Learn how to make a sourdough starter from scratch with just flour, water, and patience. Follow this simple step-by-step guide to create and maintain a bubbly, active sourdough starter for baking homemade sourdough bread!
Ready to elevate your baking skills? A homemade sourdough starter is the secret to achieving that perfect, tangy loaf of bread with a beautiful crust, soft crumb, and incredible flavor. While it may sound a bit intimidating, making your own starter is surprisingly simple – all you need is flour, water, and a little patience. In about 8 days, your sourdough starter will be active and ready for bread baking!
The process might seem complicated at first, but trust me, it’s easy to do at home. And the best part? You only have to make it once. With regular feedings, you can keep your starter alive and use it again and again. Now, let me show you how to make a sourdough starter from scratch, step by step!
As soon as your sourdough starter is active and ready, follow this beginner’s guide to bake your first loaf of sourdough bread!
What is a Sourdough Starter
A sourdough starter is a natural leavening agent made from just flour and water. When you combine the two, wild yeast and good bacteria from the air around you start to ferment, creating a bubbly, active culture that helps your bread dough rise.
Once you’ve made your starter, you can keep it alive with regular feedings (every 7-10 days), and with proper care, you can use it over and over again. The longer you maintain your starter, the more active and flavorful it becomes—perfect for baking delicious sourdough bread for years to come!
How Do You Get a Sourdough Starter
There are 3 ways to get a sourdough starter:
- Make your own starter culture.
- Ask a local baker if they’ll give you some starter.
- Buy a sourdough starter kit online.
In this blog post, we’ll focus on making your own sourdough starter at home. You’ll find plenty of information to help you succeed. Just be patient and don’t give up too soon! 😉
Timeline
It takes about 8 days for the starter to become active. The daily work is only about 5 minutes, but it’s best to feed your starter at the same time each day. So, plan for two weeks where you can spare 5 minutes a day at a consistent time (like in the morning before work or in the evening before bed).
What You’ll Need
To make a starter, you’ll need flour, water, a kitchen scale, an indoor thermometer (optional but recommended), a spoon, and 2-3 clean mason jars. A rubber band to mark the rise of your starter is also helpful.
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The ideal temperature for your starter is 77-86°F (25-30°C). Be careful not to go over 104°F (40°C), as that will kill the microorganisms in the starter. Use the thermometer to find the warmest spot in your home, ideally away from drafts. If your home is cooler, the starter will still work, but it might take a few extra days to fully develop.
What Flour to Use
Sourdough needs plenty of nutrients, so it’s best to use whole wheat flour, as it provides more nutrients than all-purpose flour. While wheat sourdough is the most common, you can also create your sourdough with whole rye or whole spelt flour. Choose the flour you bake with most often. If you love baking sourdough with wheat, use wheat, and so on.
Don’t worry, you can easily adjust the starter to fit different bread recipes. For example, if you want to bake spelt sourdough later, just mix 10g of your starter with 45g of spelt flour and 45g of water. Let it ferment at room temperature overnight, and voilà — you have a spelt starter! For rye sourdough, use 45g of rye flour instead.
Visual Step-by-Step Instructions
Day 1: Getting Started
- Mix 50g of flour with 50ml of water in a clean jar (use a large jar with at least a 16oz/500ml capacity).
- Stir well until no lumps remain.
- Place the lid loosely on the jar and let it sit at 77-86°F (25-30°C) for 24 hours. If possible, stir it briefly after 12 hours.
Day 2: First Feeding
- Not much will have happened yet, but it might smell a bit odd!
- Add another 50g of flour and 50ml of water, stir thoroughly, cover loosely, and leave it at room temperature for another 24 hours.
Day 3: Second Feeding
- By now, your starter should show some signs of life. You might see small bubbles on the surface, and it might smell stronger. → Mine doubled in volume within 24 hours but then collapsed again.
- Repeat the process from day 2: add 50g of flour and 50ml of water, stir, cover, and let sit for another 24 hours.
Day 4: Feeding in a New Jar
- You might notice some water forming on top of the starter — this is called “hooch” and it means your starter is hungry (which is a good sign)! 😊
- Stir the starter, including the hooch, and transfer 50g of it into a new, clean jar (a smaller 8 oz/250ml jar will do). Compost or discard the rest. Add 50g of flour and 50ml of water, stir, and cover loosely.
Days 5-7: Feeding & Observing
- Each day, repeat the process from day 4: take 50g of your starter, mix it with 50g of flour and 50ml of water in a clean jar, stir, cover, and leave it for 24 hours.
- By now, your starter should double in volume overnight and have plenty of bubbles. If it doesn’t, continue this routine for a few more days. Sometimes it just takes a little more time, especially if your home is cooler than 77°F (25°C). Don’t give up! 🙏
- To track the rise of your starter, wrap a rubber band around the jar after feeding. This makes it easy to see how much it has grown after 24 hours.
