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
I’m on day two of my starter and it looks to be developing well (bubbles, smell), but it is seeming very watery. Any thoughts? Should I do less water than the 40g on my next feeding?
Mine did the same thing. I just added a few more grams (3-4?) of flour like it says and it worked perfectly. Even though it stays at 100% hydration, it seems like it gets thicker over time. Mine’s been around for about 2 weeks now and it’s much firmer than it was at day 2.
That’s the way to do it: just increase/decrease flour until your starter gets to the consistency you’re looking for. There is really no “right” or “wrong” way for it to look, it’s how you prefer and what makes things easier for you. Variations in flour from bag-to-bag can also play a role, sometimes a bag of flour requires a little more water than the previous, and adjustments can sort that out.
Thanks for the comments!
Thanks for the feedback. I know these starters are forgiving, but this wouldn’t be my first failed attempt so I want to get it right this time around.
See my reply below if you don’t get a notification!
I’m on day six and it’s working nearly exactly as this post describes. I am SO excited to make my first loaf. However, I don’t think I’ll be baking as often as every few days, but I’d like to be able to bake the next day whenever I do want a loaf. Is it possible to alter the amount of starter and feedings by, say, half? As in, I only increase the starter to 40g when I want to bake and 20g the rest of the time? Thanks for the help!
That’s fantastic! Hopefully by now you’ve got yourself a strong performing starter.
It’s possible to carryover a very, very small amount of mature starter to each feeding (and potentially also add more flour at each feeding, providing more “food”) but you’d have to play with this. Temperatures also come into play here quite a bit, if it’s really warm then that speeds up fermentation, and conversely if it’s chilly that slows things down. You can always try it out, perhaps make a second “test” jar with some flour and a small percentage of mature starter and see how long it takes for your culture inside to rise all the way to the top and then begin to fall (indicating it needs a refreshment).
Alternatively you can also use the refrigerator if you plan to bake only once or so during the week, or go stretches of several days without baking and dont feel like feeding your starter. Once you’ve mixed up a refreshment feeding just stick it into the fridge and it can stay in there resting for weeks at a time. When you want to bake again take it out a day or two beforehand and feed it regularly to get it back up to speed.
Hope that helps!
My ambient temp has been around 76° for the entire life of my starter, but it seems to be getting stronger every day. The bubbles are growing in size and it’s peaking sooner. I’ll be resuming school soon and need to get it to a twice a day feeding schedule. I tried reducing carryover from 40g to 30g, but that seemed to only give me and extra hour before it starts to fall again. It wants to be fed well before the 12 hour mark. How can I correct this? I know using less starter and cooler water are options, but what is the limit for adjusting those variables down?
On a positive note, since my starter was SO much stronger on the second bake, the loaves rose at least 50% more and the dough was significantly easier to work with during shaping. I was pretty surprised at how the fermentation increases the strength of the dough!
In the summer I typically go as low as 10-15g carryover, and for me in my kitchen (which is about 74ºF) that lasts a little over 12 hours. There are a lot of factors that go into this including flour blend types, temperatures of course and also environment. Keep playing with the carryover percentage (I feel like 5-10g is probably the lowest to go) and see if you can stretch it out longer. Like you mentioned another thing is to use cooler water if possible/easy but also find a nice shaded spot in your kitchen which would also help.
Sounds like your starter is getting quite strong which is fantastic! Yes, the organic acids produced through fermentation will strengthen your dough quite a bit — it’s incredible!
Happy baking!
Hi having a little trouble getting my starter going. I live in Brisbane Australia where it’s currently winter and the temperature is sitting between 9-25 degrees Celsius. I haven’t got my starter rising and falling yet but there are a few bubbles and a vinegary/sour smell. It’s been 9 days and I’m worried I will have to start again. Is the temperature something that could be slowing the progress or should I just be more patient and wait for more activity ?
Cheers Susie
Hi, Susie! Yes, temperature plays a huge role in creating a starter. The warmer the temperature the more fermentation you’ll see (within reason). Somewhere between 75ºF and 82ºF would be good range to shoot for. Do you have a warm spot in your kitchen you can put your culture? I like to take a little ambient thermometer and place it around my kitchen to see where warm spots are.
You won’t have to start over, just find a warm spot. Alternatively you could warm up the water you use to do your feedings to this temperature and that’ll help.
