How to make a sourdough starter

There’s nothing like fresh sourdough bread baking in the kitchen. Being able to cultivate your own natural yeast culture is the best feeling. Sourdough starter can be used to make not only bread, but cakes, cookies, pizza dough, plus so much more! I started my sourdough starter in December of 2022 and now I couldn’t imagine my life without it. Since it’s only been a few months with my starter, I figured I would make this post so the information and what I did is still fresh in my brain.

What is a sourdough starter?

Chances are, if you’re reading this you probably know what a sourdough starter is or at least what it does. But just in case you don’t, a sourdough starter is a culture of naturally fermented yeast and (good) bacteria that will rise bread. Since the grains are being soaked, it’s easier on the stomach. If other breads that are made with conventional yeast upset your stomach, sourdough may not!

For the love of sourdough

Before my sourdough starter, I baked with yeast packets and after I started using my starter I realized what I was missing. Sourdough has an amazing flavor that you just can’t get with regular yeast. Don’t just take my word for it, try it for yourself! Once you have your sourdough starter you can make recipes like my artisan sourdough loaf!

Let’s dive in

Ingredients needed:

Flour- such as unbleached all purpose, whole wheat, einkorn. I wouldn’t recommend starting your starter with rye flour. I only use rye flour occasionally to give my starter a boost.

filtered water- we have a reverse osmosis system

Materials needed:

Glass jar- I like these ones from amazon

Wooden spoon- don’t use metal it can negatively affect the starter

Tea towel or loose lid. I like the glass jars from above because you can easily remove the seal so the lid isn’t airtight.

How to make your starter

Day 1:

Place 1/2 cup of flour and 1/2 cup of filtered water in a jar or glass bowl. Stir until well incorporated and cover with loose lid, no airtight lids. Let it sit out at room temperature for 24 hours before feeding again

Day 2:

Discard some of the mixture until there’s only about 1 TBSP left. Then feed again with 1/2 cup flour and 1/2 cup of water. Let sit for 24 hours.

Days 3-5:

Repeat step 2 for these days.

Days 6-7:

Continue to discard and feed but on these days feed it every 12 hours instead of 24 hours.

By day 7 you should have bubbles throughout and you’ll know it’s ready to bake with if it doubles in size after feeding. One way to measure this is by putting a rubber band on the jar and seeing how much it rises. If it hasn’t doubled in size, don’t get discouraged keep discarding and feeding until you see this happening. It could take up to 10 days.

FAQ’S

Why do you have to discard most of the mixture? Well if you didn’t you would have an overflowing jar by day 3. Also, in order to create a colony of beneficial yeast you have to feed the colony with fresh flour and water. After all, starter is a living food, and like anything living you have to feed it.

Can I store it in the fridge while first starting it? No, it needs to be at room temperature (around 70 degrees) in order for the colony to grow.

Can I use more than 1/2 cup of flour and 1/2 cup of water to feed it? Yes, as long as you are feeding your starter the same amount (or more) of what’s already in there. You can’t feed your starter less than what is in the container because that wouldn’t be enough food for it. I just recommend using 1/2 cup so you as wasting less flour in the discarding process.

What if I forget to feed it one day, do I have to throw it out? No, just discard half and feed it again and it should be fine.

Sourdough Starter Rules

Although sourdough starter is super easy to maintain in my opinion, there are a few rules that you need to follow in order to keep a thriving one.

• If you’re leaving it on the counter, you must feed it everyday.
• A rule of thumb is, if it’s on the counter, no airtight lid. If it’s in the fridge it needs an airtight lid.
• If you’re keeping it in the fridge, you don’t have to feed it before putting it in but you will have to feed it when you pull it out and let it sit on the counter for a few hours before using it. If you feed it before putting it into the fridge, you don’t have to feed it when you pull it out. Just let it sit on the counter for a few hours before baking with it.
• After the initial starting it, you won’t have to discard any if you are using it regularly.
• You have to feed it the same amount of more that is already in the container. For example, if you have one cupish of starter you have to feed it at least 1 cup flour + water.

Tips/ and troubleshooting

To be completed honest, when I first started my starter, it wouldn’t rise bread! No matter what I did, raised the ambient temperature, waited 6-8 hours after feeding to use it, following the recipe to a tee, it still wouldn’t rise. I knew it was my starter. So here’s a few things you can do if you have this issue.

• Feed it a little less than a 1:1 ratio. For example if you feed it one cup of flour, feed 1/2 c of water.
• Place it in a room with a space heater. Starters thrive at 75-78 degrees fahrenheit.
• Feed it with rye flour!!!! This was an absolute game changer for my starter. After I did this, it rose bread and I never had an issue again.
• If your starter develops an unusually pungent smell or a black liquid on top, this isn’t mold, it means it’s underfed. Discard a little bit and feed it more and it should perk right back up.

If you have any questions or concerns leave them in the comment section of this blog or DM me over on my instagram (@themediocrehomesteader) and I will try my best to help you!

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