If you were home in March 2020, there’s a good chance you—like me—fell down the sourdough rabbit hole. Flour was impossible to find, starter recipes were everywhere, and suddenly we were all amateur bakers.
Fast forward to today, and thankfully, getting started with sourdough is much easier. No more hunting for flour across five grocery stores 🙃
I’ve been baking sourdough on and off since then, and I get asked all the time: “How do you actually make a sourdough starter?” So I’m kicking off a new series to walk you through it step-by-step.
This first post is all about creating and maintaining your sourdough starter. In upcoming posts, I’ll share my go-to sourdough bread recipe, favorite tools, and a few fun recipes I’ve tested along the way.
What Is a Sourdough Starter?
A sourdough starter is a simple mixture of flour and water that captures natural wild yeast. This is what allows your bread to rise—no commercial yeast needed.
How to Make a Sourdough Starter (Step-by-Step)
Day 1:
- Mix ¼ cup flour + ¼ cup water
- Stir until combined
- Place in a jar and cover loosely
Day 2 and beyond:
- Take ¼ cup of your mixture
- Add ¼ cup flour + ¼ cup water
- Mix and return to jar
- Repeat every 24 hours
Continue this process daily until your starter is consistently doubling in size.
Pro tip:
Use a rubber band or dry erase marker on your jar to track growth. This makes it very easy to see when your starter has doubled.
Flour Matters (And My Shortcut Tip)
Back in 2020, I had no choice but to use all-purpose flour. When I restarted my starter last year, I used a mix of:
- ⅛ cup all-purpose flour
- ⅛ cup whole wheat flour
The result? A much faster, more active starter.
If you want to speed things up, I highly recommend incorporating whole wheat flour in the early days.
When Is Your Starter Ready to Bake With?
Your starter is ready when it:
- Doubles (or more) in size within a few hours
- Looks bubbly and airy
- Has a slightly tangy smell
Once you hit this stage, you’re ready for baking!
How I Maintain My Starter (Real-Life Routine)
I don’t bake daily—in reality, it’s more like every 2–3 weeks—so my routine is designed to be low maintenance.
Storage:
- I keep my starter in the fridge most of the time
When I’m ready to bake:
- Pull it out Thursday evening to come to room temp
- Feed it Friday morning before work
My Feeding Ratio (Game Changer)
When feeding my starter, I use:
- 50g starter
- 150g water
- 150g flour
This is a 1:3:3 ratio.
For years, I used a 1:1:1 ratio, but over time my starter became too acidic. Since switching to 1:3:3, I’ve had much better results with flavor and activity.
By Friday afternoon, my starter is usually 2–3x its size and ready to bake.
I use what I need for my recipe, then mix the remaining starter back into my fridge jar for next time.
What’s Next in This Series
Ready for the next step? Visit my Sourdough Guides for Beginners page for my bread recipe, fermentation tips, discard recipes, favorite tools, and more lessons from six years of home baking.
This post may contain affiliate links.
Comments