Day 8: Ready to Use
- Your sourdough starter is ready when it has roughly doubled in volume, has a fluffy consistency, and smells pleasantly tangy. If not, repeat feeding for a few more days until it’s active. Now you can use it to bake your first loaf of sourdough bread! Just remember to always save a bit of your starter to keep it going for future bakes.
Tips for Success
- Patience is key! It might take a few extra days for your starter to get going, especially in cooler temperatures.
- Consistency matters. Stick to the same feeding schedule and flour type for the best results.
- Don’t worry if your starter smells a bit funky. A slightly tangy or even fruity smell is normal. However, if it smells like nail polish remover or has mold, it’s time to start over.
How to Maintain Your Sourdough Starter
Once your starter is active and bubbly, you can keep it alive by feeding it regularly. If you plan to bake often, you can leave it out on the counter and feed it daily. If you’re more of an occasional baker, store it in the refrigerator and feed it every 7-10 days.
Here’s how to feed it: in the evening, stir your starter, take 10g of it, and transfer it into a clean jar. Discard the rest. Add 45g of flour and 45g of water, stir, cover loosely, and let it ferment at room temperature overnight. In the morning, seal the jar and store it in the fridge. Repeat this every 7-10 days.
You can always take from your starter to make homemade sourdough bread, but it’s most active in the first few days. If you have a young sourdough starter, you might want to feed it again the day before baking.
Float Test
The float test is a simple way to check if your sourdough starter is active and ready to use for baking.
- Take a spoonful of starter without stirring or deflating it.
- Drop it into a glass of room-temperature water.
Floats: Your starter is active and ready to use. Sinks: It needs more time or another feeding.
Keep in mind that while the float test can be a helpful indicator, it’s not foolproof. Some perfectly good starters might sink due to their hydration level or consistency. Always check for other signs of readiness, like bubbling activity, a pleasant sour smell, and the starter doubling in size after feeding.
Drying Your Sourdough Starter
Since making a new starter takes time, you’ll want to avoid having to do it again! 😉 To be prepared for mishaps or long vacations, you can dry your starter as a backup. Just make sure it’s active first.
Feed it, let it sit at room temperature overnight, then spread it thinly on parchment paper and let it dry in a warm spot until it’s hard and brittle. Break the dried starter into flakes and store them in an airtight container. To reactivate it, mix some of the flakes with flour and water, and feed it over several days until it’s bubbling and active again. Dried starter can last for months or even years!
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📖 Recipe
How To Make Sourdough Starter
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Ingredients
- 350 g whole wheat flour
- 350 g lukewarm water
Instructions
Day 1: Getting Started
- Mix 50g of flour with 50ml of water in a clean jar (use a large jar with at least a 16oz/500ml capacity).
- Stir well until no lumps remain.
- Place the lid loosely on the jar and let it sit at 77-86°F (25-30°C) for 24 hours. If possible, stir it briefly after 12 hours.
Day 2: First Feeding
- Not much will have happened yet, but it might smell a bit odd!
- Add another 50g of flour and 50ml of water, stir thoroughly, cover loosely, and leave it at room temperature for another 24 hours.
Day 3: Second Feeding
- By now, your starter should show some signs of life. You might see small bubbles on the surface, and it might smell stronger. → Mine doubled in volume within 24 hours but then collapsed again.
- Repeat the process from day 2: add 50g of flour and 50ml of water, stir, cover, and let sit for another 24 hours.
Day 4: Feeding in a New Jar
- You might notice some water forming on top of the starter — this is called “hooch” and it means your starter is hungry (which is a good sign)! 😊
- Stir the starter, including the hooch, and transfer 50g of it into a new, clean jar (a smaller 8 oz/250ml jar will do). Compost or discard the rest. Add 50g of flour and 50ml of water, stir, and cover loosely.
Days 5-7: Feeding & Observing
- Each day, repeat the process from day 4: take 50g of your starter, mix it with 50g of flour and 50ml of water in a clean jar, stir, cover, and leave it for 24 hours.
- By now, your starter should double in volume overnight and have plenty of bubbles. If it doesn’t, continue this routine for a few more days. Sometimes it just takes a little more time, especially if your home is cooler than 77°F (25°C). Don’t give up! 🙏
- To track the rise of your starter, wrap a rubber band around the jar after feeding. This makes it easy to see how much it has grown after 24 hours.
Day 8: Ready to Use
- Your starter is ready when it has roughly doubled in size, looks fluffy, and has a pleasant, slightly tangy smell. If not, repeat feeding for a few more days until it's active.
- Now you can use it to bake your first loaf of sourdough bread! Just remember to always save a bit of your starter to keep it going for future bakes.
Notes
- It’s best to use whole wheat flour because it has more nutrients, making it ideal for jump-starting the fermentation process.
- Patience is key! It might take a few extra days for your starter to get going, especially in cooler temperatures.
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