Growing a sourdough starter at home is as simple as adding filtered water to flour every day for a week, stirring, and waiting for nature’s magic. Whole grains, the air in our environment, and even our hands all contribute wild yeast and lactobacilli (LAB) that work together to create a natural product that makes bread rise.
| Ingredient | Amount | Weight |
| Filtered spring water (the chlorine in tap water can inhibit wild yeast and LAB from growing well). | 2¼ cups (total) | 532 grams/mls |
| Flour (white, bread, whole-wheat, rye or a bit of each) | ⅓ cup | 32 grams |
| Flour (white, bread, or whole-wheat, but what you plan to mostly bake with) | 4 cups (total) | 500 grams (total) |
Day One: Getting Things Started
“When establishing the starter, weigh the flour and water in ounces [or grams] to get a more accurate measurement than in cups (volume).”
Carroll, Pellegrinelli, Carroll in Starter Sourdough
In a clean jar add ⅓ cup (32 g) flour (white, bread, whole-wheat, rye or a bit of each) and ¼ cup (32 g) of filtered room temperature water. Mix it all together and set it on the counter with a loosely fitting cover.
Day Two: Patience
Add another ⅓ cup (32 g) of the flour you plan to bake with and another ¼ cup (32 g) filtered water. Mix it well so that there is no dry flour. Then set it on a counter where room temperature will be almost constant. Fit with a loose cover again.
Day Three: More Patience
There may be some bubbles showing in the start but hold off using your starter just yet. Feed it again with ⅓ cup (32 g) of unbleached bread flour and another ¼ cup (32 g) filtered water. Mix it together and set it on the counter with a loosely fitting cover again.
If you haven’t marked the jar with tape or a rubber band yet, you should do it today. Marking the jar helps you compare the starting point to see if the start increases in volume.
Day Four: Watching Starter Grow
Today your starter may have more bubbles and its volume could be building. Check to see if there is a yeasty or fruit aroma when you open it.
Today, pour off half of the starter’s volume. Then add ⅓ cup of flour and ¼ cup filtered water back into the start, cover it loosely with the lid, mark the jar, and place it on the kitchen counter again.
By the way, you can make pancakes with this discarded starter. (For recipes click here.)
Day 5–7: Taking Care of the Starter
“For the float test, drop a small amount of starter into a glass of room-temperature water. If it floats, the starter passed the test! If it sinks, you either need to let the starter sit longer to develop more bubbles, or feed it again and let it sit until it passes the float test (usually 6–12 hours).”
Erica at Pioneer Woman
Each of the next three days take off half of the starter and feed it one cup (125 g) of flour and ¾ cup of filtered water to build activity and volume. (You might make waffles with your discarded start or take a look at our recipes for cake, cookies, and other treats.)
Day 5 my starter looked foamy, not bubbly, which means it had used up most of its food. It had risen and dropped back on itself. So I fed it again right away, but with a whole cup (125 g) of bread flour and ⅔ cup of purified water to build up my volume.
It looks like my new “pet” was alive, but it still is still young so I fed it ⅓ cup (32 g) flour and ¼ cup (32 g) every 4–6 hours. Then I used the float test to be sure it was ready.
Day 8: Beyond Growing Starter
Repeat small, regular feedings (⅓ cup [32 g] flour and ¼ cup [32 g] water) and your little “baby” will just keep on growing well. If it ever seems unhappy, just feed it every 4 hours until it is bubbly again. Have patience, it will come back.
Many new bakers often forget to feed their starter, but know this, a sourdough start is hardy. It is difficult to kill. However, when it sits too long in the fridge, or on your counter a dark liquid might develop over the top layer.
This is called hooch; it looks pretty rotten. But it can be stirred back in and reactivated with ⅓ cup (32 g) flour and ¼ cup (32 g) every 4–6 hours until bubbly.
Stirring hooch back into the starter may give it a more sour flavor. So if you want it to be milder, pour off the hooch, then add the water and flour until it comes back.
PJ Hamel from King Arthur Flour, advises that sometimes, “starter will attract some ‘bad’ bacteria. It may acquire an unpleasant odor (not its usual sharp acidity, but something ‘off’), and may have a pinkish liquid on top. If this happens, discard your starter and begin over.”
Because of this I keep both a frozen and a dehydrated start in storage for just such an emergency.
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