If you had told me many years ago that I could make enticingly crunchy, tender, and healthy bread at home with only a few elemental ingredients, I would not have believed you.
I would have claimed that baking bread requires a professional mixer, a specialized oven, and a list of ingredients so long your eyes start to glaze over. But now I perform this alchemy daily in my home kitchen: transforming three basic ingredients into wholesome sourdough bread. How does one begin the journey of making naturally leavened bread at home? It starts with, well, making a sourdough starter from scratch.
A healthy sourdough starter means great bread.
Despite all the mysticism and lore about creating the concoction, a sourdough starter is merely a naturally fermenting mixture of flour and water. Add water to dry flour, let it sit on the counter for a few days, and you’ll see nature weave life into a once lifeless lump: bubbles will appear and the mixture will rise.
This natural fermentation can be harnessed and (once it is stable) controlled to produce bread so flavorful and healthy that it’s hard to go back to anything else.
I created my sourdough starter years ago (using this sourdough starter recipe), and it’s the same one I use to this day. It’s a spoiled brat now, to be sure, thanks to all my coddling, but in exchange for my attention and flour, it stays on schedule. Besides, when I’m baking, it does the heaviest lifting (bread nerd joke, sorry). Initially, it was the quintessential rebellious child. Sometimes it wouldn’t show any fermentation activity, and at other times it was utterly unruly. Back then, I didn’t realize what it needed to thrive. I didn’t see how vital timely refreshments (also called feedings) were or how much temperature impacts fermentation.
The key to raising a well-adjusted starter is to observe its needs, give it space to grow, and adjust the refreshments to encourage maximum fermentation activity. And a healthy starter means great bread.
But first, let’s quickly look at what a sourdough starter is.
What is a Sourdough Starter?
At a high level, a sourdough starter is a mixture of flour and water that hosts a stable blend of beneficial bacteria and wild yeasts. This mixture is continually maintained with regular refreshments (or feedings) and is used to leaven and flavor new bread dough. The starter is the cornerstone of successful sourdough baking, and especially for a home baker with changing environmental conditions in the kitchen, learning how to care for and use one is the key to bread with the best flavor, texture, and keeping qualities.
A Few Tips Before We Begin
Water that’s high in chlorine or chloramine (disinfectants used by some cities to clean tap water) can impede fermentation. The night before you want to make your starter, fill a large jug with tap water and let it sit out uncovered overnight to allow any chlorine to dissipate. If your city uses chloramine instead of chlorine, letting a jar sit out overnight will not work. In this case, you’ll have to use bottled water or filtered water (if you are concerned, you can test your water with over-the-counter test kits to determine whether there are additives or other issues). Alternatively, you could use bottled spring water until you get your starter fermenting reliably, then try switching back to tap water with a portion of the starter to see if it’s able to handle the tap water (but don’t use all of it just in case it doesn’t work).
After you mix the flour and water in the jar, be sure to keep the jar lightly covered during the rest of the process. Either a porous cloth or a lid resting on top of the jar will work well. Use a container with enough headspace for the mixture to rise—I like to give at least 5-inches of headspace. Additionally, it’s a good idea to place your jar in a bowl while it’s resting in case the mixture overflows.
During the first couple of days, there’s often a surge in fermentation activity that then drops off dramatically; this situation is probably caused by other yeast and bacteria that are initially present but eventually die off. When this happens, many first-timers think that it has “died,” and they start over. Don’t be fooled by this lapse of activity; continue with the schedule and eventually, the desired yeast and bacteria will move in and stabilize the starter.
The entire process is exceptionally temperature-dependent. Instead of a typical cooler room temperature, I find a warm temperature of around 80°F (26°C) helps kickstart activity since this is near the temperature at which the bacteria and yeast are most active. A home dough proofer (which I highly recommend) and a yogurt maker are great tools for maintaining such an environment. If not, a home oven, turned off, with the light on the inside (and a thermometer to monitor the temperature), or a microwave with a bowl of warm water inside, will both work well.
For even more tips on this whole process and many things related to sourdough starters, check out my Sourdough Starter Frequently Asked Questions page →
Helpful Tools to Make a Sourdough Starter
You can see a rundown of all the tools I use for baking sourdough, vetted over years of baking, over at my favorite sourdough baking tools page. Here, I list what I consider the necessary tools to get started:
Weck glass jar
Have at least two clean jars on hand. I like these Weck jars (#743, 3/4 liter jars) best because they taper out towards the top, making it easy to stir, and they don’t have any hard-to-clean lips or edges. Also, using the glass lid without the provided rubber seal and clips provides just enough of a seal to keep moisture and heat trapped inside.
I recommend using glass jars because you can easily see the fermentation as it progresses. It can also help to place a rubber band around the jar at the height of your starter after mixing so you have a visual guide for how high it rises between refreshments. Two more reasons I like these jars: they’re high quality and very economical. They are canning jars, so you can use them for many other things around the kitchen (jam, homemade pesto, dried fruit, cereals, and so on).
Silicone spatula
I use a small, firm spatula to do my feedings. It’s sturdy and easy to clean with a sponge, and if things get messy, you can run it through the dishwasher.
Scale
A kitchen scale is indispensable and guarantees accuracy when measuring the amount of flour needed for each starter refreshment. Measuring flour by volume is inherently imprecise as the amount of flour packed into a measuring cup can vary. Further, it’s a good idea to get used to using a scale for weighing ingredients, as this method is essential for improving your baking consistency.
Rye flour
Using whole grain (“dark”) rye flour helps expedite the fermentation process. In comparison to white flour, rye flour is teeming with extra nutrients that help kickstart the entire process. If you don’t have rye flour, a good quality organic whole wheat will also work well.
Unbleached, all-purpose, white flour
With my starter of 10+ years, and outlined in my post on how I feed (refresh) my starter these days, I typically refresh it with 70% all-purpose flour (or bread flour) and 30% whole rye flour. I like this mix because you get the fermentation boost from the whole-grain flour and the white flour’s increased gas-trapping ability and gluten strength. This helps me spot the signs of fermentation throughout the day and is a good compromise, using just enough whole grains without my starter getting overly acidic too quickly.
Thermometer
An instant-read thermometer will help monitor the temperature of your starter and ensure that it’s in the optimal range for increasing fermentation activity.
