Making sourdough starter from scratch is so much easier than I ever thought it was! I’ve bought sourdough starter in the past, although I have only recently really begun to make sourdough bread. Until recently, I hadn’t had a lot of success. I think this was largely because I was using recipes that seemed to make everything much more complicated than they need to be.
A little over a month ago I decided to try my hand at making my own sourdough starter. WOW! So much easier than I thought. Although, I find the whole ‘feeding weekly’ of sourdough starter process a bit messy at times. Nonetheless, my sourdough starter from scratch is doing brilliantly and now, every week, I make a couple of loaves of sourdough bread.
I’ve also found a few ways to use the starter you dispose of each week in other baking. That is the one part of keeping fresh sourdough starter on hand I don’t like. The waste of disposing of half of it each week. So, I’ve found other ways to take care of that. More on that soon.
Making your own sourdough starter, with this method, takes roughly 5 to 7 days.
Ingredients
To get your starter going …
1 cup of unbleached all-purpose bread flour
1/2 cup of filtered* water, cool (if your house is warm) OR lukewarm (if your house is cool)
To feed your starter …
1 cup of unbleached all-purpose bread flour
1/2 cup of filtered* water, cool (if your house is warm) OR lukewarm (if your house is cool)
* I used filtered water, however, tap water may work just fine. I’ve noted filter because that is the only way I’ve made it.
Instructions
Day 1
To get your starter going, mix 1 cup of white all-purpose flour and 1/2 cup of water, as noted above. Use a container (I used a glass sealer) large enough for the starter to grow, at least one quart capacity.
Stir together so all the flour and water are thoroughly mixed together. Cover the container with a lid and let sit at room temperature for 24 hours.
Day 2 through 5 or longer, if needed
Every 24 hours, discard half of starter and add 1 cup of unbleached all-purpose flour and 1/2 cup of water, as noted above under ‘To feed your starter’. Mix well and recover container with a lid. Let rest at room temperature for 24 hours.
By Day 5 my starter was ready to use.
You’ll know it’s ready if you are seeing activity: bubbles and the starter growing to at least double its volume.
(On Day 4, I use a black mark on the glass sealer to mark where the starter is once I’ve fed it, so I can easily see the growth on Day 5.)
Day 2 through 5 or longer, if needed
Every 24 hours, discard half of starter and add 1 cup of unbleached all-purpose flour and 1/2 cup of water, as noted above under ‘To feed your starter’. Mix well and recover container with a lid. Let rest at room temperature for 24 hours.
By Day 5 my starter was ready to use.
You’ll know it’s ready if you are seeing activity: bubbles and the starter growing to at least double its volume.
(On Day 4, I use a black mark on the glass sealer to mark where the starter is once I’ve fed it, so I can easily see the growth on Day 5.)
Once the starter is ready, give it one last feeding and let it rest at room temperature for 6 to 8 hours before using what you need.
To keep starter for future baking
Store your starter in the fridge and feed once a week by discarding (or using) half of it and feeding the remainder with 1 cup of flour and 1/2 cup of water. Mix in thoroughly and store in fridge.
The recipe I used when making sourdough starter is available on the King Arthur Baking website. When I made my starter I didn’t feed it every 12 hours on days 3 through 5, and the sourdough starter turned out perfectly. To follow their recipe go click here.