Easy Sourdough Starter Recipe – How to Grow, Keep & Use
A simple sourdough guide that includes an easy sourdough starter recipe as well as the best ways to store and maintain a healthy culture. The uncomplicated 7-day tutorial shows you how to make starter from scratch in just minutes of hands-on time a day, how to keep it healthy for years, and a timeline for the types of recipes you can make with your new starter. With this resource you’ll be saying goodbye to store bought sourdough bread for good!
More great sourdough recipes can be found on the Best Bread Recipes page.
In the years since I started exploring sourdough, I’ve gotten a LOT of questions about how to grow a starter and how to keep it, as well requests for easy sourdough recipes.
I wrote a bunch of tips that I learned in the first years after growing my sourdough starter from scratch, and since then I’ve published a number of recipes using the starter.
A lot of the questions I get are around growing your own starter as well as how to keep it healthy and the best ways to use it as you’re building a strong starter.
So I’m sharing the easy sourdough starter recipe I’ve used twice now to grow a healthy starter that I’ve then used for years. I used my original starter for more than six years, but let it go when we moved and were living with family for a number of months while we searched for our new house (the farmhouse we’re in now). I then grew another one that is still going strong many years later.
Note: Sourdough starters can last for many, many years – I’ve had readers tell me they’ve been using 30 to 50 year old starter! So if you can save it during a move or transition, go for it!
What is Sourdough?
Sourdough is made by ‘growing’ the natural yeast that occurs in flour with good bacteria found in the air (lactic acid). Each area of the country (and world, for that matter!) creates it’s own varieties of sourdough depending on the air and climate because of this bacteria – like San Francisco’s famous sourdough that can’t really be exactly replicated outside of it’s coastal climate.
The wild yeast and the lactic acid bacteria working together create the bubbles and gas to rise bread. Because of the starter’s pH level and the presence of antibacterial agents, it’s able to prevent colonization by unwanted yeasts and bacteria – this is why you can have a starter last for many years.
What this means for you is that your starter may take longer or shorter to grow than the steps I outline below. It’s okay – and as I discussed in my sourdough tips page, the main thing I’ve learned with sourdough over the years is to have patience, with both the starter and the dough.
Easy Sourdough Starter Recipe: Step by Step
(Adapted from Heavenly Homemakers)
Note: this is fully printable by jumping to the recipe card – I’ve added a few more explanations to the steps below.
Type of flour to use: You can use any type of flour you want – even gluten free flour! Adding some whole wheat or rye flour tends to help get a new starter going, but many starters have been made with all purpose flour. I have only grown and maintained a whole wheat starter (only starting with rye initially as I show below) and when I tried to feed it with all purpose one time when I couldn’t get whole wheat (hello, pandemic), it didn’t grow or double for me hardly at all.
So my suggestion is to stick with whatever flour you start with and if you want different types of starters, use separate jars (however, I have had people tell me that they’ve successfully fed their starter with whatever flour they have, so experiment if you want to!).
Day 1
- Gather 1 quart jar or 4-quart glass bowl (not metal or plastic, sourdough is acid-based), 1/2 cup whole wheat flour + 1/2 cup rye flour (you can use all whole wheat – 1 cup total – but I read that rye flour makes the best sourdough starter, so I added half), and 1 cup warm water (just warm tap water temperature) – using warm water is key, I’ve found, as the wild yeast responds better to warm water. NOTE: I’ve always used good well water – if your water isn’t good or has additives like chlorine, boil the water or let it sit out uncovered for 24 hours before using. Try not to use filtered water because we do want some of the minerals found in good water.
- If you’re weighing your ingredients, use equal amounts of water and flour, like 100 grams.
- Put the flour into the jar or bowl and stir in the water.
- Cover the top of the container with muslin (or cheesecloth). You can secure it with a rubber band or tie, but I didn’t, as you want the bacteria to find it’s way in – just not dust or bugs.
- Keep in a warm place – I set mine on the top of the refrigerator, since I started making it in February. You’ll want a kitchen temperature of 70 to 75 degrees or a place to put it that’s similar.
