If you want to learn how to make the most delicious bread in the world, then you must first have a healthy sourdough starter. What is so great about having a healthy sourdough starter around is that it’s not just good for baked bread, but also other baked goods such as sourdough cinnamon rolls, tortillas, pancakes, and even granola! Today I will be sharing with you how to make sourdough starter from scratch!
What exactly is sourdough starter?
Sourdough starter is a natural yeast made when only two ingredients, flour and filtered water sit and ferment. This natural yeast will replace your store bought yeast you are so familiar with. All the little bubbles you see in the picture above is what will be used to make your bread rise! When you see those bubbles you’ll know you have a nice healthy starter that is ready to be baked in a loaf of sourdough bread.
How long will it take until my sourdough starter is ready to use?
In many cases I would say it takes about one to two weeks for your new sourdough starter to be ready to use if you are using a culture to start with. I recommend this brand. If you are not using a culture it could take at least a month to develop a strong starter. You want your sourdough starter to be well fed and fermented so it will produce a nice fluffy bread. Once you have a well established sourdough starter it only takes a few hours after feeding for it to be ready for mixing up in a loaf of bread.
What ingredients are needed to make sourdough starter?
All you need is flour and filtered water to make your own sourdough starter from scratch. Make sure you do NOT use tap water. I’ve never done it, but I’ve heard the chlorine kills the yeast in your starter! And of course, tap water is no good for your health.😬
Do I really need a scale to weigh out ingredients?
It is not completely necessary to use a food scale, but I do strongly suggest it! I’ve never had the best of luck with sourdough until I started using a scale. The scale in the picture only cost me $8.00 from amazon, so it definitely wont break the bank to get one! Here is the food scale I use.
How to make sourdough starter from scratch
- The very first thing you will need to do is sterilize your jar. I suggest doing this by washing and boiling your jar.
- Next with your scale add 115 g of whole wheat flour.
- Then add 115 g of filtered water.
- Stir until smooth.
- Cover the top of your jar with a new coffee filter and secure with a rubber band or mason jar ring.
- Let it sit in a dark warm place until the next day. Preferably room temperature.
- The next day you may notice bubbles starting to form. If not that’s okay! Discard half or a half cup of the starter in the jar and feed it again, but this time use unbleached white flour. Feed it 115 g unbleached flour and 115 g of filtered water. Let sit over night. Here is a recipe for sourdough discard bread you can use your discard in!
- Repeat the discarding and feeding step for about 10 days.
- Once the starter is ready you will notice a lot of bubbles, even doubling in size! It has a yeasty smell by now and should be ready for baking. If your starter ever smells foul or you notice mold, throw it out and start over. Sometimes you will notice a liquid on top and a smell that resembles alcohol. This is okay. It just means your starter is needing to be fed! That liquid is actually called hooch.
- When your starter is strong enough to bake with you should always feed it a few hours before baking. Take note of where your sourdough starter started in your jar and wait for it to double in size or come close to doubling in size. When your starter is ready you can perform a float test. Do this by dropping some sourdough starter in a cup of water. If it floats it’s ready! Follow your recipe accordingly.
- Your sourdough from my knowledge can last indefinitely as long as it is properly cared for. It like a pet that will last forever helping you make delicious breads. 😋
Sourdough Starter from Scratch
Equipment
- 1 Sterilized Jar or Container
- 1 Clean spoon
- 1 Coffee filter
- 1 Rubber band
Ingredients
- 115 g flour
- 115 g filtered water
Instructions
- The very first thing you will need to do is sterilize your jar. I suggest doing this by washing and boiling your jar.
- Next with your scale add 115 g of whole wheat flour.
- Then add 115 g of filtered water.
- Stir until smooth.
- Cover the top of your jar with a new coffee filter and secure with a rubber band.
- Let it sit in a dark warm place until the next day. Preferably room temperature.
- The next day you may notice bubbles starting to form. If not that's okay! Discard half of the starter in the jar and feed it again but this time use unbleached white flour. Feed it 115 g unbleached flour and 115 g of filtered water. Let sit over night.
- Repeat the discarding and feeding step for about 10 days.
- Once the starter is ready you will notice a lot of bubbles, even doubling in size! It has a yeasty smell by now and should be ready for baking. If your starter ever smells foul or you notice mold, throw it out and start over. Sometimes you will notice a liquid on top and a smell that resembles alcohol. This is okay. It just means your starter is needing to be fed! That liquid is actually called hooch.
- When your starter is strong enough to bake with you should always feed it a few hours before baking. Take note of where your sourdough starter started in your jar and watch for it almost doubling in size. When your starter is ready you can perform a float test. Do this by dropping some sourdough starter in a cup of water. If it floats it's ready! Follow your recipe accordingly.
- Your sourdough from my knowledge can last indefinitely as long as it is properly cared for. It like a pet that will last forever helping you make delicious breads!
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Thanks for sharing your sourdough starter recipe! I love that you used a scale.