How to make your own Sourdough Starter, using simple ingredients with no special equipment, in 6 days, that can be used in crusty sourdough bread, baguettes, pizza dough, waffles, banana bread, pancakes, crackers, sourdough buns, sourdough tortillas and biscuits. Sourdough Starter is often referred to as wild yeast, made from flour, water and the wild yeast in the air around us. (NEW Step-by-step VIDEO.)
When you understand one thing through and through, you understand everything.~ Shunryu Suzuki
Hey friends, I’ve wanted to share this recipe for Sourdough Starter for years now, and with most of us being homebound, and without yeast available at the grocery stores, I thought this might be the perfect time to post it. As you know, we are in Santa Barbara for the winter, and one thing I didn’t even think to bring with me was my sourdough starter.
I made a fresh batch last week, baked a loaf of crusty Sourdough Bread yesterday- and felt so much joy from this simple pleasure. The whole process honestly fills me with such wonder.
How gloriously alive the world is! Plus there really is nothing like the smell of fresh bread to lift the spirits.
Anyhow, I know many of you are actually in a situation where you have less time– kids home from school, working remotely, and I feel for you – I understand how hard this may be. And perhaps not the right time to make sourdough starter for you. No pressure ever.
But if you are like us, kid-less, slightly bored and find yourself with a little more time on your hands, this might be the perfect opportunity to discover the joy of baking sourdough bread from your very own sourdough starter.
It’s truly incredible! The basic instructions were taught to me by a friend, who adapted it from Breadtopia and King Arthur Flour.I’ve taken liberties and further adapted, but both of these sources are great resources.
How to Make Sourdough Starter | 20-Min Video
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Fast forward to Specific Day by video time (using scroll bar underneath video)
- Day 1 Morning: :23
- Day 2 Morning: 4:10
- Day 3 Morning: 7:00
- Day 3 Evening: 9:12
- Day 4 Morning: 11:50
- Day 4 Evening: 13:37
- Day 5 Morning: 14:45
- Day 6 Evening: 16:50
- Day 6 Morning: 18:12
- Day 6 Evening: 20:10
What is Sourdough Starter?
- Think of sourdough starter as yeast. Only in this case, instead of buying a packet of yeast from the store, you are making your own living “wild yeast” by fermenting flour and water. That is it! ONLY 2 ingredients! Once it’s alive, it is like a very low-maintenance pet.
- You must feed it (stir in a mixture of flour and water) once a week to keep it healthy and happy. You know it’s happy when it bubbles. 😉 And YES, you can even name it.
- Some people believe that bread made with sourdough starter is actually better for you than bread made with yeast. Here and Here are a few articles to get you started on your own research. While I’m not sure if this is scientifically proven, I do know that bread made with sourdough starter, tastes infinitely better, feels easier to digest, and has more complexity and better texture, than bread made with commercial yeast. So if you are a bread lover- this is absolutely the way to go, as far as the quality of your finished bread.
What is Feeding?
- Feeding your sourdough starter is basically adding a mixture of flour and water to your existing starter, to keep it alive, happy and nourished. Starter is full of wild yeasts that get hungry, just like we do. These yeasts need “food” in this case, more flour, to stay healthy and active.
- How often you feed depends greatly on the temperature. The starter will metabolize the flour more quickly in warm environments, and more slowly in cold environments (like the fridge). If you keep your starter in the fridge, you will only need to feed it once a week. If you keep in on the counter you may need to feed it 1-2 times daily, and sometimes more if you live in warmer climates.
How to make Sourdough Starter (see detailed recipe card below the post)
This recipe for Sourdough Starter takes 6 days (or up to 12 days if cold) and is very easy. This was the way I was taught and it always works for me. There are plenty of more complicated recipes out there, and I get it, if that is more your style – or you feel like completely nerding -out (a good thing, and this is the time!) dive in. Feed your fancy! Or watch the 20-minute Sourdough Video above!
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- Day 1: Staring in the morning or at night, using a wide-mouth 4-cup mason jar or Crock or Glass Measuring Cup , mix 1 cup whole grain flour (fluffed, spooned and leveled) -or 120 grams- with 1/2 cup (120 grams) filtered water using a fork (or chopstick) making sure you’ve incorporated all the dry flour. For your first measuring – it is a good idea to weigh it using a kitchen scale so you get an idea of how it should feel. It should be like a thick paste. Thick like peanut butter. If you need to add a little more water to incorporate the flour, that is OK. Place the lid lightly on top (using the Weck jar is really handy here) or a wet towel to keep moisture in, or plastic wrap- and let sit at room temperature ( 70-ish degrees) on the kitchen counter for 24-48 hours. If you are not sure how warm it is, use a kitchen thermometer and check it a few hours later. See notes for TEMPERATURE.
- Day 2: After the first 24 hours, there may or may not be a bit of bubbling. I prefer to let this rest until I see a tiny bit of activity (bubbles) and sometimes this takes 36 or even 48 hours. When you see bubbling, discard all but 1/2 cup of the starter (4 ounces). Add to the starter, 1 cup of organic bread flour (120 grams) spooned and leveled, and 1/2 cup filtered water (120 grams), mixing well with a fork. Cover again and allow the mixture to sit at room temperature for another 24 hours.
- Day 3: By the third day, you should definitely see some bubbling- and if not, let it go a bit longer. Depending on how warm your house is and how active your starter, you may need to begin feeding more often or move to two feedings a day, like in the morning and at night. In a nutshell, you want to feed the starter only after it has peaked (metabolized all the flour from the last feeding) and has started sinking down or gets liquidy- this is when it is hungry! This might be 12 hours, it might be 14, it might be 18, or 24, depending on the temp in your house. In very warm climates it may only be 6-8 hours. In winter, this may take 36 hours. It is better to underfeed rather than overfeed here. For each feeding, like before, discard all but 1/2 cup of the STARTER (keeping roughly ½-cup of starter in the jar) Add 1 cup Bread Flour (spooned and leveled) and 1/2 cup water to the 1/2 cup starter and let this rest at room temperature for 12-24 hours or until the starter looks “hungry” again before repeating.
- Day 1: Staring in the morning or at night, using a wide-mouth 4-cup mason jar or Crock or Glass Measuring Cup , mix 1 cup whole grain flour (fluffed, spooned and leveled) -or 120 grams- with 1/2 cup (120 grams) filtered water using a fork (or chopstick) making sure you’ve incorporated all the dry flour. For your first measuring – it is a good idea to weigh it using a kitchen scale so you get an idea of how it should feel. It should be like a thick paste. Thick like peanut butter. If you need to add a little more water to incorporate the flour, that is OK. Place the lid lightly on top (using the Weck jar is really handy here) or a wet towel to keep moisture in, or plastic wrap- and let sit at room temperature ( 70-ish degrees) on the kitchen counter for 24-48 hours. If you are not sure how warm it is, use a kitchen thermometer and check it a few hours later. See notes for TEMPERATURE.
Above you’ll see it peaking, below you’ll see it deflating and getting “hungry”. Feed when the starter only when hungry. This will can vary in time greatly – so even though there is a loose schedule laid out for you here, understand that your starter has a schedule of its own, it is a living thing- so watch it and pay attention! Overfeeding a starter makes it lethargic.
I repeat: The key here is to watch it. Don’t feed the starter until it looks hungry.
Look for the signs of “hunger”: You’ll see watery bubbles at the top, or even a layer of liquid. See how below on the jar, how the starter slides down the side of the jar? Look for the “slide” marks just under the Weck logo. If starter is not rising and falling, look at consistency. As it metabolizes the flour and gets hungry it will get runny and liquidy, like to the point where you can pour it right out of the jar. If it is still thick like paste, it’s not done metabolizing (eating)the flour.
