Sourdough Starter
Make a sourdough starter from scratch in as little as two weeks. All you need is flour, water, and a kitchen scale.
Servings: 1 sourdough starter
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 5 lb bag of unbleached all-purpose flour or bread flour
- 1 5 lb bag of whole wheat flour or rye flour
- Water - tap or filtered
Instructions
- Day 1- Weigh the bottom of a clean jar and write the weight in marker on the bottom of the jar. Add 10 grams of all purpose or bread flour and 10 grams of whole wheat or rye flour to a jar and 20 grams of water. Mix it up until the flour is fully incorporated and use a spatula to clean the sides of the jar. Cover loosely with something that holds the moisture in like the jar lid, silicone lid, or foil. Let it sit on the counter for 24 hours. Try to keep the temperature around 77-85℉.
- Day 2- Day 4- Each day trash the majority of the sourdough starter leaving about 10 grams of starter left in the jar. Add 10 grams of all purpose or bread flour and 10 grams of whole wheat or rye to the jar and 20 grams of water. Mix it up and cover loosely. Let it sit on the counter for 24 hours. Your starter may be bubbly or double on day 2 or 3 but then stop doubling for a few days. Don’t panic that’s normal. Swap to a clean jar every 3 or 4 days.
- Day 5-Day 14 (or until starter is active)- By the 24 hour mark, if your starter is smelling strongly of acetone, foaming, and/or has a clear/black or gray liquid on the top, it is getting hungry in between feedings and it’s ready to go to feeding twice a day. The reason we bump up feedings is to ensure the starter doesn’t get too hungry that it becomes susceptible to mold. If it only has a couple bubbles, continue feeding at the 24 hour mark like on days 3 and 4. When feeding twice a day, continue to remove all but 10 grams of starter from the jar. Feed 10 grams of all purpose or bread flour, 10 grams of whole wheat or rye flour and 20 grams of water. Mix and cover. Repeat the same thing 12 hours later. Continue to swap out the jar every couple of days or as needed when the jar gets crusty or dirty.
Notes
- The starter will typically be ready within 10-14 days. The starter is ready when it doubles or more in size with each feeding of flour and water. It also will try to cling to the sides of the jar and will be bubbly on the sides and top.
- Once the starter is consistently doubling, you can wean the starter off of whole wheat or rye flour. To do this, bump down the whole wheat or rye flour by 5 grams each feeding and replace it with more all purpose or bread flour. Once completely removed, if the starter is sluggish, give it a couple days of feedings. If it does not perk up, add in 5-10 grams of whole wheat or rye for a few more days to continue strengthening it. Once weaned, you can give the starter a large feeding to have enough to make a loaf of bread.
- I recommend continuing to feed the starter daily for at least one more week after to ensure the starter is strong and healthy before placing in the fridge if desired.
