How to make your own Sourdough Starter, using simple ingredients with no special equipment, in just six days, that can be used in our sourdough bread. Video.
When you understand one thing through and through, you understand everything.~ Shunryu Suzuki
With over 500 five-star reviews and hundreds of success stories, my chef’s perfected sourdough starter guide has everything you need to make your own homemade starter. In just six days, you’ll be baking the most beautiful sourdough loaves!
But first, What is a starter?
Sourdough starter is a “wild yeast” made from flour, water, and the natural wild yeast in the air. With a little care and patience, it ferments, and when strong and active, just a little bit of starter replaces commercial yeast and makes your bread rise, while transforming the gluten in the bread into something more easily digestible. Store-bought yeast is not needed!
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
Sourdough Starter Recipe Ingredients
- Jar – A wide-mouth quart jar or a Weck’s 1-liter tulip jar.
- Flour – 5 lb bag of organic bread flour (plus 1 cup organic whole grain flour )
- Water – filtered water, tap water, or mineral water (specifically, San Pellegrino, for the correct mineral ratio). Distilled water does not have enough minerals.
- Scale – using a kitchen scale is optional but handy.
- Thermometer – Knowing the temp of the starter using a thermometer is optional but handy!
Understanding 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. Once it’s bubbly and happy, it is very much ike a very low-maintenance pet.
- You must feed it (stir in a mixture of flour and water) once a week to keep it active and strong. 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.
How to Make Sourdough Starter
*See the recipe card for detailed instructions.
This recipe for Sourdough Starter takes 6 days (or up to 12 days if it is very cold where you live). For a primer, watch the 20-minute Sourdough Video above!
Day 1: Staring in the morning or at night, using a wide-mouth quart jar, tulip jar, or Crock or Glass Measuring Cup , mix 1 cup whole grain flour (120 grams) with 1/2 cup filtered water (120 grams) using a fork (or chopstick) making sure you’ve incorporated all the dry flour.
Place the lid lightly on top (using the Weck jar lid 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 unsure how warm it is, use a kitchen thermometer and check it a few hours later. See notes for TEMPERATURE.
TIP #1: For your first measurement, weigh the flour using a kitchen scale so you can get an idea of how the mixture should feel. Do not weigh the measuring cup! It should be like a thick paste, like peanut butter. If you need to add a little more water to incorporate the flour, that is OK too!
Day 2: After the first 24 hours, there may or may not be a bit of bubbling. Let the mixture rest until you see activity (bubbles or rising) sometimes this takes 36 hours or even 48 hours if very cold. When you see active bubbling, discard all but 1/2 cup of the starter (4 ounces).
To the remaining ½ cup of starter, stir in 1/2 cup water (120 grams), and mix well with a fork. Add 1 cup of organic bread flour (120 grams)spooned and leveled. Stir until combined. Again, it should feel like a thick paste. If overly dry, feel free to add a bit more water. Cover again and allow the mixture to sit at room temperature for another 24 hours.
Day 3: After 24 hours, hopefully, you will see some bubbling or rising and if not, let it go a bit longer until you see activity. Be patient.
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, in the morning and at night. If it is cold, one feeding a day may be enough.
TIP #2: Only feed the starter after it has peaked or looks hungry. See the “3 Signs of Hunger” below. Feeding it when it is “not hungry” will basically dilute all the growing yeast and make it lethargic. Better to underfeed than overfeed.
The 3 Signs of hunger
The photo below was taken after the starter was fed, and after it peaked (reached its highest), and now is sliding down. It is now “hungry” again. See the downward slide marks on the jar? Pay attention – your starter is telling you it is hungry.
- Look for “slide marks” (be sure to use a clean jar so you can see these clearly).
- Liquid at the top of the starter.
- Thin and runny. The starter is liquidy enough to pour out of the jar (when at room temp).
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, discard all but 1/2 cup of the starter (keeping roughly ½-cup of starter in the jar). Add 1/2 cup water and 1 cup Bread Flour (spooned and leveled). Mix well, cover, 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.
