Beginner Sourdough Starter Recipe — All You Need to Know

When I first heard about sourdough starters, I thought the only thing you could make with it was sourdough bread. It wasn’t until I learned more about it that I discovered you can make pancakes, flatbreads, pie crusts, biscuits, chocolate chip cookies, and so much more! I had so much fun making those that it took me months to get to the bread making process.

What a new and beautiful (not to mention tasty!) world it is to have sourdough starter in my kitchen. Let me tell you all about it!

What is a sourdough starter?

Sourdough starter is made up of just two ingredients: flour and water. When you mix these ingredients over time, it creates an environment for a wild colony of yeasts to thrive.

Sourdough starter is actually a fermented dough, and it causes baked goods to rise. The yeasts give off carbon dioxide which creates little pockets of air. This is the original leavening that has been used for thousands of years.

The yeasts in the starter are living organisms that require regular feedings of flour and water to stay alive and thrive.

What are the benefits of sourdough?

The colony of yeasts in a sourdough starter is a natural probiotic, which makes it gut healthy. It is also much easier to digest because the grains (flours) are partially broken down, which leaves less work for your digestive system to do! This also makes it a potential option for those with gluten intolerance (not celiac). Either way, it’s just better even for those with an overall healthy digestive system.

In addition to these benefits, sourdough bread contains a variety of vitamins. Most contain a source of these essentials:

• calcium
• magnesium
• folate
• potassium
• niacin
• antioxidants
• and more!

What can you do with a sourdough starter?

You can use a sourdough starter in almost any type of food that would call for flour or yeast. This includes cakes, breads, pies, pizza crusts, cookies, and the best cinnamon rolls; the possibilities are literally endless.

Stay tuned (and subscribe to my email newsletter!) for all of my sourdough recipes!

Why don’t I just use instant yeast packets instead?

Instant yeast packets are a (dare I say…subpar?) substitute for sourdough starter, which is “the real deal” when it comes to yeast.

Sourdough starter wasn’t always called by that name because it used to just be called “yeast” or “leaven”. It’s only been recently that instant yeast became the norm, and sourdough starter (the original yeast) sadly took a back seat.

I’m here to show you the benefits of returning back to the way it used to be. Un-commercialized, wild, living yeast is what has been used for thousands of years and is superior to modern-day substitutes. Before commercialized dry yeast was invented in the 1940s, all bread was sourdough bread.

Sourdough is better for your gut, richer in vitamins, and my favorite part- it tastes so much better than anything else! Literally, there’s no comparison.

The Process of How to Make It

Now that you’re convinced sourdough is the way to go, here’s how to make your own starter. You could be baking in less than two weeks!

Supplies

• A glass jar or container for storing your sourdough starter: The container or glass jar needs to be 1 quart (4 cup) or larger capacity, and it is best if it is glass! Metals can react negatively with the yeast in sourdough starters.
• Measuring cup: I like this set from Amazon.
• A spatula: It can be a wood spatula or a silicone spatula, for stirring.
• A bowl cover: You can use a container lid, tea towel, or stretchy bowl cover, as long as it is not airtight.

Ingredients

• Flour: I use King Arthur’s Unbleached All Purpose Flour, but you can choose to use a single flour or combine your favorites, including unbleached white, whole grain wheat, einkorn, pumpernickel, or others. For average baking, the most common is unbleached all purpose flour. You can change the type you are using at any time, so there’s no pressure on deciding which one to start with.
• Filtered water: It’s best to avoid using tap water when possible, as most tap water is treated with additives that can affect the health of your starter. I choose to use distilled water for my starter, but as long as it is properly filtered you can use whatever you already have.

Steps

DAY 1:

In your glass storage jar, combine 1 cup of flour of choice with 1/2 cup of filtered water. Stir well with your spatula. Make sure to scrape the sides and stir until no dry flour remains. Cover loosely with a tea towel (nothing airtight) and let sit at room temperature for 24 hours.