Keep me posted!
I’m following these directions for my first starter. I couldn’t find rye at my grocery store so I’m trying a starter that is 50/50 Whole Wheat (some bran sifted out) and White, and 100 Whole Wheat (some bran sifted out).
I’m on day three and I can see the 50/50 starter as risen and fallen, but the 100 has risen without falling yet. I’m wondering if this is because the 100 starter has more nutrients in it then the 50/50 so the mixture is lasting longer?
Or is it because the 50/50 culture is developing faster and depleting the food source quicker ( if that makes sense).
Also as far as leveaning bread, is it better to have a starter that rises quicker?
I almost always see more rise from starters that have more white flour versus a 100% ww one. This is probably due to the nature of white flour and its ability to rise higher than whole wheat (which has more bran/germ, causing a lower rise).
Your whole wheat starter will definitely ferment faster than the 50/50 and if all else is equal it should deplete the provided food (flour/water) faster. Whole grains ferment faster than non, like you said, it’s due to the additional nutrition in the flour (more bran/germ).
I wouldn’t say a starter that rises quicker is better for making bread, but strong fermentation is always a good sign. You want your starter to rise and fall predictably after you’ve fed it, visible gas bubbles on the sides and top, and the “correct” smells (sweet just after feeding that progressively gets sour as it consumes food) are a all good signs.
I hope that answers your questions, let me know if you have more or I’m unclear! Happy baking 🙂
Greetings Maurizio, hope you enjoyed your weekend. Just curious… Have you ever experimented with using grapes or red cabbage leaves when you start a new starter? A friend mentioned that there is wild yeast in the grapes that makes for a very active starter. Thank you in advance!
Hello and thanks! No I haven’t tried using grapes or red cabbage. I’ve heard of this, though and I do know there are wild yeasts on these items as well. Would be fun to experiment with that.
I’ve found creating a starter fro rye flour to be pretty straight forward and have done it a few times at this point — works really well!
Another question: when attempting 100% rye flour starter, it gets moldy on top after several days. However I didn’t feed twice a day, just once. Is it possible that a 100% rye starter is just too difficult without any wheat flour? (allergic to wheat and spelt). That said, this post gives me hope!
I’ve never made a 100% rye starter but this is definitely possible. Make sure you’re feeding and discarding according to the schedule in this post. You can also stir your starter halfway through the time when you feed and when you feed again. This stirring helps to prevent the top part of the starter from being exposed to air too long which can develop mold especially if your environment is very humid and warm. Try to keep your starter around 80ºF max temperature and keep it covered with a towel or loose-fitting lid (so gasses can escape, if necessary).
Really though the stirring should help with this problem!
In an effort to not waste any flour: What do you do with the discarded, partially fermented rye/water mix when starting the starter? Is it good enough to make an easy waffle recipe with? What would you suggest, so as not to waste?
Hi! You can follow my recipes to make banana bread, pancakes and waffles, all very good!
Hello there! I’ve spent the last hour or so reading through your blog and feeling jealous of your bread. I’m a gluten-free baker experimenting with sourdough…I’ve had pretty good success, but I don’t think I’m getting the maximum lift out of my starter. You’ve given me some great ideas for creating a better starter (though it looks like I’ll have to throw out my current starter and begin all over again)…Thanks for the help and I’ll be surely coming back to your blog in the future!
Thanks for the comments! You don’t need to throw out your starter, if it’s rising and falling just use a small amount of that and feed it regularly. I have a post on maintaining my sourdough starter, if you haven’t read that take a look! Just use a small amount of your starter and feed per that schedule for a few weeks. You should notice significant activity and reliability.
Good luck and let me know if you have any issues!
Hi, buddy. Tks for the recipe and instructions. We’re going well on day 3. Just a doubt. When I stop discarding and just add flour and water?
Tks again.
Sure thing! You never stop discarding, you’ll always discard a portion of your mature starter and feed it with fresh flour and water. If you never discarded you’d end up with quite a large amount in your jar! But further, that part you discard has a lot of acidity built up and eventually your bacteria/yeast will exhaust all the fresh food (flour/water) you’ve given it. Carrying over a small amount and adding new flour and water keeps your culture going with new food.
