Learn how to make a sourdough starter recipe from scratch with just flour and water. This versatile ingredient can be used to make breads, cakes, cookies, and so much more.
If you hang around the traditional foods community, chances are you have heard of making homemade sourdough starter from scratch.
I have had my homemade starter for over six years now. It is vital in my traditional food kitchen.
What Is A Sourdough Starter?
A sourdough starter is a live active culture made of fermented flour and water that is full of beneficial bacteria and yeasts.
It is used as a way to ferment recipes and naturally rise bread.
Why You Will Love Sourdough:
If you are unfamiliar, let me fill you in on all the reasons why crazy folks, like me, go through the effort of handcrafting, and maintaining, a beneficial colony of yeasts and bacteria in their kitchens.
Before yeast was isolated and sold in little packets, sourdough starter was a valuable commodity in homes and families, passed down for generations.
Health Benefits
Have you ever heard of phytic acid? Basically, it’s an antinutrient found in grains, beans, and nuts that interferes with the absorption of certain nutrients. They are present on grains to keep them from spoiling.
There is a reason they are there, but there is also good evidence that our bodies weren’t meant to handle them. Proper preparation of grains eliminates most, if not all, of the phytic acid in offending foods.
This is the very reason traditional cultures soaked and fermented their grains, seeds, and beans. These days, we’ve lost that art. And what have we found? People can’t handle grains anymore.
Instead of using instant yeast packets, people in traditional cultures leavened their bread with a fermented starter that captured all the yeasts in the environment.
AKA Sourdough starter
How on earth do we capture native yeasts? Read on, because I explain how to make your very own starter.
Because I love good food
I already confessed my foodie tendencies with you all. I reckon it’s the same inclination that led me into the world of homemade sourdough.
Locally made sourdough starter, with the native yeasts of the area present, is certainly the thing a foodie’s dreams are made of. A jar of healthy, productive starter is teaming with life, as evidenced by all the bubbles you will see rising to the surface.
Once you’ve experienced homemade sourdough baked goods, store-bought breads and pancakes simply don’t cut it. Sourdough has a depth of flavor that just can’t be found in something made quickly with a packet of instant yeast.
This post contains affiliate links, which means I make a small commission at no extra cost to you. See my full disclosure here.
FAQ:
How long does it take to make sourdough starter?
It takes about a week to create an active sourdough starter, but sometimes it can take about two weeks to make a starter ready to bake bread.
Do you have to discard sourdough starter every time you feed it?
When you are first creating your sourdough starter, yes. If you don’t discard you will have so much starter that it will be hard to keep healthy. This is because the more starter you have the more flour and water you will need to add for the yeasts and bacteria to feed on.
After having a starter for a while rather than discarding you can just use it in discard recipes. This is a much more useful way of removing some of the starter rather than throwing it in the trash.
How do you know your sourdough starter is ready to use?
You will know your sourdough starter is read to use when you feed it and after 4-12 hours it doubles in size and is super bubbly. A good way to be able to determine this, is to place a rubber band where the top of the starter is after you feed it. Then after a few hours have passed you can see just how high it has grown.
Another way is to perform the float test. Take a small glass of room temperature water. Add a quarter sized dollop of active starter. If it floats, it is ready to bake with. If it doesn’t it is not active enough.
Sourdough Starter Recipe:
By now, you know why you want to have a bowl of sourdough starter bubbling away in your kitchen, but how the heck do you make one?
Ingredients
Flour (Whole grain wheat, unbleached all-purpose, and einkorn are all great choices.)
Filtered water (I use a Berkey water filter. We have the Royal size for our family of 7. You can find my full Berkey review HERE.)
Tools
Glass bowl (Metal can react with beneficial bacteria and yeasts.)
Tea towel
How To Make Sourdough Starter
Day 1:
On day one, mix one cup of flour and one cup filtered water. Stir vigorously, making sure to scrape down the sides and incorporate everything. Place a clean tea towel over the bowl and set aside. Allow it to sit for 24 hours.
