How to Make a Sourdough Starter

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Learn How to Make a Sourdough Starter with a few simple steps! It is something I have always wanted to make myself or get one of those 100 year old starters you hear about. Since I don’t have one of those, I’m choosing to make it myself. Read below to see how easy it is and for some tips to help you along!

Full disclosure, it took two failures to get my third time is a charm starter really going. We live in a house where the temperature is really hard to keep consistent. Needless to say my first starter that I started in April did not work out. My second attempt did not work out either for similar reasons. Finally my third started has blossomed and is doing well. I am beyond excited!

Moreover, learning basic things like how to make bread is important to me. The less I buy at the grocery store the better. I want to know what I am putting in my kids bodies. Being the carb and protein loving family that we are, making small adjustments and making our own breads, pastas, etc is an easy way to eliminate more pesticides and harmful chemicals hiding in processed foods.

Sourdough Starter

113 grams of flour

113 grams Luke warm water (if your house is cold like mine)

32 Ounce glass jar (I use these ones.)

Day 1:

Mix flour and water together throughly. Cover with cheese cloth securely and add a rubber band around the mixture where the starter reaches. The rubber band helps you see the growth each day. You may not see much after the first 24 hours but do not panic.

Day 2:

Discard all but 113 grams of starter. Add 113 grams of flour and 113 grams of Luke warm water. Cover with cheese cloth and put a rubber band around the starter. After today you will start seeing a little bit of growth. Now would be a good time to order some sourdough baking supplies! This is the kit I started out with and it came with everything I need!

Day 3:

You should start to see your starter growing by today. Additionally, you will start two feedings a day. I would typically do my first one at 8:30 in the morning and then 8:30 at night. Find whatever works for your schedule and do that. It’s the same, discard all but 113 grams of starter and feed it with the normal amounts of flour and water.

Day 4:

Repeat Day 3. This is when I started to see lots of bubbles and activity, exciting!

Start to think about what you are going to make for your first time baking with sourdough!

Day 5 & 6:

Again, repeat the previous step. You should be getting quite a bit of activity and learning a good feeding schedule. Your starter is almost ready!

This is what mine looked like on Day 6, doubled in just a couple of hours.

Day 7:

Finally, your starter should be good and developed by now. Discard one last time and feed. If you are leaving your starter on the counter you will still need to feed daily. If you are going to store it in the fridge you will need to take it out once a week and feed. I waited until my starter was two weeks old before I put it in the fridge when we had to leave over the weekend and it did great!

Good luck with your Starter! Let me know in the comments which recipes you want to see first. If you’re looking for a good detox after summer check out my post Fix Your Digestion Issues Now. Happy Baking!