Note: From here on in the process, you can use less flour and water to feed, if you’d like, to produce less waste. As long as you start to see bubbling and activity, 1/2 cup or even 1/4 cup flour to the same amount of water will work (if it stalls, though, I’d use more again).
Day 2
- After 24 hours, the starter may have separated some (like in the day 2 photo above). You can pour off the dark liquid that is on the top or mix it in – this is called the “hooch” and is perfectly normal. (Over the years I’ve realized that it always produces some hooch as it waits in the fridge, since hooch means the starter is hungry. Mixing it back in creates a more sour bread.)
- Pour the starter in to a fresh, clean jar or bowl (transferring it to a new jar or bowl each day allows the sides to remain clean which is important to reduce the rare chance of mold).
- Do not discard anything today. Add 1/2 cup of whole wheat flour and 1/2 cup of warm water, stirring well and scraping down the sides. Replace the cloth and return the jar to it’s warm spot. (Note: your starter probably doesn’t smell very soury yet and that’s okay.)
Day 3
- Pour any liquid off (or mix it in) and discard half of the mixture – your first discard.
- Put the remaining starter into a new clean jar or bowl and add 1/2 cup flour and 1/2 cup warm water. Place it back in it’s warm spot, covered with the cloth or loose lid.
Day 4
- Repeat steps from day 3.
- Your starter may have risen some by now, have a slightly sour smell, and have little bubbles as well as the hooch after waiting 24 hours from day 3 (but again, don’t worry if yours looks different – just keep moving forward..).
Day 5
- Repeat steps from days 3 (and 4), discarding half, moving to a clean jar, and adding the 1/2 cup of flour and 1/2 cup of water.
- You may not like the smell of your starter by this stage, but don’t think it’s bad – it’s just working. There’ll be a number of different smells as you go through the process. There may be be a lot of liquid with stuff on the top – again, normal.
Day 6
- You should see bubbles in your starter today and maybe liquid depending on how much water you added yesterday.
- Discard half, move the starter to a clean jar, and this time add slightly less water – 1/2 cup of flour and 1/3 cup of water. I’ve learned that keeping the starter a bit dryer (less water than flour) helps it to rise and grow better and can result in slightly less sour finished bread. (You can, however, keep feeding at the 1:1 ratio, if you’d like.)
- This less amount of water to flour can be used once your starter is bubbly and active – if it’s sluggish, keep to the equal amounts of water and flour.
Day 7
- Repeat day 6.
- By this time, you should see consistent signs of life: bubbling and growing double in size between each feeding.
- If not, you may want to discard most of the mixture and feed equal amounts of water and flour OR start the process over again, checking your equipment and environment.
Day 8 – Active Starter
- Today’s the day to make something using your new sourdough starter, which should have bubbles and have grown in its container! At this point it’s considered an ‘active’ starter.
- If you want to store some of your starter: Place at least 1/4 cup of the starter in a glass jar, place a lid on the jar – but don’t seal tightly – and place in the refrigerator. This is now the starter you will feed and use each time you want to make something.
- If you want to keep growing your starter and bake more often: Remove 1/4 to 1/2 cup of the starter and feed it as you’ve been doing. HOWEVER, if you need a larger amount for a specific recipe, you don’t need to discard between feedings. Just feed the flour and water ratios needed (if you have 1 cup of starter, feed with 1 cup of flour and 3/4 cup water, matching the starter to flour with slightly less water) each feeding until you reach the amount you need for the recipe, while still having a bit left to feed for your starter.
- As for what to make with the rest of your NEW starter, I found the hard way that even though the starter looked all bubbly and active on day 8, it’s not really mature enough yet to rise bread really well.
- What to make? My suggestion on day 8 is to make these amazing waffles, a batch of these slightly addictive crackers, or these delicious sourdough discard veggie fritters.