Day 2:
On day two, discard half of the mixture and repeat the process. Add one cup flour, one cup water, stir vigorously, and cover.
Why do you have to remove half the mixture? By day four, you would have sourdough starter overflowing from your bowl. Also, removing half ensures that the right amount of flour and water is feeding the growing colony of beneficial yeast. If you weren’t discarding half, the cup of flour wouldn’t be enough to feed them on days three and four. Basically, you would end up with a lot of extra starter by the end of the process, and none of it would be mature.
Day 3-5
Repeat the day two instructions for days three, four, and five.
Day 6-7
On days six and seven, do the same but feed it every 12 hours, instead of every 24.
By day seven, there should be enough beneficial bacteria and yeast present to bake sourdough bread and other fermented sourdough goodies, like pancakes and english muffins.
You will know it’s working if it bubbles, and doubles in size.
Sourdough Starter Maintenance
Once your sourdough starter is alive and active, there will be some maintenance to keep it going for years and years.
In the refrigerator for occasional use
Storing it in the refrigerator slows down the fermentation process, so one feeding per week, or every other week, is sufficient.
I usually use my starter a couple times per week. If I plan to make pancakes Saturday morning, for example, I will pull my starter out of the fridge Friday morning and add flour and water. By Saturday morning it is bubbly and ready to go.
I remove the two cups of starter needed for my pancake recipe, and put the “master starter” back in the fridge. Since it was fed the day before, it is good to go for another week, or whenever I need it next.
On the counter for daily use
Since the “little guys”, as my kids like to call the bacteria in the starter, are active at room temperature, they will have to be fed more often if keep it in this state.
If you leave your starter out on the counter, you will need to add flour and water every day. You will also have to be baking every day to use up all that starter.
Most people probably won’t use the starter quite so much, unless you own and operate a bakery. I would recommend storing it in the refrigerator between uses.
Helpful Resources
Every day I get loads of questions about sourdough starter, so I devoted a whole post called, How to Care for Sourdough Starter filled with your questions and my answers. You can use this post a reference guide.
Thank you so much for stopping by the farmhouse! I hope this is just the beginning of our sourdough journey.
Check out my other sourdough recipes and posts
- Sourdough English Muffins
- Sourdough Pizza Crust
- Healthy One Pot Meal- Sourdough Skillet
- Sourdough Tortillas
- Easy Sourdough Focaccia
- Dry Sourdough Starter
If you try this recipe and love it, I would love if you gave it 5 stars! Also, tag me on Instagram @farmhouseonboone.
Sourdough Starter
Ingredients
- Flour, Whole grain wheat, unbleached all purpose, and einkorn are all great choices.
- Filtered water
Instructions
- On day one, mix one cup of flour and one cup filtered water. Stir vigorously, making sure to scrape down the sides and incorporate everything. Place a clean tea towel over the bowl and set aside. Allow it to sit for 24 hours.
- On day two, discard half of the mixture and repeat the process. Add one cup flour, one cup water, stir vigorously, and cover.
- Repeat the day two instructions for days three, four, and five.
- On days six and seven, do the same but feed it every 12 hours, instead of every 24.
- By day seven, there should be enough beneficial bacteria and yeast present to bake sourdough bread and other fermented sourdough goodies, like pancakes and english muffins. You will know it’s working if it bubbles, and doubles in size.
Notes
Sourdough Starter Maintenance
- Once your sourdough starter is alive and active, there will be some maintenance to keep it going for years and years.
In The Refrigerator For Occasional Use
- Storing it in the refrigerator slows down the fermentation process, so one feeding every week, or every other week, is sufficient.
- I usually use my starter a couple times per week. If I plan to make pancakes Saturday morning, for example, I pull my starter out of the fridge Friday morning and add flour and water. By Saturday morning it is bubbly and ready to go. I remove the two cups of starter needed for my pancake recipe and put the “master starter” back in the fridge. Since it was fed the day before, it is good to go for another week, or whenever I need it next.
On The Counter For Daily Use
- Since the “little guys”, as my kids like to call the bacteria in the starter, are active at room temperature, they will have to be fed more often if kept in this state.
