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Sourdough Starter

Learn to make your own sourdough starter from scratch. With a few simple ingredients you will be making your own sourdough bread in no time.
Prep Time10 days
Total Time10 days
Servings: 1
Calories: 182kcal

Equipment

  • 1 Clean jar or container
  • 1 Large Spoon or Silicone spatula
  • 1 Rubber band or hair tie optional

Ingredients

  • 1 cup flour (all-purpose unbleached flour, bread flour, whole wheat flour, or rye flour)
  • 1 cup water

Instructions

  • Day 1: Mix 1 cup flour with 1 cup of room temperature water into a clean jar. Stir vigorously to mix well. Cover the jar with the lid but do not seal completely. Leave out for 24 hours.
  • Days 2-6: Dump (discard) half of the starter mixture into the trash and feed again with 1 cup flour and 1 cup water.
  • Days 7-10: Dump (discard) half of the starter mixture into the trash and feed again with 1 cup flour and 1 cup water every 12 hours. Test the strength of your starter with a rubber band around the jar or the sourdough float test. You will know it's strong enough if the starter bubbles, and doubles in size 4-8 hours after feeding.
  • After day 10 there should be enough bacteria and yeast to make sourdough bread or other recipes like pancakes and bagels. You can also attempt a discard recipe or store your starter in the fridge until you're ready to use it again.

Notes

Occasional sourdough use - If you make 1-2 loaves of bread a week and discard pancakes on the weekend, or some combination in between, keeping your starter in the fridge when you aren't using it will be the best option. Just take it out, discard it a little, then feed it before baking. You won't need to feed your starter as often if you store it in the fridge - the yeast slow down and don't need as much food when they are cold.
Everyday use - if you're ready to go all-in with sourdough and bake more often, then keeping your starter on the counter/shelf is your best option. Just remember you'll have to feed it almost every day to keep the yeast happy, either discarding it to the trash or using the discard in different recipes.
Once a month I like to transfer my starter to a clean jar and continue feeding.