Week 2 and Beyond: Maintaining Your Starter
- Once a week or every other week, remove your sourdough starter from the fridge, pour into a bowl and feed it with the amount of flour equal to your starter and slightly less water (for example if you have 1 cup of starter, feed it 1 cup of whole wheat flour and 3/4 cup of water) and stir well. If you’re weighing your starter, use equal amounts of everything – 50 grams starter, 50 grams flour, 50 grams water.
- Leave it to grow and become active again 12 to 24 hours before using it in a recipe. It should double in size during that period. Depending on how long the starter has been in the fridge, it will sometimes need more than one feeding, discarding as needed. You’ll need to feed it until it is reliably doubling in size, how ever many feedings that takes.
- To be strong enough to raise bread, the starter should double in 6 hours or less after feeding.
- Remove all but 1/4 to 1 cup (or however much starter you want to keep in the fridge) to a clean jar and return that to the fridge. Use the rest to bake with – this is the “discard.”
Tip: I clean the jar I store the starter in with warm water only – no soap, so not to introduce anything weird into the starter.
The idea is to get in the habit of using your starter regularly by bringing it to room temperature, feeding it until it’s doubling in size (feeding as many times as needed to double in 6 hours or less), and then making something with a portion while putting a portion back into the fridge for the next time you need it.
Each time you use some of the starter and refeed it, it is maturing and growing stronger!
However – if you’ve let your starter languish in the fridge for weeks or months, don’t despair! Scroll down below the recipe card to see what happened to a neglected starter of mine (spoiler, it didn’t die!).
Suggested timeline for what to make with a brand new starter discard
- Week 1: growing starter, no baking.
- Weeks 2-3: waffles, pancakes, and crackers.
- Weeks 4-5: english muffins, bagels (and maybe a King Arthur Flour sourdough recipe, which uses a bit of yeast with the sourdough).
- Weeks 6-7: sourdough cheesy batter bread (batter breads don’t require kneading).
- Week 8 and beyond: Finally, after your starter has been successful with these items, it’s time to try a traditional sandwich loaf or this perfect one-day artisan bread!
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Easy Sourdough Starter Recipe (7 Day Process)
Equipment
- quart glass jars or equivalent glass bowl
- muslin cloth or loose fitting jar lid
Ingredients
- 1 cup flour* (whole wheat is my preference)
- 1 cup water
- plus more flour and water for the full 7 days
Instructions
Day 1
- Gather 1 quart jar or 4-quart glass bowl (not metal or plastic, sourdough is acid-based), 1/2 cup whole wheat flour + 1/2 cup rye flour (you can use all whole wheat – 1 cup total – but I read that rye flour makes the best sourdough starter, so I added half), and 1 cup warm water (just warm tap water temperature) – using warm water is key, I've found, as the wild yeast responds better to warm water. NOTE: I've always used good well water – if your water isn't good or has additives like chlorine, boil the water or let it sit out uncovered for 24 hours before using. Try not to use filtered water because we do want some of the minerals found in good water.
- If you're weighing your ingredients, use equal amounts of water and flour, like 100 grams.
- Put the flour into the jar or bowl and stir in the water. Cover the top of the container with muslin (or cheesecloth) or loose fitting lid.
- Keep in a warm place – you'll want a kitchen temperature of 70 to 75 degrees or a place to put it that's similar.
Day 2
- (Note: We'll be adding less flour now to reduce the waste.) After 24 hours, the starter may have separated some. You can pour off the dark liquid that is on the top or mix it in – this is called the "hooch" and is perfectly normal.
- Pour the starter in to a fresh, clean jar or bowl (transferring it to a new jar or bowl each day allows the sides to remain clean which is important to reduce the rare chance of mold).
- Do not discard anything today. Add 1/2 cup of whole wheat flour and 1/2 cup of warm water, stirring well and scraping down the sides. Replace the cloth and return the jar to it's warm spot. (Note: your starter probably doesn't smell very soury yet and that's okay.)
Day 3
- Pour any liquid off (or mix it in) and discard half of the mixture (your first discard).
- Put the remaining starter into a new clean jar or bowl and add 1/2 cup flour and 1/2 cup warm water. Place it back in it's warm spot, covered with the cloth or loose lid.
