Y’all, this is one of my FAVORITE topics to write about…Sourdough! Let me show you how to make your own sourdough starter step by step, my non technical way. No scales involved! Sourdough has captured my heart and all my TIME. I love it with a passion.
When I was first starting out with sourdough bread making, I didn’t realize a starter had to take 2-3 weeks of consistent feeding to be even remotely ready to bake with. I just thought I could whip up some water and flour and it be good to go in 3 days. NOPE. Basically, you have to make sure your starter is active enough to be ready to bake with.
Why create a sourdough starter?
This is such a unique and versatile thing to constantly have fermenting in your kitchen. I have about three different starters on my counter right now, with three different types of flours. You can use it in breads, breakfast recipes, dinner recipes, you name it.
Sourdough is good for you, it’s full of probiotics thanks to the fermentation process. It’s easy to digest, many people with a gluten intolerance have found that they can eat sourdough bread.
It’s healthier than store bought breads and sourdough products. Only TWO ingredients as opposed to ingredients you can’t even read.
It has all types of nutrients that are beneficial to your heath, some including; iron, calcium, B1-B6, B12, and magnesium just to name a few. It may promote weight loss and it promotes proper digestion.
How to create a sourdough starter?
It’s really not that difficult, people make it a lot more technical than it should be. People back in the old days did not use scales, weighing by grams, or measuring cups. They eyeballed it, which is what I do now. Starting out though, you may need some guidance with measuring.
THINGS YOU’LL NEED:
- A glass jar with lid
- Wooden stir stick/spoon
- All purpose unbleached flour
- Filtered or drinking water
Unbleached flour is your key here, most of the time your starter won’t rise with bleached flour. You can use bread flour, whole wheat flour, all purpose unbleached, or einkorn.
You can use filtered, spring or well water for your starter. Although, I wouldn’t recommend tap water as it can kill your sourdough starter… it’s better to use filtered or spring water. Additionally, I would not use distilled water as it has no minerals in it that sourdough starter needs, filtered or drinking water has those minerals.
We live on well water and I that for mine. My starter seems to thrive on it, although, all starters are different… so, you’ll need to know what your starter likes and does not like in order for it to thrive.
How to make the starter:
So, for the first 3 days, you’ll need to feed your starter every 12 hours.
FIRST DAY:
- 1: Add 1/2 cup of filtered or drinking water
- 2: Add 1 cup unbleached all purpose flour
- 3: Stir the mixture thoroughly until it’s all incorporated
12 HOURS LATER:
The most common ratio for sourdough starter feedings is 1:1:1, BUT, this is how I make mine. So, while it may not be what everyone else does, it’s what works for my starter.
- Stir your new starter
- Discard 1/2 of your sourdough starter (since it’s not established, I would just throw into the trash)
- Add 1 cup of flour (I use King Arthur unbleached flour)
- Add 1/2 cup of water
Continue to do this ratio for the next three days.
After the three day, 12 hour increments.. you can slow down to once a day feeding. Just make sure for the first week or two you’re feeding it at around the same time every day so it’s consistent.
You can always overfeed your starter but you can’t underfeed. If you don’t give it enough food, it will get hungry and won’t grow.
After about a week, then you should start to see some bubbling in your new sourdough starter. But, it may not be ready to cook with if it’s not rising a lot. Generally, I would recommend that your starter should be ready to bake with by week 2 or 3.
When your starter becomes established and active, you can save your discard in the fridge for a whole new world of recipes. There’s a lot of debate on whether or not you should keep your discard or throw it away, I think it all depends on your personal preference. Sometimes I throw the discard away, sometimes I keep it.
Storing your sourdough starter
If you bake frequently with your starter, you can leave it on the counter and feed it every 24 hours.
But, if you don’t use it frequently, you can place it in the fridge in a glass container with an airtight lid. However, if you want to take it out of the fridge to use it, you would leave it out on the counter until it gets to room temperature. Then, you would feed it like normal and wait for it to rise. Once it rises, then it’s ready to use for baking.
I really only store mine in the fridge when I go on vacation, or, I know I am not going to be at home for a long period of time. It is such a great option though for when you don’t want to feed it daily.
So, I make a LOT of sourdough bread, probably around 2-3 loaves a week… I sell the bread, I make it for my husband weekly along with a lot of other sourdough recipes. So, I rarely keep it in the fridge.
Give your starter a name. It works…I promise
This is my very active and happy starter, Ezekiel! He has a very bubbly personality, he loves to be dramatic in his sourdough scenes. He likes to show off his stuff with his wild yeast ways and I don’t stop him. I encourage him to continue growing and to keep getting stronger.
I started Ezekiel a few years ago, and I plan on having him for a very long time if not the rest of my life. Ezekiel got his name from the Bible verse Ezekiel 4:9 “Also take for yourself wheat, barley, beans, lentils, millet, and spelt; put them into one vessel, and make bread of them for yourself. During the number of days that you lie on your side, three hundred and ninety days, you shall eat it.”
God told us to take ourselves wheat and put them into a vessel and make bread of them for ourselves. So, that’s what I did! I have been reaping the benefits ever since. I think Ezekiel’s name fit perfectly and I also think he basks in the glory of his cool name. Which is why his personality shines!
There’s nothing better than knowing you have this fermented thing on your counter that you can continue to grow and make bread from scratch for your family. It’s so natural, healthy, and simple… all for what I stand for.
Give it time
You get what you give your starter. If you give it love and time then, you get a very bubbly and happy starter for a very long time. Don’t get discouraged if yours doesn’t bubble right away.. It was trial and error, for me, with learning how to grow one. It took THREE different starters.
All starters are unique, so no two starters will taste the same. It all depends on age, bacteria, flour, water… a vast majority of things! Yours will be unique to you just like Ezekiel is to me.
Starting a sourdough starter can seem a little daunting, I will agree that with most of the directions out here… a lot of folks have made it more complicated than it ought to be. The more you come to know your starter, know it’s likes and dislikes, you won’t need the measuring spoons or scales anymore. It doesn’t have to be so technical and it will be easy once you learn it.
You’ll reap the rewards for your time and efforts eventually
When you see how easy it is to make your sourdough starter, you’ll reap the rewards of a yummy sourdough loaf at some point. You won’t need dry active yeast to make your bread, instead, you’ll have your own live and wild yeast.
Although, when you’re first starting out with your sourdough starter, you may need active dry yeast in your sourdough bread if your starter isn’t established and active. There is a whole post on why I think it’s okay to use active dry yeast as a beginner.
I hope this post has helped you gain an understanding of just how easy it is to make your own sourdough starter. There may be some push back from some sourdough pros, but, this is just how I do it and how it has worked greatly for me. You don’t always have to follow what everyone else is doing to have your own easy, successful, sourdough starter.
Now, go start that sourdough starter!
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King Arthur Unbleached All Purpose Flour
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