Are you ready to make your own sourdough bread at home? In this blog post, I will provide you with an easy sourdough starter recipe, taking you step-by-step through the process. You only need flours and water and a glass jar to get started, and after just a few days of feedings, you’ll have an active, bubbly starter to use in your favorite sourdough recipes. We even provide you with a sourdough starter feeding worksheet so you can refer to it daily, track your progress, and troubleshoot when needed. Let’s get to making the starter!

Making Your Own Sourdough Starter

If this is your first time making sourdough starter, then welcome to the sourdough journey! 

A lot of people are intimidated by the whole process of making their own starter, but I assure you, creating your own starter and keeping it on hand for weekly bread making is so worthwhile. I find sourdough bread to be easier to digest than yeast bread, and the flavors you get from sourdough bread are phenomenal. 

This is a simple sourdough starter recipe made with simple ingredients, designed to make your experience fuss free. It’s so much better to have your own mature sourdough starter that’s full of sour flavor, than to use store-bought yeast for bread making!

Simple Ingredients to Make This Easy Sourdough Starter

I prefer to use different flours, which we will get into, to feed the sourdough starter. This ensures that the starter is well fed and can strengthen. Some flours have higher protein content which can help to ensure a stronger starter. Any unbleached all purpose flour works as the base flour for your starter, however, we highly recommend going towards organic flour if you can, as there is much being published about glyphosates being used to brown crops of wheat, and it could be causing digestive issues for some. We love using Organic King Arthur all purpose flour and adding in a small amount of Organic Arrowhead Rye Flour to strengthen the starter. We will go over specifically how much to use of both types (as well as other types you can use) in the recipe below. 

What Kitchen Items Do I Need?

Also, you don’t need these kitchen items, but they make the process much easier for transferring starter and measuring starter. I recommend you use a good kitchen scale that weighs out in grams so you can easily read the grams of flour and water you add to the starter. I also recommend having a few large Ball jars or Weck jars on hand as well. Finally, you will need a wooden spoon or spatula for mixing and pulling the starter out of the jar.

What Is Sourdough Starter?

Sourdough starter is simply a live fermented culture of flour and water. Within just a few days of feeding a starter, the culture begins to ferment and cultivate natural yeasts that are found in our environment. When you want to make bread, you can use a small portion of sourdough starter instead of using commercial yeast. This process of fermentation can be accomplished in just about 7 days with the right temperature and care. 

How Is the Sour Taste Produced in Sourdough?

When you make your own sourdough starter, you are creating your own culture of “good bacteria,” called “lactic acid bacteria.” They produce an organic acid called lactic acid which gives the sourdough part of its characteristic sour flavor. Every time you feed your starter, these bacteria go to work converting sugars in the flour into lactic acid, creating the tangy, sour taste. This process also preserves the bread by lowering its pH level and inhibiting the growth of harmful bacteria.

You are also creating “wild yeast” during the fermentation of the flour and water coming together. These yeasts are naturally found in the air and flour, and thrive in the environment created by mixing flour and water. When you bring them together and allow them to ferment, it produces carbon dioxide which causes the dough to rise. These wild yeasts are also able to survive in the acidic environment created by the lactic acid bacteria present in the starter. 

It’s the perfect combination of the organic acids produced by the lactic acid bacteria along with the many variations of wild yeast strains that create the unique sour flavor found in your sourdough.

How Long Does It Take for Starter to Become Active?

To create active starter, the process takes about 5-7 days from start to finish. You can speed up the time by adding high protein flour to your starter during daily feedings. These higher protein flours jumpstart the fermentation process. Continual feedings help to cultivate the (wild yeast) and good bacteria. Once the sourdough starter is active, you will keep it alive with ongoing feedings. 

Is It Difficult To Create Starter and Keep It Alive?

Not really… all you’re doing is feeding it with flour and water daily until it becomes bubbly. Once it’s doubling in size, it’s ready to use. Then you can refrigerate it and activate it every few days as needed. It really is a simple process, and you can even make it a weekly habit and bread making ritual that your whole family will come to appreciate and love. We’ve laid out the steps for you below. Once you get it going, I know you will be glad you created your own starter. And yes, go ahead and give it a name since you put in the work to create your own (natural yeast) from scratch!

What type of flour do I need to use to make sourdough starter?