Day 4
- Repeat steps from day 3.
- Your starter may have risen some by now, have a slightly sour smell, and have little bubbles as well as the hooch after waiting 24 hours from day 3 (but again, don't worry if yours looks different – just keep moving forward..).
Day 5
- Repeat steps from days 3 (and 4), discarding half, moving to a clean jar, and adding the 1/2 cup of flour and 1/2 cup of water.
- You may not like the smell of your starter by this stage, but don't think it's bad – it's just working. There'll be a number of different smells as you go through the process. There may be be a lot of liquid with stuff on the top – again, normal.
Day 6
- You should see bubbles in your starter today and maybe liquid depending on how much water you added yesterday.
- Discard half, move the starter to a clean jar, and this time add slightly less water – 1/2 cup of flour and 1/3 cup of water. I've learned that keeping the starter a bit dryer (less water than flour) helps it to rise and grow better and can result in slightly less sour finished bread. However – you can keep feeding at the 1:1 ration if you'd like.
- Note: This less amount of water to flour ratio can be used once your starter is bubbly and active – if it's sluggish, keep to the equal amounts of water and flour.
Day 7
- Repeat day 6.
- By this time, you should see consistent signs of life: bubbling and growing double in size between each feeding. If not, you may want to discard most of the mixture and feed equal amounts of water and flour OR start the process over again, checking your equipment and environment.
Day 8 – Active Starter
- Your starter should have bubbles and have grown in its container! At this point it's considered an 'active' starter. In addition to baking with your new starter, there are two things you should do depending on if you want to store some starter, or keep feeding to continue baking more regularly:
- If you want to store some of your starter: Place at least 1/4 cup of the starter in a glass jar, place a lid on the jar – but don't seal tightly – and place in the refrigerator. This is now the starter you will feed and use each time you want to make something.
- If you want to keep growing your starter and bake more often: Remove 1/4 to 1/2 cup of the starter and feed it as you've been doing. HOWEVER, if you need a larger amount for a specific recipe, you don't need to discard between feedings. Just feed the flour and water ratios needed (if you have 1 cup of starter, feed with 1 cup of flour and 3/4 cup water, matching the starter to flour with slightly less water) each feeding until you reach the amount you need for the recipe, while still having a bit left to feed for your starter.
- Use the rest of your starter – the discard – to make something that doesn't need a lot of rise, like waffles, crackers, or fritters. Note: you will not usually be able to rise a loaf of bread with a starter for at least 4 weeks – see the timeline in the post for ideas of what to make during those weeks (there are a lot of options!).
Notes
Nutrition
What do I do with the established starter I was given?
You’ll want to feed it daily as soon as you receive it: measure what you have – anything from 1/4 cup to 1 cup – and add that much flour and water if you want a 100% hydrated starter. For a thicker, less sour starter, you can use less water – for example, 1/2 cup starter, 1/2 cup of flour, and about 1/3 cup of water.
After that, discard and feed until it’s doubling in 6 hours or less when you can make bread. Remove what you need and make sure you have at least 1/4 cup left to feed again. Depending on the age and activity of your gifted starter, this may not take long.
You can make crackers, pancakes, or waffles with the starter you remove, called the “discard.”
How long can a neglected starter stay alive?
After using my sourdough at least monthly (it’s hard to do it every week!) for years, I got tired of being a ‘slave to the sourdough.’ One summer I stopped baking as much bread and didn’t bother with my starter – until seven months later.
That’s when our power went out in a snow storm and the contents of our fridge needed to be put in a cooler. I left the sourdough starter, which had about a 2-inch layer of hooch by now (!) outside in the cold, figuring it was long gone.
However, after our power came back on, I decided to see if I could bring it back to life, since it still smelled like sourdough starter. (Note: Some people have said they threw out their starter because it was growing mold – I’ve never had this happen! The hooch had some white bubbles floating on it, but it wasn’t mold – so look carefully to be sure before throwing out your precious starter.)
