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This Sourdough Starter Recipe is all you need to make your own homemade bread using natural fermentation. Give your tummy a break from processed bread.
Sourdough Starter
You will find all kinds of opinions on sourdough starter. I like to keep things simple.
I have theBaker’s Math Kitchen Scale, which I absolutely loveand always weigh in grams. Weigh your Flour and the fresh water. Really for bread baking, it is super important to use weight measurements, rather than measure in cups.
Pretty soon you will be baking wonderful bread like myCountry Sourdough Bread Old World Style. With only this Sourdough Starter, water and flour, you can make thousands of different types of bread.
For the next two weeks, you will be removing some of the starter and replacing.
I like to keep a separate container for the what I have removed (the discard). Once I have collected enough, I make English Muffins in a case iron skillet on the stove.
Anytime starter is removed, it should be replaced with fresh flour and water. Once your starter is active you can use it to make a bread.
When you remove starter to make a bread or to save for discard, always replace equal amounts of Flour and water to keep a 100% Sourdough Starter. If you need a stiffer starter, you can easily adjust your starter, or you can keep a separate one.
I like to use the Rosle Flat Stainless Steel Whisk when I prepare starter as it mixes really quickly and really well. Make sure all the Flour is mixed into the water.
Brand New Starter
Pour the starter into aGlass Jar with Rubber Gasket (but removed the gasket) or another jar that you prefer. I like this particular style jar because when it is not locked in place, it stays open enough for my purposes.
When first developing a starter, it needs to stay in a warm area of your house.
A good place is in your laundry room on top of the washing machine or dryer. You can also keep the starter in the oven or in the microwave.
The starter should always be covered, but not sealed as it needs air to live. Remove the gasket that comes with your jar so that the jar will not be air tight.
Growing Starter
For the next two weeks, you will be developing and feeding your starter twice a day.
It is fun to watch it grow. Once the starter is nice and active you will be able to use it in recipes in place of store bought yeast. Your digestive system will love you. Many people who think they are gluten intolerant actually aren’t. Processed breads from the grocery store are made so quickly using dried yeast. The dough rises quickly and the dough doesn’t get a chance to develop like it does when making sourdough bread.
My favorite sandwich bread is myHokkaido Milk Sandwich Loaf. The bread is very buttery, soft and fluffy. It is so delicious and you will never buy sandwich bread again.
Beautiful Active Bubbles
If you plan to use once a week, place the Glass Jar without the rubber gasket in the refrigerator after feeding and then take out what you need. Always feed your starter after using.
If you do not plan to bake once a week at least, you will still need to feed your starter. I keep another glass jar in my refrigerator for “discard,” which I use to make pancakes, crumpets and other goodies.
If you plan to bake daily and want to leave your Sourdough Starter on the counter, feed it daily by removing half and then feeding.
Sourdough Starter
Sourdough baking takes time, but it is so relaxing and you almost forget about anything else in the world while you are mixing and shaping your bread. With this one starter recipe, you will be able to make loaves of bread, cinnamon bread, hot dog buns, hamburger buns, onion buns and more. You have the tools with this simple Sourdough Starter recipe.
More Bread Recipes to Make
Japanese Hokkaido Milk Hotdog Buns
Instant Pot Yogurt Whey Indian Chapati / Roti {Flatbread}
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To make sourdough starter, all you need is flour and water, a digital scale, a jar, and about 5 minutes a day for up to a week. The result is a healthy home-baked loaf that's more complex, delicious, and less expensive than one you grab off the grocer's shelf.
Let this mixture ferment during the day or overnight, then give it another feeding. Repeat this process, feeding it twice a day for two days. After this time, the starter should be strong and ready for baking.
Sourdough starters begin working when you mix liquid and flour. Mixing liquid into flour activates the friendly bacteria and wild yeast living in both your flour and your surrounding environment. Once activated, these microorganisms produce carbon dioxide bubbles, which make your bread rise.