You can use any type of all purpose unbleached flour to make sourdough starter. If you want to get it activated sooner and strengthen the starter quickly, then add a small amount of either Rye or Bread flour. The (mixture of flour) I prefer using is Organic King Arthur All Purpose Flour along with Organic Arrowhead Rye flour because it adds more layers of flavor to the starter. You can also use wheat flour instead of the other flours, but the flavor will be much different. When it comes to baking your sourdough bread, you don’t need to add the higher protein flour. In fact, I’ve found that the loaf comes out too dense when baked with bread flour and whole wheat. We’ve baked with Organic Trader Joe’s All Purpose, Whole Foods Brand 365 Organic All Purpose, and Bob’s Red Mill Organic All Purpose, as well as many other Organic brands, and they all bake up a great loaf of sourdough bread.

Note that if you use Rye, bread flour, or (whole wheat flour), you may need to add a little more water to hydrate your starter as these flours tend to absorb water easily. You don’t need much more water than the regular amounts. The (starter doubles) more easily if you keep it on the thicker side. A good test for consistency is if you stir the starter, it should be sticking to the sides of the jar and pulling away. It should also take work to move the starter around in the jar.  

What type of water is best to use to feed my starter?

You can use bottled water, spring water, or filtered water. If you use tap water, make sure to boil it first and let it cool down to a warm temperature. 

What is the right hydration level to get my starter to become active?

There are different schools of thought on the right hydration levels for sourdough starter. I have seen many people say that you should add the same amount of water as flour in grams continually. In my experience, this creates VERY WEAK starter if done over time. Yes, I would recommend feeding it the same amount of water to flour in weight (grams) to start. And then as your develop your starter, slightly cut back on the grams of water. I have had more success with my starter when I give it a slightly lesser amount of water to flour. So if I am feeding my starter to get it going, I feed it 50 grams of all purpose flour, 10 grams of Rye flour, and 60 grams of warm water (85-90 degree F). The next day I use less flour and water (40 grams all purpose + 5 grams Rye + 45 grams warm water). Simply repeat this process for a few days, always removing the top layer by scooping some out. Once bubbles form, you can start to slightly cut back the water to thicken and strengthen the starter.

Let’s go over some tips before you get started!

Before You Get Started, Here are Some Tips for Success:

• Create a feeding schedule. Get in the habit of feeding your new starter around the same time each day. Your starter will rise and fall within a few hours of feeding it, so you may want to feed it in the morning. I feed mine when I’m heating up my hot water in a kettle in the morning. Find a feeding time that works for you. Download the feeding schedule to help you stay on track.
• Keep the starter warm in the beginning: to speed up activation, wrap a kitchen towel around your jar and place it in a slightly warm environment for the first few days. 
• Track growth: Use a rubber band or a piece of masking tape on the jar to measure the starter when it rises. This will help you know for sure that it is starting to rise. 
• Keep all your items clean: Use a clean wooden spoon or rubber spatula to scrape down the sides of the jar to prevent mold from growing. 
• Keep it happy: The ideal temperature for your new starter is between (70-85 F). Also, daily feedings are key to keeping it fed and happy while it’s “growing up.” Once it’s mature, you can store it in the fridge and feed it every few days.

Now let’s get to making the starter!

Easy Sourdough Starter Recipe Step-By-Step

You will need:

1 Large Ball Jar with Lid
Kitchen Scale
Wooden Spoon
Kitchen Towel (to wrap jar)

Ingredients:

50 grams organic all purpose unbleached all purpose flour
10 grams organic Rye flour or bread flour
60 grams filtered warm water (85-95 degrees F)

To feed the starter daily you will need:

40 grams organic all purpose unbleached flour or bread flour
5 grams organic Rye flour
40 to 45 grams filtered warm water (85-95 degrees F). Use a little less water to thicken the starter over time.

Sidenote on flours: Using a flour with high protein will help it activate and stay strong. This can be achieved by mixing all purpose with bread flour, wheat flour, or Rye flour. I personally like the flavor of all- purpose mixed with Rye, so choose what you desire based on flavor. The more higher protein flour you use, the more water you might need, as they tend to thicken your starter quite a bit. You are going for a thick consistency. Also, you don’t have to use organic flour, we just prefer organic for health reasons. The only flour we would say to avoid is bleached flour, as it may not activate easily due to the bleaching. 

Day 1: To Make The Sourdough Starter

• As a first step, go ahead and download and print out this feeding chart. We’ve created this to make it easy to follow your daily feeding schedule and keep you on track.
• Add 50 g of Organic All Purpose Unbleached Flour and 10 g of Organic Rye flour to 60 g warm water (85-90 degrees F) to your sourdough starter jar. Total yield: 120 g sourdough starter.
• Mix with a wooden spoon until combined; the consistency will be thick (not quite like dough, and not as thin as pancake batter).
• Slightly heat your oven on low to about 85-95 degrees. Then turn it off.
• Cover jar with plastic wrap or a lid (do not screw lid on), wrap the jar with a kitchen towel, and let rest in the warmed oven (turned off), or keep it in a proofing box set to 80 degrees F overnight. 