I started feeding it and guess what? It came back to life – 7 months and 5 days with no power later!
I fed it for a week before baking with it, just to make sure it was good and strong. Then I baked up a batch of artisan bread and my daughter declared it my best sourdough yet!
Moral? Don’t give up on your starter.
More Sourdough Articles & Recipes
- Sourdough Tips for the Occasional User (Including more details on waking up a refrigerated starter.)
- Amazing Sourdough Waffles
- Easy Whole Wheat Sourdough Crackers (Really – this dough is a dream to work with!)
- Easy Whole Wheat Sourdough English Muffins
- How to Make Sourdough Bagels
- Cheesy Sourdough Batter Bread
- Easy Sourdough Artisan Bread
This recipe has been updated – it was originally published in March of 2014.
You started with whole wheat flour and rye. After day 2 or 3 you just say add flour. At this point can we add all purpose flour or bread flour, or should we continue with the whole wheat flour?
Yep, you can add any flour you want as you grow your starter.
Do you let your sourdough starter come to room temperature before feeding it?
No, I use warm water mixed with the flour to start it waking up. Actually I always use warm water when feeding to get everything going quicker. 🙂
Thanks for the great post. Can a starter be TOO active? I was planning on following your directions but with 100% Pumpernickle Rye (that’s what I have 50lbs of…), however, my 2 cups of flour plus 2 of water overnight filled up my half gallon jar! I washed everything thoroughly, so I can’t see how any commercial yeast would have got in it. Any suggestions on how to proceed? Thanks!
Oh, yes, that’s too much of both to start with, Merryn. You want to just start with a half cup of both flour and water – some people start with 1/4 cup or less even. Initially, it will grow so you want to have less to keep it in bounds – as you learned. 🙂
Hello. Ive had my starter for about 5 months now, using it once a week. I’d like to start using it twice a week. Should I change anything like ratios, feedings or rest time? Thank you
Not much, Ashley. It might take a bit longer to fully “wake up” the starter after a couple weeks versus one, but only just a bit. It’s only if you notice a difference. Plan on taking a couple days to bring it back to baking with strength, I’d think.
Do you know if I could use all sprouted whole wheat flour?
Yes, that should work fine. Most any flour does, even rice flour for gluten free.
I started my starter off with 50/50 whole wheat and bread flours a ratio of 120 grams of flour mixture and 120 grams of water. I started my starter 1/9/19 my 1st feeding was 1/13/19 I have fed like I have read to feed. I discard 80% of the starter then I feed it 76 grams of flour mixture and 76 grams of water. 1/28/19 is my 15th feeding. I am getting a lot of bubbling but my starter is not growing. Can you please, please help me and let me know what I’m doing wrong or what’s wrong with my starter.
It sounds like you’re on your way to a good starter, Nancy – though I’m sure you’re getting tired of all the flour you’re going through with no baking yet! When you’re growing a new starter (or reviving one from the fridge), you will do the feed and discard routine until it shows it alive again with bubbles and activity. But then you need to stop discarding and just feed the starter to grow it into an amount you can use in baking. You’ll want to feed it the amount you have in the jar, so:
– If you have 1/3 cup (about 76 grams) of bubbly starter, add 1/3 cup of flour and 1/3 cup of water with no discard.
– See how long that takes to grow some.
– In about 12 hours, add the amount of flour you have starter for again. For example if you have 1 cup, add 1 cup of flour and 1 cup of water. Stir and set aside. I use an 8-cup glass measure for this so I can easily see the measurements (this is also why I find it easier to use cups and not weight).
– You should see growth now. If it’s not doubling in 6 hours or less, it’s not strong enough for a loaf (and since yours is new, it’s probably not) but it will make things like crackers, waffles, etc. You can choose to remove a cup or so to make pancakes, etc. and then start the growing period again.
– With a brand new starter, I would think a month of good feedings (and baking with some of it) would produce a strong enough starter for a loaf of artisan bread, but even then you’ll notice it just gets better with time and care.
