If you had told me many years ago that I could make enticingly crunchy, tender, and healthy bread at home with only a few elemental ingredients, I would not have believed you.
I would have claimed that baking bread requires a professional mixer, a specialized oven, and a list of ingredients so long your eyes start to glaze over. But now I perform this alchemy daily in my home kitchen: transforming three basic ingredients into wholesome sourdough bread. How does one begin the journey of making naturally leavened bread at home? It starts with, well, making a sourdough starter from scratch.
A healthy sourdough starter means great bread.
Despite all the mysticism and lore about creating the concoction, a sourdough starter is merely a naturally fermenting mixture of flour and water. Add water to dry flour, let it sit on the counter for a few days, and you’ll see nature weave life into a once lifeless lump: bubbles will appear and the mixture will rise.
This natural fermentation can be harnessed and (once it is stable) controlled to produce bread so flavorful and healthy that it’s hard to go back to anything else.
I created my sourdough starter years ago (using this sourdough starter recipe), and it’s the same one I use to this day. It’s a spoiled brat now, to be sure, thanks to all my coddling, but in exchange for my attention and flour, it stays on schedule. Besides, when I’m baking, it does the heaviest lifting (bread nerd joke, sorry). Initially, it was the quintessential rebellious child. Sometimes it wouldn’t show any fermentation activity, and at other times it was utterly unruly. Back then, I didn’t realize what it needed to thrive. I didn’t see how vital timely refreshments (also called feedings) were or how much temperature impacts fermentation.
The key to raising a well-adjusted starter is to observe its needs, give it space to grow, and adjust the refreshments to encourage maximum fermentation activity. And a healthy starter means great bread.
But first, let’s quickly look at what a sourdough starter is.
What is a Sourdough Starter?
At a high level, a sourdough starter is a mixture of flour and water that hosts a stable blend of beneficial bacteria and wild yeasts. This mixture is continually maintained with regular refreshments (or feedings) and is used to leaven and flavor new bread dough. The starter is the cornerstone of successful sourdough baking, and especially for a home baker with changing environmental conditions in the kitchen, learning how to care for and use one is the key to bread with the best flavor, texture, and keeping qualities.
A Few Tips Before We Begin
Water that’s high in chlorine or chloramine (disinfectants used by some cities to clean tap water) can impede fermentation. The night before you want to make your starter, fill a large jug with tap water and let it sit out uncovered overnight to allow any chlorine to dissipate. If your city uses chloramine instead of chlorine, letting a jar sit out overnight will not work. In this case, you’ll have to use bottled water or filtered water (if you are concerned, you can test your water with over-the-counter test kits to determine whether there are additives or other issues). Alternatively, you could use bottled spring water until you get your starter fermenting reliably, then try switching back to tap water with a portion of the starter to see if it’s able to handle the tap water (but don’t use all of it just in case it doesn’t work).
After you mix the flour and water in the jar, be sure to keep the jar lightly covered during the rest of the process. Either a porous cloth or a lid resting on top of the jar will work well. Use a container with enough headspace for the mixture to rise—I like to give at least 5-inches of headspace. Additionally, it’s a good idea to place your jar in a bowl while it’s resting in case the mixture overflows.
During the first couple of days, there’s often a surge in fermentation activity that then drops off dramatically; this situation is probably caused by other yeast and bacteria that are initially present but eventually die off. When this happens, many first-timers think that it has “died,” and they start over. Don’t be fooled by this lapse of activity; continue with the schedule and eventually, the desired yeast and bacteria will move in and stabilize the starter.
The entire process is exceptionally temperature-dependent. Instead of a typical cooler room temperature, I find a warm temperature of around 80°F (26°C) helps kickstart activity since this is near the temperature at which the bacteria and yeast are most active. A home dough proofer (which I highly recommend) and a yogurt maker are great tools for maintaining such an environment. If not, a home oven, turned off, with the light on the inside (and a thermometer to monitor the temperature), or a microwave with a bowl of warm water inside, will both work well.