Hi Maurizio–
Was glad to find out that you also live in New Mexico! Makes sense that your guidelines make far more sense to me than the others I’ve come across.. 1:1 ratio between flour and water always develops a hooch for me. I have to do roughly twice the amount of flour.
So, Ive just started my process- 5 days in, and I’ve exclusively been using spelt flour because I haven’t found any rye in SFe markets. I think I finally have my ratios worked out, and bubbles seem to be spread throughout. It does seem generally pretty sour smelling though– like green fruit.
RE: Chad of Tartine’s quote about determining the hunger of the starter by smell, vinegar means “hungry”, yes? So right after feeding, it should be *sweet* from new mixture of flour and water?
Also, I’m a little confused on the baking component. So, is it okay to just have a shallow dish with water at the bottom for steam, and then on top: either baking stones to place the bread on OR a dutch oven? I have a very small propane oven, so I’m not even convinced a dutch oven would fit inside… I’ll have to measure.
Hello there fellow New Mexican! Sorry for the late reply I was out on travel.
Yes, when your starter has fermented for a while and is “mature” it’ll start to smell more and more sour. When you do a feeding immediately after it’ll smell sweet — mostly because there is only a small percentage of your mature starter used to feed so most of the sour (acidic) parts have been discarded and fresh flour mixed with water smells quite sweet.
You’re right: a small pan at the bottom with water or ice that steams will be plenty to give your bread enough rise. You might also want to lightly mist the top of your dough with a hand mister to add a little extra moisture into the oven.
You either use the pan + water and baking stones OR the Dutch oven (you can put the Dutch oven on the stones if you’d like, but the pan is not necessary). The DO will trap the steam released from your dough and create a nice humid environment as long as the top is on and relatively sealed. The pan with water helps emulate the same conditions.
I hope that helps! Happy baking 🙂
I’m on day six of the schedule. My question is if my starter really hasn’t “taken off” so to speak. A little activity, but not much. Should I still proceed with TWO feedings as instructed for day six?
Cindy, yes continue with the schedule outlined above even if you don’t see significant activity. Eventually your starter will take hold and have much more activity. Each culture, environment and flour is different so it may just take a little extra time (conversely it could also take less time). Stick to it and it’ll get there!
oh no! now I’m a little late. I was suppose to do the 2nd feed @ 5:30 pm (It’s now 7:14 pm) I’m thinking it’s o.k. because I’ve read in several places that the starter is “forgiving.” Thanks so much!!! I’ll do it. Although I’ve baked bread for a long time and feel pretty experienced with handling dough, this is VERY different. I will keep you posted.
No worries if you’re a little late it will be just fine — yes it’s very forgiving!
So now I’m on day seven.(Still not much activity) I’ve done 2 of 3 feedings. Do I continue to feed 3 X day indefinitely until I have an active “strong” starter? I’m assuming that I can’t even think about baking.
Don’t do 3 feedings per day if you still don’t see significant activity as my pictures show above. The risk of doing too many feedings too soon is your culture might get too diluted and it will be hard to get maximal bacteria/yeast numbers.
If you’re still not seeing activity like I show above stick to 2x a day until it does. Hopefully you’ll get more activity within a few more days! Also make sure you’re using rye flour as I’ve outlined.
I’m following to the letter!!! Rye flour… Reverse osmosis water that has sat on the counter etc.
Any progress?
finally on day 11 it was having good activity. It has NEVER risen like the examples you have, but when the starter was “pulled back” there were many air pockets and it had a “light” texture so to speak. I actually built my levain last night and currently the autolyse mix is in my oven (light on.) The saga continues! I had no idea this was such a long process, but I’m sticking to it. I put my starter in the fridge.
Excellent! Now that you have your starter going from here on out it’s just practice and enjoying fresh bread 🙂
So on day three it overflowed the jar and settled. I bake a fair amount but not a lot. I am using 50/50 rye/APW. What did i do wrong?
Nothing wrong with that at all! It’s ok if your starter has more activity than expected. You could try using a larger jar or even feed less to adjust.
Feeding 3 times a day seems pretty crazy/intense. Every other recipie has feedings for their starter between 1 and 3 times a week from what I’ve seen. Does it depend on how much you bake?
