When starting your sourdough journey, you'll need to know how to make a sourdough starter from scratch! All you need is water, flour, and some patience! Once you have your active and bubbly starter, you can make so many delicious sourdough recipes right in your own kitchen!
There are lots of places you can get a sourdough starter when you decide you'd like to start baking sourdough bread. I was able to get my original sourdough starter from a friend and have kept her going for more than 5 years and I've made Dutch oven sourdough bread ever since.
In this post, I'll explain all the details on how to create a sourdough starter from scratch. After you've created a healthy starter, you'll be able to bake all your favorite baked goods any time you want!
Once you get your sourdough starter up and running, join our Sourdough Facebook group with other Sourdough fanatics sharing their favorite recipes as well as tips and tricks!
Jump to:
- What Is a Sourdough Starter?
- Ingredients to Gather for Starting a Sourdough Starter
- What Type of Flour Is Best To Use for this Sourdough Starter from Scratch
- Tools You'll Need for Starting a Sourdough Starter
- How to Make A Sourdough Bread Starter From Scratch
- What to Look for in your Sourdough Starter from Scratch
- Tips for Success for Starting a Sourdough Starter
- Troubleshooting Starting a Sourdough Starter
- What to Make With this Recipe for Sourdough Starter
- How To Store Your Sourdough Starter from Scratch
- How To Maintain Your Sourdough Starter
- Sourdough Starter from Scratch FAQs
- More Sourdough Recipes
- 📖 Recipe
What Is a Sourdough Starter?
Sourdough bread is a bread made from natural yeast, flour, water, and salt. There is no commercial yeast, (those little yeast packets you can get in the store) only naturally occurring yeast from the environment. Sourdough bread requires a "starter" to rise the bread. A starter is filled with good bacteria and wild yeast that gives the bread that traditional sour taste.
Ingredients to Gather for Starting a Sourdough Starter
Flour. Unbleached white flour is great to start a culture with. You can start the starter with whole wheat flour if you have that on hand, but constant feedings should be with white, unbleached all purpose flour.
Filtered water. Many tap water sources have chemicals that are used to disinfect the water that goes into our houses. By using filtered water, we are making sure that there are no chemicals in our starter and our bread, but also we are starting with a neutral slate. Depending on where you are in the country can greatly depend on the type of water you have. Filtered water is consistent and results in a more consistent end product.
What Type of Flour Is Best To Use for this Sourdough Starter from Scratch
Unbleached all-purpose flour is an excellent choice for creating a sourdough starter. It is free from bleaching agents, allows for a healthier fermentation environment, and promotes the growth of beneficial microorganisms crucial for a robust sourdough culture.
Other options are whole wheat flour or bread flour. Both are great choices for the initial start up of your sourdough starter. After the first feeding, unbleached all purpose flour should be used for all the feedings after that.
Tools You'll Need for Starting a Sourdough Starter
Mason Jars or Glass Jars. A tall jar will make sure that you are able to see the bubbles and see how much the sourdough starter has grown.
Kitchen scale. Sourdough starter needs to be weighed on a kitchen, not measured in measuring cups. A kitchen scale will give you the most accurate measurements to make sure your starter is fed properly.
Once you begin your sourdough journey, there are a few essential tools for making sourdough bread. Kitchen scale and mason jars are just a few of the things you'll need.
How to Make A Sourdough Bread Starter From Scratch
Day 1
Begin by combining 100 grams of unbleached all-purpose flour with 100 grams of filtered water in a glass jar. Stir the mixture thoroughly to form a thick, pancake-batter-like consistency. Since we are just mixing flour and water together, there should not be much of a smell at this point.
Cover the container loosely with a lid or cloth to allow airflow. Do not cover the jar tightly. Let it sit on the counter for 24 hours.
