How to make and maintain a sourdough starter
Day One
Day Two
Day Three
Day Five
Day Seven
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What is a sourdough starter?
To put it as simply as possible, a sourdough starter is a mixture of flour, water, and active, wild yeast cultivated from your environment.
How long does it take to make a sourdough starter?
The process of making an active sourdough starter will take roughly 7-10 days. Just think: in about a week you could have an active, bubbly sourdough starter to make fresh baked sourdough bread, sourdough focaccia, sourdough cinnamon rolls… the list goes on and on.
Is making and maintaining a sourdough starter difficult?
Absolutely not. It starts out as a bit of a lengthy process, but it is not difficult or time consuming. You’re essentially just adding flour and water to a jar, taking some of the mixture out, adding more flour and water to the jar, and waiting for it to double in size everyday.
Maintenance is also quite easy. I once went on a 5-week business trip and left my sourdough starter with my house-sitter, who had NO experience with it… after a quick crash course via FaceTime, she fed it once every 4-5 days and kept it in the fridge in between feedings. I was able to bake a fresh loaf of bread on my third day back at home!
How to Make a Sourdough Starter
NOTE: I recommend keeping two of the same jars on hand for making and maintaining a sourdough starter. This makes it easier to zero out the scale and switch to a clean container when the need arises.
Day One
To make a sourdough starter, begin by placing your glass jar on your digital scale, setting the scale to read in grams, and zeroing it out
Add 50 grams of whole wheat flour and 50 grams of filtered water to the jar and mix with a wooden spoon
Place a cheesecloth over the top of the jar and seal with a ring or rubber band
Place in a warm, dry spot and leave for 24 hours
Day Two
Place your second, clean jar of the same size onto your digital scale, set the scale to grams, and zero it out
Add 50 grams of the flour and water mixture from the day before into the empty jar and discard the remainder of the previous mixture
Add 50 grams of whole wheat flour and 50 grams of filtered water and mix with a wooden spoon
Place a cheesecloth over the top of the jar and seal with a ring or rubber band
Place in a warm, dry spot and leave for 24 hours
Day Three
Repeat day two! By the end of day three, I started to notice some structure, volume and bubbles in my starter. Don’t get discouraged if this hasn’t happened for your starter yet!
Day 4-6
On day four, you’ll switch to twice-a-day feedings and swap whole wheat flour for all purpose flour.
12 hours after the previous feed, place a clean jar onto your digital scale, set the scale to grams, and zero it out
Add 50 grams of the sourdough starter mixture into the jar and discard the the remainder of the previous mixture
Add 50 grams of all purpose flour and 50 grams of filtered water and mix with a wooden spoon
Place a cheesecloth over the top of the jar and seal with a ring or rubber band
Place in a warm, dry spot
Repeat twice a day through day 6
Day 7-Onward
On day eight, you’ll switch back to once a day feedings.
Place a clean jar onto your digital scale, set the scale to grams, and zero it out
Add 50 grams of the sourdough starter mixture into the jar and discard the the remainder of the previous mixture
Add 50 grams of all purpose flour and 50 grams of filtered water and mix with a wooden spoon
Place a cheesecloth over the top of the jar and seal with a ring or rubber band
Place in a warm, dry spot
After 7-10 days, if you do not have an active, bubbly starter that is doubling in size daily, don’t get discouraged! This could be caused by the yeast in your environment, the temperature in your home, or a number of other factors! Continue to feed your starter daily and monitor for activity. Once it begins doubling in size, you’re ready to bake!
How to Maintain a Sourdough Starter
To maintain your sourdough starter, simply feed it an equal amount of flour and water (1:1:!1 ratio) daily if storing at room temperature, or once a week if storing in the fridge. If storing in the fridge, be sure to remove it and allow it to come up to room temperature prior to feeding. Once you use it, feed it and immediately store it in the fridge again.
F.A.Qs
What’s the clear or slightly brown liquid that’s in my starter?
This is called hooch. It’s a little alcoholic or stinky smelling. It’s totally normal, but it is an indication your starter needs to be fed. Be sure to discard the hooch and any discolored starter when you feed it.
What do I do if I start to run out of starter, or need to bake a large amount that requires a lot more?
To maintain a sourdough starter, you just need equal parts of starter, flour, and water at each feeding. If you use a bit of your starter and only have 35 grams left, simply feed it 35 grams of all purpose flour and 35 grams of filtered water. It will double in size and you will have plenty in no time! If, on the other hand, you need a large amount, simply discard a bit less and feed equal parts of the remaining (such as 75g starter, 75g flour, 75 g water.)
As long as you have 1 part starter, 1 part flour, and 1 part water at each feeding, your starter will be happy and thriving!
Tips
Place a rubber band or draw a line with a dry-erase marker on your jar when you feed your starter to track the progress it makes! seeing the starter double in size is exciting and also lets you know you’re ready to bake!
Do NOT dump your sourdough discard into the sink. Be sure to toss it into the trash, or use it in a sourdough discard recipe!