DAY 2:

After 24 hours, keep 1/2 cup of the mixture and discard the remaining mixture (see below for what you can do with this). Place the reserved 1/2 cup of the mixture back into your jar, and add 1 cup flour and 1/2 cup water (just like yesterday). Cover loosely and allow to sit 24 hours.

DAYS 3-7:

Repeat the steps from day two every day for the rest of the week. Over the course of the week, you should start to see some activity such as bubbling, rising and falling, and a bit of a sweet and sour smell from your sourdough starter (like the smell of a bread loaf).

DAY 8 AND EVERY DAY AFTER:

Congratulations! You should now have an active starter. To keep this starter alive, you’ll need to feed it daily if you’re keeping it on the counter (every 12-24 hours depending on the temperature of your home), or weekly if you’re storing it in the fridge. The warmer the environment, the more often it needs to be fed because the yeasts are more active in warmth.

To feed your active starter moving forward, combine 1/2 cup sourdough starter + 1 1/8 cup flour + 3/4 cup water. This volume allows you to use 1 cup of starter, which is the perfect amount for a loaf of sourdough bread or many other common recipes, while still leaving 1/2 cup behind that’s ready to be fed again.

How do I know if my starter is ready to use?

To know that your starter is mature enough to bake with, there are a few indicators to look for. First, active starters are bubbly and typically rise and fall. You can look for evidence of the starter growing on the sides of the container. Second, they also smell sweet and sour like a fresh-baked loaf of bread.

Many people rely on the “float test” for making sure their starter is ready to bake with. You can spoon a small amount of starter into a cup of water. If it floats then it is considered ready to use, and if it sinks it is not ready yet. However, I will say that many starters can’t pass the float test, yet they still make delicious recipes (including breads). The temperature of the water, type of flour used, and other environmental factors beyond your control can all affect the float test.

Therefore, I say that as long as your starter is bubbling and smells good, it is ready to use. There’s really no risk in giving it a try if you’re unsure, just go for it! If the bread is a flop, you can cut it up and use it as croutons or in a casserole. Nobody will know the difference!

Do I actually have to discard?

You may be wondering why basically every sourdough starter recipe says to discard. It’s because the yeast in sourdough starters have to eat their own weight in flour. I don’t blame them, I could eat my weight in bread too, but that’s beside the point.

This means that the more starter you have, the more flour you have to feed it.

So if you didn’t discard any on day one, then you’d have to feed it two cups of flour on day two because there is more starter to feed. Now that there’s even more starter, by day three you’d have to feed it 4 cups of flour, day four 8 cups, and so on, until by day like ten you’d need to add an extra room to your house just to keep your starter in.

If anyone does that, let me know in the comments, I’m on my way over to bake some bread.

Okay, maybe that’s dramatic. But now you see that you have to keep the volume of your starter low so you don’t have to keep feeding it more and more each day.

Thankfully, the method I explained in this recipe doesn’t require any guesswork as some other recipes do. Instead of saying to “discard half of the jar”, I just have you keep 1/2 cup and discard the rest. This way it never gets confusing on what to actually keep and how much to discard, and your results are consistent each day.

What can I do with the discard?

For the first couple of days, your mixture isn’t really a sourdough starter yet, as the yeasts haven’t had time to grow and develop. Essentially, your discard at the beginning is truly just flour and water. You can attempt to use it in a recipe that calls for flour and water if you’d like. But since the results would be varied, it may be best to use it in your compost or feed it to your chickens.

Once the starter becomes more bubbly and active, it can be used in recipes that call for sourdough discard. Since it won’t be strong or mature enough to leaven things on its own, you’ll want to use it in something that has other leaveners in the recipe (like baking soda).

You can use even mature starter discard in your compost, for feeding animals, freezing for later, in recipes, and so on.

Can I store my sourdough starter in the fridge?

You can absolutely store it in the fridge! If you do, you will only need to feed it once a week.

To feed a refrigerated starter, pull it out of the fridge and then feed it as stated in the regular feeding directions. Make sure to leave it at room temperature for 8-12 hours after feeding. This lets it get active again before putting it back in the fridge.

