Learn how to create a sourdough starter day-by-day with just flour and water. Let's explore the best practices and what can go wrong when working with wild yeast.
What is a Sourdough Starter?
A sourdough starter, also known as a sourdough culture, is a mixture of flour and water where wild yeast is cultivated.
When the wheat used to make your flour was in the field, various strains of yeast and bacteria collected on the surface of its grains. These made their way into the flour through the milling process. While dormant, they are still present. When we hydrate the flour to start a sourdough culture, these yeast cells wake up and begin feeding on the available nutrients.
It's that simple, but it can get quite complicated, especially if you're new to this. In this post, I’ll share everything I know about making a sourdough starter! Don't forget to check what’s essential to make wild yeast, and how to solve any sourdough problems you might encounter.
To make it easy, I'm breaking it down day by day for you, with photos, feeding suggestions, and what you should expect.
Let's start our sourdough culture!
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Day 1
You can make a sourdough starter with unbleached all-purpose flour/bread flour only, or a mixture of rye flour/whole wheat flour with white flour. Here, I'm giving you both options, both in grams and cups if you still don't have a kitchen scale.
Just make sure the floor is not bleached: you need to make your sourdough starter with unbleached flour.
- Rye/whole wheat flour + all-purpose/bread flour: add ⅓ cup (50g) rye or whole wheat flour + ⅓ cup (50g) all purpose or white bread flour + ¼ cup + 3 tablespoon (100g) water.
- Unbleached all-purpose/bread flour: ⅔ cup (100g) all-purpose flour + ¼ cup + 3 tablespoon (100g) water.
In a clean glass jar, mix the water and flour until there are no clumps or dry bits of flour. Close the jar with a tablecloth secured with a rubber band or simply rest the lid on top without sealing it completely.
Keep your culture in a warm spot for 24 hours, ideally between 70°F and 80°F (21°C to 27°C).
The sourdough culture you can see in the photos was made with unbleached all-purpose flour.
Day 2
- Rye/whole wheat flour + all-purpose/bread flour: add ⅓ cup (50g) rye or whole wheat flour + ⅓ cup (50g) all purpose or white bread flour + ¼ cup + 3 tablespoon (100g) water.
- Unbleached all-purpose/bread flour: ⅔ cup (100g) all-purpose flour + ¼ cup + 3 tablespoon (100g) water.
On Day 2, you might see some fermentation activity in your culture. If there’s activity, it will likely be minimal, and it might die off in a few days. This is totally normal, so don't worry.
Discard half of your culture (do not use this discard, throw it away), then add water and flour, and stir until homogeneous. Cover and let it rest for another 24 hours in a warm spot.
My culture had no visible activity on day 2. It smelled like wet all-purpose flour and had a small amount of liquid on top. That's also normal, and indicates that the culture is hungry.
Remember: every starter is different. Don’t give up if your starter doesn’t look like the one in the photos.
Day 3
- Rye/whole wheat flour + all-purpose/bread flour: add ⅓ cup (50g) rye or whole wheat flour + ⅓ cup (50g) all purpose or white bread flour + ¼ cup + 3 tablespoon (100g) water.
- Unbleached all-purpose/bread flour: ⅔ cup (100g) all-purpose flour + ¼ cup + 3 tablespoon (100g) water.
On Day 3, some activity may be present. This is the bad bacteria dying out, not an active starter. Discard, feed, stir, and wait. You can't use the discard to make any recipe yet: it will only be proper to cook with after day 7, or when the starter is properly stablished with all bad bacteria gone.
Starting today, repeat the feeding process twice daily to encourage faster activity. Between day 3 to 5, you might see some small, pinhole-like bubbles that look like a soap foam at the top. It can also smell pretty bad between day 3 to 5.
This activity will die out in a couple of days as your starter stablishes. This is not a sign that your starter is dead. If you're worried about it, or don't know if something is wrong, go check my sourdough starter FAQ.
I usually feed my starter first thing in the morning and late afternoon, but do it anytime that works for you. Just try to keep it around 8-14 hours apart: if you feed your starter at 8 AM, feed it again between 4 and 11 PM.
My starter had small bubbles on day 3. It smelled sweet with just a hint of vinegar.
Day 4
- Rye/whole wheat flour + all-purpose/bread flour: add ⅓ cup (50g) rye or whole wheat flour + ⅓ cup (50g) all purpose or white bread flour + ¼ cup + 3 tablespoon (100g) water.
- Unbleached all-purpose/bread flour: ⅔ cup (100g) all-purpose flour + ¼ cup + 3 tablespoon (100g) water.
If your starter is in a warm environment and fed properly, you might see some sign of activity by Day 4. Look for bubbles on top and on the sides. Your starter may have risen and fallen, indicated by streaks on the sides of your jar.
Don’t give up if there’s no sign of activity: try placing your starter in a warmer environment. Make sure to feed it twice a day, stirring well after each feed.
My starter was more liquid than on day 3. There were lots of bubbles at the top, and it had a strong alcohol smell (it was underfed as I forgot to feed it in the morning).