TIP #3: It is typical on day 4 for the starter to slow down and stall a bit. This is OK. Just keep going, be patient and look for the hunger signs, and only feed when clearly hungry. Hopefully, you’ll begin to see some rising and falling. It’s helpful to put the starter in a clean jar each day and mark the beginning level (with a sharpie, string or rubber band) so you can easily see this.
Above, you’ll see it peaking, and below, you’ll see it deflating and getting “hungry.” There may not be too much difference in the beginning, so look closely.
Understand that your starter has a schedule of its own; it is a living thing, so watch it and pay attention.
If your starter is not rising and falling, look at its 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.
Day 5: Feed again, 1-2 times, discarding all but a 1/2 cup the starter each time. Adding 1 cup bread flour and 1/2 cup lukewarm water. The starter should look visibly active, bubbling, rising, hopefully, close to doubling in size.
Repeat day 5 until the starter is rising and falling predictably and is close to doubling in size within 6-8 hours.
TIP #4: If your starter is not rising but there is evidence of hunger (liquidy or liquid at the top) try 3 things: substitute 1/4 cup whole grain flour (add to ¾ cup white bread flour) on your next feeding. Try using mineral water like San Pellegrino instead of water. Stir the starter a few times after feeding to allow more wild yeast from the kithcen to get inside.
DAY 6 Morning: Baking day! Give it one last feeding in the morning: this time discard all but a 1/3 cup. (The reason we are changing this to 1/3 cup is to feed it a little bit more.) Add 1 cup flour (120 grams) and 1/2 cup water, stir, 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 6-8 hours of feeding.
In the photo above, on the 6th day, the starter was fed at 8 am, it peaked around 2 pm, then it started deflating, and by 8 pm, it was “hungry” again. See those downward “slide” marks on the jar?
DO THE FLOAT TEST: When the starter is at its peak, or just after, 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 floats, success!!! Congrats. You can now make our sourdough bread…tonight!
TIP #5: When baking bread always use hungry starter that has already peaked!
STARTER DOES NOT FLOAT? If it doubles in size but does not float, you can still try baking a loaf if it doubles within 6-8 hours of feeding it.
At this point, if your starter does not double in size within 6-8 hours of feeding, don’t give up! Often, it just takes longer, especially during the winter months. Continue feeding one to two times a day until you see a consistent, predictable rise and fall.
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!
Day 6 Evening: Let’s Bake! Use 1/3 cup starter to make this sourdough bread recipe and place the remaining starter (or if not making bread, place all of it) in the refrigerator, and feed it at least once a week, reserving ½ cup starter, before feeding it the usual 1 cup bread flour, 1/2 cup water.
TROUBLESHOOTING Starter
- SMELL: Starter should smell sweet, tangy, earthy, like a wet horse – not “bad”. If it really smells foul or unpleasant, you may have used an unclean jar, unclean utensil, or somehow introduced other bad bacteria. I would start over.
- NO ACTION: On day 4-5 it is typically for it to slow down. If your starter is not rising at all but there is evidence of hunger (liquid at the top, or bubbles) try 3 things. First substitute 1/4 cup whole grain flour (add to ¾ cup white bread flour) on your next feeding. If no rise, then try using mineral water, specifically San Pellegrino instead of water. San Pelligrino specifically has the right mineral ratio, I have great luck with it. Others not so much! Also try stirring the starter a couple of hours after feeding, a couple of times throughout the day to allow wild yeast from the room to get in there. Lastly, you could try pineapple juice instead of water.
- FLOUR: Try to use fresh milled 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”. Or if it gets runny enough to pour out of the jar, another sign it is hungry. 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. In the oven with the light on, or in an upper cupboard ( heat rises). Sometimes it takes 12-14 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, using a clean jar. 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, give it away, or keep the discard in a separate container for sourdough pancakes, sourdough buns, banana bread, biscuits, etc. I usually don’t feed the discard unless I give it away.
- If you forget to feed it one week, it is most likely OK; feed it 1-2 times a day for 1-3 days in a row to revive it (keeping it out on the counter) until bubbly and active and doubles within 6 hours. 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 surprisingly hard to kill. You can also freeze it for more extended 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 want 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.
The best time to use sourdough starter is just after it peaks or on its way down when you know it is hungry.