I like to feed my starter 2x a day if I’m baking often, like every other day or so. You don’t need to feed this often but it depends on your starter, the flour you’re using and your environment. If it’s cold where you are then you could possibly get away with feeding every other day but I recommend feeding at least once a day so your starter is strong and healthy.
If you’d like to only feed once per week, use your fridge! Feed your mature starter, let sit out for 30 mins or so, then pop into the fridge. It’ll last a while in there before needing another feed, I’ve gone up to 3 weeks. Then when you want to bake wit it, take it out 1-2 days beforehand and ramp it up to 2x a day feedings and you’re good to go.
These are general guidelines but again, it depends a lot on your conditions and the flour you’re using (more whole grains ferment faster).
Hope that helps, let me know if have any more questions!
Is it possible to use this same method with all whole wheat flour? Will it take longer to start?
You can definitely use all whole wheat flour, that will work really well. You should get a strong starter in about the same time I’d guess, there are a lot of factors there to say for sure. It’ll definitely happen faster than if you used all white flour. Hope that helps!
This is my first time too. I’ve done a 50/50 whole rye flour with unbleached white. Feeding as directed. On day 5. 1st 2 days small bubbles developed and since no activity. Keeping it warm too. Keep going? Also should I stir it in between feeding? How do I know if it I am feeding it enough or if it needs to be fed more? Thanks.
You can definitely stir if you’d like, but unless there is a chance mold is growing in your culture I don’t usually stir — it won’t hurt. I’d say keep going, it should eventually take hold, sometimes it does take longer than other times.
Also make sure you are letting the water you use to feed sit out on your counter overnight to help dissipate any chlorine in your tap water!
Thanks Maurizio! I am happy to report that yesterday it did change and it is doing so well now! It is very exciting to see how alive it is now. Smells great too! Can’t wait to make my first loaf. What is your opinion of soaking the flour?
Fantastic! I’m not sure what you’re referring to when you mean soak the flour, do you mean soak the bran/germ? I’ve never soaked raw flour when baking.
Just read it in a few recipes. See this link here. http://www.weedemandreap.com/easy-soaked-whole-wheat-bread/
Very interesting, thanks for the link!
Hi there!
I’m a big fan of your site, it’s the most clear and well-organized breadmaking site i’ve stumbled across! As a visual learner I was so happy to see your step-by-step photos. Unfortunately i’ve been pretty unsuccessful with my own starter. My last attempt using your process (50/50 blend of rye flour and King Arthur white bread flour) ended up growing some fuzzy mold on the surface on day 5 and only showed a few small bubbles. Do you have any thoughts on how to prevent mold from cropping up? I’m kind of surprised it doesn’t happen more often, since you are keeping the starter in a warm, semi-sealed environment, but I don’t know how to prevent it either! Any insight would be greatly appreciated!
Ah sorry to hear about the mold! You might be living in an environment that has much higher humidity here than I do. One thing you can do to help reduce the chance of mold growing on top is to give your starter a stir about halfway through the time after you fed until your next feeding. This way the top of your starter doesn’t ever sit exposed to air for too long.
Eventually the acidity in your starter will increase to the point where mold won’t grow and you won’t have any issue with that.
I hope that helps, I think an occasional stir will go a long way to help reduce the chance of mold forming. You definitely want to toss the culture if there is mold forming.
Its my 1st time starting a starter. Do you discard the starter n bring it back to jar weight + 40gm starter for 2nd, 3rd feeding?
Welcome! Yes, you always discard a portion of the starter (as I describe above) and then add new fresh flour and fresh water to the amount of starter you carryover (which is now less after discarding).
Love your blog and the pictures of the breads are just gorgeous! Appreciated the detailed instructions on your blog. Thank you for your reply. The starter is looking good now and hope it is getting stronger…really looking forward to baking my 1st sourdough bread this weekend.
Thanks so much for the comments and I’m glad to hear your starter is getting stronger!
Happy baking 🙂
I have been trying to get my starter going for two weeks now. I have done everything you said in your turorial…. exact measurements, feed timing, etc. But nothing really happens…. maybe some minor bubbles and minimal rising. What could I be doing wrong?
I live in Alberta Canada which has a very high altitude and is very dry…. could that be a factor in why nothing is happening?
Any suggestions would be great!
Love your blog and can’t wait to get baking!!
Cheers!
