Easy DIY Sourdough Starter
Make this easy sourdough starter in the span of seven days and never buy yeast again! All you'll need is flour, water, and a bit of time.
Equipment
- Glass bowl
- Beeswax wrap or a tea towel
Ingredients
- 360 g flour divided over 6 days (60g/day)
- 360 g water divided over 6 days (60g/day)
Instructions
- Day One: Mix 60g flour with 60g water (a half cup each) in a glass bowl and cover with a beeswax wrap or a tea towel.
- Day Two: Let the mixture rest.
- Day Three: Discard half of the dough and stir in another 60g water and 60g flour.
- Day Four: Repeat the previous step through Day Seven.
- Day Eight: Your starter is ready to use!
Notes
The Flour: It doesn't matter what you use. Whole wheat and rye flours are both rich in minerals and yeast, so both are excellent options. White flour is said to have more stable and predictable results, but try to use unbleached.
The Water: Unchlorinated, filtered water is best.
Additional Notes:
- The starter may look bubbly and active from Day 4 onwards. Don't stop discarding and feeding. However, when it starts smelling sour, you can start using the discard in recipes, like sourdough pancakes, waffles, banana bread, etc.
- It may take longer than a week for your starter to get bubbly and active. Don't stop discarding and feeding. Sometimes it takes longer for the yeast and bacteria to work together, that's all.
- Sourdough starter is supposed to smell funky. It's a ferment, so it's all part of the process.
- If you intend to bake daily, store the starter on the counter at room temperature and feed it daily, otherwise, store it in the fridge to slow fermentation.
- When sourdough is hungry and needs to be fed, it can get brown water on the surface (called hooch) and it smells sour. Make sure you feed it a 1:1 ratio of flour to starter (at least) to ensure it's well-fed.
- For a 100% hydration starter, add equal parts water to flour. Alternatively, you can wing it with the water and add enough water for a consistency akin to pancake batter.