Day 2
Time for it's first feeding! Discard half of the mixture and keep 100 grams of your sourdough starter, adding it to a glass jar. Add 100 grams of filtered water and 100 grams of unbleached flour. Mix well until a thick consistency forms. Covering loosely.
Day 3-5
Every 24 hours, repeat the process in Day 2. Each day, there should be more sourdough starter in the jar. Discard all but 100 grams of the starter and mix back 100 grams of water and 100 grams of unbleached flour.
After each day, look for bubbles forming on the surface after feedings. This indicates the production of carbon dioxide by yeast activity. The starter should show signs of rising or expanding in volume after each feeding. There should also be a slight tangy smell in the starter after each feeding.
Day 6
By day 6, you should see bubbles forming on the top of your starter, indicating the presence of active fermentation. It will also rise and almost double in size. If you smell your starter, you'll smell slightly tangy aroma and that is perfect! If you notice these signs, congratulations – your sourdough starter is alive and thriving!
Day 7 and Beyond
Once your starter is established, maintain it by keeping it at room temperature and continuing with regular feedings. If you plan to bake frequently, you can store it on the kitchen counter. Otherwise, refrigerate in a closed glass jar and bring it to room temperature before each use.
What to Look for in your Sourdough Starter from Scratch
There are a few signs of life that you should look for when creating your sourdough starter. If you see any of these things, your sourdough starter is ready to use and bake bread with!
- Consistent Rise. Your mature starter should consistently double in volume within a few hours after feedings.
- Pleasant Aroma. The starter should have a pleasant tangy aroma, not overly strong or unpleasant. It should smell similar to yogurt.
- Regular Activity. Active bubbling and signs of fermentation should persist between feedings. When you tap the side of the glass jar, bubbles will often rise and pop. That's a great sign of life in your starter! It means there is an active culture full of thriving yeast.
- Volume Expansion. The starter should significantly increase in volume after feedings. To make this easy to track, you can wrap a rubber band around the glass jar marking where to mixture starts, and then you will be able to see how high it rises.
- Float Test. The float test is a common term that is listed in most sourdough glossaries. Spoon a tablespoon or so of the active starter into a bowl of water. If the starter floats, it's ready to bake with! If it sinks, it needs to be fed again and more bubbles need to form.
Tips for Success for Starting a Sourdough Starter
Keep it consistent! Maintain a consistent feeding schedule to keep your sourdough starter healthy and active. That means, if you starter the first day feeding your starter at 8am, make sure you feed it everyday at 8am. Sourdough loves consistency!
Temperature matters! Keep your starter at a consistent room temperature (ideally around 70°F/21°C) for optimal fermentation. Too much of a fluctuation in the temperature will throw off the fermentation process and result in too many bubbles and not enough fermentation. Like I mentioned before, sourdough loves consistency!
Be patient! Don't be discouraged if your starter takes a bit longer to develop. Each environment is unique, and the process may vary. If you are starting this sourdough starter in the winter, it may take a little longer for the bubbles and fermentation to happen due to the colder weather. In the Summer, bubbles and fermentation will happen pretty quickly due to the Summer heat. It can take up to 2 weeks for a sourdough starter to be ready to bake with.
Troubleshooting Starting a Sourdough Starter
- Starter is too watery. If your sourdough starter is too watery, make sure you are weighing the ingredients properly. It can also indicate the gluten structure has broken down. Next time you feed it, use bread flour which has a higher gluten structure.
- Hooch has formed. Though unlikely to form in the initial setup of your sourdough starter, the hooch is the dark liquid that can form on top of the starter. Simple pour the hooch out off of the top of the starter and feed it again. The hooch indicates that your sourdough starter is hungry and needs to be fed.
- Mold has formed. If mold forms, we'll have to start over. You don't want to mess around with any type of mold. It's best to just start over and make sure to use sanitized, cleaned tools and jars.
What to Make With this Recipe for Sourdough Starter
Not only can you make sourdough bread with your brand new sourdough starter, but you can also make cheddar jalapeno sourdough bread or sourdough dinner rolls.