My Free Sourdough Starter Quicksheet
My sourdough starter quicksheet is a free, one-page printable guide to feeding, maintaining, and using my sourdough starter. Download it, print it, and keep it in your baking notebook for quick reference!
Starter Refreshment (Feeding)Schedule
In the beginning, your starter refreshments will occur just once a day. As your culture becomes more active, you’ll increase this to twice a day. Because of the frequency of these feedings, one of my goals is to help you set things up so it’s quick and easy to do your feedings and move on with your day. Once you get the hang of things, you only need about 5 to 10 minutes per day to keep your starter going–totally manageable.
A sourdough starter is very resilient. If you forget to feed it one day or feed it several hours after it needed a refreshment, don’t worry, in almost all cases it will spring back.
The following sourdough starter recipe schedule will provide you with a reliable and robust sourdough starter in 6 to 9 days. Once you have the culture stable, it will last indefinitely as long as you refresh it regularly. If you don’t plan to bake frequently, you can toss the starter in the fridge and feed it only once a week. (I’ll discuss this in more detail later in this post.)
Your schedule will follow the natural rise and fall of your starter. As soon as you feed it, the yeast and bacteria in your culture will begin to metabolize the sugars in the flour, creating gasses (among other things) as a byproduct. These gasses cause the starter to rise throughout the day as seen above. Once they subside, then the starter falls.
Daily Refreshment Process
At each refreshment, we will perform the following quick steps:
- Stir your starter a little bit with your spatula
- Place a clean jar on your scale and scoop in some portion (outlined below) from the jar you just stirred down
- Add fresh flour and water; mix well to incorporate completely
- Cover the jar loosely and let rest until the next feeding
That’s it! Once you get your process down, it should take no more than a few minutes each day.
Sourdough Starter Recipe: Making an Incredible Sourdough Starter from Scratch
Day One
Initially, I like to use two jars for this process: each time you refresh, swap in a clean jar. Starting on Day 4, you can use the same jar: discard down and add fresh flour and water.
I first like to weigh the jars I’m using (without the lids) to find their empty weight. Then, take a permanent marker and write the jar’s weight on the bottom. This way, we know the baseline weight of the jar so we can quickly figure out how much starter to keep during each refreshment.
In the morning, place a clean, empty jar on the scale and tare (the “tare” button on your scale will zero it out after you place your jar on top. This will allow you to measure the flour and water your place in your jar and exclude the jar’s weight). To that jar, add 100 grams whole grain rye flour and 125 grams water and mix until all dry bits are incorporated. If it’s cool in your kitchen, warm the water to 80°F (26°C) before mixing. Lightly cover the jar and set it in a warm place–80°F to 85°F (26°C to 29°C) is ideal–and out of direct sunlight for 24 hours.
Day Two
You may or may not already see some fermentation activity. As mentioned above, this potential initial surge of activity is typical and should subside around Day 3. What you can see below is how my initial mixture expanded significantly (in fact it bubbled out of the jar; this is why setting the jar in a bowl is a good idea). Don’t be discouraged if the surge disappears by the third or fourth day. Stick to the schedule, and it will come back!
Place a second, empty jar on the scale and tare so that it reads 0 grams. Scoop in 75 grams of the mixture that has been resting for 24 hours. Next, add 50 grams rye flour, 50 grams all-purpose flour, and 115 grams of water. Again, if it’s cold, warm the water to 80°F(26°C).
Mix well until all dry bits are incorporated, cover, and place in the same warm spot for 24 hours. Discard the rest of the mixture in the first jar and clean it in preparation for the next day.
Day Three
In the morning, you may start to see more activity, or you may see none. You can see below that the initial surge of action I had on Day 2 disappeared. However, my mixture started to show the beginning signs of beneficial yeast and bacteria taking hold: some bubbles on the top and at the sides, rose to some degree, and it started to take on a sour aroma.
Regardless of what signs your mixture is presenting, don’t fret and stick to the schedule. Remember, if it’s cold in your kitchen, warm your water to 80°F (26°C) to help speed things along.
If a layer of clear liquid (“hooch”) forms on the top of your mixture just stir it back in and keep with the schedule.
Place a new, clean jar on the scale and tare. Scoop in 75 grams of the mixture that rested overnight and add 50 grams rye flour, 50 grams all-purpose flour, and 115 grams water. Stir until well incorporated. Cover the jar and let it rest for 24 hours.
Discard the rest of the mixture in the first jar and clean it in preparation for the next day.
Day Four
This day is the first day of the process that has two refreshments in a single day: one in the morning, and one approximately 12 hours later.
In the morning, you should start to see signs of fermentation activity if you haven’t already, and begin to see them again if you experienced the surge-and-drop that I described above. There will be bubbles scattered on the sides and top, and the level of the mixture might have risen and fallen a little (evidenced by streaks on the sides of the jar).
Refresh in the same way that you did on Day 3. Place a clean jar on the scale and tare. Scoop in 75 grams of the mixture from the jar that fermented overnight, add 50 grams rye flour, 50 grams all-purpose flour, and 115 grams water. Mix thoroughly, cover, and let rest for 12 hours.
Discard the rest of the mixture in the first jar. From here on, simply use the same jar each day (no need to switch to a clean jar) by discarding the contents down and adding fresh flour and water as instructed.
After this 12-hour rest during the day, discard the contents to 75 grams and refresh again with the same ratio of ingredients. Let the new mixture rest for 12 hours (overnight).
Day Five and Six
For Days 5 and 6, continue to discard down the contents of the jar and then refresh with the same ratio of ingredients as you did on Day 4, twice a day. You will see fermentation activity increase more and more. If you’ve written the weight of the empty jar on the bottom as I indicated on Day 1, you should know exactly how much the resulting weight of the jar plus carried over starter will be—discard down to this weight.
Keep using the same jar for these refreshments.
Day Seven and Onward
In the morning on Day 7, discard what’s in the jar down to 20 grams of the mixture. To this, add 30 grams rye flour, 70 grams all-purpose flour, and 100 grams water. Mix thoroughly, cover, and let rest for 12 hours during the day. In the evening (after about 12 hours), discard the jar contents down to 20g, add the same ratio of ingredients as earlier in the day, and let rest 12 hours (overnight).