Sourdough Bread Starter FAQs
Yes. While you are building your starter, during the first week, it is the simplest, easiest, fastest, and most economical way to create a healthy 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 two 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). Discarding 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, pancakes, etc) or give it to a friend.
How to use your Sourdough Starter
- See all our Sourdough Recipes!
- Sourdough Scones
- Sourdough Crackers
- Sourdough Biscuits
- Sourdough Buns
- Sourdough Tortillas!
- Vegan Banana Bread
- Overnight Sourdough Waffles
More from Feasting At Home
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 6 days, that can be used in sourdough bread. Sourdough Starter is a wild yeast, made from fermenting flour and water.
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 Water per feeding (1/2 cup water)
Instructions
-
- Day 1: Starting in the morning or at night, using a wide-mouth quart 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 until starter doubles in size within 8-12 hours of feeding- 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 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 sourdough 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. Place the remaining starter in the fridge and feed it in a week. You’ll have enough stater to make one more sourdough loaf during the week, and still have enough to feed. If you want to wait to make bread until later in the week place starter in the fridge. Be sure to feed it in 7 days. Read maintenance section.
- 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.
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, freshly milled 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: I usually use tap water -but sometimes the chlorine in tap water can inhibit the growth of your starter. Lukewarm water helps fermentation to start faster. Sterilized bottled water is often overly sterile, and can also inhibit. Mineral water, like Perrier (carbonated is OK) can sometimes work miracles.
- 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, 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 1-2 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 10-12 hours before making bread dough, using it after its peak height. 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.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 tablespoon
- Calories: 31
- Sugar: 0 g
- Sodium: 0.2 mg
- Fat: 0.1 g
- Saturated Fat: 0 g
- Trans Fat:
- Carbohydrates: 6.2 g
- Fiber: 0.2 g
- Protein: 1 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
I Have successfully made 3 loaves of sour dough bread following this tutorial. Thankyou Sylvia! I used King Arthurs whole wheat flour for my starter, and baking with all purpose flour. I have really enjoyed my time on during this covid 19 crisis by working on this. I am now sharing my starter with others. It may seem insignificant, but it has opened a lot of doors for conversation. Im thankful. My 2nd loaf of bread, I toasted thin slices with olive oil and brie cheese. The best! now on to waffles for my hubby tomorrow. Thankyou again Sylvia
This recipe is so easy to follow, thanks for all the time and detail put into this. I do have a question, I’m nearing the three day mark and using a 32 oz weck jar. I know the nature of these things is there will always be some variations in results, but my starter is nearly bubbling the jar full!! Should I be concerned? I’m about 4 hours from the 24 hour mark to start feeding every 12 hours but I feel my starter looks like a monster compared to yours! It has no signs of dropping yet.
Wow! it sounds happy and alive!
Hi,
I am on Day 4 and I can’t see any evidence of slide marks, but I do have some liquid at the top. Should I feed it now? Thank you!
Yes. Feed if you see liquid.
I don’t even have the patience to read through all this lol. I’ll just wait until I can finally find some yeast. This is way too much work for something that may not even work.
Hey Bella- just watch the video- it is long but thorough.
Hi Sylvia,
I have started my starter this weekend, using whole wheat flour all along the process.
Everything was fine until yesterday. After the second 12h feed on D3, there was no sign of rising so I left it overnight without feeding it. I fed it again this morning, but since yesterday it doesn’t seem to be really bubbling or rising anymore. I don’t have any scale, so can it be that I did not remove enough starter for each feeding? Or can it be that feeding should be more spaced with whole grain floor?
What would you suggest me? (Sorry if you already answered this question before). I don’t really know what to do know. :/
Do you have measuring cups? Try that, and let it go longer between feedings.
I made the sourdough bread for the first time today and it was absolutely delicious. So worth every extra step involved in making the starter.
Can you elaborate more on how you store and use your “discard”? Thanks!
I will add to recipe notes. See Recipe. 🙂
I’m now on Day 8, and my starter bubbles and gets liquidy after feedings, but has not risen AT ALL! Not even once. My house is fairly cold, should I just continue feeding for a few more days? Should I cut back to feeding every 24 hours?
Thanks!