For even more tips on this whole process and many things related to sourdough starters, check out my Sourdough Starter Frequently Asked Questions page →
Helpful Tools to Make a Sourdough Starter
You can see a rundown of all the tools I use for baking sourdough, vetted over years of baking, over at my favorite sourdough baking tools page. Here, I list what I consider the necessary tools to get started:
Weck glass jar
Have at least two clean jars on hand. I like these Weck jars (#743, 3/4 liter jars) best because they taper out towards the top, making it easy to stir, and they don’t have any hard-to-clean lips or edges. Also, using the glass lid without the provided rubber seal and clips provides just enough of a seal to keep moisture and heat trapped inside.
I recommend using glass jars because you can easily see the fermentation as it progresses. It can also help to place a rubber band around the jar at the height of your starter after mixing so you have a visual guide for how high it rises between refreshments. Two more reasons I like these jars: they’re high quality and very economical. They are canning jars, so you can use them for many other things around the kitchen (jam, homemade pesto, dried fruit, cereals, and so on).
Silicone spatula
I use a small, firm spatula to do my feedings. It’s sturdy and easy to clean with a sponge, and if things get messy, you can run it through the dishwasher.
Scale
A kitchen scale is indispensable and guarantees accuracy when measuring the amount of flour needed for each starter refreshment. Measuring flour by volume is inherently imprecise as the amount of flour packed into a measuring cup can vary. Further, it’s a good idea to get used to using a scale for weighing ingredients, as this method is essential for improving your baking consistency.
Rye flour
Using whole grain (“dark”) rye flour helps expedite the fermentation process. In comparison to white flour, rye flour is teeming with extra nutrients that help kickstart the entire process. If you don’t have rye flour, a good quality organic whole wheat will also work well.
Unbleached, all-purpose, white flour
With my starter of 10+ years, and outlined in my post on how I feed (refresh) my starter these days, I typically refresh it with 70% all-purpose flour (or bread flour) and 30% whole rye flour. I like this mix because you get the fermentation boost from the whole-grain flour and the white flour’s increased gas-trapping ability and gluten strength. This helps me spot the signs of fermentation throughout the day and is a good compromise, using just enough whole grains without my starter getting overly acidic too quickly.
Thermometer
An instant-read thermometer will help monitor the temperature of your starter and ensure that it’s in the optimal range for increasing fermentation activity.
My Free Sourdough Starter Quicksheet
My sourdough starter quicksheet is a free, one-page printable guide to feeding, maintaining, and using my sourdough starter. Download it, print it, and keep it in your baking notebook for quick reference!
Starter Refreshment (Feeding)Schedule
In the beginning, your starter refreshments will occur just once a day. As your culture becomes more active, you’ll increase this to twice a day. Because of the frequency of these feedings, one of my goals is to help you set things up so it’s quick and easy to do your feedings and move on with your day. Once you get the hang of things, you only need about 5 to 10 minutes per day to keep your starter going–totally manageable.
A sourdough starter is very resilient. If you forget to feed it one day or feed it several hours after it needed a refreshment, don’t worry, in almost all cases it will spring back.
The following sourdough starter recipe schedule will provide you with a reliable and robust sourdough starter in 6 to 9 days. Once you have the culture stable, it will last indefinitely as long as you refresh it regularly. If you don’t plan to bake frequently, you can toss the starter in the fridge and feed it only once a week. (I’ll discuss this in more detail later in this post.)
Your schedule will follow the natural rise and fall of your starter. As soon as you feed it, the yeast and bacteria in your culture will begin to metabolize the sugars in the flour, creating gasses (among other things) as a byproduct. These gasses cause the starter to rise throughout the day as seen above. Once they subside, then the starter falls.
Daily Refreshment Process
At each refreshment, we will perform the following quick steps:
- Stir your starter a little bit with your spatula
- Place a clean jar on your scale and scoop in some portion (outlined below) from the jar you just stirred down
- Add fresh flour and water; mix well to incorporate completely
- Cover the jar loosely and let rest until the next feeding
That’s it! Once you get your process down, it should take no more than a few minutes each day.
Sourdough Starter Recipe: Making an Incredible Sourdough Starter from Scratch
Day One
Initially, I like to use two jars for this process: each time you refresh, swap in a clean jar. Starting on Day 4, you can use the same jar: discard down and add fresh flour and water.