At this point, you should see the height of your starter rise and fall in the jar predictably each day. This periodic behavior is a good indicator that it is strong enough for you to use for your first loaf of bread. If your starter is still struggling to show activity, continue the refreshment schedule with the same ratio of ingredients for another day–or even several more days–until things pick up. The process of stabilization can sometimes take longer, depending on the flour used and the environment (especially if it’s cool in your kitchen). Be patient and stick to the schedule!
Once you get the hang of your starter and its feeding schedule, feel free to adjust the ratio of ingredients. For example, in warmer months I’ll reduce my mature starter carryover to 10g to 20g depending on the temperature. To read more about how I change these ratios and maintain my starter, check out my comprehensive sourdough starter guide page which includes my current feeding schedule, an in-depth FAQ, and more.
The starter will continue to develop flavor and strength over the next week and into the future. With an active starter, you can now use a portion of it when it is ripe. A starter is ripe when it has risen, is bubbly on the surface and at the sides, has a sour aroma, and has a looser consistency than when first refreshed.
Having issues? Check out my list of the 21 most common sourdough starter problems (with solutions) →
What is the Best Flour to Feed My Sourdough Starter?
I get asked this question often. Once your starter is rising and falling predictably, it’s okay to switch your refreshment flour to suit your preference. You can continue with a mixture of rye and all-purpose, change to 100% all-purpose white flour, or even switch to using 100% whole wheat.
There is no right or wrong flour to use when feeding a starter.
Each flour will affect the starter in a different way, changing how fast it ferments, how acidic it becomes in the same timeframe, and eventually, the final flavor profile. There is no right or wrong flour to use when maintaining your starter; it’s up to you and your starter!
Next Steps For a Healthy Sourdough Starter
After your starter rises and falls predictably, review my sourdough starter maintenance routine for all the steps I do to keep my starter healthy. You can adjust your feeding schedule based on your baking frequency. If you can bake almost every day, you’ll want to feed your starter once daily to keep it ready-to-use shape. If you want to bake only on the weekends, you can put your starter in the refrigerator to slow down its activity.
You can also scale down your starter and maintain a smaller one. Scaling down your starter will mean less flour and water needed for each refreshment (to save ingredients). See my guide to maintaining a smaller sourdough starter for a recipe and process.
What If I Need a Break From Maintaining My Starter?
Maintaining a sourdough starter should always be on our terms, not the other way around. Maintaining a starter indefinitely can be daunting, but there are ways to put your starter on pause if you need a break from baking for a while. Remember, the refrigerator is our friend to slowing fermentation, and there are even ways to stop all fermentation activity altogether (and it can stay this year for years!).
How Can I Save Sourdough Starter Discard?
Once your starter is rising and falling predictably each day, and only then, to ensure you have the right mix of suitable bacteria and wild yeasts in the culture, you can save the discard. I keep a jar in my fridge where I collect all discards and keep them for up to 2 weeks. Then, when I want to make pancakes, waffles, or another discard recipe, I can use starter from my sourdough starter discard cache at a moment’s notice.
Final Thoughts
These days, refreshing my sourdough starter is a liturgical part of my day. It takes minutes to provide my starter with fresh flour and water. In return, my starter produces flavorful and healthy bread. I like to think it’s me making the bread; it’s me controlling fermentation, it’s my hands mixing and shaping the dough. But the reality is, I’m just a small cog in nature’s machinery. All I need to do is lend a helping hand and stay out of the way. Happy baking and buon appetito!
Print
Sourdough Starter Recipe
- Prep Time: 7 days
- Total Time: 168 hours
- Yield: 1 sourdough starter
- Category: Sourdough, Baking, Bread, Starter
- Cuisine: American
Description
This sourdough starter recipe will help you create your own sourdough starter from scratch at home in seven easy steps. Your starter is the cornerstone of great bread—once you have it showing consistent signs of fermentation each day, which takes on average 5 to 7 days, you’re ready to start baking sourdough bread!
Ingredients
- 300g all-purpose flour
- 400g whole-grain rye flour
- 800g water
Instructions
- Day One
To a clean jar, add 100g whole rye flour and 125g warm water. Mix ingredients and keep somewhere warm for 24 hours. - Day Two
To clean jar, add 75g of the mixture from Day One (discard the rest), 50g whole rye flour, 50g all-purpose flour, and 115g water. Mix ingredients and keep somewhere warm for 24 hours. - Day Three
To a clean jar, add 75g of the mixture from Day Two (discard the rest), 50g whole rye flour, 50g all-purpose flour, and 115g water. Mix ingredients and keep somewhere warm for 24 hours. - Day Four
On day four, you will give the mixture two feedings. In a clean jar, add 75g of the mixture from Day Three (discard the rest), 50g whole rye flour, 50g all-purpose flour, and 115g water. Mix and let rest for 12 hours. In the evening, after 12 hours, repeat the discarding and feeding you did in the morning. Let the mixture rest overnight. - Day Five and Six
For days five and six, continue to discard down the jar contents and then feed with the same ratio of ingredients as Day Four, twice a day. You can use the same jar for these feedings. - Day Seven and Onward
In the morning on Day Seven, discard the jar’s contents down to 20g of the mixture and add 30g whole rye flour, 70g all-purpose flour, and 100g water. Repeat this feeding twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening, indefinitely.
Notes
You don’t have to use a new, clean jar each time you feed your starter, but I find it’s helpful to keep track of the weight of the jar so you know how much you’re carrying over.
If you use my method for creating a starter, tag @maurizio on Instagram and use the hashtag #theperfectloaf so I can take a look!
Sourdough Starter Creation FAQs
Why do you need a sourdough starter?
A sourdough starter is a continually maintained mixture of wild yeast and suitable bacteria used to seed fermentation in new dough for bread, pastry, and more.
How long does it take for a sourdough starter to be ready?
In general, I’ve found it takes about 7 days from when you first mix flour and water to when a sourdough starter is ready to be used to bake bread.
Is a homemade sourdough starter safe?
A well-maintained sourdough starter can live virtually indefinitely. The high-acid environment of the sourdough starter helps stave off any unwanted pathogens. However, if you see any signs of traditional mold (pink, white fuzzy, green), it’s best to discard the entire starter and start a new one.
