How to: Make and Maintain a Sourdough Starter

Learn how to make your own sourdough starter from scratch with just flour and water. Utilise this kitchen workhorse to make delicious and nutrient dense bread, but also cookies, pancakes and so much more.

If you too are (or want to be) a part of the from scratch cooking community, you would be familiar with the concept of a sourdough starter. But maybe you need to know more.

What is a Sourdough Starter?

A sourdough starter is a mixture of naturally fermented flour and water that contains wild yeast & beneficial lactic acid bacteria, which create the bubbles and tangy flavour of a sourdough loaf we are all familiar with.

Often referred to as “The Mother Dough” the starter can be used to help dough rise naturally, as well as add gut-healthy nutrients to recipes.

What is the History of Sourdough?

Back before yeast was isolated and made commercially available, a sourdough starter was a kitchen’s most invaluable item and was passed down through generations and amongst families.

It is believed that sourdough starters were first used in Egypt around 1500BC, when a mixture of flour and water was left out, which allowed the bacteria and wild yeast to ferment the dough, which lead to more nutritious breads.

What are the Benefits of Sourdough?

The naturally occurring yeasts in a sourdough starter are present due to the process of fermentation which breaks down the phytic acid which is found on grains. This makes the grains easier to digest and enhances the absorption of certain nutrients for better gut health.

Recipe

Now that we know the why, here is the how…

Ingredients

• Flour – any type of flour can work here, such as plain (all-purpose flour), freshly milled hard white wheat or other wheat berry, or bakers flour. You can also create a gluten-free sourdough starter using gluten-free flour.
• Water – filtered water that doesn’t include chlorine is best as chlorine can “kill” your starter.

Tools

• Glass or ceramic bowl
• Wooden spoon or silicone spatula
• Tea towel
• Glass jar with a lid

How to Make a Sourdough Starter

Day 1

In a medium glass or ceramic bowl mix 1 cup of flour of your choice and 1 cup of filtered water. Stir until all the flour is incorporated.

Place a clean tea towel over the bowl and set it aside at room temperature for 24 hours.

Day 2

Discard half of the mixture into the bin (DO NOT put sourdough down your drain) and repeat the same process from day 1. Set aside for another 24 hours.

Day 3 – 5

Repeat the same steps from day 2 for the next 3 days.

Day 6 – 7

On days 6 and 7, repeat the same steps as above, but instead discard and feed the starter every 12 hours, instead of every 24.

By day 7 your sourdough starter should be active, bubbling & doubling in size within 4-12 hours.

If it isn’t quite active yet, repeat the steps for day 6 – 7 for 2 more days.

Your starter is now ready to be used to make Artisan Sourdough Loaf, Sourdough Pizza Bases, Sourdough Cinnamon Scrolls and so many more delicious recipes.

Transfer your remaining starter to a clean jar with a lid and place in your fridge until you are ready to use it again.

How to use Your Sourdough Starter Once Established

The ways in which you can use your sourdough starter seems endless once you get confident with it.

Most people start out with making Artisan Sourdough Loaf, which is what everyone thinks of when they hear the word “Sourdough”. Though there are many, many more ways to use your sourdough starter, in this section I will use my Artisan Sourdough Loaf as an example of how to use your starter.

When do I Need to Feed my Sourdough Starter?

Feeding your sourdough starter the day before you are wanting to bake your loaf is most ideal. What time of day will depend on your ambient temperature, but in general for me, I feed the starter the morning before I want to be baking my loaf. I then leave it on my counter for the day to become active before I start making my dough.

Your feeding ratio is fairly important when it comes to the type of starter you are after.

What are Sourdough Feeding Ratios?

The amount of starter you have and how much flour and water you add when feeding will affect the speed of the fermentations as well as the sourness levels.

The ratio (starter:flour:water) at which you feed your starter will depend on your baking schedule, ambient temperature and how often you want to be feeding.

Effects of Different Feeding Ratios

Frequency of feeding: by providing more food (flour and water) through higher ratio feeds, you can prolong the time between feeds as the starter isn’t as “hungry” as soon.

Speed of peak: less food means a faster rise and peak; more food means a longer fermentation process and slower rise and peak.

Health of the starter: Feeding as soon as you have used your active starter at peak prevents the starter from becoming “starved” and over acidic.