I first like to weigh the jars I’m using (without the lids) to find their empty weight. Then, take a permanent marker and write the jar’s weight on the bottom. This way, we know the baseline weight of the jar so we can quickly figure out how much starter to keep during each refreshment.
In the morning, place a clean, empty jar on the scale and tare (the “tare” button on your scale will zero it out after you place your jar on top. This will allow you to measure the flour and water your place in your jar and exclude the jar’s weight). To that jar, add 100 grams whole grain rye flour and 125 grams water and mix until all dry bits are incorporated. If it’s cool in your kitchen, warm the water to 80°F (26°C) before mixing. Lightly cover the jar and set it in a warm place–80°F to 85°F (26°C to 29°C) is ideal–and out of direct sunlight for 24 hours.
Day Two
You may or may not already see some fermentation activity. As mentioned above, this potential initial surge of activity is typical and should subside around Day 3. What you can see below is how my initial mixture expanded significantly (in fact it bubbled out of the jar; this is why setting the jar in a bowl is a good idea). Don’t be discouraged if the surge disappears by the third or fourth day. Stick to the schedule, and it will come back!
Place a second, empty jar on the scale and tare so that it reads 0 grams. Scoop in 75 grams of the mixture that has been resting for 24 hours. Next, add 50 grams rye flour, 50 grams all-purpose flour, and 115 grams of water. Again, if it’s cold, warm the water to 80°F(26°C).
Mix well until all dry bits are incorporated, cover, and place in the same warm spot for 24 hours. Discard the rest of the mixture in the first jar and clean it in preparation for the next day.
Day Three
In the morning, you may start to see more activity, or you may see none. You can see below that the initial surge of action I had on Day 2 disappeared. However, my mixture started to show the beginning signs of beneficial yeast and bacteria taking hold: some bubbles on the top and at the sides, rose to some degree, and it started to take on a sour aroma.
Regardless of what signs your mixture is presenting, don’t fret and stick to the schedule. Remember, if it’s cold in your kitchen, warm your water to 80°F (26°C) to help speed things along.
If a layer of clear liquid (“hooch”) forms on the top of your mixture just stir it back in and keep with the schedule.
Place a new, clean jar on the scale and tare. Scoop in 75 grams of the mixture that rested overnight and add 50 grams rye flour, 50 grams all-purpose flour, and 115 grams water. Stir until well incorporated. Cover the jar and let it rest for 24 hours.
Discard the rest of the mixture in the first jar and clean it in preparation for the next day.
Day Four
This day is the first day of the process that has two refreshments in a single day: one in the morning, and one approximately 12 hours later.
In the morning, you should start to see signs of fermentation activity if you haven’t already, and begin to see them again if you experienced the surge-and-drop that I described above. There will be bubbles scattered on the sides and top, and the level of the mixture might have risen and fallen a little (evidenced by streaks on the sides of the jar).
Refresh in the same way that you did on Day 3. Place a clean jar on the scale and tare. Scoop in 75 grams of the mixture from the jar that fermented overnight, add 50 grams rye flour, 50 grams all-purpose flour, and 115 grams water. Mix thoroughly, cover, and let rest for 12 hours.
Discard the rest of the mixture in the first jar. From here on, simply use the same jar each day (no need to switch to a clean jar) by discarding the contents down and adding fresh flour and water as instructed.
After this 12-hour rest during the day, discard the contents to 75 grams and refresh again with the same ratio of ingredients. Let the new mixture rest for 12 hours (overnight).
Day Five and Six
For Days 5 and 6, continue to discard down the contents of the jar and then refresh with the same ratio of ingredients as you did on Day 4, twice a day. You will see fermentation activity increase more and more. If you’ve written the weight of the empty jar on the bottom as I indicated on Day 1, you should know exactly how much the resulting weight of the jar plus carried over starter will be—discard down to this weight.
Keep using the same jar for these refreshments.
Day Seven and Onward
In the morning on Day 7, discard what’s in the jar down to 20 grams of the mixture. To this, add 30 grams rye flour, 70 grams all-purpose flour, and 100 grams water. Mix thoroughly, cover, and let rest for 12 hours during the day. In the evening (after about 12 hours), discard the jar contents down to 20g, add the same ratio of ingredients as earlier in the day, and let rest 12 hours (overnight).