Creating a healthy and vibrant sourdough starter can take anywhere from 7 to 14 days depending on several factors. The temperature of your kitchen is the most important factor to consider. Starters thrive in a warm environment, ideally around 75°F (24°C).
If this is your first time making sourdough, I'd recommend starting with all-purpose flour because it tends to behave the most predictably. If you're feeling ready to branch out, just start feeding the starter with whatever whole-grain flour you would like to use for baking.
It's okay if your starter doesn't have big bubbles. Large bubbles can be the result of the flour you're using and the hydration. What's more important overall, is to see strong signs of consistent fermentation: some bubbles, consistent rise each day, a sour aroma, a loosening in texture.
Do I have to discard my sourdough starter? It would be best if you discarded some portion of your starter each time you feed it unless you want to continue to let it grow. Eventually, you need to discard the used “food” (flour and water) that's been used to sustain your starter during the last fermentation period.
It is important that you stir the sourdough starter every day in the morning and in the evening. Feed the starter. Add 60 g flour and 60 g lukewarm water, stir well to combine, and let sit out for 24 hours.
Compared to whole wheat flour, rye flour is said to be the most nutrient- and amylase-dense option for a sourdough starter. Overall, it has a lower gluten protein content than wheat flour, which means it produces slack, sticky, and dense doughs.
To keep your sourdough starter healthy, you need to provide it with fresh flour and water on a schedule. Each time you refresh (feed) your starter, you must discard some of the fully-fermented mixture in the jar. Discarding helps keep the acidity low in your sourdough culture, which keeps it strong and healthy.
If your starter gets completely covered on top with bubbles but does not rise, it is healthy but may just be a wet mix. Try reducing the water in your next feeding and see if you have different results. Also, the type of flour you are using can impede the rise of your starter.
You should wait at least 2-4 hours or until the starter is at its peak before you use it in your baking. Can you use sourdough starter after it falls? Yes you can use sourdough starter after it falls. It's best to use it at its peak when the yeast colony is at its greatest, but using it after it falls is also possible.
All-Purpose Flour: All-purpose flour, which is a blend of hard and soft wheat, is a popular choice for feeding sourdough starter. It provides a good balance of protein and starch, which promotes a healthy fermentation process. Bread Flour: Bread flour has a higher protein content compared to all-purpose flour.
The World's 'Oldest' Sourdough Starter Was Made With 4,500-Year-Old Yeast. There's no bread quite like sourdough. In addition to being tasty as a sandwich bread, delicious as sourdough croutons, and even great just toasted with butter, sourdough's production process is decidedly unlike other breads.
Can sourdough discard be used as starter? While sourdough discard can't replace an active starter in a recipe that relies on a robust leavening agent, it can be revitalized and used to create a new starter.
The key to sourdough starter success is using water without chlorine, which can cause the starter to die. While bottled water is chlorine-free, you can also use filtered tap water for our sourdough starter recipe.
What Happens If You Feed a Sourdough Starter Too Much Flour? If you add more flour than water into your sourdough starter jar, it will be a very stiff starter. This is not always a bad thing, and sometimes extra flour is necessary to rectify a runny starter or make the starter peak at a later time.
Most commonly, the issue here has to do with temperature (which is very important). If your sourdough starter is kept at a low temp, even 70°F (21°C), it will slow fermentation activity and appear to be sluggish, taking longer to rise and progress through the typical signs of fermentation. The solution: keep it warm.
If you're starting a brand new starter from scratch, it will need 7 to 10 days before it's ready for bread baking. The first four to five days will be spent getting your starter active and bulking it up.
Sourdough bread is made from flour, water and salt fermented using lactic acid bacteria and wild yeast. Sourdough bread is known in almost every country around the world.
Simply put: a sourdough starter is a live fermented culture of fresh flour and water. Once combined, the culture will begin to ferment and cultivate the natural yeasts found in our environment. A small portion is added to your bread dough to make it rise. Commercial yeast IS NOT required.
Introduction: My name is Francesca Jacobs Ret, I am a innocent, super, beautiful, charming, lucky, gentle, clever person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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