In this Instructable, learn how to make a sourdough starter at home. Use this to make sourdough bread, waffles, pancakes, etc.

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Follow the easy steps below or watch the video tutorial or do both!

Supplies

Ingredients:

100g of Rye or Whole Wheat flour (unbleached)
100g of filtered water

Tools:

Kitchen Scale
Some kind of container like a mason jar
Spoon

NOTE: You need equal parts in weight not the volume of flour and water, so a scale is pretty important to have for sourdough starter and sourdough bread.

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Step 1: Weigh the Flour

You can use any unbleached flour that you want but rye or whole wheat is usually recommended to start with at the very beginning.

Place a container like a mason jar on your scale and zero it out.

Then measure 100g of flour. Zero out the scale again.

Step 2: Weight the Water and Mix

Next, pour in 100g of water, I like to use slightly warm water around 85F/29C. I like to use filtered water because my tap water is gross. Now just give both ingredients a good mix and make sure there are no dry bits of flour.

Loosely cover the jar or container with a lid and then set it on the counter to rest for 24 hours.

Step 3: Days 2 Through 7 to 10 (discard and Feed)

After 24 hours you will be on day two of the process. You may or may not see little bubbles already forming in the jar.

Discard all but about 20 percent of the starter. You can use the discard for something else if you want, or just toss it.

Now repeat the process from day one.

Place the jar on the scale and zero it out.

Pour in 100g of warmish water, zero the scale, then scoop in 100g of flour. At this point, you can switch to another flour like all-purpose white flour or bread flour, as long as they are unbleached. Or you can continue using rye or whole wheat flour.

Mix and cover and let sit for 24 hours. Now you will repeat this process for several more days. It will take 7 to 10 days total to have a mature starter.

Step 4: Testing the Starter

There are a few ways to tell when the starter is mature enough to be used to make sourdough bread. Find my sourdough bread recipe here. First is after you feed it, if it rises to about double or more than double after 4 to 12 hours it is ready. And you should see lots of bubbles.

The best way to tell though is to drop a small teaspoon worth of starter in a bowl of water, if it floats, it is ready! This is called the "float test."

The starter can now be used to make homemade sourdough bread and other sourdough recipes.

If you plan on using the starter every day, just feed it and keep it on the counter. Otherwise, store it in the fridge where you will only need to feed it once a week.

Good luck with your new sourdough starter!

*Print the sourdough starter recipe here if you want.