Ingredients
30 g all-purpose flour (1/4 c.)
30 g rye, whole-wheat, or all-purpose flour (1/4 c.)
60 g water, room-temperature (1/4 c.)
30 g starter (about 2 tbsp.)
30 g all-purpose flour (1/4 c.)
30 g rye, whole-wheat, or all-purpose flour (1/4 c.)
60 g water, room-temperature (1/4 c.)
Preparation
Step 1In a wide-mouth jar, stir together all ingredients until well combined. Cover and keep jar in a warm part of your kitchen, ideally about 78°, away from direct sunlight. Step 2Every day at roughly the same time, discard most of the starter mixture and keep only 30 grams (about 2 tablespoons), then feed the starter with equal amounts of flours and water.Step 3Continue discarding and feeding the starter every day until you see activity: there should be bubbles visible, the starter will appear more airy, and the smell will turn sweet, yeasty, and slightly acidic. This process will take 5 to 7 days. On warmer days, the starter might require two feedings per day. Step 4Once your starter is active, it usually peaks and becomes “ripe” for use about 6 to 8 hours after a feeding. To determine ripeness, it should look puffy, bubbly, active, and pass the float test: fill a small bowl with lukewarm water and drop a scant tablespoon of starter in. If it floats, you are good to go!
A sourdough starter is a collection of wild yeasts naturally found everywhere, from the air in your home to the flour you’re using. Whole-grain flours contain more of the wheat kernel, so they tend to be richer in wild yeasts than more processed white flours. Organic would be even better. I recommend beginning a starter with a flour blend that contains some whole-grain flour (such as whole wheat or rye flour) in order to help jump-start the process. You can absolutely use 100% all-purpose flour: the mixture will seem looser but will function just as well as a leavener. If using 100% whole-grain, the texture of the starter will be thicker and less runny. To keep a starter as consistent and predictable as possible, use the same flour ratios—but baking sourdough is all about experimentation, so the sky is the limit on what you use. Be sure to give your starter a nice environment to live in. Begin with a clean container so that you avoid breeding harmful bacteria. A clear glass jar is best because you can visibly track your starter’s progress from all sides. If your tap water is too chemically treated, filtered water would be a better choice to avoid harming the yeast culture. The ambient temperature will determine how fast the starter develops. Do your best to place it somewhere out of direct sunlight and somewhere that’s between 75° to 80°. During colder days, fermentation will happen more slowly. On hot days, you may have to feed it twice and use colder water to avoid over-fermentation. The amount of starter yielded from this recipe is perfect for using in our sourdough bread recipe, but if you won’t be baking every day, there’s a variety of ways to reserve flour supply and limit the amount of discard you’re producing. You can reduce the amount of flour and water you use during each feeding, so long as you keep the 1:2:2 ratio of starter:water:flour. Once your starter is active and predictable in its rise and fall, you can also put it on hold by placing it in the fridge and feeding it once a week or even less frequently. (Fun fact: I once resurrected a starter that hadn’t been fed for 6 months.) The colder temperature will slow down the fermentation activity drastically, so you won’t see much change happening in the fridge. 2 to 4 hours before each feeding, pull it out of the fridge to let it warm up to room temperature. You can put it back in the fridge immediately after a feeding. For even longer storage, you can spread your starter in a thin layer across a baking sheet lined with parchment or a Silpat and let it dehydrate completely in an off oven. Once completely dry, crumble into shards and store in an airtight container, out of direct sunlight in a cool place. This is essentially homemade yeast. To revive, mix with water and let sit for 6 to 12 hours until completely softened, then continue with a feeding. While some bakers like to freeze their starters, we don’t recommend this method because there is a risk of killing your yeast culture with the crystallization that happens when water turns into ice. For both of these holding methods, remember that you must feed your starter on a regular schedule to fully revive it back to normal activity. Once active, always make sure it passes the float test (see recipe below) before using in a sourdough bread recipe! If you’ve made this recipe, let us know what you think by leaving us a comment and a rating down below. For more bread ideas, check out these 20+ recipes for bread enthusiasts.
