How to make a Sourdough Starter

whitneykmcgee
Feb 23
6 min read

The sourdough train is still moving and I'm so glad so many of you want to jump on. The biggest question I get over and over is, How do I make my own sourdough starter??? I outsourced this long enough, and have built up enough courage to tackle making a starter, side by side with you guys.

First let's discuss something right out of the gate. Sourdough is not a difficult task, let't not overcomplicate the process. Go into it with a very easy going attitude. If the pioneer ladies could do this on covered wagons and no refrigerators, then surely we can do it.

In creating a sourdough starter, you are creating a living thing, full of good gut heathy bacteria. And just like all living things, they're all different- look different, smell different, and taste different. Everyone's home conditions, water, and flour are different, so it will respond differently in your home than in mine, even if we follow the same steps and feed that same ratios.

Another key thing to know is that all starters do not work on the same timetable. What you might be able to accomplish in 5 days, might take me 5 weeks. It's kinda like babies, every baby starts crawling and talking at different ages, but every one of them eventually learns to crawl and talk. If you are not getting the results you are looking for in your starter, just keep going, keep doing your daily discard and/or feed and eventually she will start to grow into the beautiful starter you've dreamt of.

Not that the pep talk is out of the way, here are a few simple recommendations for the process.

Things you need:

Flour: A good hearty organic white flour is best. Each bag of flour has a protien content percentage. Look for at least 11% protien. Costco, King Arthur, or Azure have been the brands I've been happy with.

Water: Not use tap water. Chlorine kills sourdough, so you'll struggle getting your starter going with tap water. Any purified or spring water is perfect. I use our reverse osmosis water with no problem.

Digital Kitchen Scale: This is the most accurate way to measure. This is how I'll be measuring to create my starter. I've grown to love recipes that provide the measurement in grams. Click this link to get your kitchen scale.

Container: I prefer to keep my starter in a wide mouth quart mason or ball jar. It doesnt take up too much space in the fridge and its easy to get a spoon in there and mix. Click the link for the ones I use.

Mixing divice: A regular silverware fork or spoon will work fine. I like flat wooden spoons, like this one. It's easy to scoop flour and mixes easiest with a longer handle.

These were all linked to Amazon but you can find them all at a any kitchen supply store. Also, these are the items needed for your starter only NOT for baking bread.

Great, now that you have all your supplies, now let's start our starter.

Here is what to do day-by-day to create your starter:

Day 1: In your quart mason jar, mix 50 grams (1/2 cup) organic white flour, with 50 grams (1/4 cup) warm water.

Stir the mixture well. Scraping down the sides and bottom of the jar really well. The mixture will be on the thicker. Adjust your rubber band or add a line with a marker to see any progress, but don't expect much. Loosely cover the jar with a lid or kitchen towel. Leave the jar on the kitchen counter in a warm spot.

Day 2: Bubbles may already be starting to show on the surface. It may seem to be fluffy. Great. If not, that's normal too.

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