How to Make A Sourdough Starter - Easy Guide
With two ingredients and some patience, you can cultivate a lively starter that will bring unique flavour to your homemade bread, cakes, pancakes and more! Here's a step-by-step guide to help you get started, and the jars I use!
Equipment
- glass or ceramic jar or bowl
- wooden spoon or spatula
Ingredients
- 1/3 Cup unbleached flour (45 grams)
- 1/4 Cup distilled water. If you do not have distilled water, bottled water or filtered water is best (60 grams)
Instructions
Day 1:
- In a glass or stoneware jar or bowl, combine 1/4 Cup water with 1/3 Cup flour. Stir with a wooden spoon until the flour is totally mixed into the water. The mixture will be a bit thick but should be easy to stir. The consistency will vary depending on the type of flour you use.
- If the starter seems too thick or clumpy, slowly add 1 tsp of water at a time until you reach the right consistency. If too thin, add flour 1 tsp at a time.
- Cover with a loose-fitting lid, towel, or doubled cheesecloth. If air can’t get in, fermentation won’t happen.
- Now that you’ve stirred water & flour together in your container and covered it, you’re finished for day 1. Set the starter on your kitchen counter at room temperature until day 2.
Day 2:
- Uncover the starter and remove half of the contents, discard what you remove. You can bin the discard, add it to your scrap bucket, or use it in sourdough discard recipes. This discarding step is the only step that’s different than day 1.
- Discarding half of the mixture is only necessary when you are establishing a new starter. Once the starter is mature, you wont need to discard half. You can just continue feeding it every day, but keep in mind that if you feed it daily without using any, you'll end up with a ton of starter and need a very large container.
- Next, add 1/3 cup of flour and 1/4 cup water to the remaining contents of the starter & stir until well combined.
- Cover and store the starter on the counter just like on day 1.
Days 3-7: Repeat the steps from day 2
- After a few days, you should notice that your starter almost doubles in size every 12-24 hours when after feeding it. You should also notice air bubbles on the top and that distinct sourdough smell.
- When it has risen to its highest point, this is called the "peak." After the starter peaks, it will slowly fall back down to where it was when you originally fed it, and then it is ready to be fed again.
- If a starter peaks, falls, and sits for too long before being fed again, it may develop a "hooch" which is a thin layer of liquid at the top. Don't worry if you see this, it just means your starter is hungry and needs to be fed more often. Bin the water when you discard, feed the remaining starter, and adjust your feeding schedule so it is fed more frequently.
Day 8:
- Finally, your starter should be mature enough to attempt baking your first bread! It should peak 8-24 hours after feeding, have lots of bubbles, and smell like sourdough! See my sourdough bread recipe!