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- Day 4: Feed 1-2 times, discarding all but 1/2 cup of starter EACH TIME. Feed 1 cup bread flour, 1/2 cup water. Look for the hunger signs. Hopefully, you’ll begin to see some rising and falling. It’s helpful to put the starter in a clean jar and mark the beginning level (with sharpie, string or rubber band) so you can easily see this. ***If for some reason your starter looks like it is still rising at the time of second feeding (at night) and there is no evidence it has fallen or no slide marks, skip this feeding and feed first thing in the morning. AGAIN, Feeding it when it is “not hungry” will basically dilute all the growing yeast and make it lethargic. Better to starve than overfeed.
- Day 5: Feed again, 1-2 times, roughly 12 hours apart, discarding all but a 1/2 cup the starter EACH TIME. 1 cup bread flour, 1/2 cup lukewarm water. The starter should look visibly active, bubbling, rising, hopefully, close to doubling in size.
- DAY 6: Give it one last feeding. Discard all but a 1/3 cup. Add 1 cup flour (120 grams) and 1/2 cup water, and place it in a clean jar so you can see the action clearly. You can use a sharpie or place a rubber band around the jar to mark the beginning level. The starter should hopefully double in volume within 4-6 hours of feeding. Then DO THE FLOAT TEST: To test the starter, place a teaspoon of starter (just from the top, don’t stir it down) in a glass full of water, it should hopefully float. If it does, you can make bread. Tonight! Let the starter rest at room temperature for at least 8 hours allowing it to fully metabolize the flour, perhaps sinking a little before making your dough.
- At this point, if your starter does not double in size or pass the float test, don’t give up! Often it just takes longer. Continue feeding one-two times a day, for a few more days, until you see a consistent, predictable, rise and fall, and it floats. Read the troubleshooting section. If you need to take a break, put it in the fridge and try it again up to a week later. Don’t toss it.
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- Day 6 EVENING: Use 1/3 cup to make bread (if you want) and transfer the remaining starter (or if not making bread, transfer all of it) to a clean crock, mason jar, and store the starter in the refrigerator, and feed it at least once a week, mixing in any liquid at the top, reserving ⅓ to ½ cup starter, before feeding it the usual 1 cup bread flour, 1/2 cup water.
- Day 6 EVENING: Use 1/3 cup to make bread (if you want) and transfer the remaining starter (or if not making bread, transfer all of it) to a clean crock, mason jar, and store the starter in the refrigerator, and feed it at least once a week, mixing in any liquid at the top, reserving ⅓ to ½ cup starter, before feeding it the usual 1 cup bread flour, 1/2 cup water.
In the photo above, on the 6th day, the starter was fed at 8 am, it doubled at noon, but went even higher until around 2 pm where it peaked. Then as you can see, it started deflating and by 8 pm, it was lower, and “hungry” again. See those downward “slide” marks on the jar?
Look for these! That’s why it’s nice to put the starter in a clean jar so you can see these clearly. They tell you how high your starter went and that it peaked, and now is going down. Time to feed. Even at 8 pm, it passed the “float” test, so I started a loaf of my overnight sourdough bread at this time.
TROUBLESHOOTING:
- SMELL: Starter should smell sweet and tangy, and not “bad”. If it really smells unpleasant, you may have used an unclean jar, or somehow introduced other bad bacteria. I would start over.
- NO ACTION: If your starter was doing great, then fizzled out, try adding a little whole grain flour (whole wheat or rye) mixed with the bread flour into the feedings and really monitor amounts, making sure you are feeding the 1/2 cup starter a full heaping cup of flour (120 grams). Check the temp (using a thermometer) and give it a little extra time to “digest” the flour.Sometimes it takes longer than 12 hours for starter to need more flour- especially when cold. It is OK to skip a feeding at night if it looks like it is still peaking or rising.
- FLOUR: Try to use whole grain flour to start, then organic BREAD FLOUR. The more wild yeast in the flour, the better your starter will do- so smaller brands like Bob’s Red Mill seem to do better than bigger conventional brands that have been overly processed. It is totally ok to mix flours and to switch them up- this adds different kinds of wild yeast- a good thing!
- DO NOT overfeed. For example, maybe feeding 2 x day at 12-hour intervals is too often. You want to feed after the starter has peaked, then deflated (see photo above- you’ll see some slide marks on the jar) and this tells you that it is hungry. If you feed the starter before it has had a chance to metabolize (or eat) all the flour (before peaking) and then you discard part of it, and feed it again, you are actually diluting all that amazing bacteria, weakening your starter. So it’s all about watching your starter in your home. If you are not seeing rising and falling, but notice the starter just gets liquidy, this too is a sign of “hunger”. There are lots of variables here. Just be patient, pay attention and watch. This is a living thing- it doesn’t care about time schedules and recipes or what it “should” do. It will “eat” when it is “hungry” and sometimes it likes to eat slowly. 😉
- TIME: It may take longer than 6 days in colder environments. Use a kitchen thermometer and take its temp. Is it over 65F? Find a place where it can be warm. Not in direct sunlight. Sometimes it takes 10-12 days! Be patient, keep going. If it is doing absolutely nothing, leave it out on the counter for 24-48 hours and see what happens. If you run out of flour or need a break, don’t just toss it, put it in the fridge and see if you can get it going a few days later.
- ACIDITY: If you still can’t get that starter going, some people recommend subbing pineapple juice for the water for one feeding- raising the acidity level. My good friend just tried this and it got hers going.
- LIQUID: If you see any liquid at the top of your starter, it means your starter is hungry. So, yes it’s still alive which is a good thing! You can stir the liquid in, or pour the liquid out, either way, but feed it. This is a sign that you may need to feed it more often.
- MOLD: if you see any discoloring or mold on the surface, starter was probably contaminated. If it is only on the surface, it is probably ok to save. Scrape it off, save 1/2 cup of the underneath starter, and keep going. Feed, smell, use your best judgment.
- FLOAT TEST: Try testing when your starter is peaking. Take a spoonful from the top without stirring it down. If your starter is rising and falling consistently, but not passing the float test and it has been over 8-10 days- just try baking a loaf. People are having luck with good loaves without passing the float test. It may be the flour…
How to Maintain Your starter:
- REFRIGERATE & FEED AT LEAST ONCE A WEEK: Pick a scheduled day and try to stick with it, always reserving 1/2 cup and feeding it 1 cup flour and 1/2 cup water. Discard the remaining, or give it away, or keep the discard in a separate container to use in waffles, pancakes, sourdough buns, banana bread, biscuits, etc. I usually don’t feed the discard unless giving away.
- If you forget to feed it one week, it is most likely OK, just feed it 1-2 x day for 1-3 days in a row to revive it (keeping it out on the counter) until bubbly and active. I’ve left my starter for a month on vacation (in the fridge) without feeding and simply revived it by feeding it 3 days in a row, 1-2 x day. It’s actually kind of hard to kill. You can also freeze it for longer storage.
- This batch will allow you to bake 2 loaves of bread per week with enough left to feed for the next week. If you find yourself wanting to bake more often, you can keep it out and feed it 1-2 x daily. Or if baking every few days, you can pull it out of the fridge, feed it 10 hours before using, leaving it out, use what you need while it is peaking (or slightly after), then put it back in the fridge that evening. Do the same thing a few days later when ready to use again. So this would be feeding 2-3 times a week, best if baking 4-5 times a week.
Tips on Sourdough Starter:
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- TEMPERATURE: The colder your home, the longer it will take for the starter to grow and become active (bubbles). Find a warm spot (70-80 degrees) for the best results. On the stovetop, with the light turned on, or on top of the fridge. Or in the oven with the light on. On top of a heating pad (set to low) with a towel in between). You can still make the starter in a colder home, it will just take longer- even up to 2 weeks! Test the temp of your starter using a thermometer.
