Easy sourdough starter recipe (2024)

FAQs

How do you make enough sourdough starter? ›

There is no single best ratio, but I've found a ratio of 1:5:5 fed twice daily at 12-hour intervals to produce a sourdough starter that's strong and healthy. This ratio corresponds to 20% ripe starter carryover, 100% water, and 100% flour (a mix of whole grain rye and white flour) at each feeding.

A 1:2:2 feeding ratio would consist of one part existing starter, two parts flour and two parts water. For example, if you have 30g of existing starter, you would feed it 60g of flour and 60g of flour. The most common feeding ratios for daily maintenance are 1:1:1 or 1:2:2.

Typical feeding ratios are 1:2:2 or 1:3:3 (old sourdough: fresh flour: water). However, even extreme ratios like 1:50:50 would still work. In that case, the freshly fed sourdough would just require more or much more time to grow and reach its peak, as judged by the maximum volume increase in the jar (at least doubled).

Day 2: Check for bubbles

Day 2 is probably as easy as it gets. You want to check if your starter has any bubbles on the surface, which is an indication that the fermentation has started. But even if you can't really see any bubbles, don't worry too much. Just leave it in a warmish place for another 24 hours.

You can perform a float test to check if your starter is ready. Take a small spoonful of the starter and drop it into a glass of water. If it floats, it indicates that the starter is sufficiently active and ready for use.

As I get ready to feed it, I often have too much starter and I need to keep the ratios the same - equal portions of starter, flour, and water (1-1-1). If you have too much starter compared to the additional flour and water you're adding, your hungry starter consumes all the nutrients and then it's not as bubbly.

Active sourdough starter should have bubbles in it and also smell fresh and fruity. If yours seems a little sluggish, just keep it out of the fridge and step up the feeding schedule. Once you feed it every day for a few days to a week, it should show signs of life again.

Have you ever wondered whether you have to clean your sourdough starter jar? The simple answer is you don't need to clean your sourdough jar. It's just not necessary to clean your jar all that regularly, unless it's super crusty or you can't get your starter out or fresh flour and water in.

Do you have to discard sourdough starter every time you feed it? ›

With each sourdough starter feeding, you'll be discarding some to avoid it from becoming overly acidic. Most will compost or trash this discard, but you can save it and use it in other recipes!

Day 1: Mix 75g of your flour blend (38g Whole Wheat Flour, 37g Bread Flour if you didn't pre-blend them), and 75g Water (filtered tap water) Day 2: Do not feed or discard. Stir at least once a day. Stir in a spoonful of water if dry on top.

If you do not have whole wheat flour, just use all purpose flour instead. The starter will be fine. I switch to all purpose flour for the feedings because it's reliable, inexpensive and practical for everyday baking (remember, a portion of your starter is removed, discarded, or used for something else).

For more tang: Incorporate some rye flour and/or whole wheat flour early in the bread-making process, such as when feeding the mother culture and the preferment. Rye flour in particular will help your culture produce some acetic acid.

As with any sourdough recipe, before you start baking bread, you want to make sure that your sourdough starter is as strong as possible. My basic sourdough recipe uses just 50g of starter for 500g of flour (so just 10% of starter).

Once it's ripe, remove the amount you need for the recipe (I almost always use between 100-200 grams) and then save 20 grams, feeding it with 20 grams water and flour. You're back to having 60 grams of starter to keep for next time with enough to bake your bread now.

If you hate throwing away lots of sourdough discard, or you don't bake as often as you would like, this system will probably work for you. 3 oz of starter is all you need to keep between baking sessions.

The more starter you use, the faster your dough will ferment - resulting in a less sour loaf. Of course the amount of starter is actually a ratio in relation to the flour - so 50g of starter to 500g of flour will ferment at a much slower rate than 200g of starter to 500g of flour.