At this point, you should see the height of your starter rise and fall in the jar predictably each day. This periodic behavior is a good indicator that it is strong enough for you to use for your first loaf of bread. If your starter is still struggling to show activity, continue the refreshment schedule with the same ratio of ingredients for another day–or even several more days–until things pick up. The process of stabilization can sometimes take longer, depending on the flour used and the environment (especially if it’s cool in your kitchen). Be patient and stick to the schedule!
Once you get the hang of your starter and its feeding schedule, feel free to adjust the ratio of ingredients. For example, in warmer months I’ll reduce my mature starter carryover to 10g to 20g depending on the temperature. To read more about how I change these ratios and maintain my starter, check out my comprehensive sourdough starter guide page which includes my current feeding schedule, an in-depth FAQ, and more.
The starter will continue to develop flavor and strength over the next week and into the future. With an active starter, you can now use a portion of it when it is ripe. A starter is ripe when it has risen, is bubbly on the surface and at the sides, has a sour aroma, and has a looser consistency than when first refreshed.
Having issues? Check out my list of the 21 most common sourdough starter problems (with solutions) →
What is the Best Flour to Feed My Sourdough Starter?
I get asked this question often. Once your starter is rising and falling predictably, it’s okay to switch your refreshment flour to suit your preference. You can continue with a mixture of rye and all-purpose, change to 100% all-purpose white flour, or even switch to using 100% whole wheat.
There is no right or wrong flour to use when feeding a starter.
Each flour will affect the starter in a different way, changing how fast it ferments, how acidic it becomes in the same timeframe, and eventually, the final flavor profile. There is no right or wrong flour to use when maintaining your starter; it’s up to you and your starter!
Next Steps For a Healthy Sourdough Starter
After your starter rises and falls predictably, review my sourdough starter maintenance routine for all the steps I do to keep my starter healthy. You can adjust your feeding schedule based on your baking frequency. If you can bake almost every day, you’ll want to feed your starter once daily to keep it ready-to-use shape. If you want to bake only on the weekends, you can put your starter in the refrigerator to slow down its activity.
You can also scale down your starter and maintain a smaller one. Scaling down your starter will mean less flour and water needed for each refreshment (to save ingredients). See my guide to maintaining a smaller sourdough starter for a recipe and process.
What If I Need a Break From Maintaining My Starter?
Maintaining a sourdough starter should always be on our terms, not the other way around. Maintaining a starter indefinitely can be daunting, but there are ways to put your starter on pause if you need a break from baking for a while. Remember, the refrigerator is our friend to slowing fermentation, and there are even ways to stop all fermentation activity altogether (and it can stay this year for years!).
How Can I Save Sourdough Starter Discard?
Once your starter is rising and falling predictably each day, and only then, to ensure you have the right mix of suitable bacteria and wild yeasts in the culture, you can save the discard. I keep a jar in my fridge where I collect all discards and keep them for up to 2 weeks. Then, when I want to make pancakes, waffles, or another discard recipe, I can use starter from my sourdough starter discard cache at a moment’s notice.
Final Thoughts
These days, refreshing my sourdough starter is a liturgical part of my day. It takes minutes to provide my starter with fresh flour and water. In return, my starter produces flavorful and healthy bread. I like to think it’s me making the bread; it’s me controlling fermentation, it’s my hands mixing and shaping the dough. But the reality is, I’m just a small cog in nature’s machinery. All I need to do is lend a helping hand and stay out of the way. Happy baking and buon appetito!
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Sourdough Starter Recipe
- Prep Time: 7 days
- Total Time: 168 hours
- Yield: 1 sourdough starter
- Category: Sourdough, Baking, Bread, Starter
- Cuisine: American
Description
This sourdough starter recipe will help you create your own sourdough starter from scratch at home in seven easy steps. Your starter is the cornerstone of great bread—once you have it showing consistent signs of fermentation each day, which takes on average 5 to 7 days, you’re ready to start baking sourdough bread!
