Easy Sourdough Starter

Intro: Easy Sourdough Starter

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!

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.

STEP 5: Video Tutorial

Watch those steps in action with this video tutorial.

Comments

[SimplyT]

The emphasis on precision is only useful if you want the fastest delivery of starter. It does a disservice to the world of Sourdough to imply that it must be implemented precisely. Sourdough is remarkably forgiving! My dad did flapjacks for lumber camps in the 1920's and they sure never measured anything! Just mix flour and water together, leave it sit with a lid ajar to let in air. wait a day then add a tablespoon of flour and some warm water, repeat until you have smelly bubbly goodness. I keep mine in the fridge, and every week (or more) I throw in another tablespoon of flour and some water. When my jar is too full (like a month later), I take half and make crumpets or pancakes. The word d i s c a r d is not in my vocabulary and is another disservice to the sourdough world!

[t.rohner]

Hi Matt
Very nice instructable, as always... What bugged me about sourdough feeding was discarding parts of it. I'd start with 50g flour, instead of 100. So the amount to discard is smaller. I started using the discarded part for a "not real" sourdough bread. Not real means it isn't leavened by the sourdough alone, but some of the sourdough flavour is saved and more important, it's much easier timed.
https://www.instructables.com/Quick-Sourdough-Brea...
Lately, i started baking more pure sourdough breads. The timing can be hard, if you want to do some outdoor activities in the meantime... I started putting the formed and almost proofed loaves in a proofing basket into the fridge until next morning.
This saturday was awfull weather. I stumbled over a receipe for brioche with wild garlic (allium ursinum), which grows in abundance around here. I tried brioche a couple of times before, but these receipes called for insane amounts of butter. So i tried the "new" receipe and it gave me a moist, but super fluffy dough. I decided to add the wild garlic to only half the dough. The wild garlic ones were eaten lightly toasted with chicken wings, the other ones with butter and honey for breakfast. What a feast. The last image shows a sourdough bread, that was in the fridge overnight, before it was baked. The crust was so crispy, i had to vacuum around the cutting board...

[In The Kitchen With Matt]

That is awesome!! Yeah that is a good way to get around losing some much discard, unless you plan to use it in other recipes right when you discard it. You can easily just throw the discard in your waffle or pancake batter. Those pictures look awesome!

[MrsWilson46]

As I was reading through the recipe, I had the same reaction as T regarding throwing so much of the original out. I started thinking about putting small portions of the discard in other Mason jars and feeding them as the original. Eventually, the jars of starter could be gifts, no?

[In The Kitchen With Matt]

Yes!! You certainly could make sourdough starter gifts from the discard. Or just throw it in some pancake or waffle batter as well. Or just feed it with less flour and water.

[rof]

I have always had a fancy for making sourdough but there are two things that hold me back.
1 - I live in Scotland and my understanding is that sourdough relies on natural wild yeasts, but are these available in the winter as much as the summer - can you make a starter in the middle of winter in cold climes?
2 - I live alone now and only make bread once a fortnight - how can I store the starter without having to remember to feed it?
Thanks for your help.

[t.rohner]

Hi
Make sure, you get fresh organic flour. This way, there should be enough yeast and (wanted) bacteria in your starter.
If you want to bake with rye, i'd start with rye. But you can always convert a sourdough from rye to wheat and vice versa.

[In The Kitchen With Matt]

Yes great idea to start with rye in the beginning a it gives the starter a good jumpstart.

[beerwiser143]

As mentioned you can definitely make a starter. I am in northren Canada and I seemed to do mine on the coldest week of the year lol. It just takes a bit longer to get a strong healthy starter. As far as storage, I abuse my starter. Gets fed once a month or slightly less. Mine gets to the point where there is liquid (hooch) on top of it. Stir it up and feed it. As long as you don't have mold on it you will be fine.

[In The Kitchen With Matt]

Hi! Yep it should still work fine in Scotland. Yes it does rely on natural wild yeast, but that comes from three main places, the air, the flour itself, and the baker's hands. You definitely can make a starter in the middle of the winter. How cold is it inside your home? It just may take a little longer if it is too cold. The starter can be stored in the fridge, then you only need to feed it once a week. Great questions!