hear about hydration levels. This is another way of communicating the amounts of flour and water in your starter. The most common starter ratio is a 1:1 ratio, meaning equal amounts of flour, water, and starter.
Quick glance:
- 60 grams of flour or 1/2 cup of flour
- 60 grams of water or 1/4 cup of water
- 60 grams of starter or 3 heaping Tablespoons
How to Feed and Maintain Your Sourdough Starter:
You made it through the entire process of developing your own bubbly starter, but you’re wondering, “Now what?”
Maintaining your sourdough starter to survive and thrive for years to come is quite simple. There are two main practices.
Refrigerator:
If you are someone who might want to try a new bread recipe once a week, I suggest you place your starter in the refrigerator. Being in a chilled environment will slow down the feeding process of the starter. This way you will only need to feed it once every week or every two weeks.
For example, if I want to make a loaf of bread on Thursday evening, I will pull my sourdough starter out of the fridge that morning and feed it. Throughout the day it will warm to room temperature and become bubbly and active again just in time for me to make my bread dough that evening.
Once I’ve used the needed amount of starter, I will discard until I have 30 grams of starter (save the discard for yummy discard recipes like Sourdough Discard Banana Bars with Vanilla Glaze or Sourdough Blueberry Buckle) and feed it the same amount of flour and water. Mix it all up and put it back in the fridge.
Countertop:
Now if you plan on making sourdough treats more often, keeping your sourdough starter on the kitchen counter may be a better option for you.
Since the starter will be kept at room temperature, it will feed on the flour much faster than the sourdough starter in the fridge. Therefore, you will need to feed your starter more frequently – typically every 12-24 hours. Keep it covered loosely and in a location with ambient temperature.
How to Use Your Sourdough Starter:
Here are some of my favorite beginner recipes for sourdough!
Easy Sourdough Bread for Beginners
Homemade Sourdough Bagels
Roasted Garlic and Rosemary Sourdough Bread
Do I have to Discard Half of my Starter?
Simply put, yes. As mentioned before, I am not someone who enjoys being wasteful, but discarding half of your starter in actuality is helping you not be! Let me explain.
When we are making a sourdough starter, we are feeding it flour so that it can build its culture of natural yeast. Some of the natural yeasts it collects will come from the air, but the majority of it comes from the flour we feed it. Therefore, we must continue to feed it a mixture of flour and water for it to grow and be able to make our bread rise.
But as we feed our starters and it grows, the more water and flour we will need to feed them until it is an unmanageable amount.
For example, I have 30g of starter, 30g of water, and 30g of flour in my jar. The next day I would need to feed it 90g of water and 90g of flour. The following day I would need to feed it 270g of flour and 270g of water ( with would be over 2 cups of flour and almost a cup of water!)
This is too much water, too much flour, and too much starter to manage and store. Therefore, to keep our sourdough starter strong, but manageable, we must discard half.
Luckily, once your starter is about a week old, you can save your discard to bake plenty of other no-wait and delicious sourdough recipes!
How to Use Your Sourdough Discard:
Here are some of my favorite sourdough discard recipes!
Sourdough Discard Pie Crust – Sweet or Savory Pies
Fluffy Sourdough Pancakes
Sourdough Discard Banana Bars with Vanilla Glaze
Sourdough Blueberry Buckle
Happy sourdough-making!
How to Make a Sourdough Starter - A From Scratch Recipe
Yield: 1
Additional Time: 7 days
Total Time: 7 days
Are you ready to take the plunge and bake your own sourdough bread? With just two ingredients and a pinch of patience, you can have your own sourdough starter in a week's time that's ready to bake sourdough bread, biscuits, pizza crust, and so many tasty sourdough recipes.
Ingredients
- Organic Rye Flour
- Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
- Filtered Water
Instructions
Day 1:
On the first day, grab your kitchen scale and weigh out your clean jar of choice. First things first, it is important to note how much your jar weighs before adding your first ingredients as it will be helpful information throughout the sourdough starter-making process. You can write this information on my Free Printable - How to Make a Sourdough Starter, as you track your sourdough starter-making journey!
Next, add 60g (1/2 cup) of organic rye flour or whole wheat flour and 60g (1/4 cup) of room-temperature, filtered water to your jar.
Stir until all of the flour and water has been incorporated. Be sure to scrape all of the sides so that no flour is left behind. The consistency should be thick, like pancake batter, almost pasty.