- If you leave your starter out on the counter, you will need to add flour and water every day. You will also have to be baking daily to use up all that starter.
- Most people probably won’t use the starter quite so much, unless you own and operate a bakery. I would recommend storing it in the refrigerator between uses.
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Lots of waste!!!
I have been a lurker for a while and finally took the plunge to make my own starter two weeks ago. I have followed instructions but only a few times in the last 14 days has it been a little bubbly. I tried to troubleshoot as to why my starter is so inactive so reduced feeding to once a day, still not bubbly. The last two days I put it in the oven with the light on and it was runnier than on the counter. Should I scrap and start again?
I would keep feeding. Are you discarding each time before the feeds?
I found that adding one cup of water was way, way too much water. I add flour first, and then enough water to just incorporate the flour. Mine does not like being watery at all, once I started keeping it super thick it began rising like crazy!
My first rodeo!! On day 6 and 7 when feeding the starter twice, do you discard half both times?
Also, on what day can you save some starter to give to a friend, any of the starters?
Lastly, day 2 and 3 my starter was nice and gooey, day 4 and 5 it was more runny, is that normal? Thanks so much!
Yes, discard half both times. After the starter is completed and it’s mature and active, you can gift it to a friend.
Do I throw away half every time I feed it?
Yes, while making the starter.
I see people using their discard for pizza dough etc… can i use my discard from the starter to do this or should i wait until it’s “established”… also random question: when it’s good to go (after 7 days) do i discard before feeding it every time? I’m on day 4… so far so good i think?
I would wait until it’s established.
Keepng my fingers crossed here. It’s my first attempt at making a starter. 1 cup of flour and 1 cup of water. Mixed it maybe an hour ago. Put a band around the jar to track progress. It’s sitting on the counter by my coffee maker. Some residual warmth from that, do the warmest spot on the counter. I’m 70 yrs old! On a fixed income and can’t always get yeast, so going to try this method. So please keep your fingers crossed with me?
You can totally do it! I’m here cheering you on!!
My starter is 6 days old , on day 4 it was doubled in size and now it’s not anymore . There is a layer of dough in the bottom of my bowl and a layer of water on top . Is this normal ? What is a recipe for making bread ?
Sounds like hooch! Just drain off the water and discard some of the starter and feed it again. Be sure to really incorporate everything together.
My starter is 14 days old and started doubling in size within 4-6 hours for the past 3 days. At what point can I start putting my starter in the fridge?
My starter is 14 days old and started doubling in size within 4-6 hours for the past 3 days. At what point can I start putting my starter in the fridge? Do I need to feed two times a day while on the counter?
Hello Lisa,
Can you give a recipe for Gluten Free starter and bread?
If so, which of the GF flours are most nutritious and if adding Psyllium Husk and or chia seeds, pumpkins seeds would be beneficial as well to reach the nutritional profile of whole grain bread?
Thank you so much.
PS- I binge watch your Youtube Channel!! It’s one of my go to “happy places” on YouTube. You are a gift to the world. May God continue to bless you and your beautiful family.
Yes. I have several recipes on my blog. Here’s the starter recipe.
I am using Red Mill gluten-free baking flour. Can I mix a different type of gluten-free with fat flour, example, almond flour, or coconut flour?
Yeah, that should work I would think.
After my starter is ready to go on day 7 to be used, if I want to store it in the fridge to use next week should I discard half the mixture and then place it in the fridge or just put it in the fridge as is until I use it next week?
Also if my bubbles are on the top 1/3, should I stir it first to see the float test? Or should the bubbles be throughout the whole jar?
You can just put it in the fridge until next time. You should see bubbles throughout the whole jar.
Once my starter is done on day 7 (for me it would be the morning) do I need to feed it again before starting a sourdough recipe? Or can I use it right away on the morning of day 7 to try to bake a loaf?
It depends on when you bake. If you bake it immediately on day 7 while it is still active, then no. If you wait until day 8, you will need to feed it again before baking.