Tips: Temperature is very important to activate your starter. You may want to preheat an oven on low and then turn it off, wrap your jar in a kitchen towel and place it in the oven. Some people leave the oven light on to keep it warm, but you will need to make sure that your oven does not get too hot for the whole night. The ideal temperature for starter is 75 to 85 degrees F. You can also use a proofing box set to around 80 degrees, or place your starter jar in a convection or microwave oven with the door ajar and the light on.

Day 2: Check for Bubbles and Feed the Starter

• On day 2, you’re going to do a visual check of your starter and see if any small bubbles have appeared on the surface.
• When you see bubbles, it means the starter is fermenting and active, which is what you want. You might not see any bubbles on day 2 and that’s okay. It’s quite common for them to appear during the night.
• You will scoop a portion of the starter off the top and throw it out. Feed the starter with 40 grams of all purpose flour and 5 grams of Rye with 45 grams of warm water (85-95 degrees), and let it rest in a warm spot overnight. Make sure to thoroughly combine all the ingredients, as stirring the starter oxygenates the mixture.

Tip: What’s The Liquid Forming on Top of the Starter? During the starter process, you might notice a liquid form on the surface. This dark liquid is called “hooch,” and it’s actually a good sign! A small amount of hooch indicates that your starter is hungry and ready to be fed. If a large amount of hooch forms, it could indicate that your starter is underfed. Hooch has a very distinct smell, similar to rubbing alcohol. Some people pour it off first before scooping and adding in more flour and water because the smell can be quite strong. It’s totally up to you!

Days 3-7: Continue to Discard and Feed Your Sourdough Starter

Continue the feeding process: 

• Scoop a portion of the starter off the top and throw it out. Feed the starter with 40 grams of all purpose flour and 5 grams of Rye with 45 grams of warm (85-95 degree water), and make sure to scrape down the sides of the jar and mix all the ingredients thoroughly. Stirring the starter also helps to oxygenate the mixture. The texture should be stretchy and thick. Let it rest in a warm spot overnight.  
• Around Day 4-5, it would be good to transfer your sourdough starter to a clean jar. To do this, scoop off the top portion and save it if you like in a container in the fridge. This is active discard and can be used in recipes. Then transfer at least 30-40 grams of starter into a clean jar. Give it a normal feeding, and place it in the fridge with the lid on. You only need to feed it every few days now.
• To clean the old jar, allow it to soak in soapy water for a few hours, then dump out the water and scrub the inside. If there are sourdough crusties along the top edge, you can fill up the jar with warm water and fill up a bowl with water and then tip the jar upside down quickly and place it into the bowl of water to soak the top.

The natural yeasts will begin to develop and your starter will start to bubble and rise. Note that it will fall back down, and this is perfectly normal. You don’t need to feed it immediately when it falls back down. You can feed your starter once a day if you are leaving it out on the counter. 

Day 7-8: Your Sourdough Starter Is Alive!

• By now, your sourdough starter should be rising and doubling in size. And you should see lots of bubbles forming both on top and within the inside of the starter. The texture will appear more on the pillowy, fluffy, and spongy side. It should also smell sour, but pleasant. 
• If you are ready to make bread, give your starter a larger feeding of 70 grams all purpose +10 grams of Rye with 80 grams of warm water. Let it sit on the counter for a few hours and once it rises, it’s ready to use.
• With active starter, you are now ready to move on to baking bread! You can get started with my easy sourdough bread recipe. It’s super simple to bake and once you do, you’re not going to want to buy store bought bread ever again!

FAQ’s to Making Easy Sourdough Starter

How do I know if I have active sourdough starter?

If your starter is bubbling, then it is alive and active! When you have active starter, this means you are keeping the right hydration level along with the proper types and amounts of flour all while keeping it at an ambient temperature. Download the Sourdough Starter Schedule to help you with daily feedings.

How Do I Store My Sourdough Starter?

Keep the sour dough starter on the kitchen counter at room temperature when you are first beginning the feedings. Once the starter is active (and you see bubbles forming and it’s rising and falling), you can transition it to the refrigerator. I have found that my starter keeps fresher and stays stronger if I keep it refrigerated. At this point, it can be fed every 3 to 5 days.  

What do I do to prepare my starter for baking sourdough bread?

