From Scratch: How to Make an Easy Sourdough Starter

5 from 1 vote

From Scratch: How to Make an Easy Sourdough Starter

An easy sourdough starter is made from a mixture of flour and water that captures wild yeast from the environment, which will naturally ferment to become the base for many tasty sourdough breads.

Prep Time5

Cook Time0

resting5

Total Time5 5

Course: bread

Cuisine: American

Keyword: easy recipe, Preserving Food

Servings: cups

Calories: 204kcal

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Equipment

Weck Jar

Mason Jar

Ingredients

1 Cup Whole Wheat Flour rye flour, or all-purpose flour.
1/2 Cup Lukewarm Water We use filtered well water. Bottled water works well too.

Instructions

Day 1: Start Your Sourdough Journey

In a clean jar, combine 1 cup of flour and 1/2 cup of water. Stir with a wooden spoon until well mixed. Cover loosely with plastic wrap or a lid, and leave it in a warm place, ideally at room temperature. This will allow the wild yeast to start growing.
1 Cup Whole Wheat Flour, 1/2 Cup Lukewarm Water

Day 2-3: Feed Your Starter

Each day, discard half of the starter (this is called sourdough discard), and feed it with 1 cup of fresh flour and 1/2 cup of water. Mix well and place the jar back in its warm spot. By the next day, you should see lots of bubbles—a good sign of fermentation! This feeding schedule will help the fermentation process build strength.

Day 4-5: Look for Activity

Continue feeding your new starter daily. By this point, the starter should rise and fall predictably. You can use a rubber band around the jar to track its rise. For best results, keep it at room temperature. As the wild yeast becomes more active, your sourdough starter will be almost ready.
Float Test. You can also do a float test by dropping a bit of starter in water. If it floats, you’ve got an active sourdough starter.

Day 6-7: Your Starter is Ready!

After about a week, you should have an active starter that's bubbly, smells pleasant, and is ready for baking. Use it in your favorite sourdough bread recipe or other sourdough recipes like sourdough pancakes or english muffins.
Once the fermentation has started keep feeding it with equal parts water and flour for regular feeding.

Notes

Storing Your Sourdough Starter

If you bake often, keep your starter at room temperature and feed it once or twice daily. If you bake less frequently, store it in the fridge and feed it once a week to maintain an active starter.

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