Should I make or buy a sourdough starter?
While buying a sourdough starter is very easy online, it’s a very easy process to do at home! Plus, creating your own starter exposes you to the signs of fermentation, what steps you need to perform to maintain your starter, and gives you a chance to get to know the feeding (refreshment) process.
How long does it take for a sourdough starter to peak?
Some bakers use the term “peak” to refer to either the point at which a starter is ready to be used or needs feeding, or it can refer to the physical peak height of the starter in the jar. I find judging a sourdough starter’s readiness based solely on the height it has risen to may lead to using it at an incorrect time. After all, the height of a starter is simply a display of the strength and other characteristics of the flour. To determine when your starter is ready to be fed (or used for baking), look for a combination of signs: some rise, bubbles on top and at the sides, a sour aroma, and a loose consistency (it should loosen the longer it ferments). From there, use the timeframe for fermentation as a guide: at about 72-78F (22-25C) with 30-50% whole grain flour and 20% ripe starter (the seed, or inoculation), it might be ready after 12-16 hours.
Why doesn’t my sourdough starter have big bubbles?
It’s okay if your starter doesn’t have big bubbles. Large bubbles can be the result of the flour you’re using and the hydration. What’s more important overall, is to see strong signs of consistent fermentation: some bubbles, consistent rise each day, a sour aroma, a loosening in texture.
Why is my sourdough starter not rising?
It’s worrisome if you don’t see any rise in your starter, you should see some. Usually, no rise is a sign it’s not fermenting properly and needs more time to establish. Continue with the feeding schedule outlined in my guide on how to make a sourdough starter and it should begin fermenting after a few days.
What’s Next?
If you’re looking for something to make with the discarded sourdough starter that you’re generating every day, have a look at my sourdough waffles, sourdough pancakes, and sourdough banana bread.
If you need a high-level look at each step of the bread-making process, read through our Beginner’s Guide to Sourdough Bread.
2,608 Comments
Hello! First, thanks for the incredible website. I had attempted twice in the past to begin a sourdough starter using some rudimentary tips from other web posts, and the results were…. hmmm…. pretty disgusting. Being recently retired, I needed a good hobby that others maybe could enjoy, family, friends. The career was in R&D with a lot of chemistry, so baking is a natural. I had already had pretty good results with other bread types, ciabatta from a sponge, baguettes, but sourdough had remained elusive. Your detailed descriptions of “loving” a sourdough starter up absolutely smashed it! I did purchase a Brod and Taylor proofer, and no doubt that helped. With the proper flours, the starter took off first try. I’ve worked through the beginners recipe, a whole wheat recipe, and your favorite “best sourdough recipe” a number of times with nice results, but two things remain that I would like to get by. First, the crust, while I love it, is really thick and tough, and my grandkids (all less than 6 years old) can’t get their teeth around it. I use a pizza stone below the cast iron dutch oven I bake in, and that helped but still tough. Second, often the inside (the crumb?) is a little “wet” feeling on the palate, though it has a great looking structure. Maybe I should reduce the oven temperature as well as give a longer cook time to address both? Dutch oven too hot? Thanks for any insight!
Right on, Bob! Glad to hear all this. With your chem background you’re a natural for sourdough 🙂 To address your crust issues check out my guide to baking in a Dutch oven, this post has several suggestions on how to improve your bake there. I’ve noticed that, in general, baking in a DO will cause the bread to have a slightly thicker, crunchier crust. First off, I’d definitely remove the pizza stone below the DO when baking, it’ll cause the DO to get too hot.
Regarding the damp interior, it could be several things, but likely you need to reduce the baking temperature and try to bake it a little longer. The unfortunate thing about this, though, is that it might make your crust even thicker. Try a few of the suggestions in the link I gave above in combination with increasing the bake time (with lower temperature) to find that sweet spot you’re looking for. You will, it might just take some trial and error!
Hope that helps and sorry for the delay. Have fun!
Pardon me for asking this – did you work in the wire and cable industry? I remember meeting one Bob Overton at one of the International Wire and Cable Symposiums (IWCS) many many years ago. Just curious
Sure did. Optical fiber, first with Bell Labs and then with Alcatel.
Hi, is it normal to see the water separated in the bottom and the grub floats on it? There is fermentation, it doubles volume and I smell a slight sour yeasty smell, so not too worried, but also the starter looks so thin like porridge, I can easily pour it after I stirred it gently (its really fluffy whats on top). I reduced the water with the first feeding on day 2. I used 100% wholewheat flour to start as I did not have rye flour on hands and wasnt able to go get it yet. I will today.
I saw someone mentioning the same thing, and the reply was the starter is probably hungry. So I added 50 grams of flour and it is bubbling happy now. 😀
Great!
Hi! Excellent website, very informative and well written! Thanks a lot! So, I´m from Brazil (Niterói – Rio de Janeiro) and I´m currently on day 9 on my first starter ever, refreshing it twice a day (6am and 6-7pm) with 50g of previous starter, 20g rye flour, 40g AP flour (couldn´t find unbleached), 40g whole wheat and 100g spring water, changing jars every time. The average temperature here was around 25 – 28 ° C (77 – 82°F) and the starter actually rises pretty nice every day, but it is peaking (in terms of rising level) around 4 – 6h after the feeding and desceding to almost initial level after 13h, while your starter peaks in 12h (according to the maintenance page)… Now, after writing all of this, I realized that on the maintenance page you told us that you refresh it with only 20g of mature starter. Could this be the reason? Well, I do want to ask you one more thing anyway: I´ll follow your schedule/recipe to make my first bread this weekend and I was wondering if there´s anything I could make with the 12h deflated starter leftover after taking ~40g for the Levain and ~25g for the starter refreshing (to be put into the fridge) on saturday morning. My 12h deflated starter is very bubbly, smells really nice and has little to no hooch and the discarding seems so wasteful to me. Sorry for the long comment and mixing three guides. Thanks in advance!
Yes, if your starter is peaking faster you can slow things down by reducing the amount of starter you’re keeping around in the jar each feeding. If it’s very warm, you could even go all the way down to 5-10g in the jar (sometimes I even go lower!). Adjust as necessary through the seasons through the year.