If you’re going to use it in a recipe where the starter is the only leavening agent, you need to pull it out a day or two before you plan to use it. This gives time for a few feedings to get it really active again.

Can I freeze my sourdough starter?

Yes, you can! Freezing your starter halts the growth of the yeast. This means that you do not have to feed the starter while it is being stored in the freezer. So when life gets crazy, or you’re going on an extended trip, just freeze your starter for later. No need to worry about losing all of your hard work.

There’s a layer of gray or black liquid on top of my starter! Help!

Not to worry. This dark liquid that sometimes forms on top of the sourdough starter is called hooch. It is a byproduct the yeasts give off when they have run out of food (flour) and are very hungry! You’ll want to remove this before feeding your starter. Some people stir it in, but it tends to add a strong and bitter taste to the starter. It’s best to get that gone as quickly as possible in my opinion. Your starter will bounce back in no time!

Can I turn a regular recipe into a sourdough recipe?

Absolutely! This may take some trial and error, but here are a few guidelines to convert your favorite recipes into sourdough ones. Don’t be afraid to give it a try!

1. Omit any instant yeast from the recipe. You may need to allow your recipe to proof longer since sourdough starter is slower acting than dry yeast.
2. Use 1 cup of sourdough starter in place of 1 cup flour and 1 cup of the liquid component.
3. If you want to ferment the grains, soak the liquid components, flour, and sourdough starter overnight before continuing with the recipe.
   

Here’s an example of regular honey bread turned into sourdough honey bread. This isn’t a real recipe though, it is only an example.

Original recipe ingredients:

• 1 pkg. dry active yeast
• 1 1/2 cup warm water
• 1/4 cup honey
• 4 cups flour

Modified for sourdough recipe ingredients:

• 1 cup sourdough starter
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 cup honey
• 3 cups flour

I know someone that already has a sourdough starter. Can I just make mine from theirs?

Absolutely! Sourdough starters are very adaptive. You can take 1/2 cup of their mature starter, add your 1 1/8 cup flour and 3/4 cup water, and you’ve got your very own starter.

There’s so much charm in sharing a sourdough starter. It used to be passed down for generations since sourdough starters get stronger and more mature with age. However, there’s also a sense of accomplishment in making your own from scratch. I hope to pass my starter down to my kids and grandkids one day, and the fact that it will be “grandma’s starter” is something special to me.

In the end, we will all have amazing breads and baked goods, and can share that with those we love!

A valuable tip I wish I knew, but am so happy I discovered it by accident

Four months after I made my sourdough starter, I had a big scare. I poured my heart and time into maintaining the starter, used it for so many recipes, and was very much attached to it.

Well, I went to feed it one evening, and to my shock and surprise, there was mold growing on the container. I immediately panicked and started researching what I could do to fix it. Several sources, including a message from Lisa at Farmhouse on Boone, said that I could scoop a little starter out of the center, transfer to a new clean container, and then feed it as usual and discard everything else. Typically, this would work perfectly fine. It is something that many people who have had their starters for years have had to do at one point or another. I did exactly that, but the next day the new container had signs of mold growth. Sadly, I received advice to throw it out at that point. Something had gotten into my starter and bad bacteria was taking it over.

I. Was. Devastated.

I threw everything out, shed a tear or two (or three), and was preparing to make my starter again from scratch.

BUT THEN I remembered…I had some of my starter in a container in the fridge that I had put in there like a week before! I pulled it out, fed it, watched it for well over a week feeding it daily, and it was clean! No mold!

So whatever had gotten into my starter had happened after I put that discard in the fridge.

Now that your heart is slowing down in relief, here’s the tip. Always have a “backup” starter in the fridge, even if you typically leave your starter at room temperature. When you discard your starter for the day and don’t have any recipes to use the discard in right then, you can put that into a jar in the fridge. It’s like an insurance policy, except free. If only my car insurance was that cheap, ha!

Almost any recipe that calls for “sourdough discard” can use a cold discard directly from the fridge. It should never go to waste!

Save yourself the heart attack and keep that backup!

So tell me in the comments below, what is the first thing you’re going to make when your sourdough starter is ready?