- FLOUR: Always try to start the batch by using organic whole-grain flour (wheat or rye) because it has more wild bacteria in it than white flour and will get it active and growing sooner. Freshly milled works exceptionally well. You can, of course, continue to use whole grain, but I just use organic white “bread” flour for days 2 through 6, less costly. You can also feed with organic all-purpose flour, but I’ve had much better luck with getting the starter stronger, faster, starting off with the wholegrain the first day, and using bread flour for the remaining. UP to YOU. You can always mix in a little whole grain with the white as well if your starter looks like it needs a boost.
- WATER: Using filtered or bottled water seems to have the best results. Sometimes chlorine in tap water can inhibit the growth of your starter. If you don’t have an option- some people leave the tap water out, in an open container overnight to allow some of the chlorine to evaporate. I have not personally tried this. Using room temperature water or lukewarm water helps fermentation to start faster.
- HYDRATION: Hydration refers to the ratio of water to flour in terms of weight. It is a ratio. For starter, this is typically at 100% hydration. Meaning if you use 120 grams of water, use 120 grams of flour. This roughly translates to 1 heaping cup of flour and 1/2 cup water. Feel free to weigh instead of measure if you want to be more precise, or want to familiarize yourself with the consistency. It’s nice to do this the first time to get a feel for it.
- STORING AND FEEDING: When your starter is kept cold, like in the fridge, you don’t need to feed it as often- only once a week. If you keep it out on the counter, you’ll need to feed it 2 x daily. Cold slows down the fermentation, heat speeds it up.
- USING: When you need to use your starter for baking bread, feed it 4-8 hours before making bread dough, using it right at peak height or slightly after (even better).
- Do I REALLY have to discard my starter? YES. I know it seems wasteful- but while you are building your starter, during the first week, it is the simplest easiest, fastest and most economical way to create healthy a starter. This is because you always have to feed it 2 times its volume!!! If you keep the 1 1/2 cups starter, you would have to feed it 3 cups (instead of keeping jut a 1/2 cup and only feeding it ONE cup). Get it? 😉 Doing this will shorten the fermentation process, require less flour in the long run, and create a stronger starter. Once the starter is “established” after the first week- then you don’t need to discard it but can use it in bread baking, pizza dough, scones, biscuits, waffles, sourdough buns, etc.,- or give it to a friend.
The photo above was taken after the starter was fed, peaked 4 hours later (reached its highest), and now is” hungry” again. The perfect time to use it in bread! See the downward slide marks on the jar. Again, pay attention to these- your starter is telling you what it needs. You just have to learn how to see it.
I hope you have fun with this simple little Sourdough project! In the coming weeks, I’ll put out some fun recipes to make with your sourdough starter! Also, watch the new step-by-step Sourdough Video above!
How to use your Sourdough Starter!
- No-Knead Sourdough Bread
- Sourdough Baguettes
- Sourdough Scones
- Sourdough Crackers
- Sourdough Biscuits
- Sourdough Buns
- Sourdough Tortillas!
- Vegan Banana Bread
- Overnight Sourdough Waffles
- Sourdough Pancakes
Simple Sourdough Starter
- Prep Time: 30
- Cook Time: 6 days
- Total Time: 144 hours 30 minutes
- Yield: 1 ½ cups
- Category: sourdough, fermented, cultured, bread, baking,
- Method: fermented
- Cuisine: bread
- Diet: Vegan
Description
How to make your own Sourdough Starter (see the step-by-step video in post) using simple ingredients with no special equipment, in 5-8 days, that can be used in sourdough bread, baguettes, pizza dough, waffles, scones, pancakes, and rolls- instead of using yeast. Sourdough Starter is a wild yeast, made from flour and water and the wild yeast in the flour itself and from the air around us. UPDATED 4/16/2020 {Original recipe taught to me by a friend who adapted it from Breadtopia and King Arthur Flour}
Ingredients
- 120 grams whole grain flour (whole wheat flour, rye flour, or freshly milled flour) 1 cup, fluffed, spooned and leveled
- Organic White Bread Flour (5-10 lb bag ) I like Shepherd’s Grain or Bob’s Red Mill.
- 120 grams Filtered Water (or bottled) per feeding (1/2 cup water)
Instructions
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- Day 1: Starting in the morning or at night, using a wide-mouth 4-cup mason jar or Crock or Glass Measuring Cup mix 1 cup whole grain flour (120 grams) with 1/2 cup (120 grams) filtered water using a fork making sure you’ve incorporated all the dry flour. For your first measuring – it is a good idea to weigh the flour, using a kitchen scale so you get an idea of how thick it should feel. It should be like a thick paste. Thick like peanut butter. If you need to add a little more water to incorporate the flour, that is OK, but be precise with the flour. Place the lid on top (using the Weck jar is really handy here) or a damp towel to keep moisture in, or plastic wrap- and let sit at room temperature (70-80 degrees) on the kitchen counter for 24-48 hours, or until you see some bubbling. If you are not sure how warm it is, use a kitchen thermometer and check it a few hours later. See notes for TEMPERATURE.
- Day 2: After the first 24 hours, you may or may not see a bit of bubbling. I prefer to let this rest until I see a tiny bit of activity (bubbles) and sometimes this takes 36 or up to 48 hours. So start “day 2”, when you see a little bit of bubbing. Discard all but 1/2 cup (136 grams) of the starter. (See notes for discard). Add to the remainder, 1 cup of white bread flour, (120 grams), spooned and leveled, and 1/2 cup filtered water (120 grams), mixing well with a fork. Place the lid on loosely again and allow the mixture to sit at room temperature (70-80F) for another 24 hours.
- Day 3: By the third day, you should definitely see some bubbling- and if not, let it go a bit longer. Depending on how warm your house is and how active your starter, you may need to begin feeding more often, or even move to two feedings a day roughly 12 hours apart, like in the morning and at night. In a nutshell, you want to feed the starter only after it has peaked (metabolized all the flour from the last feeding) and has started sinking down or gets liquidy- this is when it is hungry! This might be 12 hours, it might be 14, it might be 18, or 24, depending on the temp in your house. In very warm climates it may only be 8 hours. It is better to underfeed rather than overfeed here. For each feeding, like before, discard all but 1/2 cup of the STARTER (keeping roughly ½-cup of starter in the jar -4 ounces or 136 grams) Add 1 cup Bread Flour (spooned and leveled) and 1/2 cup water to the 1/2 cup starter and let this rest at room temperature for 12-24 hours or until the starter looks “hungry” again before repeating.
- Day 4: Feed 1-2 times, discarding all but 1/2 cup of starter EACH TIME. Feed 1 cup bread flour, 1/2 cup water. Look for the hunger signs. Hopefully, you’ll begin to see some rising and falling. It’s helpful to put the starter in a clean jar and mark the beginning level (with sharpie, string or rubber band) so you can easily see this. ***If for some reason your starter looks like it is still rising at the time of second feeding (at night) and there is no evidence it has fallen or no slide marks, it is still “eating” so skip this feeding and feed first thing in the morning. AGAIN, Feeding it when it is “not hungry” will basically dilute all the growing yeast and make it lethargic. Better to starve than overfeed.
- Day 5: Feed again, 1-2 times, roughly 12 hours apart, or when hungry, discarding all but a 1/2 cup the starter EACH TIME. 1 cup bread flour, 1/2 cup lukewarm water. The starter should look active, bubbling, rising, sliding down, hopefully, close to doubling in size. (If not, repeat this day and read the troubleshooting section.)