Don't throw out your sourdough discard when you feed your starter! You can make so many different sourdough discard recipes! You can make sourdough discard chocolate chip muffins, sourdough chocolate chip cookies, or even sourdough Irish soda bread.
How To Store Your Sourdough Starter from Scratch
There are a few different ways that you can store your sourdough starter.
At room temperature. If you bake a lot, you can keep your sourdough starter at room temperature. During the holidays, I tend to keep my starter on the counter because I will feed it, bake with it, and then feed it again. I'll repeat that process for weeks at a time to get ready to the holidays. Otherwise, I'll keep my starter in the refrigerator.
Refrigerator it! When not baking as frequently, keep your starter in the refrigerator. Make sure it is covered and should be kept in the refrigerator until you are ready to feed it. Aim to feed your starter once a week when keeping it in the refrigerator.
Freeze it! If you don't plan to bake with your starter, you can freeze it until you are ready to defrost it and use it again. Make sure to freeze it in an airtight container that is freezer safe. You can also divide it and separate it into small freezer safe bags.
How To Maintain Your Sourdough Starter
After your sourdough starter has been established, it's time to maintain it!
How to feed and maintain your sourdough starter is very important in your sourdough journey. Grab your kitchen scale again and measure equal parts sourdough starter, unbleached flour, and water. Let it rise in a warm place in your kitchen until it doubles in size and passes the float test.
Once it passes the float test, it is ready to be baked with. You can use it to make same day sourdough bread, sourdough pretzel bites, or sourdough focaccia!
Sourdough Starter from Scratch FAQs
The older and more mature your sourdough starter is, the more sour it will make your bread. A brand new sourdough starter will likely not make a very sour bread, but the more you feed it and the more you bake with it the more sour it will become.
That depends on how often you plan to bake. If you only bake once a week, you only need to feed it once a week. If you are baking multiple times per week, you'll want to feed it every time you bake.
If you want to start your sourdough journey but have no access to a sourdough starter, then it is definitely worth making! You can take some from a friend and make it your own, or you can create a one from scratch.
More Sourdough Recipes
📖 Recipe
Recipe for Sourdough Starter
Equipment
Ingredients
- 100 g Unbleached All Purpose Flour
- 100 g Filtered Water
Instructions
- Day 1: Begin by combining 100 grams of unbleached all-purpose flour with 100 grams of filtered water in a glass jar. Stir the mixture thoroughly to form a thick, pancake-batter-like consistency. Since we are just mixing flour and water together, there should not be much of a smell at this point. Cover the container loosely with a lid or cloth to allow airflow. Do not cover the jar tightly. Let it sit on the counter for 24 hours.
- Day 2: Time for it's first feeding! Discard half of the mixture and keep 100 grams of your sourdough starter to a glass jar. Add 100 grams of filtered water and 100 grams of unbleached flour. Mix well until a thick consistency forms. Covering loosely.
- Days 3-5: Every 24 hours, repeat the process in Day 2. Each day, there should be more sourdough starter in the jar. Discard all but 100 grams of the starter and mix back 100 grams of water and 100 grams of unbleached flour. After each day, look for bubbles forming on the surface after feedings. This indicates the production of carbon dioxide by yeast activity. The starter should show signs of rising or expanding in volume after each feeding. There should also be a slight tangy smell in the starter after each feeding.
- By day 6, you should see bubbles forming on the top of your starter, indicating the presence of active fermentation. It will also rise and almost double in size. If you smell your starter, you'll smell slightly tangy aroma and that is perfect! If you notice these signs, congratulations – your sourdough starter is alive and thriving!
- Once your starter is established, maintain it by keeping it at room temperature and continuing with regular feedings. If you plan to bake frequently, you can store it on the kitchen counter. Otherwise, refrigerate in a closed glass jar and bring it to room temperature before each use.
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