Aaron, thanks for the comments! Are you using rye flour as I’ve indicated above? It’s incredibly important. Also, if you haven’t already try letting your water you use to feed your mixture out overnight on the counter to help dissipate any chlorine in your water.
Are temperatures slightly warm where your mixture is resting? Shoot for somewhere around 75-80ºF, closer to 80ºF is even better. This will help speed up the process.
Keep with the schedule, it will eventually take hold!
Huge fan of your site! I’ve been feeding my 50 apw/ 50 rye sourdough starter for about a week. I’m seeing great air pockets opening along the side of the jar, and the starter has been rising and falling a bit (but not a ton). There are two observations about which I’m curious: (1) the smell of the starter changed from very sour/pungent around day 2-3 to alcoholic, almost to the point of smelling like acetone. At day 7, it’s still smells alcoholic. (2) I’m not seeing air pockets open on the top of the starter. I can see bubbles forming just below the surface, but they are not exposed.
Some other information, which may help to diagnose any issues: for the first few days, I think that the starter was getting too much heat. I’d guess that it was between 80 and 90 degrees for those first few days. Since day 3, it’s been hovering between 70-75. Additionally, I just transferred the starter from the Weck jar in which I created the starter to a clean Weck jar on day 7.
With all of that in mind, I have two questions: (1) is there anything besides regular feedings that I should do to achieve the appropriate smell, and/or visible air bubbles? (2) should I wait for the smell to change from being considerably alcoholic before attempting my first bake in the coming week?
Seriously, really appreciate your guidance on this question, and on all of these other posts too! Many thanks!
Andrew — you’re welcome, glad you’re finding my site useful!
1) Really just regular feedings are all that is necessary. The smell you’re getting could be from various things, and might be related to that high temperature which would cause quite a bit more fermentation than at traditional “room temperature”. Shoot for somewhere between 74-82ºF and that will work really well.
2) I don’t think you really need to wait for the smell to return, go ahead and try a bake it should turn out fine.
Usually I’ll smell a very sour, acidic smell when my starter has completely collapsed — possibly from going to long without a feeding or temperatures were really high and fermentation was faster than I anticipated. I hope that helps! Let me know how that bake goes.
This post is great thanks so much!!! I have some questions…
1. Im going on a trip on day 6, I started mine yesterday. Should I put it in the fridge?
2. I bought whole weat flour, I used it for day 1 and I bought allpurpose flour but today I realized is gluten free, can I still use it? I have all purpose flour but its not “unbleached”.
3. Do I need to feed exactly at the same time? Or can I feed it 3 hrs +/-?
Thankssss!!!
You’re welcome!
1. Yes, definitely put it into the fridge. Feed it with a little extra flour and water, let it sit on the counter for 30minutes and then pop it into the fridge.
2. I’ve never used gluten free flour to feed my starter, I don’t know how it would work. I’d imagine it would be fine but I can’t say for sure! I also have never used bleached flour…
3. You don’t have to feed at exactly the same time, but regularity is a good thing. It’s ok if you miss the mark a little here and there, your starter will be fine!
Hope that helps 🙂
I just want to say thank you for the detailed tutorial! I am going to try to make my own starter beginning tonight based on your instructions. Luckily I have all the items you say are needed (we have a lot of the same brand of equipment too!). I have an all purpose sourdough starter in the fridge that I bought from KAF but really want to try to make my own from scratch using rye/AP. I have wide mouth mason jars, would that work in replacement of a weck jar? I’ve heard people say not to use glass b/c it can bust with starter inside. I tried to put starter inside the mason jar to give to a friend and when I opened it a lot of gas came out and lid made a loud pop sound. Scared me into thinking I was going to have a glass explosion. Any tips on how to best use a mason jar (or weck jar) and keep it covered without exploding?
You’re very welcome, glad it’s helping! I use glass Weck jars and they work really well. There is a chance of explosion if you seal the lid tightly as gasses are produced as a byproduct of fermentation. If you let these gasses escape through the opening of your jar you have nothing to worry about. The Weck jars I use have clip on lids but I don’t clip the lid, just lightly place the lid on top so any pressure produced can escape. Alternatively you can simply drape a cloth over the top of your jar.
Happy baking, Lisa!