I wouldn’t recommend making bread with the saved up leftover starter/levain, but you could make a lot of other very tasty food like: banana bread, waffles, and pancakes.
Hi! I’ve followed your instructions to the “T” even down to the same jars. I’m on morning 5 and there are only bubbles on the top and not on the sides and the starter doesn’t looked to have risen much, if at all. It has a nice sour smell though. Should I just wait until later in the day and hope to see bubbles down the side and some rising activity before I refresh?
Lesley — yes, I’d wait to refresh. What you’re experiencing is normal, though, so don’t get discouraged! Stick with the process and keep some rye flour in the feeding each time until you see more and more activity. Keeping the jar warm will also help, 80-85F would be great (but hard in the winter, I know).
Thank you so much for your prompt reply! I live in Hawai’i, so normally keeping it warm wouldn’t be a problem, but yes I’ve had to keep the jar outside due to the air conditioning. I’m so glad what happened to my starter is normal, because I’ve wanted to learn how to make old world sourdough bread for such a long time. Thank you for your well designed blog with great photos, I’ll be using the beginning sourdough bread recipe as soon as I can!
You bet, happy to help. Keep at it and let me know how it’s going 🙂
Hi Maurizio,
Why do you use two jars and not just discard and top up from the same one like with all of the other starter processes i’ve seen online. Does using a clean jar make a big difference and can i get away with using the same jar?
You can definitely just use the same jar, I just find it cleaner in the beginning to keep swapping in a fresh one. After your starter is up and going, you can use that same jar for quite a while before cleaning (I usually go a few weeks up to a month, depending on how clean I keep it) — I know some bakers who actually never change their jars.
Thanks for the quick response, i’ll see how i get on with 1 jar and swap/clean when it looks like it needs it. Looking forward to making bread with this!
Hi Maurizio — I’m wondering your thoughts on the issue of how “local” we should view our starters. Some people receive or buy a starter sample from some famous locale, say, Naples or San Francisco, and bring it home to use. That’s all well and good, but I’m wondering how long you think that culture retains whatever it is that made it unique to its old location. With local yeasts in our kitchens (air and all surfaces including containers/utensils), outside air, water, and flour — does an established sourdough starter resist all of those intruders and stay “San Francisco” or does it become “suburban Maryland” which might not sound as exotic but could still taste plenty nice?
There seem to be conflicting opinions and research of all this. Some people say they’ve carried the same starter all over the world and it’s retained its unique flavor, and others like King Arthur’s Bakers Companion book and their helpline say any starter is local to that particular kitchen in a matter of a few weeks. Would love your take. Thanks for everything! I’m a happy sourdough baker largely thanks to your website.
My feeling is that your starter, after a sufficient amount of time and number of refreshments (generations), will eventually take on a different mix of bacteria/yeast that’s suited for the temperature it’s kept at, the flour used for feeding, and the rations you maintain. There might be some truth to the fact that “older” starters have a different mix of bacteria/yeast than a “younger” one, but both will work suitably well to leaven dough! In other words, I prefer not to put a lot of weight behind statements saying older starters are “better” than newer ones.
Hi this is my second try with this recipe. The first one became too runny and showed no activities after three days. My second one is on day three, and it is already too runny in texture. Should I reduce water? My starter is in a proofer at 82 degrees now. Thanks.
Sure, you can if you’d like a more firm consistency. Either way!
Hi Maurizio,
I’ve been an infrequent sourdough baker for the last 3+ years. As such, my starter often dies in the fridge from neglect and I find myself having to start a new one from scratch. I wanted to let you know that each time I follow your directions here, I get a stable starter in about 7-8 days. I still get nervous around days 4/5/6 when it seems like not much is going on despite twice a day feedings and then boom, it starts doubling. Day 8 now and it’s just on the counter in my 65 deg F or less kitchen, but I’m confident it will be double again come tomorrow morning. Thank you so much for such a foolproof recipe!
Thanks so much for reporting that, Nivedita!
Hi! I’m on day 6 with my starter, it’s been rising and falling well, but its not making bubbles on top….I wanted it to be made from 100% rye, but I think I’m putting too much in? At each feeding I’m doing 75 g of the old starter, 100 g of rye and 125 g of distilled water. is this correct??
thanks!
Emily — depending on the temperature you have in your kitchen you might be keeping too much of your old starter at each feeding. I’d suggest you try keeping 25g-50g at normal room temp for about 12 hours. Do know that a 100% rye starter will show signs a little differently than 100% wheat, it might have less bubbles and rise less, but it should still show some signs of fermentation (bubbles throughout, a sour smell, some rise, etc.).
I am on day 2, my starter had lots of activity overnight and it overflowed (I used a bowl). My house is too cool so I have it in the oven with the lights on, and my thermometer arrives later this week so I don’t know what the temp is. I don’t have many options for other warm places to keep it, though. However … it smells like plastic! I don’t know if I should start over, or keep going. Thoughts? Thank you!
Gayle — in the beginning the smell can definitely be “off.” Stick with it!
I began with a recipe for an ancient starter using “must” grape skins and some pulp. I am on day 3. I had some hooch, which I mixed in. It smells fermenting but no bubbles. Is this ok. Why do you throw out starter each time? My recipe does mot call for that.Thanks.
I’m not familiar with creating a starter in that way. Check out my sourdough starter frequently asked questions for an answer to your question on discarding!
Hello, I’m on day 5 with my starter and was seeing good activity up until day 4 where it stopped rising and falling more than about 1/4 inch. Curious if that’s enough activity or not? With the weather getting colder I was guessing that had an impact but would appreciate any suggestions! Thank you!
You want to see consistent rise and fall each day. It’s ok if it’s not rising as high, so long as it’s rising similarly each day. Try to keep it warm! Cooler temps can slow progress on creating a starter, if you try to keep it a bit warmer it’ll speed the process backup.
Hi Maurizio,
Thanks so much for the information, 35 years a chef & a lot of hotels just use a sour dough’mix’ so its interesting & challenging.
I found a spot with 26-27 c & second day with no visible results, hoping for some activity over trhe next few days & will let you know the result.
Hopefully things have picked up by this point!
Hi Maurizio, very informative article & gives me confidence to try again.