When I am ready to bake bread, I simply take the starter out of the fridge and place it on the kitchen counter in the morning. Once it reaches room temperature, I scoop off the top and toss it if it’s been more than 5 days in the refrigerator. Here are instructions to add flour and water:

Place the jar with remaining starter on a kitchen scale and tear (zero out) the scale. Add 70 grams of all purpose organic flour and 10 grams of organic Rye flour to the jar. Heat up water in a kettle to boiling and pour some hot water into a one cup metal measuring cup (about half way) and then add cold filtered water to the measuring cup. Then tear (zero out) the kitchen scale with the jar sitting on top, and add in about 70-80 grams of the warm water (using less water helps to thicken the starter). Thoroughly mix with a wooden spoon. The starter is thick and stringy at this point. Let it sit on the counter or in a warm place during the day.

If it is warm in your home, around 70+ degrees F, then you should see the starter double within a few hours. If it is cool in your home, you can turn your oven to low for a few minutes, then shut it off, and then place the starter jar inside the oven with the door closed. You can also leave the light on inside the oven to create a little warmth. You can also control the temperature with this proofing box. The starter should double or rise within a few hours of feeding if it’s been in a warm environment. It is ready to use once it has doubled in size or floats in water during a float test.    

Can I just measure out equal parts flour and water to feed my starter?

No, if you just measure out 1 cup water and 1 cup flour, you’re going to end up with more flour than water in weight (grams). For best results, you want to have slightly more flour to water in grams. Many people will say to have equal flour to water in grams, but I’ve found this over-hydrates the starter. Your best option is to weigh out the portions of flours and water if you want to achieve best results. This inexpensive food scale is a good option for getting started.   

How much starter should I keep in the jar when I’m discarding?

You only need to keep a little bit of starter in your jar each time you discard. Once you get get it going, you can just scoop off the top portion and leave a small amount in the jar, or you can measure out how much you keep by using a kitchen scale. I would recommend leaving at least 40 grams in your jar. Once you discard some, then it is best to give it a small feeding of about 40 grams all purpose + 5 grams Rye flour (45 total) and 40 grams water (slightly less water once your starter is established will keep it on the thicker side. You may need to adjust based on the types of flour you use. You are going for a very thick stringy consistency).

The amount of flour you feed it depends on whether you need to bake with the starter or not. If you need to bake bread, you will want to give it a larger feeding of 80 g flour total (70 g all purpose and 10 g Rye) and 70-80 g water (using less water helps to thicken the starter), as most bread recipes will require about 80-100 grams of starter. If you are not needing to bake, then just give it the smaller feeding. 

How often do I need to feed my starter if I keep it refrigerated?

It’s a good idea to keep your starter fed every few days. If you are keeping it refrigerated, it may develop liquid on top. It is common for liquid to collect on top (called Hooch) and for the smell to become very sour. THIS IS WHAT YOU DO WANT. I’ve kept my starter in the refrigerator for up to two weeks when we’ve gone on vacation and come back to it to feed it. But I would recommend a more frequent feeding of your starter, at least every 3 to 5 days to keep it from going bad. 

How do I know if my sourdough starter has gone bad?

There are visual cues to help you know if your starter has gone bad. If you have left the starter in it’s jar a long time, longer than 2 weeks, and you see a dark color forming (black, green, pink, or orange) on top of the starter, this could indicate that the starter has gone bad. If this happens, I would recommend throwing out your starter and starting over with a new starter. Also, if you cannot get the starter to rise after feeding it, then it may have gone bad. It is harder to tell from the smell unless you know the difference between sour and rotten. If the smell has become very strong instead of tangy, then it’s best to throw it out and start over. 

How do I know if my starter is still active?

There are visual cues to help you know if your starter is still active. A good way to determine if it is still active is to look at the top of the starter to see if it is making lots of bubbles. A healthy starter will continue to ferment and grow in the jar. This is why you need to keep discarding some as you feed it. 

What do I do with leftover starter?

You might start to notice your starter growing in size. If you have a large amount of starter, and need to get rid of some of the remaining starter, also called sourdough discard, it can be used in many recipes, including pancakes, breads, muffins, and even cookies. We are going to share a bunch of our favorite discard recipes in the next few weeks. So make sure to subscribe or join our Facebook or Instagram to get new recipes.  

Am I saving money by making my own sourdough bread?

When you look at the cost of a loaf of bread these days, you will almost certainly find that you are saving money when you are baking your own bread. There is some extra cost in keeping your starter fed and active. But if you cut the feedings back by keeping the starter in the refrigerator, then you can certainly save money. 

Are there any benefits to eating sourdough bread over regular yeast bread?

Sourdough bread is fermented, and because of the fermentation process, the complex carbohydrates get broken down and produce beneficial bacteria. This can result in better nutrient absorption and a lower glycemic index which can have less impact on blood sugar levels. Also, sourdough bread generally has a much richer flavor profile due to the fermentation process. 

It’s Time to Make Sourdough Bread!