- DAY 6: Give it one last feeding. Discard all but a 1/3 cup. Add 1 cup flour ( 120 grams) and 1/2 cup water, and place it in a clean jar so you can see the action clearly. You can use a sharpie or place a rubber band around the jar to mark the beginning level. The starter should hopefully double in volume within 4-6 hours of feeding. When it peaks, DO THE FLOAT TEST: To test the starter, place a teaspoon of starter (just from the top, while it is peaking, don’t stir it down) in a glass full of water, it should hopefully float. If it does, you can make bread. Tonight! Let the starter keep resting at room temperature or a few more hours allowing it to fully metabolize the flour, perhaps sinking a little before making your dough. You want to make dough with slightly hungry starter.
- At this point, if your starter does not double in size don’t give up! Often it just takes longer, sometimes up to two weeks, especially if it’s cold. Continue feeding one-two times a day (only when hungry) for a few more days, until you see a visible rise and fall. Read the troubleshooting section. If you need to take a break, just put it in the fridge and try it again up to a week later. Don’t toss it- if there are bubbles, it is still alive.
- This batch of starter will make two loaves of bread with enough left over to feed for the following week.
TROUBLESHOOTING:
- SMELL: Starter should smell slightly sweet and tangy, and not off or “bad”. To me, it smells like a wet horse;) If it really smells unpleasant, you may have used an unclean jar, or somehow introduced other bad bacteria. I would start over.
- NO ACTION: If your starter was doing great, then fizzled out, try using a little whole grain flour mixed with the bread flour into the feedings and really monitor amounts, making sure you are feeding the 1/2 cup starter 120 grams of flour. Check the temp (using a thermometer) and give it a little extra time to “digest” the flour. Sometimes it takes longer than you think. It is OK to skip a feeding at night if it looks like it is still peaking or rising. Don’t feel pressure to always follow the schedule- always watch your starter and feed it when it looks “hungry”.
- TOO MUCH ACTION: if your starter overflows from the jar, this is a good sign,(not bad) it is alive and active. This often happens in warm climates. You’ll need to feed it more often or find a cooler spot. Even if it floats on day 2-3, please keep feeding it the full 6 days before using it to make bread. It will add more flavor and complexity.
- CONSISTENCY: Thick or Thin? If you have been careful about measuring feedings, but are not seeing rising or falling, another way to tell what stage of your starter is in is to look at the consistency. If the starter seems really thick, it is still “digesting”. If it seems loose or runny or liquidy, (to the point where you can pour it out of the jar) it has digested all the flour and is now “hungry”. It loosens up as it metabolizes the flour. So even if you don’t see rising or falling, look for consistency to give you clues.
- DO NOT overfeed. For example, maybe, feeding 2 x day at 12-hour intervals is too often. You want to feed after the starter has peaked, then deflated a little or is runny (see photo above- you’ll see some slide marks on the jar) and this tells you that it is hungry. If you feed the starter before it has had a chance to metabolize (or eat) all the flour and then you discard part, and feed it again, you are actually diluting all that amazing yeast. Get it? So it’s all about watching your starter in your home. There are lots of variables here. Just be patient, pay attention and watch. This is a living thing- it doesn’t care about time schedules and recipes or what it “should” do. It will “eat” when it is “hungry” and sometimes it likes to eat slowly.
- It may take longer than 6 days in colder environments. Use a kitchen thermometer and take its temp. Is it under 65F? Find a place where it can be warm. Or use lukewarm water when mixing. Place it in the oven with the light on overnight. (Not in direct sunlight) or above the fridge, or on the stovetop. Sometimes if cold, it takes 10-12 days. Be patient, keep going. If it is doing absolutely nothing, leave it out on the counter for 24-48 hours and see what happens. If you see bubbles, it is alive and can be coaxed. If you run out of flour or need a break, don’t just toss it, put it in the fridge and see if you can get it going a few days or up to a week or two later.
- ACIDITY: If you still can’t get that starter going, some people recommend subbing pineapple juice for the water for one feeding- raising the acidity level. My good friend just tried this and it got hers going.
- LIQUID: If you see any liquid at the top of your starter, it means your starter is hungry. So, yes it’s still alive which is a good thing! You can stir the liquid in, or pour the liquid out, either way, but feed it! This may be a sign that you may need to feed it more often than you are.
- MOLD: if you see any discoloring or mold on the surface, the starter was probably contaminated. If it is only on the surface, you could salvage it. Scrape it off, save 1/2 cup of the underneath starter, and keep going. Feed, smell, use your best judgment.
- FLOAT TEST: If your starter is consistently rising and falling and it is has been over 8 days, but still doesn’t pass the float test, try baking a loaf of bread anyway. Remember, use hungry starter when mixing up the dough.
MAINTENANCE:
- REFRIGERATE & FEED AT LEAST ONCE A WEEK: Pick a scheduled day and try to stick with it, always reserving 1/2 cup starter (130 grams) and feeding it 1 cup flour (120 grams) and 1/2 cup water (120 grams). Discard the remaining, or give it away, or keep the discard in a separate container to use in waffles, pancakes, sourdough buns, banana bread, biscuits, etc. I usually don’t feed the discard unless giving away.
- If you forget to feed it one or two weeks in a row, it is most likely OK, just feed it 1-2 x day for 1-2 days in a row to revive it (keeping it out on the counter) until bubbly and active. I’ve left my starter for a month on vacation (in the fridge) without feeding and simply revived it by feeding it 3 days in a row, 2 x day. It’s actually kind of hard to kill. You can also freeze it for longer storage.
- If you find yourself wanting to bake more often than once a week, you can keep it out and feed it 1-2 times daily. Or if baking every few days, you can pull it out of the fridge, feed it 4-8 hours before using, leaving it out, use what you need while it is peaking, then put it back in the fridge that evening. Do the same thing a few days later when ready to use it again. So this would be feeding 2-3 times a week, best if baking 2-3 times a week.
Notes
- TEMPERATURE: The colder your home, the longer it will take for the starter to grow and become active (bubbles). Find a warm spot (70-80 degrees) for the best results. On the stovetop, with the light turned on, or on top of the fridge. Or in the oven with the light on. On top of a heating pad (set to low) with a towel in between). You can still make the starter in a colder home, it will just take longer- even up to 2 weeks.
- FLOUR: Always try to start the batch by using organic whole-grain flour (wheat or rye) because it has more wild yeast in it than All-Purpose or white flour and will get it active and growing sooner. You can, of course, continue to use whole grain, but I’ve had the best luck using organic “bread” flour for days 2 through 6. People have made a sourdough starter with All-Purpose flour- but personally, this has never worked for me– there are fewer nutrients and wild yeasts in the flour and results in a very lethargic starter. If it is your only option, try mixing in 2+ tablespoons of whole-grain (wheat or rye) with the AP flour per feeding. Feel free to use different flours or mix different flours together. It is OK to use all-purpose flour if in a pinch, but using it repeatedly will result in sad starter.
- WATER: Using filtered water seems to have the best results. Sometimes chlorine in tap water can inhibit the growth of your starter. If you don’t have an option- some people leave the tap water out, in an open container overnight to allow some of the chlorine to evaporate. I have not personally tried this. Using room temperature water or lukewarm water helps fermentation to start faster. Tap water in many areas is just fine too.
- HYDRATION: Hydration refers to the ratio of water to flour in terms of weight. It is a ratio. The starter is typically at 100% hydration- meaning equal parts flour and water, in terms of weight. So if you use 120 grams of water, use 120 grams of flour. This roughly translates to 1 cup of flour and 1/2 cup water. Feel free to weigh instead of measure if you want to be more precise, or want to familiarize yourself with the consistency you are aiming for. If using whole grain flours (which tend to be “thirstier”) and your starter seems very thick, it is totally OK to add more water to thin it a bit. I intentionally keep the hydration a little lower here (a thicker starter) so you can more clearly see the rise and fall “action” in the jar.