I am in Asia (Bali)
The ‘coolest’ & most stable temperature area i can obtain is around 30c,most areas without AC are about 38.
My last starter went wild for 3 days then separated & so i have a new organic whole grain flour.With the higher temperature, would i need to feed the starter at less than 12 hour intervals?
Thanks for any help.
Matt
Yes, you’d have to feed much more often at those temperatures (38C is very, very hot). Once your starter is fermenting predictably each day if you find it hard to keep it fed timely before it separates and over ferments, try adding a small (.5%) amount of salt to your starter each feeding. This will help reduce activity.
Have you taken your starter on the plane?
Yes! I just mix it up a little drier, place it in two ziplock bags, and write “sourdough starter” on the outside.
Hi Maurizio! I’am just a little confused with the flour type used in starter. If I make starter with rye flour, can I use this starter for all recipes or if I’am gonna make for example bread from whole wheat flour I have to use starter made from whole wheat flour? Also I found two guids for starter on your website 😀 Is there any difference between them? Thanks in advance 🙂
You can switch your starter to make any sourdough you want, regardless of the flour used to feed it. I have that second guide up as it was my old version, I’m going to be removing that soon, the new one (above) is more recent, more clear, and better! Happy baking.
Ciao Maurizio! I read with interest this entire post and became inspired to make a starter. I made it exactly according to your directions, it has been sitting for over 12 hours now and no activity whatsoever. I used white whole wheat flour that I milled myself from the grain. Do you think it will “come alive”? Or should I try again? Thanks!
Yes, stick with it! It’ll eventually come around. Fresh milled flour is fantastic to use, but if you also have a little whole grain rye flour mix some of that in as well. Try to keep it around 80°F and if it’s still not coming alive after a few more days, try picking up some spring water from the market and use that.
So I tried to get away with not discarding one time on the fourth day. The original weight was 338 grams. So I added 2/3 the amount of flour each from all-purpose and whole wheat flours (couldn’t find the flour), and 1.6 times the water. Looked okay when I mixed it up, was a little worried it was going to overflow my large Ball jar…. Instead, next day just showed a layer of water on top and the mixture looking very liquidus. Decided to go back follow the instructions from the previous day of 75 g original, 50 whole wheat, 50 all-purpose, 125 warm bottled water. Hope in 12 hours it’s okay…
Question though: how do you discard so much of this starter? I can’t just throw it in the trash as it’s almost like dumping water into it. The sink isn’t a great option either. What is your preferred method?
Mine is not so liquid-like it pours like water, unless I leave it too long without a feeding. But then again, it’s very dry here and I usually have to add more water to compensate. If you want it to be less viscous, you could reduce the water you give it at each feeding by 5-10g and see if you like that better. Regardless, I usually mix down the starter, then tip the jar into my compost bucket or trash and sort of pour and scoop it out. I’ll have to take a video of this!
Hi Maurizio! First of all, I have been reading your website for quite a while, it is great, keep up the fantastic work! I have recently started a new starter and I have wanted to ask your opinion about something. I’m am on day 3 now and before feeding this morning there was a layer of liquid in the middle of my starter. I mixed it with the rest of the stuff – couldn’t really do anything else – and fed it. But now – in the evening – I see the same thing, there is a layer of liquid developing on top of the starter. I have read different opinions on this, some says one should get rid of this liquid before continuing with the feeding process. If I am not mistaken it happens when the starter feels hungry, right? What do you think about this? Thanks for your answer!
Thanks, I appreciate that. Usually when I see this it’s because the starter needs a feeding/refreshment earlier than it’s being tended to. I’d say try to feed it sooner or leave a smaller amount of mature starter in the jar each time you feed, which will slow things down and lengthen the time period between feedings.
Hi Maurizio – First, thanks so much for this article, and helping people be successful with their bread making. I’m on Day 6 and I am not seeing any predictable rising. Smells nice, temp is maintained around 75 to 80. Filtered tap water sitting on counter for 12 – 24h, 50/50 Rye and AP flour as recommended. Using a wide Bell mason jar, starter is at the 300g mark and really does not rise much, however, it did have an initial surge on Day 2.
I assume just keep going until I get a predictable rise?
How much rise should we expect to see between feedings for a mature starter?
Thanks again
You’re very welcome, Rob. Yes, stick with it (I know it can be frustrating) until things start to pick up — you’re doing all the right things with temperature, flour, water. It’s hard to say exactly on the rise because it really depends on the flour you’re using. You should see some measure of rise over the course of the fermentation period, but the real key is consistency. You want to see the same rise and fall each day plus signs of strong fermentation (bubbles, a slight sour smell, etc.).
Hi, I don’t like discarding so much starter every day, especially since I’m now feeding it twice. Can I also half the quantities (e.g. 25g of mature starter, 25g dark rye, 25g wheat flour and 50g water)?
Sure, that should work just fine. Just be sure to keep an eye on your starter and feed it when it’s ready.
Hi! I recently found out im intollerant to all grains except durum wheat. Ive been using italian durum wheat flour to try and make a starter, and even though its over a week old and has a lot of small bubbles it still isnt rising. Is that because durum wheat isnt any good to make a starter?
I’ve not tried this with durum but it should work just fine. I’d say stick with it, perhaps use a percentage of rye (substitute out the wheat I’m using for durum, but use the rye) until it gets going, then leave out the rye and go 100% durum.
Hi Maurizio,
I am on day 6 with my starter. I’ve done some searching and understand that very early on (days 1-3) for most starters can have an off smell to them, but mine just now is starting to have a bad smell – like very stinky cheese, or almost like vomit. Should I continue feeding it in hopes that eventually the yeast/good bacteria take over, add something like pineapple juice to make it more acidic (I’ve seen this recommended), or should I start over? Thanks for your help!
Ally, yes, that’s very common (and is likely “bad” bacteria that you’re smelling will dye off in short order), stick with the schedule, keeping it warm and using some rye flour in your feeding mix. I’ve heard quite a bit about using acidic solutions to help speed things along, but I personally have never had to use them. If it were me, I’d just stick to the schedule for a few more days and thing should turn around! Definitely don’t start over. Let me know how it’s going!
You list salt in the ingredient list. When do you add it and how much?
No salt is added to this starter!