Cover with a towel, plastic wrap, or a loose canning lid. You want to make sure that you cover the sourdough starter to prevent extra bacteria or insects from getting into your starter, but you also want to cover it loosely to allow CO2 to escape.
Leave your starter in a warm spot for 24hrs.
Day 2:
The next day, scan your sourdough starter for signs of fermentation. You might notice small bubbles on top and throughout your homemade sourdough starter. That is a sign that the fermentation process has begun! If you do not see any bubbles, that is okay. The tiny bubbles may have come and gone while you were sleeping.
Keep your sourdough starter covered and in a warm place for another 24 hours.
Day 3:
Today will be the first time you will feed your sourdough starter. To do so, you will need your kitchen scale, organic all-purpose flour or white bread flour, and room-temperature, filtered water. Weigh your sourdough starter and discard half of the new starter (about 60g).
Believe me, I'm not too fond of waste, but this is necessary in order to cultivate a healthy starter. In a few days, you will be able to use and save that discard for yummy recipes like sourdough pancakes or banana bars. But for now, discard half of the starter. Trust the process.
Mix equal parts water and flour (60g of each) into your jar and mix thoroughly with your remaining starter. Again, the texture will be thick and pasty, a little bit like peanut butter. Add more water if necessary.
Cover loosely and leave in a warm spot for another 24 hours.
Days 4-6:
For the next couple of days, repeat the exact same process described for Day 3. You will start to notice more activity from your sourdough starter. Place a rubber band on the outside of the jar to track how much it grows each day.
Feed the starter again when you noticed it has fallen back to its mixing height. Depending on the temperature of your environment and the ingredients used, this could mean 1-2 feedings a day.
Something you might notice during the next few days is a dark and pungent-smelling liquid on top of your sourdough starter. Don't be alarmed, your starter is not ruined. This is known as hooch and it is a sign that your starter is hungry.
If you have brown liquid, or hooch, on top, you have two options. You can either remove the dark liquid or stir it in your starter. Some prefer stirring in the hooch to add a more sour flavor to their dough. I go back and forth. You choose!
Day 7:
Now you should begin to notice that your starter is rising at least double its size with plenty of bubbles on top and throughout. The texture should look light and puffy, but not runny. A bubbly and active sourdough stater's aroma should be pleasantly sweet and yeast-smelling, not sour or like gym socks.
When all of these clues are present, you are ready to bake bread!
If not, don't worry. It is quite common for some starters to need more time to develop a strong culture of bacteria. Continue to discard and feed your starter for another few days up to two weeks. Whatever you do, don't give up.
Notes
Here are some go-to signs of what an active starter will look like:
- The starter has doubled in size (I track this growth by putting a rubber band on the outside of my jar)
- You can see plenty of bubbles on top and all throughout the starter. Some may be small or large, either is great a sign!
- Your starter has a pleasant yeasty smell to it, not super sour or pungent.
If all of these are present, then your starter should be all set to bake homemade bread!
If you are still a bit unsure, one test that I have used in the past is the float test. To do so, fill a drinking glass with lukewarm water and drop a spoonful of your sourdough starter in the cup. If your starter floats, it is ready to use! If it sinks to the bottom of the cup, then allow your starter more time to ferment.
How to Feed and Maintain Your Sourdough Starter:
You made it through the entire process of developing your own bubbly starter, but you're wondering, "Now what?"
Maintaining your sourdough starter to survive and thrive for years to come is quite simple. There are two main practices.
Refrigerator:
If you are someone who might want to try a new bread recipe once a week, I suggest you place your starter in the refrigerator. Being in a chilled environment will slow down the feeding process of the starter, so you will only need to feed it once every week or every two weeks.
For example, if I want to make a loaf of bread on Thursday evening, I will pull my sourdough starter out of the fridge that morning and feed it. Throughout the day it will warm to room temperature and become bubbly and active again just in time for me to make my bread dough that evening.
Once I've used the needed amount of starter, I will discard until I have 30 grams of starter (save the discard for yummy discard recipes below!) and feed it the same amount of flour and water. Mix it all up and put it back in the fridge.
Countertop:
Now if you plan on making sourdough treats more often, keeping your sourdough starter on the kitchen counter may be a good option for you.
Since the starter will be kept at room temperature, it will feed on the flour much faster than the sourdough starter in the fridge. Therefore, you will need to feed your starter more frequently - typically every 12-24 hours. Keep it covered loosely and in a location with ambient temperature.
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