The Beginner’s Guide to Making Your Own Sourdough Starter

Making your own sourdough starter is quite simple. Have you ever wanted to bake your own sourdough bread, but felt intimidated by the process? Well, you're not alone!

Prep Time5

Cook Time0

fermenting5

Total Time5 5

Course: Bread

Cuisine: American

Keyword: bread making, food preservation, preserving food

Servings: cups

Calories: 228kcal

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Kitchen Essentials

Clean quart jars with lid.

Quart Jar

Ingredients

1 Cup Flour whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour, or even rye flour
1 Cup Water lukewarm

Instructions

Day 1. In a clean jar, combine 1 cup of flour (or 120g if you’re using a kitchen scale) and 1 cup of water. Stir the mixture with your wooden spoon until smooth. Loosely cover the jar with plastic wrap or a lid and place it in a warm location on your kitchen counter.
Day 2. The next day, you may not notice much change yet, and that’s okay. Stir the mixture again and leave it in the same warm spot. You’re still in the early days of the fermentation process.
Day 3-4. By now, you should start to see lots of bubbles forming. This is a good sign of active fermentation. Remove half of your starter. This is called sourdough discard and can be used in other recipes. Feed it with 1 cup of flour and 1 cup of water. Stir and leave it in its warm place.
Day 5-7. Your starter should now be more active. Continue the regular feeding process. Remove a portion of the starter (about half) and add 1 cup flour and 1 cup of water each day. You’ll notice the starter rising and falling after each feeding.

Your Own Private Notes

Click here to add your own private notes.

Notes

How To Test Sourdough Starter?

Check to see if your starter is ready to bake and do the float test. Drop a small amount of starter into lukewarm water. If it floats, you’ve got an active starter ready to be used in a sourdough bread recipe.

Nutrition