Hello! I jave been wanting to make sour dough for so long but was always put off by the time it takes to make the starter. So, I thought I would have a go. Nothing much happened for a week of going though your excellent and very detailed instructions, until today my starter is looking very lively. I am so excited! Starting to feed twice per day and hoping to make my first loaf this weekend! I will let you know how it turns out.
I’m glad you stuck with it, Angela! Now that you have your starter, the world of sourdough bread is at your fingertips 🙂 Have fun and let me know if you have any questions along the way.
Hello, four days ago I began making my starter in a clay baked bean pot: 1 cup-unbleached, organic flour: 1/2 cup purified water (Brita filter) every 12 hours. As you can imagine, I have quite the mass of flour/water mixture growing on my counter! All was well, it had a sweet and sourdough smell with mostly large bubbles on the surface. I tried the float test yesterday, it floated for 30 seconds and then sank, every time after that it sank even faster:(. This morning it was very watery, with lots of tiny bubbles and the smell was gone and replaced with more of a faint alcohol/sour smell. To manage the volume and increase visibility, this morning I moved some of the starter into a glass jar and clear plastic container and left the majority of it in the the large pot. I feed the large pot the same as I had been and the small jar and container with 1:2 ration of flour/water. I’m now not sure what to do at this point, I’ve moved off course and have three containers! Not sure if I’m on the right track. Any advice is so appreciated.
Hey, Daisy. Sounds like you’re either skipping the discard step accidentally or following another method, but I always call for a discard each day you do a feeding with fresh flour and water. This way, you won’t end up with a massive pot of starter! Regardless, it actually sounds like your starter is on the right track. That alcohol smell might mean your starter needs a feeding a little bit sooner than you’re giving it one. And if you’re not discarding, the entire mixture could become very acidic quickly (there’s much more mature starter in the pot than the little water and flour — which is fresh “food” — you’re giving it).
My advice would be to revisit my approach above: discard some of your mixture each day when it looks like it needs a feeding (bubbles, sour smell, some fall in the jar) and stick with it, you’ll likely have a viable starter in no time.
Hope that helps!
Well, 3 days and no activity. Nice bloom of mold though. I guess I’ll do it with store bought yeast.
Ah that’s a bummer! If you’re seeing mold forming on top and you’re doing a daily refreshment as indicated in my process, above, try stirring the mixture halfway between refreshments to ensure the top layer isn’t exposed to air for too long.
If you did find mold (white/pink/etc.) on top, I’d definitely start over with a new, clean jar and mixture.
I know this can be frustrating in the beginning, but if you stick with it things will start to move in the right direction!
Ok, 2nd attempt looking good. 1st time I used barley flour which formed a thick paste. This time I used whole white wheat.
Hi Maurizio!
I’ve successfully made your starter and it looks really good (very bubbly, floats well when put in water, etc) but I’ve tried making your beginner’s sourdough bread twice and a sourdough brioche from another website but the dough never really rises at all 🙁
Now, I’ve been thinking about it, and my starter is 100% dark rye flour (I live in Finland where we use rye a lot & thought I’d keep this spirit in my starter) whereas the recipes I tried used mostly white wheat flour. Could that be the problem? If my starter isn’t used to process white flour, it doesn’t work properly?
I was thinking of switching my starter to wheat flour little by little then. I read here that your starter is still 50% rye flour and I guess it works well with your sourdough recipe so maybe I’ll try with 50/50 🙂
So anyway, do you think that could be the cause of the bread not rising properly?
Hey, Loke! Glad to hear your starter is fermenting well enough. It should be totally fine to use your rye starter in any recipe, really, just be sure to use it when it’s ripe/mature — the signs for ripeness for a rye starter will be different than a wheat one: it should have expended to some degree, smell sour, and if 100% hydration, likely have fallen some in the jar. You won’t get the same rise as a wheat starter because rye doesn’t have the same gluten properties as wheat — but this is totally fine! So, the key is to use it when ripe/mature to build your levain or mix into a dough.
I hope this helps, keep me posted on how it’s going!
Thank you for replying to this!!
I had started to gradually convert my starter to a 50/50 wheat/rye flour before I saw your answer, but despite going very slowly it looked like adding the wheat flour really stopped its activity, so when I read your answer I went back to 100% rye and it’s doing good again!
I tried the beginner sourdough recipe a few more times, making sure my starter was ripe before using it in the dough, but still no change in the rise…
Finally, today I tried something new! Comparing different of your recipes, I saw that for instance in the “Fifty-fifty whole wheat sourdough bread” one you explain how to knead the bread after mixing, whereas in the “Beginner’s sourdough recipe” there’s no kneading at all except for the 3 sets of folds during the bulk fermentation. So I tried to knead the dough after the mix and before the bulk fermentation, and here we are, after months of trial and error, my bread is finally rising well!!
So I don’t know why you didn’t include kneading in the beginner recipe, but I’m glad I finally made it work 😀
Thank you as always for the great recipes and inspiration!
Hi Maurizio.
Great recipe and have been using it successfully for a month or two making sourdough pizza crust. We have pizza every Friday. I have been keeping the starter in the fridge for the week and feeding it and the starter I will use for the pizza the night before. I have switched to King Arthur all purpose exclusively. The dough behaves great but as i am getting further on I notice the starter is loosing its sour smell. I am only feeding it once a week
should i be concerned .
Thanks Ed
Glad to hear things have been going well, Ed! It might be ok if it’s losing that sour smell, but do make sure you’re feeding it when it looks like it needs a feeding and not too early or it could weaken over time. My suggestion would be to take it out and keep it on the counter for a week. Give it regular feedings (2x a day if that works for you and the starter looks mature when you go to feed it) and give it a little extra TLC that week, see if you can get it back up to full strength. Once fermenting strongly, it should be ready for the fridge again.
Hi Maurizio,
Thanks so much for your instructions! I could not be more excited for my starter to be mature. I unexpectantly have to leave town the morning of Day 7. I was thinking of putting my stater in the fridge and picking things back up where I left off when I return in 3 days. Will that be okay, or should I try to find a starter sitter?
Cheers!
Molly
Hey, Molly! My guess is a sitter would be ideal, but the fridge might work, too, if you can’t find anyone. In the beginning, depending on what stage your starter is at, it’s still trying to stabilize and get “stronger,” so the fridge can stress it a bit too much. If that’s all you can do, though, that’s fine as well!