Can you try using a whole grain flour?
It’s unavailable where I live in Mexico 🙁
Shoot. I think that might be the problem- especially if you are using white AP flour. Just not enough nutrients in there.
could you try one shot of fresh ground corn meal for one feeding to give it a boost? It should have the yeasts and nutrients to get it going and then back to AP to dilute it back to a bread starter as opposed to a Cornbread starter. Just watched a great documentary on tacos and the cornflour used for the tortillas is creating all sorts of ideas/inspiration
Sounds like a good idea- but haven’t tried personally. Let me know if you do!
Hi Allison, try some corn meal. King Arthurs Flour (sorry Sylvia for mentioning another source) has a page on starters and they mention some people using that. Mexican corn meal should have some amazing yeast and nutrients to get you going.
Thanks so much!
When I do the weekly feeding, do I leave it out for the day or put it back in the fridge?
Put it back in unless using that night.
The lemon blackberry sourdough scones are amazing! Thank you 🙂
Thankyou!!! I am following your recipe and all is going perfectly. after 6 days how should i continue to fee the starter.
Hi!! Thank you!!! So I am on DAY 3 and have a question. I put my starter in a glass jar and put it in the oven with the light on to make sure it was warm enough. I went to check it for it’s night time feeding, and the oven was hot and the glass jar was very warm to the touch. I don’t have a thermometer. Is there any worry that the starter could get TOO hot? I have a double oven and had used one oven to bake something while the starter was in the other oven.
(Note: I originally had it on top of my refrigerator and was worried it wasn’t warm enough- so moved it. Plus, I had used a damp rag to cover the jar and think that the coolness of the rag didn’t let the starter get warm enough)
Should I start over?
Another question- I purchased a jar similar to a Weck… and it has a glass lid with a clamp close…. I removed the gasket and have been closing it… that will be enough air, right? I was worried this wouldn’t provide enough air and then changed to the damp towel cover … which I think messed up the temperature… ahh! This is not as easy as it would seem.
Placing the glass lid on top is just fine. Getting it too warm could theoretically kill it, but if there are still bubbles happening it is still alive.
Good morning Sylvia,
Yesterday was my day 6 but I didn’t start it until 330pm bc there was no action in the morning. It is more than doubled throughout the night but it still hasn’t gone down at all. Do I need to wait for slide marks down to feed again, or am I able to prepare it now for a my first loaf if passes the float test. It’s almost at the very top of my Mason jar.
Thanks for your help!
You can use it now
Hi Sylvia! Is there a specific time when you can use your starter? I fed mine about 3 hours ago and i t has more than doubled already. Do I need to wait longer? My starter is 3 weeks old.
Use it after it peaks. 🙂
Hi Sylvia,
I am planning to make a sourdough starter and see you feed it with bread flour. Do you think the starter would do okay if I just continue with feeding whole wheat flour instead? Thanks for your helpful instruction!
It should be fine, you may need to increase the water just a little bit if it seems dry.
Hi! I used this recipe to make my sourdough starter, and it worked (even without a scale)! I’ve successfully made 2 loves. I have two storage questions though. I’ve combed through the comments, so I’m sorry if you’ve already answered this. I’ve been reading online, but end up becoming more frustrated and confused.
1. Do you feed the starter before putting it in the fridge to store?
2. When you take the starter out to bake, do you let it come to room temperature, feed, and then use? Do you feed it while it’s cold and then use it at peak? Do you just use the cold unfed starter (if fed before putting in the fridge)?
Thank you!
Yes, feed before putting it in the fridge. You can use the starter cold, straight from the fridge, without feeding first if it’s within one week of feeding. Or if it is at the 6 or 7 day point, you could feed it in the morning, leave it out to digest and peak and make bread that night. Then put the remaining starter back in the fridge for a week.
yeetamis it works 🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🍞🍞🍞
Hello! I love this post-so descriptive & very helpful. 🙂 I’m looking forward to all the delicious sourdough creations to come! I have been following your instructions very carefully & it seems my starter is doing everything it’s supposed to. However, it is now day 10 or 11 & it still isn’t passing the float test. It is doubling in size within 8-12 hours & doesn’t get hungry for ~2 days. Although it does get fairly “runny” in consistency. Do you have any tips/guidance? Is there a reason it’s not passing the float test-can I go ahead & try and use it in a recipe anyway? Thank you in advance. Hope you are staying safe and well. ❤️
thanks Meaghan, I guess you could give it a try and see? Will you let me know?