- STORING AND FEEDING: When your starter is kept cold, like in the fridge, you don’t need to feed it as often- only once a week. Feel free to feed it “cold”, and put it right back in the fridge if you like. If you keep it out on the counter, you’ll likely need to feed it 2 x daily (or just watch and feed only when hungry). Cold slows down the fermentation, heat speeds it up.
- USING: When you need to use your starter for baking bread, feed it 6-8 hours before making bread dough, using it right at peak height or slightly after (even better). For a more “sour” flavored bread, use the starter straight from the fridge, 3-6 days after feeding. The starter gets more sour tasting the longer it goes without feeding. Feeding the starter the same day as making bread will produce a milder sourdough flavor.
- Do I REALLY have to discard my starter? BASICALLY YES. I know it seems wasteful- but while you are building your starter, during the first week, it is the simplest, easiest, fastest, and most economical way to create healthy a starter. (Or save it separately -in the fridge- and use it in Pancakes, Waffles, Buns, or Biscuits. ) This is because you always have to feed it 2 times its volume in flour. For example-if you kept all the 1 1/2 cups of starter, you would have to feed it 3 cups of flour (instead of keeping just a 1/2 cup and only feeding it ONE cup). Doing this will shorten the fermentation process, require less flour in the long run, and create a stronger starter. Once your starter is “established” after the first week- then you can give it away to friends, use it in pizza dough, banana bread, waffles, pancakes, buns, etc) or give it to a friend. If you would like to save your “discard” during the first week – use it as you would flour and water, not expecting any rise.
- HOW TO USE YOUR SOURDOUGH STARTER/Discard :
- No-Knead Overnight Sourdough Bread (only if it passes the two “tests”)
- Overnight Sourdough Waffles
- Sourdough Pancakes
- Sourdough Scones
- Sourdough Biscuits
- No-Knead Sourdough Bread – only after day 6
- Vegan Banana Bread
- Sourdough buns
Save the sourdough “discard” in a separate container in the fridge.
Nutrition
- Calories: 50
Keywords: sourdough starter, easy sourdough starter, how to make sourdough starter, sourdough starter recipe,
Wow thats an extensive report on yeast starter fermentation thingy.
By the way you dont make yeast by mixing flour and water, yeast is a living organism that is floating around along with other everyday bacteria. It is attracted to the flour water mixture.
It then makes a home and multiplies and grows.
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One more question. When we are going to put it in the fridge, do we feed it and then put in fridge, or put it in there hungry to start?
Thank you so much for this help. I have tried this many times and it never worked but this time it did. One note that may help others. I keep my home very cool, about 70 degreeds most day and cooler at night, so the first few times I tried nothing every happend. I started putting the fed start into my garage where it was much warmer, maybe around 80 degrees or more, and wow that make all the difference in the world. It worked perfectly after that.
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Yes temerature really determines the timing of the feedings. If you are not going to use the starter for a week, feed it first. If you’ll use it within a day or two, you can put it in hungry.
Why do you change the ratio of starter in your last feeding? I am not at the point of using my starter to bake my first loaf, so I plan on putting the remaining starter in the fridge for now. When I am ready to feed it, do I go back to the 1/2 cup starter, 1/2 water and 120 grams of flour to feed or do I use teh 1/3 cup starter version like you do in the “last” feeding?
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You’ll go back the the 1/2 cup. The last feeding before baking your first loaf is just giving it a little extra boost of “food”.
Nice
My sourdough starter worked out perfectly I started it with rye and kept feeding it with spelt flour. Just wondering will this work with whole grain gluten free flour? If so, which flour would you recommend? Also, once you take out some starter in the fridge to make sourdough do you then replace same quantity of flour you’ve removed from the jar? Or do you continue adding say 120g of water and flour each time?
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Great to hear Kelly! You can feed it with whatever works best and you don’t have to stick with one flour. You can alternate, or blend. I have not tried the bread recipe with GF flour, so you may need to experiment here a bit. Whenever you feed, discard all but 1/2 cup of your starter, add 1/2 cup water and 1 cup flour.
My starter is rising and falling predictably but it seems like it stays risen for a long long time. It takes nearly 24 hours to complete one rise and fall cycle. When it does fall, it is still very thick and sticky, not thin like you say when it is hungry. I am using 1/2 cup starter + 1/2 cup water + 1 cup flour. What am I doing wrong?
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It just may be the temperature there-you are doing nothing wrong. It sounds fine! Is it doubling within 6 hours?
OMG!! Day 2 and the starter filled my quart jar! Is this very good, very bad or in the middle of good vs bad? I am using rye flour.
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It is great!
Hello!
I have been on the sourdough journey for only a little while. Some months back I tried 3 times and could not get it to work. I decided to try again and this time it is working (mostly). This time I have been weighing the amounts of flour and water and believe that has made a huge difference. I started with one starter using only whole wheat flour. I then divided it into two and slowly converted one to white bread flour and the other to half white half wheat flour. They were very active, needing to be fed 3 times in 24 hours. I am on Day 8 and this morning I noticed the White flour one had not risen nearly as much as normal. It had doubled and was runny so I fed it (and also used some in bread dough). It has been 6 hours and I cannot see any action in it other than some bubbles. It has not risen but it is getting runnier as if it is digesting the flour. Is this normal? Do I need to do something to help it get back to doubling in size? I was wanting to put it in the fridge after the next feeding but now I am nervous about doing that. Will it be ok if I do?
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It sounds like it is the flour. Yes,it is ok to put it in the fridge if you need to- totally ok to take a break- but if it is not doubling within 6 hours of feeding, you’ll have problems with making bread. I would try letting it get very very hungry before feeding next time and mixing in a whole grain flour.
Sylvia, absolutely loved this recipe, When I first began the process on day 1, I tried to create a very warm environment for my starter to sit in by heating up my microwave with a glass of water , taking out the glass of water and discarding it and then putting the starter in the preheated microwave. To be clear, I did not microwave the starter mix which I had in a 24 oz glass jar with cognitionboosters.com lightly on top. Using this process, on day 1, the starter was very active and very bubbly with lots of holes and doubling in size. It never fell, but at the appointed times when I was to feed the starter, it had a very intense smell.
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Great to hear!
Hi sylvia,
Thanks for sharing the wonderful experience of making sourdough starter, though I am keeping track of mine, but mine is behaving quite different, it was very active and hungry for the first 2 days than it slowed down, it did rise and increase in volume but slides down very little. I am in day 5 now, though it looks healthy but I am not sure when its ready to use.
P.s, I live in Pakistan and its very hot and humid here.
Hi Sofia! I would give it a few more days. It is ready when it doubles within 6 hours of feeding. 🙂
Hi Sylvia,
First of all thank you for the detailed recipe and information, it has been very helpful.
I am running into an issue, I have followed the directions exactly for the first 3 days without issue, on day 4 my starter rose about 1/3 instead of doubling, this was after 15 hours. I monitored it after 12 hours waiting for it to increase more but it didn’t. I ended up feeding it. Now day 5 and it has been 19 hours with barely any increase at all (no slide down marks either). The top looks runny and pourable and I’m wondering if I’m overanalyIng and should just stick with the 12 your feedings until ready? I was trying to wait until it doubled to feed because I didn’t want to overfeesd.
Thank you.
You are on the right track Eddy. Don’t stick with the schedule- just watch your starter and feed only when showing signs of hunger. It’s better to wait and let it get really hungry than overfeed, which will cause lethargy. Sometimes this can take 24 hours, especially as days and nights get cooler. Just keep going. 🙂
Thank you for sharing your recipes! I LOVE this sourdough bread! I have been making it with caraway, fennel, and chia seeds in the amount you recommended. I would like to try a loaf using herbs like the rosemary, thyme, and sage but don’t feel confident in guessing the right amount or combination to use. Do you have a suggestion to start with?