It also had hooch, which is a sign that it needs food. If you forget to feed your starter, don't worry — it's okay! I only fed mine once on Day 4 and it was fine. Just try not to skip feeding for more than one day at the beginning, as this can weaken your starter and allow harmful bacteria to grow.
Do you see pink streaks or any sign of mold in your starter? Throw it away and start again: you won't get a good starter when there's mold, fungus or bad bacteria present.
Day 5
- Rye/whole wheat flour + all-purpose/bread flour: add ⅓ cup (50g) rye or whole wheat flour + ⅓ cup (50g) all purpose or white bread flour + ¼ cup + 3 tablespoon (100g) water.
- Unbleached all-purpose/bread flour: ⅔ cup (100g) all-purpose flour + ¼ cup + 3 tablespoon (100g) water.
Fermentation activity should be more evident and increase each day. Your starter might not double in size yet, and that’s okay.
Mine was less liquid on Day 5. The alcohol smell was nos as strong, and the sour smell more prominent. Lots of bubbles on the top and on its sides, but no significant rising activity yet.
I still don't recommend using the discard between days 1 to 7. You should throw it away until after Day 7, or until your starter starts to show signs of activity with rising.
Day 6
- Rye/whole wheat flour + all-purpose/bread flour: add ⅓ cup (50g) rye or whole wheat flour + ⅓ cup (50g) all purpose or white bread flour + ¼ cup + 3 tablespoon (100g) water.
- Unbleached all-purpose/bread flour: ⅔ cup (100g) all-purpose flour + ¼ cup + 3 tablespoon (100g) water.
Fermentation activity should continue to increase. Your starter may or may not rise to twice its size.
Mine had a lot of small bubbles on top and sides, the sour smell was pleasant and the alcohol smell was almost gone.
Day 7
- Rye/whole wheat flour + all-purpose/bread flour: add ⅓ cup (50g) rye or whole wheat flour + ⅓ cup (50g) all purpose or white bread flour + ¼ cup + 3 tablespoon (100g) water.
- Unbleached all-purpose/bread flour: ⅔ cup (100g) all-purpose flour + ¼ cup + 3 tablespoon (100g) water.
By Day 7, you might see the rise and fall of your starter.
If not, don’t give up! It’s normal for some starters to take longer. The activity level depends on various factors, such as ingredient quality, temperature, and feeding schedule. If your starter isn’t ready, continue feeding it twice a day for a couple more days or even another week.
Starters made with a mix of rye/whole wheat flour and white ap/bread flour might develpo faster than the ones using white flour only.
That said, my first starter made with rye and bread flour took eight days to show significant rising and falling activity. On Day 12, my culture was ready, and I baked a successful loaf of sourdough white bread.
Patience is key. If your starter isn't ready by Day 7, be patient! Discard, feed your sourdough starter, stir, and wait. After Day 7, you can use your sourdough discard to start training your bread techniques baking an artisan sourdough discard bread.
Is my Sourdough Starter ready?
If your sourdough starter is rising twice its size between 4 to 8 hours after a feeding, has lots of bubbles and a pleasant smell, congradulations! Your starter is ready to be used to bake! If you're new to this, try a beginner sourdough bread.
If your Sourdough Culture is still not ready after day 15, check:
- Quality of Ingredients: Is your flour of good quality? Is it organic? Is the water you’re using free of chemicals like chlorine?
- Temperature: Is your starter in a warm or cold spot? Is your kitchen too cold? Has the temperature dropped too much or too suddenly?
- Feeding: Did you remember to clean your jar before starting? Are you feeding your starter twice a day, or at least once? Is the time between feedings appropriate (8 to 14 hours apart)?
Try moving your starter to a warmer spot, especially if you’re in the middle of winter. The temperature can affect a sourdough starter greatly.
If yours still not ready, don't give up! Starter take some time to develop and they can take a whole month to be stable enough to bake with. While you're waiting for it to get more stable, use your sourdough discard to bake some amazing recipes.
I have a famous recipe for no-fail sourdough tortillas and the softest sourdough discard dinner rolls.
You can also use discard to bake scones and cakes like this easy sourdough lemon cake. Here are some of my favorite sourdough discard recipes for you:
📖 Recipe
How to Make a Sourdough Starter Day By Day
Equipment
- Glass Jar with lid
- Spoon or Fork
Ingredients
- ½ cup flour per day
- ¼ cup water plus 3 tbsp
Instructions
- In a clean glass jar, mix the water and flour until there are no clumps or dry bits of flour. Close the jar with a tablecloth secured with a rubber band or simply rest the lid on top without sealing it completely.
- Next day, discard half of the sourdough culture.
- Add water and flour, and stir until homogeneous. Cover and let it rest for another 24 hours in a warm spot.
- Repeat for the next 7 days, or until the starter is rising and falling on a 6-8 hours interval.
Tatiana Kamakura
Thank you for reading! Feel free to ask if you're having trouble while making your sourdough starter.
jackson
Is there a point where I stop feeding it twice a day? Or does it keep at 2x a day after this?
Tatiana Kamakura
After your sourdough is rising and falling in a predictable way, you can feed it once per day or even every other day. I keep mine in the fridge, feeding only before using it. Happy baking!