Ingredients
- 300g all-purpose flour
- 400g whole-grain rye flour
- 800g water
Instructions
- Day One
To a clean jar, add 100g whole rye flour and 125g warm water. Mix ingredients and keep somewhere warm for 24 hours. - Day Two
To clean jar, add 75g of the mixture from Day One (discard the rest), 50g whole rye flour, 50g all-purpose flour, and 115g water. Mix ingredients and keep somewhere warm for 24 hours. - Day Three
To a clean jar, add 75g of the mixture from Day Two (discard the rest), 50g whole rye flour, 50g all-purpose flour, and 115g water. Mix ingredients and keep somewhere warm for 24 hours. - Day Four
On day four, you will give the mixture two feedings. In a clean jar, add 75g of the mixture from Day Three (discard the rest), 50g whole rye flour, 50g all-purpose flour, and 115g water. Mix and let rest for 12 hours. In the evening, after 12 hours, repeat the discarding and feeding you did in the morning. Let the mixture rest overnight. - Day Five and Six
For days five and six, continue to discard down the jar contents and then feed with the same ratio of ingredients as Day Four, twice a day. You can use the same jar for these feedings. - Day Seven and Onward
In the morning on Day Seven, discard the jar’s contents down to 20g of the mixture and add 30g whole rye flour, 70g all-purpose flour, and 100g water. Repeat this feeding twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening, indefinitely.
Notes
You don’t have to use a new, clean jar each time you feed your starter, but I find it’s helpful to keep track of the weight of the jar so you know how much you’re carrying over.
If you use my method for creating a starter, tag @maurizio on Instagram and use the hashtag #theperfectloaf so I can take a look!
Sourdough Starter Creation FAQs
Why do you need a sourdough starter?
A sourdough starter is a continually maintained mixture of wild yeast and suitable bacteria used to seed fermentation in new dough for bread, pastry, and more.
How long does it take for a sourdough starter to be ready?
In general, I’ve found it takes about 7 days from when you first mix flour and water to when a sourdough starter is ready to be used to bake bread.
Is a homemade sourdough starter safe?
A well-maintained sourdough starter can live virtually indefinitely. The high-acid environment of the sourdough starter helps stave off any unwanted pathogens. However, if you see any signs of traditional mold (pink, white fuzzy, green), it’s best to discard the entire starter and start a new one.
Should I make or buy a sourdough starter?
While buying a sourdough starter is very easy online, it’s a very easy process to do at home! Plus, creating your own starter exposes you to the signs of fermentation, what steps you need to perform to maintain your starter, and gives you a chance to get to know the feeding (refreshment) process.
How long does it take for a sourdough starter to peak?
Some bakers use the term “peak” to refer to either the point at which a starter is ready to be used or needs feeding, or it can refer to the physical peak height of the starter in the jar. I find judging a sourdough starter’s readiness based solely on the height it has risen to may lead to using it at an incorrect time. After all, the height of a starter is simply a display of the strength and other characteristics of the flour. To determine when your starter is ready to be fed (or used for baking), look for a combination of signs: some rise, bubbles on top and at the sides, a sour aroma, and a loose consistency (it should loosen the longer it ferments). From there, use the timeframe for fermentation as a guide: at about 72-78F (22-25C) with 30-50% whole grain flour and 20% ripe starter (the seed, or inoculation), it might be ready after 12-16 hours.
Why doesn’t my sourdough starter have big bubbles?
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.
Why is my sourdough starter not rising?
It’s worrisome if you don’t see any rise in your starter, you should see some. Usually, no rise is a sign it’s not fermenting properly and needs more time to establish. Continue with the feeding schedule outlined in my guide on how to make a sourdough starter and it should begin fermenting after a few days.
What’s Next?
If you’re looking for something to make with the discarded sourdough starter that you’re generating every day, have a look at my sourdough waffles, sourdough pancakes, and sourdough banana bread.
If you need a high-level look at each step of the bread-making process, read through our Beginner’s Guide to Sourdough Bread.
2,657 Comments
Hi Maurizio I just wanted to ask if it is really necessary to feed it twice a day once the starter is „ready“.
Thank you!
Hey, Lara. You can switch to 1x feedings a day if you’d like. Check out my post on how I feed my starter, I mention switching back—whatever works for you and your starter!