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If using fresh herbs, start with a tablespoon or two, or if using dried herbs, try a 1-2 teaspoons.
Hi there– I am on day 7 presently. The starter does not really rise, but it bubbles and gets obviously hungry (liquid on top) at about 24 hours. I’ve not implemented a 2x/day feed yet since it is going so slow. I am in Seattle, so it is a bit cooler, though I am checking the temperature of the starter and it hovers around 75 degrees F. Should I keep going and see what happens over the next few days, or try something else? Thank you!
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Give it a couple more days, then try switching up the flour? Anything freshly milled, or mixing in rye or whole grain.
Hi Sylvia,
I started growing a sour dough culture using the Tartine Bakery (SF) recipe a couple of years back. I had mixed success and made a few loaves that were too hard for my wife. I came across your website a little over a month ago and started a culture with whole wheat and bread flour (both King Arthur). Only one day the culture doubled and settled down, but most days it barely goes up and down. After 10 days on the counter, I split it and put half in the fridge and keep half on the counter. Regardless of rise (and I forgot to test for float the first two times) I have baked 3 sourdough rolls, using your recipe and also used your pancake recipe with the extra culture. I’m experimenting with different types and quantities of flour and even different levels of lukewarm temperature. I even took an open jar of the culture and walked around the yard to pick up some wild yeasts from the air.
Still, all the loaves and the pancakes were so good. My wife and my son both loved them. Thank you for sharing your expertise with us. I can’t wait to try your other recipes. Kind regards.
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Thanks so much, Jalal, appreciate you sharing. If you find any freshly milled flour to add to your starter it may give it a nice boost. 🙂 All the best on your sourdough journey.
Hi Sylvia. Yesterday I used 30% white whole wheat, 70% bread flour (both King Arthur), 100% water, and 20% starter (weight: whole wheat 120g, bread flour 280g, filtered water 400g 110° F, and starter 80g) and left it in a tall mason jar covered with a damp cloth overnight on the counter. The temperature in my kitchen hovers between 76-78° F. This morning it has doubled in size. Excited.😁. After I made the mix I realized I’d gone overboard with the weights. I will cut everything in half when I refresh it this morning. I will try to find some fresh milled flour. Thank you again. Best wishes.
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Thanks Jalal!
And I made your scones yesterday with the starter I mentioned earlier. My wife, who is an excellent cook, said it’s the best thing that’s come out of our kitchen!!! They were sooo good. I had some frozen raspberries and did use the butter for the glaze. I can’t wait to try all your other recipes. Much thanks again.
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I’m so happy you and your wife enjoyed this Jalal!
Thank you again. Hopefully my last question- now that my starter is in the fridge. I understand that i need to feed it once a week. Does that mean, i take 1/2 cup of cold starter, feed it and then leave it out for 8 hours. Or can i feed and refrigerate it immediately and then feed again after a week?
You can feed it and put it right back in ( and feed it again in a week) if not using it right away.
After feeding and keeping it back in Fridge, when can I bake again?
You can bake any time, just make sure the starter has peaked ( pull it out of the fridge, let it peak), you don’t want to use starter for bread dough when it is not “hungry”.
Hi, I had a question about maintenance phase. I like to put it straight back in the fridge when I’ve fed it, but I was wondering if it should be put in an airtight container or if the lid should be left loose. Thank you!
I leave it loose. 🙂
Hi Sylvia,
Thanks for your response to previous question. So i am in Day 7 and this morning my starter was overflowing. I fed my started at 7.45 am ans now its more than doubled and i think its still raising (12.22p). I fear it will overflow. I want to make the bread tonight but not sure if i should be keeping my starter in fridge at this time or not. Also, you suggested that we should be baking with a slightly hungry starter. What do you recommend?
You are fine to bake tonight. I would keep it out, so it gets a little hungry before you make the dough. 😉
Day 3 here! Just opened mine to feed it and woooo it smells. Will toss it and restart in the morning. Thank you for the trouble shooting tips!!!
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Hi Sylvia, i fed my started on Day 4 morning and since then it has not doubled. Today is Day 5 and i still dont see it doubli g. There are lots of bubbles on top but not sign of sliding down either. Should I feed my starter?
Hi Naz, look for signs of hunger. Is it liquidy enough to pour out of the jar or water on top? If so, feed. 😉
Hi, I have baked my first sourdough bread using your starter and overnight sourdough guide, I was in love! It came out beautiful!
I put the remainder of the starter in the fridge for one week, and took it out for my second try at baking.
I fed it, but after almost 24hrs it has almost not risen. There’s definitely signs of hunger: lots of bubbles at the top.
Do I just continue feeding it until it starts to double?
Yes, I would leave it out a few days and strengthen it- only feeding when hungry.
Hi! Hope you’re having a great day..
I have a question..
In my local town it’s so hard to find Whole Grain Flour, but we do be having a lot of Whole Wheat Flour. My question is, can I start my sourdough starter with the whole wheat flour instead? Do I need to add more water or less flour since it’s so thick ?
N.B. when I weighed 120 g of water and the same amount of whole wheat flour, the flour was less that 1 cup, and when I mixed them together they made a kinda thicker than yours paste
Thank you so much
Have a wonderful day
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Yes, that is fine to use whole wheat, and totally fine to add more liquid so it looks more like the consistency of the video. 🙂
Hi! Everything is going well with my starter (on day 5), but I am running out of bread flour and my local grocery store is currently out of stock. If I cannot find more, what would be the best substitute until I can restock?
Whole wheat or a blend of whole wheat and white.
Fantastic, thank you!
As I’ve been researching “starters” for a while, your instructions/video is one of the more informative and detailed ones out there, thank you for this Sylvia! I purchased some Weck jars 🙂
My question is (and I’m not savvy on the subject, a little confused, lol) and which I haven’t found a person to really answer, can you utilize a “sourdough” starter to make regular white sandwich bread, white hamburger buns and Italian white bread etc…? Perhaps you mentioned this and I missed it? Don’t get me wrong I love sourdough bread too 🙂
Yes you can. Sourdough just acts as the yeast here. Timing will be different. But it doesn’t necessarily have to make the bread sour. 🙂
Ugh -.-‘ Somethings happened with mine. It started off so well! Now it’s been about 3 weeks.. ( I put it in the fridge for a week because I got frustrated)
It rises.. Hardly falls, but will if I leave it for longer time.. & it does not float.. It smells fermented.. In the end I only feed it about once a day because the slow rise fall.. I am in a warm climate .. Please help!
Sorry about that. It seems like you are on the right track though! Does it double within 6 hours of feeding? Leave it out and time how long it takes to double and report back. Let me know. 🙂 You can do this!
Yes , it doubles in size but does not go down.
I tried 2 days ago to mix it and leave it to get hungry.. It rose a little a again.. Did not float.. Got frustrated put it in the fridge.. Took it out again.. fed it. And it’s double the size.
Ok if it doubles within 6 hours of feeding it is ok to use for baking!
I can cook even though it does not pass the float test?
So when would I make the overnight bread?
I would feed 6Hr before?
You can use it even it doesn’t float as long as it doubles within 6 hours of feeding. I would wait to use the starter until it is hungry. Use after it peaks and starts to sink. For example, feed starter early in the morning, let it peak during the day, make the dough at night.
Hello! I started my starter in July and have been feeding 2 x day. Still haven’t used as been too busy to move on to learning to bake bread. The last week or 2, the starter smells like acetone. I tried a backing off to 1 x day and back up to 2 x day, still smells. Start over or okay to use? It’s rising and falling, just smells different than before : (
Thanks!