Hi again! Thanks for the reply. I am in the process of making my first loaf, I will keep you updated on the outcome 🙂 I just have a quick question in the meantime (I apologize if you’ve answered this already) but I’m wondering what to do with my starter after I’ve taken some out for baking? I assume you don’t feed right away even though there is little left in the jar because it wasn’t hungry before I took some out for baking…but I’m wondering do I put it in the fridge right away? Or wait until it gets hungry, feed, and then refrigerate? Or feed it, let it peak and then put it in the fridge? Sorry for the confusion haha, I just don’t want to kill it.
I’d just put it back in the fridge. Feed in a week.
I made my starter yesterday and it looks too thick and hasn’t moved or started bubbling. Should I stir it or add water?
Thanks.
Give it a little more time. 🙂
Thanks for the reply. It’s been 6 days, and I’ve only added to it 3 times because it just doesn’t want to rise much. I used whole wheat (actually I used durum wheat, so I hope that isn’t a problem). It’s always so thick, much thicker than in your video. My house isn’t super warm, but I do put it on the window sill where it’s sunny and by the stove if I’m cooking. At this rate, it’s gonna take twice the amount of time. Your thoughts would be appreciated again. Thank you.
Hi Kathy, are you seeing bubbling at all? Are you discarding when you feed it? For thickness, you can add a little more water- whole wheat is “thirstier” than white flour. Direct sun may not be the best for it, but by the stove is good.
Hi Sylvia,
I’m now on day 6/7 and my sourdough starter doesn’t seem to rise. There’s a lot of bubbles and it seems to be alive but there’s no slide marks/ significant rise. I did a float test and it passed. Do you have any ideas on what could have gone wrong?
Thank you
Can you try using a different flour for a day or two?
I’m on day 1 and used a scale to measure the flour and water. The consistency of the mixture is really dry and doughy and does not look close to what is in your video. I tried a second time with the same result. I’m using the same Bob’s Red Mill Organic Whole Wheat Flour and bottled water. I’ll leave for 24 hours and see what happens…
Feel free to add more water- that won’t hurt it. Some flours are thirstier.
I’m on day 1 and measured the water and flour using a scale. The consistency is really thick and doughy and does not look close to the consistency in the video. I tried twice and got the same result. I used the same Bob’s Red Mill Organic Whole Wheat Flour and bottled water. I’ll leave it overnight and see what happens…
You can add a little extra water if you like. Also, it should loosen up as it digests the flour, and some flours are thirstier than others.
Thanks. Everything seems to be working great now.
Thank you so much for talking us through this process! I’m on day 4, and my starter hasn’t seemed hungry all day. Lots of bubbles, slowly rising, but no sinking like it’s hungry. I last fed it at 11.40 last night because I’ve been waiting for it to look hungry. Am I killing it? What should I do? It was very happy on days 1-3.
You are not killing it. Just wait to feed until it looks hungry, runny, liquidy. It wont die. 🙂
Hi, Sylvia. Brazil based and Sourdough bread is my favorite one since I live in Australia some years ago. Finding your recipe was all I needed to try to do it by my own – it looks fantastic. My question is regarding the rest of the starter. Noticed you mentioned using it for pancakes and waffles after day 3. Is that also recommended thereafter?
yes!
I am on day 5 and fed it 12 hours ago. It hasn’t grown at all though – I’ve been watching all day. It bubbles, but no expansion. What should I do?
Just give it some more time without feeding. If you see liquid or it gets runny, time to feed.
Wonderful sourdough starter! It worked so well and thanks to your tips and tricks I didn’t throw it out on the second day because of its smell. After the second day it started to bubble and rise and go down again like it was hungry – and really good smell! Feedings worked well and with the last batch of excess starter I baked donuts in the air fryer which were simply delicious. Just waiting for the first loaf of bread – I used your recipe too!