– If you want to do major baking, you can keep feeding until you have the amount of starter you need for your recipes, leaving at least 1/4-1/2 cup left to continue your starter.
Hope this helps!
Hey!! I’m loving your site! I’m new to sourdough and I was wondering if on day 9 my starter still doesn’t smell like anything but it is bubbling and has hooch on it everyday, which I stir back in, when do I know if it’s ready? Or do just keep feeding it? I have not put it in the fridge yet I was waiting on a smell . Lol can you help me? DO you need a pic? THANK YOU so much. Tabatha.
If it’s bubbling, then you’re good – there is action there. What you need to do is to pour at least half off (make crackers or pancakes with it) and then feed it on a 1:1 starter to flour ratio (so 1 cup of starter would be fed with 1 cup of water and 3/4 cup of flour). Now you’ll want to see if it doubles (in the example, the 2 cups should grow to 4) and how long it takes. When your starter is doubling in 6 hours or less then you’re ready to bake bread. I find that if I use slightly less water than flour (like 1 cup flour to 3/4 cup water) the starter does better for me, doubling more reliably.
Hope that helps!
Day 3 we left to go out of town for the day and I forgot to feed it when I left. Day 4, in the morning I went to feed it and it had bubbles! It looked like risen bread dough from the side of the jar. I was so excited! It did smell really bad though….kind of like vomit. My husband came in from the other room and said, “What are you doing?!!!!” I put a little raw honey (like 1 tsp) in it to feed the cultures and hopefully improve the smell. I had seen that done on some other tutorials…so we’ll see what happens. Excited to try crackers with it on Monday.
Yes, you will have bubbles as it starts growing – congrats! It shouldn’t smell that bad, though – I would pour a lot out and feed with a 1 cup flour, 3/4 cup water feed and see if that improves the smell.
I follow the directions above, but my starter never doubles in size. In a glass quart jar, it will rise an inch-inch and a half overnight, left on the counter. When I’m not baking and it’s left in the refrigerator, it doesn’t really rise at all.
Yes, it won’t rise in the fridge, Aaron – it’s essentially “asleep.” To wake it up takes a few days (sometimes longer if it’s been awhile). I put it in a larger 4 or 8-cup container and feed a cup of flour and just less than a cup of water. I find that it gets stronger when there’s a little less water-to-flour ratio. With the measuring marks you can see what it starts at and how far it rises. Even if it shrinks down again (say overnight) if the mark on the glass is at least double, it’s strong enough to bake a bread. You can always use the less strong starter for crackers or breads that don’t need a lot of rise. Give it time – it will eventually do it!
Can you use white flour if you’re out of wheat flour in your starter?
Yes, in fact many people use white flour for their starter. I just like to keep mine 100% whole wheat.
I use water that I have cooked potatoes in to fed my sourdough starter.
That’s a great tip, Donna!
Can this starter be used for making doughnuts? I am looking for a good Amish sourdough doughnut recipe.
Thanks
It can be used for any sourdough recipe, Diane!
DO you feed your stater after you make the bread?
Yes, I feed it before putting it back in the fridge.
Hi. Your recipe sounds great but I’m a newbie to bread baking. All the recipes I’ve been reading say I have to remove all but 1/2 cup at every feeding and discard (or use a discard recipe with it) the rest, using the 1/2 cup starter and feeding it. I didn’t want to get 2 weeks in and have a disaster on my hands. That’s a pretty big batch of sourdough. Can you clarify or confirm your directions?
Thank You!
Good question, Carol. When you’re growing your first starter, you do not need to throw anything out. You’re trying to build your yeast colony. The direction I list here are what I did to start and grow my first sourdough as well as just recently when I needed to start another new batch. So I know it works. However, if you’re new starter isn’t bubbling and smells “off” for some reason, a good solution would be to discard a portion before feeding again. You also don’t need to use the 1 cup measurements if you’d like less starter – you can go with 1/2 cup or even 1/4 cup. See if that’s bubbling and starting to grow. If not, try more. It’s definitely not an exact science!
