Learn how to make a sourdough starter in 7 days and how to maintain a sourdough starter to make sourdough recipes.
If you have always wanted to bake sourdough bread or sourdough recipes, this post will help you make your own sourdough starter so you can make sourdough recipes.
Making a sourdough starter is very simple to do and requires few ingredients and tools. After a week to 2 weeks of dedicating a couple minutes a day to growing your starter, you will be ready to bake with your active and bubbly sourdough starter.
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What is a Sourdough Starter?
A sourdough starter is an active culture of beneficial bacteria and yeast used to leaven sourdough bread and other sourdough recipes. It is made through the process of fermenting flour and water.
Through the process of fermentation and utilizing the wild yeast and beneficial bacteria in the environment, water triggers yeast and bacteria to begin breaking down the flour into sugars and starches. This produces lactic acid, acetic acid and carbon dioxide. You will notice the effects of carbon dioxide when your starter begins to bubble. The acids give sourdough its sour taste and also help preserve the starter.
What is the best flour for a sourdough starter?
It is important to use an unbleached flour for your sourdough starter. Unbleached flours are less processed and have a better gluten structure to support fermentation.
Ingredients & Tools for making a Sourdough Starter
- Unbleached Flour - Use an unbleached all-purpose flour or an unbleached bread flour.
- Water - Filtered water at room temperature is best.
- Glass Jar - We recommend using a weck jar or Mason jar.
- Silicone Spatula - A silicone spatula is best for mixing the flour and water together. Do not use a metal spoon as metal can react with the beneficial bacteria and yeast negatively impacting the growth of the starter.
- Measuring Cup - A measuring cup is necessary to mix equal parts water and flour. We use a ¼ cup measuring cup to start the sourdough starter process.
- Towel - A tea towel is necessary to cover the top of your jar. You can use a tea towel or a paper towel.
- Rubber Band or Scrunchie - This will secure the towel on top of the jar.
Complete list of ingredients and amounts is located on the recipe card below.
How to Make a Sourdough Starter
It takes about 7 days or a week to make an active and bubbly sourdough starter. Follow the steps below to create your own sourdough starter.
On day 1, add flour and water to a glass jar.
Use a spoon to mix the flour and water together.
Cover the jar with a towel and set aside on the counter for 24 hours.
On day 2, discard or remove half of the mixture from the jar.
Feed the starter by adding flour and water to the jar.
Mix to combine the starter, flour and water together. Cover the jar and set aside for 24 hours. Repeat this process for days 3, 4 and 5.
On days 6 and 7, discard and feed the sourdough starter every 12 hours (in both the morning and evening).
Remove half of the starter, then feed with flour and water, mix together well and cover.
On day 7 the starter should be active and bubbly and ready to use for recipes.
For the next 7 days (week 2 of the starter) store the starter on the countertop and continue to discard and feed the starter every 24 hours. This will help the starter to mature and become more lively and active. By the end of week 2, the starter should be bubbly, have a slight sour smell and be ready to bake bread.
How to Maintain a Sourdough Starter
A sourdough starter needs to be fed in order to keep the beneficial bacteria and yeast growing. For the first month of developing your sourdough starter, I recommend storing it on the counter and discarding half then feeding it every day.
This is my recommendation, because the regular feedings help to produce more beneficial bacteria and yeast and mature the starter. The more mature the starter is, the better it will be able to leaven bread.
Once the starter is established (about a month old), you can choose to store it in the refrigerator (occasional use) or on the countertop (daily use).
- Refrigerator for occasional use - storing the starter in the fridge slows the fermentation process, so you only need to feed the starter once a week.
- Countertop for daily use - storing the starter at room temperature requires more maintenance and the starter must be fed once a day.
Recipe FAQ
It takes a week (7 days) to create an active sourdough starter. It can about 2 weeks to have a mature enough start baking with the starter.
A sourdough starter should have a slightly sour smell but it should not smell "bad". If the starter smells bad, do not bake with it. First check for the presence of mold. If there is no mold, continue to discard half and refeed the starter until a sour smell develops.
When first establishing the starter, it is important to discard before every feed. The more starter you have, the more flour and water you need to add to feed the bacteria and yeast. If you do not discard, by the end of a week you will have a large amount of starter and will have gone through a large amount of flour to keep all of the bacteria and yeast fed.
If there is mold in the jar or on top of your starter, throw it away and start over.
This is called "hooch" and it is an alcohol byproduct of fermentation. Pour the liquid off before feeding your starter.
For the first week I recommend tossing the discard. This is because it is not mature and doesn't have enough beneficial bacteria and yeast to leaven recipes. After a week, you can use discard in many recipes including sourdough pancakes!
How to Make a Sourdough Starter
Learn how to make a sourdough starter in 7 days and how to maintain a sourdough starter to make sourdough recipes.
Ingredients
- 5lb bag of unbleached flour
- water
Kitchen Tools
- glass jar
- silicone or wooden spatula
- ¼ cup measuring cup
- paper towel or tea towel
- scrunchie or rubber band
Instructions
- On Day 1, add ¼ cup flour and ¼ cup room temperature water to a glass jar. Use a silicone spatula or wooden spoon to mix the flour and water together. Scrape the sides of the jar and mix everything together well. Cover the jar with a towel. Set aside and allow to sit for 24 hours.
- On Day 2, remove the towel from the top of the jar. Discard half of the mixture by removing half of the water and flour mixture from the jar. After discarding half, add ¼ cup water and ¼ cup flour into the jar. Mix vigorously to combine the everything well. Cover with a towel and set aside for 24 hours.
- On days 3, 4 and 5 repeat the process of day 2 by discarding or removing half of the mixture then feeding the starter by adding ¼ cup flour and ¼ cup water. Stir to combine, cover and set aside for 24 hours.
- On days 6 and 7, discard and feed the starter twice during the day, about 12 hours apart. In the morning, discard half of the starter then feed with ¼ cup flour and ¼ cup water. Mix to combine, cover and set aside. In the evening, repeat the process of discarding and feeding the starter,
- By day 7 there should be enough beneficial bacterial and yeast present in the mixture to begin making sourdough recipes. Before baking with the starter, make sure the starter is bubbly, active and has a slight sour smell.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 1 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 455Total Fat: 1gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 12mgCarbohydrates: 95gFiber: 3gSugar: 0gProtein: 13g