So I assume you have experimented with the flour you use for your starter over the years and I was wondering exactly what combination seems to work best for you?
I have been using the 50% rye and 50% AP shown here and it is working well but I have seen you also mention both 25% rye as well as 100% rye on other posts you’ve made.
Yes, I’ve definitely experimented over the years. It’s worth doing the same with your culture and your environment to see how it responds and what blend of flour (or no blend at all) works with your schedule and gets you the results you’re after. Currently I’ve been doing 25% rye to 75% apw and that is perfect for me: it gives me the intense fermentation I’m after without going overboard. Hope that helps!
I’m about to start this tomorrow , just curious , so everyday when I’m feeding it I’m throwing out the bit I remove before feeding ?
That’s what I’ve been doing. Eventually you can/will start using the bit you discard each time as your levain for a loaf from my understanding.
thanks, think I’ll be taking alot of photos this week so I’ll be able to just… this is my first attempt
Camron is correct: you want to discard the majority of your starter each day right when it peaks, then feed it with fresh water and flour. Look at the starter culture as mostly food (flour + water) for the bacteria/yeast present. You discard a large portion to get rid of the food that’s been eaten and keep a small percentage of it so you have a starting population to feed with fresh food.
Also as Camron stated, the discard could eventually be used to make other food like pancakes, cakes, waffles, etc., but in a professional bakery situation ideally that discard would be exactly the amount you’d use to create a levain to make bread that day/night. So there’s little leftover. In the home baker situation it’s not practical for most of us to bake every single day so that discard portion is truly that, discard (you can compost it, or as I said use it in other foods!).
thanks that helps alot
Am I the only one that has more of a grassy smell than anything else all of the time? It kind of overpowers every other smell in there. Started Day 5 this morning and it smelled less grassy than any other day so far but still not much sweetness, vinegar or alcohol.
I am seeing some pretty decent bubble activity after 12 hours or so (maybe 25-50% growth) and it falls again by feeding time. In fact, I’m seeing some okay activity after just 2.5 hours right now.
I’d guess that grassy smell is the wheat you’re using, but if you keep to the schedule you’ll eventually get more fermentation smells. Vinegar and/or alcohol is definitely normal, but you’ll eventually get to a point where your starter will smell sweet right after you mix things together and over the course of fermentation will become less sweet, more like ripe fruit, then a bit sour and finally very vinegary and super pungent.
Sounds like your starter is definitely rising and falling well, that’s great!
4.5 hours since feeding and it’s probably more than doubled in volume. Bubbles are numerous but quite small still. It’s fairly warm in the house today so I assume that has a lot to do with the activity. I think tomorrow I will try to make my first levain with the discard just as a test.
I expect it to be a little brick-like since it is still quite young but the practice with the levain, proofing and baking will be good before I attempt it with a more mature starter. I’ve also asked for a combo cooker for my birthday this next week so it might come just in time!
I still have one that I started over 2 weeks ago with whole wheat and bread flours and it is….. puny. The smell is quite nice but the bubble activity and growth is almost nonexistent. Rye flour is definitely, definitely the key to not feeling like a failure at this haha.
Good luck with the b-day request, hopefully you get one! Awesome bread awaits 🙂 Yes, rye flour is definitely the key to getting things started!
Hi Maurizio, I am living in tropical country, Temperature is around 88F and humidity is about 75%. I tried to culture sourdough starter without success. It was always dilute or thin. I am using Gold Medal AP non bleached flour.
The Ratio i am using is 100g flour and 100g water. Can you help?
Simon, if you’re environment is incredibly humid (and that is compared to mine) try reducing the water you add at your feedings by 10-20% (start with 10g and keep reducing until you find the texture you’re looking for). That said, even though it’s may be more “wet” than what I have in the photos, or what I maintain here in 30% humidity, your starter should eventually still take hold and you’ll notice bubbles and fermentation. Stick to the schedule and it will happen.
Hi Maurizio, thanks for quick reply, in fact the mixture I have now have many bubbles which I believe the yeasts or fermentation is actually working. By the way, I am using 100% non bleaches flour. Is it ok as compare to 50/50 rye and flour?
That flour will work fine but it might take longer for your starter to get really active. Rye flour has significantly higher nutrition present for yeast/bacteria to metabolize. If you’re getting good activity then you’re doing fine!