As for feedings with established starter, there are definitely two thoughts on this. The main reason for discard is so that you don’t have huge amounts of starter to deal with. The other reason is to keep it from getting “too sour” and to be healthy. I’ve always found that our sourdough isn’t as sour as we’d like, so that last point isn’t an issue with my family. To not get too much starter, I feed just a little at first.
I don’t typically discard, then, unless I notice that it’s taking longer to double when I’m waking it up – then I might remove some to make waffles with and then feed and see if it doubles. I find that when I wake it up, feeding until it doubles and then remove what I need to bake with and put the rest back into the fridge, it is “discarding.” I’m just baking with my discard. 🙂
Here’s a forum I found that discusses this a bit more: https://sourdough.com/blog/unconventional-works-me
I think you will start to get the hang of it when you are more familiar with the process and then you can decide what works best for you and your schedule.
So grateful to you for taking the time to share your experiences and tips. I am new to growing sourdough and appreciate your help.
Thanks,
Andrea
You’re welcome, Andrea – I hope you have fun on your sourdough journey. 🙂
Hi there! I’m sure this is answered somewhere in all your info but I thought it might be easier to just ask! You say in a few places to feed the starter and give it 24 hours before baking with it. During that 24 hours, are you putting it back in the fridge? Basically – once you put your starter in the fridge, does it ever sit out on the counter again? Thank you for the helpful guide!!
I’m glad you asked – sometimes that’s the best way. You will always want an “active” starter to bake with and that means a starter that has been fed at room temperature enough times that it is doubling in volume. So, no, you will not refrigerate a starter you want to use – only refrigerate when you’ve baked all you need and you want to just keep it alive until the next feeding-and-baking time. This cycle (feeding at room temp, using it, and storing it in a fridge) will be repeated over and over for the life of your starter. Hopefully this makes sense!
Absolutely! Thanks so much!
Can I put the starter in multiple 2 cup jars and place in the fridge? If so, do I only feed one jar each time I want to make a loaf and leave remaining jars in fridge until ready to use, not feeding them?
Thanx Julie
You could try that, Julie, though I haven’t. I don’t see why it wouldn’t work if that seems easier to you than one starter.
Happy belated thanksgiving. Thank you for all your info on sourdough. I started mine on 11/18/2017. It still hasn’t risen yet. I put it in the oven with the light on -that didn’t help. Can you tell me what else I can do to get it to start fermenting?
If you don’t see any bubbles at all yet, Nia, then I would toss it and start over. 🙁 If there are some bubbles, I would remove some of the starter and feed it with less hydration (more flour than water) – sometimes that starts it growing better. I hope this helps!
I see many instructions for starter that say to discard a portion before feeding. Is this necessary?
Yes, I do too, Erin, and it never sat well with me to waste all that flour. 🙂 So I don’t always discard. But when I’m really trying to grow the starter so it can double in volume (maybe after sitting in the fridge for a long time), then I will remove some after the 2nd and 3rd feedings. I don’t discard it, though – I use it to make low-rise things like crackers, waffles, or English Muffins. 🙂
I’ve copied this to my sourdough database for easy reference. I love your simplified instructions. Thank you so VERY much for going into great detail. So that I don’t just assume, could you tell us the amount of starter you are removing from the refrigerator when you add the cup of whole wheat flour and 3/4 to 1 cup of water. I’m trying to replicate this. Last night I ordered the baking dish you recommended. thank you so much! I love this new adventure. I’m newly retired and this has been on my very short bucket list for hobbies!
I’m so glad you found this helpful, Heidi!
I use all the starter in the container from the fridge, adding the flour and water to bring it back to life. Depending on how long the starter has been in the fridge, it sometimes needs more than one feeding. You’ll need to feed it until it is doubling in size, how ever many feedings that takes.
I am going camping on day 7 of my wonderful adventure of making a starter… sigh. Have you ever refrigerated the starter at this point?
No, but I have found that it is pretty resilient, so I would try it!
For anyone else camping with starter, I took it and put it on an electric blanket in a corner of the bed. It was too warm the first day, but it survived!