Does it double within 6 hours of feeding? If so, put it in the fridge and maybe give it a break for 5-7 days, refeed. Measure the time it takes to double. Honestly, I would just store it in the fridge if you are not using it? you’ll use less flour.
I am on day 4 of building my starter. When I first began the process on day 1, I tried to create a very warm environment for my starter to sit in by heating up my microwave with a glass of water , taking out the glass of water and discarding it and then putting the starter in the preheated microwave. To be clear, I did not microwave the starter mix which I had in a 24 oz glass jar with Saran Wrap lightly on top. Using this process, on day 1, the starter was very active and very bubbly with lots of holes and doubling in size. It never fell, but at the appointed times when I was to feed the starter, it had a very intense smell. I thought maybe I was a little too aggressive with my and was concerned about creating a mold environment, so stopped putting it in a preheated microwave and left it on my counter wrapped in a towel beginning with day 2. Ever since I have been just leaving it on the counter, it does not get high and bubbly and does not show evidence of rising and falling oh, but it is quite liquidy, so I have been following your schedule and I’m now up to two feedings a day. My concern is that I jump-started the fermentation process, and then stopped doing it and now my starter is protesting, LOL. I guess time will tell by the 6th day and a float test whether or not I was successful. What do you think of my amended process using the preheated microwave as a proofing chamber initially?
Mimi- If it is very cold there, it may be a good option for added warmth. For now, I would just keep going, feeding only when hungry/ runny. It may not sink down like my photos- that is ok, main thing is it doubling within 6 hours of feeding on the 6th day? If so then you should be good to go.
I’m on my 4th day it has quadrupled in size lots of bubbles. However, it is not sliding down. It has liquid on top. I fed last night then again in 12 hours. Is it hungry?
Hi Teresa! If there is liquid, then it is hungry. If it is not sliding down, check to see it if pours out of the jar easily, that is another sign of hunger. Better to wait than overfeed. 😉
Hi, Sylvia 🙂
My starter is a few months old now, I’m keeping it in the fridge. I’ve been feeding when I’m baking with 120 g water and 120 g flour, but I want to have more starter. Should I increase my feedings? How much flour and water should I add?:) One more question: my starter is quite runny but bubbly and active and smells nice. It also passes the float test when baking, but I wonder if the runny consistency is ok?
Hi Beatrice! It may be runny because it is a little hungry. To make more starter, just save double the amount and feed double the amount. Hopefully that makes sense. 😉
Yeah, that makes sense, thank you!!
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Thank you for your help.
Hi Sylvia, I’m on day 4 (it’s winter where I am). It was bubbling yesterday and this morning but no sign of rise and fall so I left it hungry for more than 36 hours. Just then I saw white mould growing on the surface. I managed to scrape it off. Would this work?
Oh shoot. If you think you got most of it, and you are comfortable you could keep going? I wonder if it is too warm?
Hi
I’ve realised I’ve put.my dough starter in a clip seal Mason jar. Is this too air tight. Should I leave the jar unclipped? Its been 24 hours and not much movement but I’m in the UK and it’s a bit cooler at the moment.
Thank you
Ellie
I would leave it unclipped, but it probably didn’t hurt your starter so just keep going. 🙂
Thank you so much for taking the time to reply. I removed the rubber seal and have left unclipped. It’s starting to rise now. 🙂
Oh good Ellie!
Good morning. I have gone on to day 2 but accidentally added too much water (1 c. instead of 1/2 c.). Is this a problem? It didn’t seem like it was a warning to stay away from in your instructions, but I figured I’d ask. Thanks!
I think it could be ok. It may take a little longer if you want to continue with this batch. At next feeding, I would Save 3/4 cup starter and feed normal amount, when it gets hungry. Then go back to feeding 1/2 cup?
Hey, just wondering if my last message was still processing?
Yup, answered below. 😉
I am on Day 2, using Rye wheat. When I woke up this morning my starter was triple the size.( I live in a tropical climate) I didn’t wait for it to deflate, I poked it with a fork and it dropped & I carried on with the instructions.. I am guessing if in 12 hours she is hungry again I should feed her?
(When I discarded the rest , it floated !!)
Now, another question, I only have coconut flour, regular flour & the rye. Do you think I should continue with rye or can I use one of the others? Rye here is expensive & I don’t exactly want to be using it for discard ):
Many thanks! Can’t wait to see what happens !
* I did have to add more water like you said because the starter was not looking like the constancy you mentioned.
It sounds happy!I’d try using 3/4 regular flour mixed with a 1/4 rye. 🙂
I am on day 3 of making my starter following your recipe. So far, I have saved the discard to make new starters in two different jars (so I basically have 3 starters going). I’m doing this to give away to 2 of my sisters who want one. I read somewhere in your directions that the stage where you could give away the starter is at the end when the starter is established, but if I have been saving the 1/2 cup of starter and feeding it separately in the 3 jars, is this ok?
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Yes, this is fine Kris! Just make sure the starter you give away is at least 6 days old and doubles in size within 6 hours of feeding.
I made the sour dough starter, as per your instructions on the video, and after 6 days, it is ready. It looks just like you said and it passed the float test. Thank you so much for giving the instructions and video. I am so excited to make my first loaf of sourdough bread. I have always been intimidated about starting one but I am so glad I did. I will be trying your recipes. Thank you so much..
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Great to hear Laurel!
Thank you so much for this detailed fool-proof recipe! I have tried making sourdough starter before, without much success. I gave it another chance and it paid off! This recipe worked so well!
I fed the starter with whole-grain flour only because with the bread flour it took very long to rise and I was getting impatient. ‘:D. This seemed to have helped my starter double in size in the expected time. I guess it’s because summer hasn’t reached England yet. 🙂 Anyway, I wouldn’t have thought of that without your brilliant recipe, so thank you, thank you, thank you!
I now enjoy freshly baked sourdough loaves every week, using your amazing no-knead sourdough bread recipe.
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So happy that you gave it another go and had success! Congrats!
You said to start with whole grain flour so why was it Snow White ?
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I used a lite rye.
Thanks so much for the detailed instructions. I have been following your instructions to a tee. I started Friday night with making my starter, 24 hours later–Saturday night, I fed it with bread flour and discarded part of the starter like you suggested. On Sunday morning it doubled/tripled in size (as evidenced by the skid marks I saw), I fed it Sunday night with bread flour (little bit of rye mixed in). Monday morning I noticed no change in the starter, very few bubbles (like three small bubbles), no signs of it rising and fed it. Monday night, went to feed the starter and had only a few bubbles, had shown no signs of rising, and fed it again with bread flour/mixed in rye. This morning, has a few bubbles (like 2-3), has still shown no signs of rising, so just skipped feeding it. I don’t know what to do. I have watched your videos and read your instructions. Basically I feel like since I got a TON of activity on day 2…it has continued to show few bubbles, no signs of rising, etc. It has the consistency your starter has when I go to feed it typically, but other than that, lacks bubbles and activity. Thoughts on what to do? Wonder if its lethargic and I need to let it digest longer. I checked the temp of where I have it stored and its 78 degrees F, I am feeding it with filtered water too.
When it gets to the point of liquid on the top, or you are able to pour it out of the jar, feed it. 🙂 Wait until then.
I love the rounded jars with the glass lid! Where can I get some of these.
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They are Weck jars and linked in the post. 🙂
Hi there! I have tried this a few times and on the second day (after I add the bread flour) my starter gets huge in a matter of about 6 hours. After feeding it on day 3 I see very little action, some bubbling at the top but that is about it. I can never seem to get it going again after the feeding on the 3rd day. I have tried skipping feedings here and there but no luck. Any advice?
this is fairly typical. You just have to press on through and be patient. Try mixing in a little whole grain flour, and only feed when hungry. 🙂
I have tried making this several times and my starter always turns out much thicker then yours when I make it. I am measuring 120 grams for both water and flour. I can’t figure this out.