1x works! See my other comments to your Q on another post.
Hi, my Day 1 was perfect but Day 2 the bubbles were very much lesser and just very little. However I still did the refreshment as guided but stepped into Day 3 no more bubbles . So I discarded all and restarted again. Same problem happened , should I leave it for more than 24 hours on Day 2 or should I continue with rye flour only? Thank you.
I’d switch back to 1x feedings per day, keep it warm, and keep with it, it’ll come around!
hi,
should i have any problems with using a plastic container while starting a new starter?
thanks,
Avi
A plastic container will work just fine!
Ok let’s try this without the link that booted my other comment into moderation…
So… First day my new starter doubled in size. Second day (after the 2nd feeding, the first where you split between rye and AP) it more than doubled. I expect it will fall off this next time but… what if it never falls off? I’m not using AP, I’m using a rye and bread flour from a local mill (no AP around).
The smell on days 2 and 3 is a light grassiness, no off notes. Today (Day 4, third feeding) it actually more than doubled again. Aside from the danger of it escaping and eating small animals… is this normal? I’ve been expecting some fall off to a mostly quiescent state and then activity coming back but so far it’s as active or more so than day 1.
Oh and this is living in my B&T proofer at 82F.
Sorry about that! Your post is below now, though. Hah! It’s ok if you continue to see extreme activity. As long as you’re seeing that consistent rise and fall each day, after about 7 days, your starter should be just fine. Your pictures actually look really great! It’s been a bit since you posted, how’s it going now?
No worries… 🙂 The starter never paused at all. By day 5 it was tripling overnight. The only difference was that the smell started out hay/grassy and slowly became more like a regular starter. Right now 100g of it is munching away on some recently milled Yecora Rojo flour. Speaking of that, it needs some folds…
So… First day it doubled in size. Like yours. Second day (after the 2nd feeding, the first where you split between rye and AP) it… more than doubled. I expect it will fall off this next time but… what if it never falls off? I’m not using AP, I’m using a rye and bread flour from a local mill (no AP around). Pics here https://www.icloud.com/sharedalbum/#B0Z532ODWDv1e5
Smell day 2 and 3 is a light grassiness, no off notes. The picture with the rubber band is what I see after the first 50/50 feeding. This is living in my B&T proofer at 82F.
Hello! I just started my starter 3 days ago, and I forgot to feed it on the 2nd day. But when I took the towel off from the jar, it had a funky smell. Seemed to smell different than what yeast should smell like. I didn’t see any mold or anything like that. There was just a darker brown layer on top of the starter. This is confusing me. I don’t see you really talking about what it should smell like, so I just wanted to make sure everything is good. I’m thinking about throwing it out and start a new one. What would you say I should do? Your advice would be helpful! Btw, for my starter I used 30g of unbleached all purpose flour and 30g of room temperature water.
Yup, everything should be just fine. Keep with it!
Hi Maurizio,
I’m new at this, why do you discard every time? If you discard every time there isn’t much to use.
Thanks Holley
The amount you discard can be used directly to bake with, it’s what I call “ripe starter.” Otherwise, you need to discard to ensure you don’t have lots of and lots of starter build up over time. For a longer explanation, check out my starter frequently asked questions!
I don’t have any rye flour to make starter. Are there any substitutions?
As I mention up in the post, whole wheat flour will also work!
Hi, first of all love your site and am excited to try some of your recipes! I’ve been baking tartine bread (not very successfully – not great oven spring) for a few weeks. I have a starter that I fed every day (and seems active) according to the Tartine book. Can I use this starter for your recipes? If so should I start feeding it according to your schedule and weights of flour or just use it as is? Thanks
Yes, you can certainly use that starter with any recipe here at my site. You can keep it as is or switch over to my method, either way. Just be sure to use it when it’s ripe before mixing into a dough or making a levain!
As others have reported, I’m on day 8. No signs of rise since probably day 4 or 5, doesn’t pass float test and strong acetone smell each time I go to refresh. It is cooler in my kitchen (starter is around 69 degrees). I’ve been feeding ~40g starter with 50g water (heated to 95 degrees) and 50g flour (rye/ap blend) .I was thinking of going back to 1 feeding per day as you suggested to other commenters to give it more time, but everything I’ve read about the acetone smell is that it’s a sign the starter is hungry I.E. feed more often. Any advice?
