Sourdough Starter Recipe

Learn how to make a sourdough starter with this easy recipe for beginners. All you need is flour and water, a little time and then use your ‘wild yeast’ to make bread and more!

Beginner Sourdough Starter from Scratch

If you want to make homemade sourdough bread, you will need to start with a sourdough starter. While it may seem a bit hard to do, it’s easier than you think to make your own starter from scratch, even if you are a beginner!

Using my easy-to-follow method and tips, your starter can be ready to use in about a week. Once your starter has been created, you can bake the best homemade sourdough bread or even my sourdough pancake recipe, waffles or pizza dough.

What is Sourdough Starter?

A sourdough starter is ‘wild yeast’. This is different from commercial yeast that is sold packaged at the grocery store as it is a living fermented culture consisting of flour and water.

Once these two ingredients combine, they start to feed off of the natural yeast and bacteria in your environment. Once active, a portion of your starter is added to your bread dough to make it rise.

The natural fermentation process is what gives the bread it’s flavor – that tangy, slight sour taste sourdough is known for!

Recipe Ingredients

Find the full printable recipe with specific measurements below.

• Flour: I recommend starting your sourdough starter using rye flour, whole wheat or pumpernickel flour as whole grain flour will jumpstart the fermentation process. After the initial feeding, you will also need all-purpose flour.
• Filtered water: Unfiltered tap water often contains chlorine which will sabotage your starter. I like to use a water bottle or filtered water to feed it.

How to Make Sourdough Starter

With a little patience and using these step-by-step instructions, your sourdough bread starter can be ready in about 7 days.

• Day one: Add 1/2 cup (60 g) rye flour and 1/4 cup (50g) water to a glass jar. Stir until combined. Cover loosely with a lid and keep in a warm spot (ideally 75-80°F) for 24 hours.
• Day two, three, four and five: Discard half of your starter from the jar. Add 1/2 cup (60 g) of all purpose flour and 1/4 cup (50 g) water. Mix well and cover.
• Day six: Place 100 grams of your starter in a new jar. Add about 2/3 cup (100 g) of all purpose flour and 1/3 cup (75 g) water to feed your starter. Mix well and cover.
• Day seven: Your starter should start to look bubbly and active and start to double in size after each feeding. Once it starts to double after feedings, it is ready to make a sourdough bread recipe!

Maintaining and Feeding Sourdough Starter

Once your starter is alive and active, keep a simple maintenance and feeding schedule to keep it going for years and years!

• The first two weeks: For your starter to become more robust and strong, I advise to feed it flour and water daily for two weeks before storing in the fridge. Always discard half and then feed with fresh flour and water to keep bacteria and yeast in balance.
• Store in refrigerator: This is great if you only plan to bake a couple times a month. The cold of the fridge will slow down the fermentation process. If stored in the fridge, plan to feed your starter once a week. The day before you plan to bake, remove it from the fridge, discard and feed it so it’s good to go the next day!
• Store on the counter: If you plan to use your starter daily, it can be stored on your counter but then will also need to be fed daily! Each day discard half of the starter, and feed it with equal amounts flour and water.

Making Sourdough Starter Tips

• Consistency: Establish a schedule to feed your starter on a consistent schedule around the same time on a daily basis.
• Warm spot: If your starter is cold, it will take longer to activate. If you have a proofing box, that works, but you can also place starter in the oven with the light on or in the microwave with the door slightly ajar so the light stays on. Ideally, your starter thrives best in 75°F-80°F temps.
• Room temperature filtered water: Tap water or unfiltered water may contain additional chemicals that will hinder your starter from growing. Use room temperature or slightly warm filtered water.
• Slow starter: On day four if your starter seems a little slow to start, after 12 hours, you can add another 2 Tablespoons of rye flour and two teaspoons of water to feed it a little more.
• Use a rubber band. Measure your starter growth by placing a rubber band around the outside of the jar. It’s an easy way to track the rise and growth of the starter each day.
• Hooch: If a brown liquid develops on top of the starter during the initial process, this is known as hooch. It is an indication that your starter needs to be fed! Pour off the hooch and top layer of the starter to discard it before feeding.

Storing Your Sourdough Starter

Unless you’ll be baking with it daily, keep your starter in a covered jar in the fridge. This puts the fermentation on a slow simmer, and you only need to feed it when you’re ready to bake.

I feed my start one to two times a month, if I don’t plan on baking it, I don’t bring it to room temperature, I just discard, feed and place it back in the fridge.

If I am planning on baking, I remove it from the fridge, bring it to room temperature then discard and feed it usually 24 hours before I plan on using it to make bread.

More Homemade Bread Recipes

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