How to Choose a Feeding Ratio

1:1:1 Feeding Ratio

This ratio is best used for more frequent feedings such as multiple times per day. It allows for the starter to peak in a shorter time frame, giving you a quicker turnaround on getting that loaf baked. An example of this ratio is to start with 10g of starter and feed it with 10g of flour and 10g of water.

1:5:5 Feeding Ratio

This ratio slows down the fermentation process, which allows you more control over the baking process and timeframe. The starter will also have an extended peak time, meaning you will have a longer time to use the active starter before it starts to deflate again.

1:10:10 Feeding Ratio

As with the 1:5:5 feeding ratio, this ratio slows down the fermentation process. Having been fed such a large amount, this allows the starter to maintain itself between feeds better as it won’t require another feed as soon as when fed other ratios.

This ratio is also a good option when needing to strengthen a weak, acidic starter.

How Much Sourdough Starter do I Need?

The amount of sourdough starter you will need, again, will depend on the recipe you are using. For my loaf recipe, you require 200g of active sourdough starter to make the dough.

To be able to have 200g of sourdough, you need to feed your starter with 100g of flour and 100g of water.

Once your starter has hit its peak, you can now add it to your dough and bake a delicious, crusty Artisan Sourdough Loaf.

Maintaining and Storing Your Sourdough Starter

• Between uses keep your starter in your fridge. Starter can keep in your fridge for quite a long time between uses (I’m talking months and months), but I would suggest taking it out and giving it a feed every few weeks if not using regularly. Just to keep it nice and healthy.
• When ready to use your sourdough starter, you need to take it out of the fridge the day before you want to make your recipe, to give it time to come back to life.
• Feed the starter straight out of the fridge and set aside to become active before adding to your recipe. How much flour and water you need to feed it will depend on how much starter you require for your recipe. See above to see how to figure out how to get the right amount of starter.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does it take to create a sourdough starter from scratch?

Generally, within a week your starter will become active, but it can take up to 2 weeks before the starter is strong enough to rise bread.

Do I have to discard starter each time I feed it?

At first, yes. Whilst you are building up your sourdough starter you will have an overabundance of discard. The more starter you have on hand, the more flour and water you will need to feed it. So, discarding when you have a large amount can be helpful. That is, of course, unless you want 1kg of sourdough starter on hand at all times.

Discarding at the start is essential to building a strong starter, but once established, you can utilise your discard in many Discard Recipes.

What is the dark watery layer on top of my sourdough starter?

Sometimes, when a starter is left for an amount of time in the fridge, a layer of water and alcohol from the fermentation process rises to the top and is dark in colour.

There is nothing wrong with your starter! This just means that it is hungry and ready for a feed.

It is your choice if you tip the hooch out or stir it back into your starter, either option is totally fine to do. The only real difference is that if you stir it back in, your starter will be sourer than if you didn’t. Which means the next loaf you make will have more tang than others.

What does a healthy starter look like?

A healthy sourdough starter will be milky white (unless you have used a whole grain flour) and bubbly. It should have a pleasantly tangy aroma which will indicate the fermentation process is working well.

What do I do if my starter has mold?

If it has mold, it’s a goner! Unfortunately once mold gets ahold of your starter, it will be there forever. The best option is to ditch your starter, and start again.

Can I keep my starter in the same jar?

Yes, you can, but sometimes it is a good idea to give your starter a nice, clean, new home by transferring it over to a new clean jar.

What is the least amount of starter I need?

You honestly need very little starter. If all you have left in your jar is very minimal scrapings, you can still feed and keep going.

To feed your starter when you only have scrapings left in your jar, add some water, put the lids on and give it a good shake. This will mix what starter is left with the water to make it a lot easier to add in the flour and mix it all in together well.

What is another way to keep some starter?

I always keep some dried starter in a small jar as my emergency backup.

To get a stash of dried starter you can do one of the following simple steps:

• spread some discard out thinly on some parchment paper and leave out on the bench to completely dry before adding to an airtight jar
• when moving your starter in to a fresh jar, break off any dried parts of starter from your old jar and add to an airtight jar.

Is sourdough gluten-free?

No, sourdough starter isn’t gluten-free, unless you make it with gluten-free flour.

For someone who is gluten intolerant, there is a possibility that your gut can tolerate sourdough. This is due to the fermentation process which breaks down the phytic acid making the grains easier to digest.

I would not recommend anyone who suffers from Coeliac’s Disease to try sourdough, but if you have an intolerance and are willing, give it a try. I did, and I am able to tolerate everything sourdough!