Yes, I’d drop back down to 1x feeding per day, it sounds like the cool weather is likely slowing things down. You could try dropping the water added to your starter as well, if it’s very loose. This would help stiffen the mixture some, and it might help you see signs of rise and fall if it’s happening!
Hi, i started making the starter a little over a week ago (it’s day 9) 50-50 white – whole wheat, but since it’s winter and it’s slightly colder than room temp in my house i’ve been using 35g starter 50g flour blend 50g water since the beginning and feeding twice a day these last days, but i’m not seeing very good rises. on day 3 it doubled, little to no activity for a couple days then around day 6 it started bubbling more and rising more. but for the past 3 days it’s rising by just about 50%, not more. it has a really strong smell of acetone just a couple hours after feeding but never doubles. should i reduce the amount of mature starter or feed more often/less? please tell me what i should do im kind of lost.
I wouldn’t judge things based on how high it rises, that’s usually just a sign of the flour and hydration of the starter. As long as you’re seeing strong signs of fermentation (bubbles, sour smell, some rise, loose consistency when going to feed it, etc.), it should be just fine to bake with. If you find it’s not showing these signs, drop back down to 1x feeding a day for a few days and see if that helps. As I always mention, it’s good to keep it warm, too!
Hi Maurizio.
Hope you are doing great! I’m on day 7 already and as many readers commented I’m experiencing the same thing. Little to no activity from day 3. But this is what happened to my starter.
I used whole wheat flour the first day and from day two and on 50/50 bread flour and whole wheat! Day 2 was amazing. A lot of bubbles and rise. Day 3 (after a huge rise) I noticed a LOT of water in the jar. It was like it was “separated” from the flour/batter. Even when I stirred it, the starter looked like water (not like batter).
The temperature here is around 26-27,5 celsius. Also the starter has a temperature of 27 C. As expected, when I fed it the third day with the same ratio of flour/water you suggest, the starter had a lot of water and after resting a couple of hours, a lot of water was floating. In fact, I took a syringe remove the excess.
As I mentioned, from day 3, I saw only a little of bubbles. On day 6, I went back to feeding it every 24 hours and reduced the quantity of water to 100g (since from day 3 there was too much of it).
Today, I see the same. Little to no activity. I use King Arthur whole wheat flour and Central Milling Malted bread flour. Do you think the malt on the flour is the problem? How come the stater looked like water on day 3? What should I do? When do you think it’s time to simply let go and throw away the starter and start from scratch again?
Thanks a lot,
Nat
Hey, Nat! Sorry for the delay. No, the malt is just fine. I’d go back to 1x feeding a day for a few days and see if it helps. Also, try bottled water from the market, this may help. Those temps are good! I hope by now you already have your starter up and going…
Hi Maurizio, thank you for all your great recipes and insights! I had a question on the starter – is there a reason to do 50g starter, 100g flour and 100g water or can we half this to 25/50/50? It feels wasteful to discard so much twice a day and you never seem to need that much starter in a recipe, but I feel like I might be missing something..! Thank you in advance 🙂
You can absolutely drop that down if you’d like. I maintain more because that’s typically what I need to create my levain for my usual bakes. Check out my guide to maintaining a smaller starter for more!
Hi Maurizio, I had dehydrated my starter last fall and am thinking about starting it up again. What do I do? Thanks so much!
Hey, Eileen! Check out my guide to storing a starter where I talk about how to get it going again!
Hi Maurizio,
I have my almost 2 year old starter born during the pandemic but I have been maintaining with King Arthur bread flour that i easily find at store (no rye nor whole wheat). Is that really bad? Last, I refeed 50g starter with 50g flour and 50g water (someone told me to do so) is that also not right? Thanks so much ! Paola
No worries, Paola! Use whatever flour you have access to. Those ratios for feeding will work also, but know that at typical kitchen temps, that may ripen very quickly, perhaps in just 3-5 hours.
