Making your own sourdough starter is easier than it may seem, and once you have an active starter, you can use it to make everything from rustic loaves of bread to rolls, pancakes, and other baked goods.
This sourdough starter begins with whole wheat or rye flour and water, then is gradually fed with all-purpose flour and water as it develops. Over the course of about a week, the natural fermentation creates the bubbles, aroma, and activity that make a sourdough starter ready for baking.
The most important ingredient is patience. Some starters become active in five days, while others can take a full week or even a little longer depending on the temperature of your kitchen and the flour you use. When your starter is bubbly, has doubled in volume after feeding, and has a pleasantly tangy or slightly fruity aroma, it’s ready to use.
Once established, your starter can be kept in the refrigerator and fed about once a week. When you’re ready to bake, simply bring it out, feed it, and give it time to become active again.
Don’t throw away the starter you discard during feeding. Sourdough discard can be used in pancakes, waffles, crackers, and many other recipes, or shared with friends who want to start their own sourdough journey.
Sourdough Starter
Ingredients
To Begin:
- 1 cup whole wheat flour or rye
- ½ cup water
Ingredients to feed your starter:
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- ½ cup water
Instructions
- Day-by-Day Instructions
- Day 1
- In a clean, non-reactive container, combine 1 cup (113 grams) whole wheat or rye flour with ½ cup (113 grams) water. Mix thoroughly.
- Cover the container loosely with cheesecloth and a rubber band, or use a jar with a lid that allows some air circulation without allowing the starter to dry out.
- Leave the starter at room temperature, ideally around 70°F or warmer, for 24 hours.
- Days 2 and 3
- Discard approximately half of the starter, leaving about ½ cup (113 grams) in the container. The discard can be saved for another recipe or composted.
- Add 1 cup (113 grams) all-purpose flour and ½ cup (113 grams) water to the remaining starter.
- Mix thoroughly, cover, and leave at room temperature for 24 hours.
- Repeat this feeding once each day on Days 2 and 3.
- Day 4
- Your starter should begin showing bubbles and signs of activity. At this point, begin feeding it every 12 hours.
- Measure out ½ cup (113 grams) of starter and discard the remainder.
- Add 1 cup (113 grams) all-purpose flour and ½ cup (113 grams) water. Mix thoroughly, cover, and let rest at room temperature for 12 hours.
- Repeat the feeding every 12 hours.
- Day 5 and Beyond
- Continue feeding the starter every 12 hours using a 1:1:1 ratio by weight: ½ cup (113 grams) starter, 1 cup (113 grams) flour, and ½ cup (113 grams) water.
- Your starter is ready to use when it is bubbly, has a pleasant tangy or slightly fruity aroma, and reliably doubles in volume after feeding.
- If the starter has not yet doubled or is not showing plenty of bubbles, continue discarding and feeding every 12 hours. It may take a full week or longer for a new starter to become reliably active.
- How to Store Sourdough Starter
- Once your starter is active and reliably doubles in volume after feeding, you can store it in the refrigerator.
- Keep the starter covered and feed it about once a week, even if you are not currently baking.
- When you’re ready to bake, remove the starter from the refrigerator and feed it with fresh flour and water.
- Let it sit covered at room temperature until it becomes active and has doubled in volume. Depending on the temperature of your kitchen and the strength of your starter, this may take a few hours or up to 12 hours.
- Once the starter is active, it is ready to use in your sourdough recipe.
- Tip: If your kitchen is cool, you can place the covered starter in an oven with the light on to provide a warmer environment. Never turn the oven on while the starter is inside. Leave a note on the oven as a reminder.
Notes
As you feed your starter you have discard
https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/recipes/collections/sourdough-discard-recipes provides a host of items to use them. You can also share with friends and relative saving them time and effort.How to tell if your starter has gone bad
Nutrition Disclaimer
Art of Cooking Recipes (Paulson Pursuits} is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
