How to make a sourdough starter. Making a sourdough starter at home is easier than you think! All you need are a few basic supplies and ingredients and a couple weeks of waiting. Sourdough is an amazing base in many great bread recipes and will give you a unique flavor from the wild yeast!
Sourdough is ALL over the place right now. You see sourdough bread, sourdough pancakes, and even sourdough cinnamon rolls! But how do you make it?? The first 2 times I tried making it, I ended up with a thick, sludgy and rotten sourdough starter. So, I decided to take some of the lessons I learned when I brewed my own kombucha to try a third time. And third time is a charm because I present this "how to make a sourdough starter" to you!
And guess what?! You don't really have to feed it 2x per day. I grew mine in ~13 days and only fed it once a day. It is more about warmth than anything.
NO I did not use a scale. So if you are looking for something with exact measurements this is not the article for you.
I basically discarded half each day, and then stirred in 1 cup of all-purpose flour and ½ cup of room temperature water.
So if you want the DIY no fuss how to make your own sourdough starter method.. read on. Because I took LOTS of pictures to show what mine looked like at various stages.
HOW TO MAKE A SOURDOUGH STARTER AT HOME
Getting started
So the first few times I made this.. I used one of those 24 oz mason jars. And yes it will fit. But, you're going to be constantly cleaning up flour. Also, I think that some air room in the jar is good for the sourdough starter to grow.
So, I used this massive jar that I usually use to brew kombucha in. It is a reused glass pickle jar.
Add 1 cup of whole wheat flour to the jar.
The whole grain is necessary to get started. Whole wheat does not have the grain stripped away and still contains fibers. This allows a diverse colony of good bacteria to grow in your sourdough starter.
Add ½ cup room temperature water.
I saw some say to heat the water a bit, and some say to use cool water. But, bacteria like harmony. So too much heat will kill them while too cold will slow them down.
I found that using the filtered water from my brita that I keep on the counter to work really great.
Also-- a lot of tap water contains heavy metals, fluoride, chlorine, and other contaminants. I would HIGHLY suggest using filtered water because I don't know how these contaminants will interact with the good bacteria you are trying to grow.
Stir it all together so that it forms a ball.
Make sure you scrape down the sides as much as possible each time you add flour.
Cover your jar with cheesecloth or a paper towel. Secure it with a rubber band.
I see a lot of articles that tell you to use a lid on it. I have found that this doesn't allow much air to circulate which could cause too much alcohol to build up on top.
This is what mine looked like the following morning:
Discard HALF of it.
Stir in 1 cup of UNBLEACHED all purpose flour and ½ cup filtered room temperature water.
Stir it completely in and make sure there are no powdery chunks of flour left over.
Cover it again.
Repeat this process EVERY MORNING around the same time.
Morning sourdough routine:
- Discard half
- Add 1 cup UNBLEACHED all-purpose flour
- Add ½ cup room temperature water
- Stir COMPLETELY
- Cover with the cheesecloth
- Store somewhere warm where it gets airflow
See the bubbles already forming?!
TIP: wrap your jar with a towel if your house tends to get cold at night.
COLD= MOLD
sourdough loves the warmth!
TIP: store it out of direct sunlight!
Day 6, we are starting to get a lot more bubbles!
Now we can start monitoring how fast it grows after feeding.
Add a rubber band level to where the dough is AFTER you fed it.
You will notice that you can see bubbles when you look at it from the side too.
How to tell your sourdough is ready?
Remember the rubber band?
If it is ready, the rubberband will be in the MIDDLE of the dough.
Meaning, the volume doubled after you fed it.
It will usually double in size within TWO HOURS when it is ready.
When it is ready, discard half of it 1 more time.
(you can use this discard in a recipe!)
Add the other half to a smaller clean jar.
Feed it 1 more time with the 1 cup flour and ½ cup water.
Cover it with a sealable lid.
Let it stand at room temperature for 2 hours to get it activated.
Store it in the fridge!
This is what mine looked like before the final feeding and storing it in the fridge:
You can use one of those 24 oz mason jars now!
It will look like there is no room, but there is!
Yes, now you can use the lid!
Mine looked like this after ~2 hours with the lid on:
3rd time really is a charm!
I'm so happy it finally worked! Leave me a comment below if it worked for you too!
Weekly feedings:
Okay so now you have your sourdough safely stored in the fridge.
But don't forget about it!
You will need to give it weekly feedings. Or, feed it after every time you use some for a recipe!
The feeding is the same as it was when you are growing it:
1 cup unbleached all purpose flour
½ cup room temperature water
Stir it in, cover it, and let it stand at room temperature 2 hours to get it going.
Store in the fridge and repeat!
This is what mine looked like after about 2 weeks of using it and feeding it from the fridge:
Looks really bubbly right!?
Those bubbles are what you want to look for!
What to make with your sourdough starter? Try these!
And don't forget to follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Youtube, and Pinterest! And if you have tiktok I am on there now too @thehintofrosemary!
Sourdough Starter
Equipment
- large mason jar
- cheesecloth
Ingredients
To begin:
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- ½ cup room temperature water
To feed (~14 days):
- 11-13 cups UNBLEACHED all-purpose flour
- 5.5-6.5 cups room temperature water
For weekly feedings or after each time you use it:
- 1 cup UNBLEACHED all-purpose flour
- ½ cup room temperature water
Instructions
To get started:
- In a large mason jar, mix 1 cup of whole wheat flour with ½ cup room temperature water. Make sure there are no dry bits of flour left over. It should be a uniform mass. Scrape it into a rough ball (rather than having it stuck to the sides). Cover it with a cheesecloth (a paper towel works too) and secure it with a rubber band.
- Store it somewhere that it is out of direct light, warm, and will get proper airflow. Remember COLD=MOLD. I usually store mine next to the stove where it will get quite warm. Sourdough needs warmth to grow. It is ideal for it to be ~70-80 degrees.
To feed:
- Every morning, discard half of your sourdough starter. Add 1 cup of UNBLEACHED all-purpose flour (the bleach can kill those good sourdough bacteria) and ½ cup room temperature water.
- If your house cools down at night, you can help insulate it and keep it warm by wrapping it with a towel.
- After week 1 you can add a rubber band to mark how high the sourdough rises overnight. Place the rubber band in line with the level of the dough after you feed it. HOW TO TELL ITS READY: The sourdough will rise to be double its size ~2 hours after feeding. So, the rubber band would be in the middle when you check it a few hours later.
Weekly feedings/as needed:
- Transfer your sourdough starter to a clean mason jar with a lid. Discard half of it 1 more time. Feed it. Secure a lid on top. Let it sit at room temperature 2 hours. You will see that the volume doubled in size and it is very bubbly. Store it in the fridge.Do this process either 1 time per week. OR after every time you use it. You can really use it daily but just make sure you feed it again!
Anna
It's like you've read my mind!
I see so many people making sourdough these days and really want to jump on that train!
Thanks for sharing 🙂
Rebecca
Thanks for this great tutorial. This takes out all the guesswork.
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Thanks Anna! I hope you try this one! I really wanted to come up with one that you didn't need to fuss with weighing the ingredients out
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I'm glad you found it helpful! It definitely works faster when it is summer time 🙂