Hi Mark- what kind of flour are you using?
Hello Sylvia,
I am using the King Arthur whole grain whole wheat flour. 120 g of water and 120 g of flour. I’m keeping my starters in a room where it’s about 74°. They’ve been sitting now for about 12 hours and the only change is a little bit of liquid sitting on top of them no bubbles at all. I just can’t understand what my problem is.
Ok, so it is very thick w/ no rise at all, but liquid at the top after 12 hours? Does it pour out of the jar after 12 hours? Do you have another flour, like white bread flour you could try using at the next feeding?
Okay after 48 hours it is bubbling like crazy and is ready to eat, guess it just took an extra day to get going. We will see how it goes from here! Thank you for the quick responses.
Great Mark!
After letting my starting sit for 48 hours it’s off like gangbusters! I have hungry starter! Feeding it with organic bread flour and will se how it progresses.
Thank you!
I am starting to stress out about this project. Lol. Not even sure what day I am on, since I have been extending the time due to lack of growth. It def bubbles. Grows maybe an inch? Yes it pours out but I have never seen it double. I may be on day 7 or 8. I stopped feeling it every 12 hours. Yesterday when I added more flour and water, it grew an inch within 5 hours and has done nothing since. What do I do?
Hi Cathy- don’t stress! It is growing so you are definitely on the right track. 🙂 I would just keep going and perhaps play with different a flour? What flour are you using? You can try mixing in a little whole grain? Don’t watch the clock just watch the starter. It is alive, active and now it may take a little time to get it stronger.
Ok, well I tried whole wheat after plain white didn’t seem to produce double. To be honest, I have done nothing to it since Tuesday night. I just wasn’t sure what to do. It grew a bit and then stopped. I still see bubbles in there. What next? Is it too late to feed it since it has been 3 days???😬
Nope, just keep going. If there are bubbles, it is still alive Cathy. It is most likely the flour- freshly milled flour has the most wild yeast, and whole wheat is a step up from white. Organic flours work great too. Mixing flours is a good option.
Hello. Is it possible for a starter to be ready to bake within the first few days of creating the starter? After the first 24 hours, she is bubbling like crazy and doubled in size! 6 hours later (after feeding her), she’s doubled in size again! I’ve created starters before, and each time it took about a week, but this time it’s unbelievable! I’m using half whole wheat and half all purpose flour. Do you think I could bake already on the 3rd day?
Hi Amy- it is a great question and I’ve personally never tried baking so early, so I’m not 100% sure. Everything that I have read and researched says to wait-so I tend towards that, but it is up to you.
I love you recipes! I do think that I may have messed up my starter that I’ve been using since 10/15/20… lol I have been feeding it with whole wheat flour and it is pretty dark…I missed the part about switching over to bread flour. Everyone loves my bread though, maybe because it’s free, but should I start to use bread flour now or just start over?
Second question…I live in south Florida and I have been letting my starter sit in the lanai after I feed it and it peaks pretty quickly and it seems like it helps my dough as well instead of leaving it inside. It is about 80-85 degrees in high humidity. My loaves come out a little flatter than I care for, is this a bad idea and the reason for the flatter loaves? Thank you!
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Hi Ted, whole wheat is fine and sounds like it is working for you no need to change. I wonder if your bread dough though is over proofing slightly? Perhaps try shortening the proofing time?
Hi Sylvia, I’m in need of some guidance. I’ve been using a mix of whole wheat organic flour and bread flour and things were going great day 1-3 (the starter was doubling in size on day 3) but suddenly on day 4 it stopped and I’m seeing almost no action except for 3 very small bubbles on top. The consistency is very sticky and wet and has not risen at all in 3 days. I’m afraid I fed it too early with both feedings on days 4 & 5 and have now weakened it. Like you suggested, I’ve left it out for 48 hours but I’m still not noticing any increased activity. What would you recommend I do? Should I discard and start from scratch? I’m so devastated.
Is it liquidy? Does it pour out of the jar?
Hi, just completed the 6 day preparation and my first loaf turned out amazing!
So, I used the first batch of starter and put my jar in the fridge. Was I supposed to feed it again? Or do I take it out, feed it, then use what I need after it peaks again. (Will it peak after being refrigerated?) I’m just confused!
I would like to make another loaf this week, but want to be sure I have enough to maintain the starter.
You should still have enough to make one more loaf and feed the remaining starter for next time. Or if you are worried you could feed in the morning before you make the dough ( leave it out on the counter), let it peak before using for the dough.
Thanks Sylvia, So far so good for me.
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Thanks Sylvia,
So far so good for me. I’m also a bit confused about what to do today on day 6. If my starter passes the float test – and I’m not planning on making bread today – do I put the jar in the fridge without feeding? And then just feed it in a week? Or, do I feed it after the float test and put it in the fridge right after the feed?
Thanks for your time!
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Yes, you can put it in the fridge without feeding. Actually either way would work fine;)
Hi sylvia I followed all the thing you mentioned in this post . My starter is doubling in 24 hours after that I fed it and it tripled in even 6 hours and started to slide down . As you instructed I fed it because I saw it was hungry after this feeding which was in day3 there is no rise at all just small bubbles on top which after some hours I can just see lots of dark water on top also as I am using bakery flour the color of starter is amazing at the beginning its like the beautiful starter pictures on web while it is rising but in day 3 the color is also change to a cream floury color. I tried it for one month and each time I face the same situation and I get disappointed and through them . Please kindly guide me I was so eager and now I am very disappointed.
I would try different flour. Organic bread flour is preferred here- and you could try mixing in a whole grain at times. Freshly milled flours are the BEST.
Hi, Sylvia:)
I’m almost done making the starter, I’m on day 6. Fed it in the morning after 12 hour gap, the starter doubled in sized after approx. 4 hours. I guess this is a good sign. I’m thinking I should feed it again after 12 hours and not make bread yet, since the starter started peaking and falling consistently just recently, because of the weather I think. Should I feed it one more day and make bread tomorrow evening? 🙂
yes, feed it again today, and make dough tonight after it peaks!
The bread turned great, but not perfect. Still good with peanut butter! Maybe needed to prove longer 🙂 I will try to experiment with different flours. One more question: how should I store the starter in a fridge: tightly closed or just covered with a cloth?
I just place a lid on top and turn once- not tight!
Hi Sylvia…..
Love your flawless directions, and I’m trying really hard to get this right. All was going well, but then it didn’t rise after day three feeding (weather was consistent). I switched to part whole grain, and it did better, but have never managed to get to two feedings a day. And today on day 8, it rose and rose and rose some more from 10pm the night before. At 6pm I tried a float test. It didn’t sink but just spread out like a scum. Once the starter had been disturbed by the spoon, it dropped, so I’ve fed it and left it again. Any thoughts? Many thanks
It sounds ok to me! Just see if it doubles within 6 hours of feeding.
Hi, Sylvia! My Day 1 took almost 36 hours because of the temp in my home, which was fine. Day 2 it almost doubled after only 5 hours (from 5pm to 10pm), so I left it over night and fed it in the morning when I saw there was evidence of more rising and a downward slide. I fed it and after over 12 hours it hadn’t risen at all, but there were lots of watery bubbles at the surface and it had become very thin. Based on what I read in your post, I fed it anyway since it was thin and bubbly. This morning (12 hours later), it’s the same situation— there are some bubbles breaking the surface and it’s thinner but no rise.
Do I leave it longer and try to see if it will rise? It seemed like it was off to such a great start on day 2 and now I’m worried I somehow killed whatever yeast was growing. I followed all of your ingredients and weights exactly so far. Thanks!
It seems fairly typical. If you can easily pour it out of the jar, I would feed and just keep going. 😉