H Maurizio.
First of all, thanks a lot for your website. It’s very interesting, and I am looking forward baking bread using your recipes.
As everyone here, I started with your sourdough recipe. I followed thoroughly your guide. Here it was around 80 F in my house when I started, so perfect temperature right? Now it’s down to 75 F.
I am currently at day 6. I had a wonderful surge of activity on day 2 (it overflowed the jar!), and since then pretty much nothing. I have half of the times a single very small bubble when I feed it, but no other sign of activity. It never raises more than a few millimeters (no more than the thickness of the rubber band I use to keep track of)… However, it seems to me that the smell is very good, it smells pretty much like the sourdough bread I used to eat so often in my childhood…
I’ve been using 50/50 Whole grain rye flour/Bread floor, and tap water that stayed at least 12 hours at rest.
Starting at day 7, I am supposed to keep only 50 grams from the jar each day (currently I am at 75 grams) and reduce the hydration. Should I stick with 75 grams until I see some more activity?
What am I doing wrong?
You’re likely doing nothing wrong, this is pretty normal. Yes, I’d stick with 75g and some rye flour in the mix as well. Keep going with that until you see more activity. You could also try warming the water just a bit in the microwave so the mixture reaches 80-85F (which will then cool over the next 12 hours until the next feeding) — just don’t go too high. Keep at it, Jean, it’ll come around!
Thanks Maurizio. I am now at day 11, and this morning I noticed some interesting activity: it rose for something like 1cm in the night! And I’ll soon do the evening refresh, and today it rose for at least 2cm. Thanks for your encouraging thoughts! I think I am definitely on the good way! Keep up the good work on your blog!
Right on, Jean! Super glad to hear you’re seeing some activity. Keep at it. I’m happy I could help 🙂
Hi Maurizio,
It seems like a lot of flour is used to make the starter. If I cut your recipe in half, would it affect the strength and rising power of the starter? Also, my friend says she swears by using organic pineapple juice in place of the water on the first day just to give the starter a kick-start. Is this true?
Thanks so much for your detailed instructions.
You could definitely cut it in half if you’d like. However, I find when creating a starter the first time, this additional flour does help (and is only for the beginning, anyway). Pineapple juice is a common additive to create a more acidic environment to help move things along, but I’ve never found it necessary — it’s up to you on that!
Hope that helps and happy baking, Skip!
Hi Maurizio,
Thanks so much for such an informative set of articles, I have been engrossed in them all lately as I am just beginning my sourdough journey. I have just one question; I am up to day 7 in my initial starter creation and it all seems to be going well using the ratios and timings that you suggest. I have tweaked a few of the variables and have the process pretty close to a 12 hour window between needing feeds. Going forward into the maintenance of the starter the ratio switches from 75 and then 50g of mature starter to 15g of mature starter but still with 100g of flour and 100g of water. How do I make this change? Will it not change the window between feeds significantly due to the much reduced amount of mature starter going in?
Thanks again, I can’t wait to get baking some bread!
Jon
You’re welcome, Jon! Yes, changing the flour amount and type might change the schedule depending on the temperature in your kitchen. However, know that as your starter gets stronger over the next week or two you won’t need as much mature starter leftover in the jar to keep on that schedule. My advice is to use whatever ratio works for you and your schedule, based on how strong your starter is performing (remember in warmer temps activity will increase as well). If you find 15g starter carryover isn’t causing your starter to mature fast enough, leave a bit more until it gets on track with your schedule. It’s a constant adjustment a little each day, eventually you’ll get the feel for this intuitively as well.
I hope that helps and happy baking!
Thanks for the response Maurizio, that makes sense. I have been experimenting myself a bit over the last few days and think that I have found a winning formula. I’m loving being able to see the results of the adjustments over the course of the day, I really feel like I’m beginning to understand the process rather than just follow by rote. Still a long way to go though. Tomorrow will be my first bake as well as the overnight pancakes. Can’t wait!
Hi Maurizio. Thank you for sharing your knowledge of a bread making. I am on the day 8 at the moment. For my daily feeding I am using 75g of mixture from the fermentation jar, 50g organic rye flour, 50g organic plain white flour and 100g of filtered tap water, as 125g made my starter to watery. I have started two refreshments in a single day from the day 5 instead of 4 because I did not see the same activity as in your starter. I leave in UK. The weather is pretty warm at the moment, in mid 20 C. During cooler days I am using water heated to 26 C and an extra cloth wrapped around the jar and I keep it the kitchen on the countertop. My starter has a lots of a small air bubbles on the site with a foamy top and pleasant smell but there is a little rising, less than 1 cm, without any falling. Do you have any extra advice, expect being patient :))), eg should I try to change to a spring water maybe or to a different flour like strong white bread flour or move it to the inside the kitchen cabinet? This is my first attempt of making the starter and I do not know how long should I continue with this process (like another week?) if there is no significant rise and fall. Thank you, Gosia.
Gosia, happy to help! It sounds like you’re definitely on the right track with things, especially if you’re seeing some bubbles and signs of fermentation. I’d say stick with it, eventually your starter will take hold. You could try reducing the water another 15-25g to see if that helps eek out more rise, it might be too much water which can weaken the structure. This is totally fine, though, and I do find extra water in the beginning helps get things moving (but again, too much water can reduce the overall rise, making visual inspection more difficult). Let me know how it goes!
Hi Maurizio, Day 7 brought a smile to my face. Nice strong starter, doubled in size. A new anxiety has just come. The actual baking. Measuring? I hope to do a good job. Once more, thank you.
Awesome to hear that, Loraine! Don’t worry about measuring for baking, you’ll do just fine — a scale is extremely helpful! Happy baking.
Hi, I am at the 24hour point and my dough hasn’t risen much. I think it is too cool in my house. So I placed it in the microwave thinking it will stay warmer in there vs the counter. My question is should I move onto the next step or let it rise some more and start step 2 tomorrow?
Hey there. I would suggest you stick to the same step you’re on until you see some sign of activity. If you’re not using any rye flour, keep some in the mix with each feeding. Keep at it, it’ll eventually take hold — if it’s chilly, it might just take a bit longer (and is very normal).