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Easy How-To Sourdough Starter Recipe
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Sourdough Starter How-To

Suitable For 6m+
Metric - US Customary Units

Ingredients

FOR THE INITIAL STARTER:

  • 60 g wholemeal flour (this is around ⅓ cup heaped)
  • 60 ml water

FOR THE DAILY FEEDS DAY 3-14 (or however long it needs)

  • 60 g plain flour (this is around ⅓ cup heaped; use unbleached flour, also called all-purpose)
  • 60 ml water

Instructions 

  • Make sure to read the notes section below so you’re ready for any troubleshooting.
  • Firstly establish when your feeding schedule will be. You are going to want to feed your sourdough every 24 hours so pick a time of day you can commit to doing that, for us that is first thing in the morning.
  • On DAY 1 add the initial starter flour and water to a large jar and mix with a fork until combined to a thick paste. Cover and leave in a warm place (around 22-25c/70-75f).
  • On DAY 2 simply observe your starter, have a look to see if there are any bubbles, have a sniff, and stir it, then leave until day 3 before feeding.
  • On DAY 3-14 (until it begins doubling in size, this could be 7 days or it could be 11 days like ours was, it’s all temperature and culture-dependent), stir your starter, then discard around half (you can measure the weight of your jar, subtract that and do this exactly, or just eyeball it, which is the method we prefer). Then feed it with the 60g of plain flour and water, stir, place an elastic band around the jar in line with where the starter is once fed so you can measure how much it rises, then cover it with the lid (keeping it sealed but slightly loose enough so if it needs to release any gas it can), place in a warm spot and repeat every 24 hours until it doubles in size. If you notice things like excess water separation on top in the morning or a brownish liquid (known as “hooch”) this indicates your starter needs to be fed, simply pour it off (scrape out any discoloured starter if you notice this) and resume the discard and feed process.
  • If your starter doesn’t seem like it has many bubbles or activity by day 10 you can consider doing a BOOSTER feed like we did. What this means is using half wholemeal flour (30g of wholemeal to 30g of plain) at the feed to give the starter a boost of enzymes that the wholemeal flour has, which in our case caused our starter to be fully active the next day.
  • Once your starter is active, meaning it is bubbly, has a spongey texture, a pleasant smell, and doubles in size compared to where it starts (using the rubber band as a guide; the doubling of your starter usually occurs around 3-12 hours after feeding) you are ready to start baking (recipe below). Note, your starter will not stay doubled continuously, it has a peak and stays doubled in size for around 1-2 hours and this is when you want to use your starter for baking before it starts to deflate again.

Notes

IMPORTANT - READ FIRST
MEASUREMENTS: I have provided cup measures for those of you who don’t have scales, however to keep the hydration levels exactly as above, scales are the best way to do this.
TEMPERATURE: If your house is cold you have a few options: you can keep your starter in a warm room like the laundry (if it is exposed to bright direct sunlight cover it with a teatowel to avoid the sunlight killing the yeast and bacteria), an airing cupboard, in the oven with the light on for a few hours, or in the microwave with the door ajar. 
UTENSILS: Use silicone, wooden or stainless steel spoons/forks, and spatulas to stir. Avoid other metals as they can react with the yeast and bacteria in your starter.
SMELL: While creating your starter your starter can get quite stinky, which usually indicates it needs to be fed. It should however start to smell quite pleasant with a bit of a sour smell to it. If your starter ever smells strongly of nail polish remover or really unpleasant it usually means it is very hungry. Discard and feed again and it will recover.
TEXTURE: While creating your starter it will go from seeming thinner on some days, and gradually becoming thicker as it becomes active. Once you stir after feeds it should resemble a thick pancake-like batter, and when ready to use it will be spongy, almost stringy looking when you scoop it, fluffy, and thick. 
JARS: Once your starter is active you can transfer it to a clean jar if needed (we did this on day 10 after adding our booster feed). 
DISCARD: once your starter is active you can start to use the discarded starter for other recipes like pancakes, pizza, focaccia, or feed it and gift it to someone else who wants to start their own sourdough. 
WATER: If your tap water has a lot of chlorine it can slow down fermentation. You can use filtered water or leave tap water out overnight before using it in the starter and dough.
TESTING READINESS: this is handy for when you’re learning about your starter and what it looks like and how it reacts. Your starter is ready when it has doubled and is bubbly. You can also test it by dropping a spoonful into a glass of water. If it floats it is ready to bake with.
FEEDING FLOUR: Always use unbleached flour as bleached flour can be unpredictable and slow the starter.