Thank you !!!!! and thanks for all your great recipes you keep posting and always very detailed. For sure you have the best baking website out there. Paola
Hi Maurizio,
I’m on day 2. But have a question, after which day do you stop discarding the mixture we’re not using for refreshing?
Thanks in advance! 🙂
You’ll discard every day, always, if you’re feeding each day!
Thanks for your response!
Right now, I’ve been feeding twice a day. How can I move to once a day or keep it in the fridge?
If I move it to the fridge how long can I leave it without using and how many times should I feed it before to use?
Thanks! 🙂
Hi Maurizio. Is there any issue if I only have bread flour, since where I am we don’t have rye flour available? Will the process change?
No, that’s fine. In my experience, it may take longer to establish your starter, however, but nothing should change, just keep going with the process until you see consistent signs of rise and fall each day.
I just made a new starter, and although it seems to be producing bubbles, it’s very thin. Like cake batter. And I’m not getting much rise. It’s much different from my last starter, which was thick and got great rises – usually doubling. I think this doesn’t rise much because the starter isn’t thick enough to hold in the gas.
Is this a concern?
I started with a mixture of rye and wheat flour, but it was old. Probably sat in my pantry for a year. Could this have anything to do with the consistency?
And I was feeding it unbleached store brand flour (Shoprite’s house brand) for a while until I got more King Arthur. Could that affect the starter?
Hey, David. It’s not a concern as long as you’re seeing consistent signs of fermentation each day. Most likely, it’s just new flour not able to take on quite as much water as previously. You can pull back on the water used for each refreshment until the consistency is how you prefer.
So yes, it’s the flour 🙂 (and it’s not bad in any way, just different).
Hello! I’ve been working on my starter for a few weeks now with no luck in a loaf.
I just switched (without starting over my whole starter) to your recipe. I didn’t have enough rye the last two days so it was more of a 70/30 or 60/40 AP to rye ratio until today when I fed 50/50.
I am not seeing much rise/if any at all! I keep hearing it should rise and fall predictably and have bubbles but it doesn’t seem like mine is doing much. It smells sweet right now, just fed it 6 hours ago. I use the weck 1/2L tulip style jars I think, with a glass lid, in my brod and Taylor at 80°F. I have been warming up my water in the microwave for 20 seconds when I feed it.
Should I just keep going for a few days feeding every 24 hours? Warmer water? This whole thing is a guessing game but I’m excited to someday have a working starter. Yours bubbles and rises SO much in the examples!
It’ll eventually get there! Hopefully by now (sorry for the delay), it’s up and running, it should be within around 7 days. If you’re still having issues, try using bottled spring water to help, but it sounds like you’re doing everything else spot on!
Thank you for the reply! Now what do I do if there’s pretty much no activity and I’m on day 7 haha. I use bottled water. Should I change the feeding ratio/am I over-feeding? I just did the first feeding today of 50/100/100. Hoping something happens soon, all it’s doing now is maybe thinning a little bit, but no bubbles or big rising.
Forget what I said, seeing some bubbles this morning!!! Hoping it continues to go well.
Ok, great! Keep it warm and keep us posted on how it’s going. Exciting times ahead 🙂
Hi Maurizio, I can’t find a consistent answer to this question anywhere. On day three or so, my starter smelled sorta vomit/poopy, but I kept going. The next day, it smelled strongly of acetone/nail polish remover, and it’s been that way ever since, I’m on day 9. It does ride a bit, not quite double. I briefly switched to smaller carry over, and went back to all rye, for s couple days, after reading that acetone is a sign of hungry starter. That didn’t change anything. I’ve now gone back to the 50/50 rye/white, but still doing a small carryover (about 1:20 carryover:flour ratio). Can you give me some better advice on what to do? Thanks!
Yes, usually that smell/consistency is because it needed a feeding earlier. That ratio sounds fine to me. I might try switching to almost all white flour for a few days and see if the issue persists. You might need to drop the hydration a bit with that flour so it’s not super wet.
Okay, thanks for that advice. The acetone smell has diminished a bit, but I will use more white flour next feeding.
I just fed my starter for day 2. It smells awful. I know we’re growing yeast and fermenting the flour but is it supposed to smell bad?
I mention that up in the post, it’s normal! Just stick to the schedule, that will go away.