Simple Sourdough Starter (Video)

Name: Simple Sourdough Starter
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 144 h
Total time: 144 h 30 min
Cuisine: bread
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)

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.

How to make your own Sourdough Starter, using simple ingredients with no special equipment, in 5-8 days, that can be used in crusty bread, pizza dough, waffles, pancakes, and rolls- instead of using yeast. Sourdough Starter is "wild" yeast, made from flour and water and the wild yeast in the air around us.

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.

show the slide marks on the sourdough starter jar

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!

a tablespoon of sourdough starter floating in water for the float test

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

Do I really have to discard my starter?

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

Beginner’s Guide to Homemade Sourdough Bread

Sourdough Baguettes

Sourdough Pancakes

Quick Sourdough Buns

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