A simple, streamlined, straightforward method for making a sourdough starter with just two ingredients, minimal waste, and absolutely zero stress.
Let’s uncomplicate sourdough, shall we?
First up, we’re making the starter.
Most sourdough starter recipes require you to use, and ultimately discard, cups and cups of flour.
In my version, we’re starting small, only adding more flour as the starter grows, and never throwing away anything.
Oh, and we’re measuring everything in cups and tablespoons to completely eliminate the need for special equipment.
If you start today, you can be baking a loaf of bread in about a week!
what exactly is a sourdough starter?
Essentially, it’s a homegrown colony of yeast used for baking bread.
So, instead of buying commercially produced yeast, we’re encouraging the naturally occurring yeasts that are present on, well, just about everything (flour! your hands! utensils! fruit!) to grow right in our kitchens in a little jar of flour and water.
And then we’re naming it, loving it, and renting it out a permanent corner of our refrigerator because once you let a sourdough starter into your life, you’re stuck with that little dude forever.
But, you’re repaid in homemade bread, so really it’s not a bad deal.
the process
It’s quite simple, really. Over the course of five days, you’re going to add flour and water to a jar, stir it together, and then…do nothing for 12-24 hours until your little sourdough starter baby gets hungry again.
Zero fancy equipment is required, since we’re measuring everything in cups and tablespoons. No scale needed.
what type of flour to use
When building a sourdough starter, it’s absolutely essential to use unbleached organic flour. We want our starter to have flavor and personality, and chemically treated flours aren’t conducive to creating a complex, dynamic, active starter.
I don’t say this to be pretentious or to exclude anyone who doesn’t typically keep organic flour in their house, but instead as a matter of fact. We’re trying to get yeast to grow from just flour and water alone, so we need to make sure it hasn’t already been bleached away before we begin.
I’m partial to One Mighty Mill’s flours (I use their all-purpose for creating my starter, and their bread flour for baking bread!) as they’re freshly milled, whole grain, stone-ground, organic, and local to me. If you’re just hitting up the nearest grocery store, King Arthur and Bob’s Red Mill are both brands I see regularly that have unbleached + organic options available.
let’s make a sourdough starter!
day 1: stir 2 Tablespoons of flour and 1.5 Tablespoons of lukewarm water in any 4-cup capacity container you have (mason jar, glass mixing bowl with a lid, plastic food storage container, etc).
days 2-4: add another 2 Tablespoons of flour and 1.5 Tablespoons of lukewarm water to the container each day around the same time. You might see some little bubbles forming and smell some sour things happening throughout these days. You might not.
day 5: feed twice today- each time using 1/2 cup of flour and 1/4 cup of water. if your starter is looking alive (bubbly, rises when you feed it), it’s done! If not:
day 6: repeat yesterday’s instructions, feeding twice.
naming your starter
Okay, so this isn’t officially required, but now that you’ve grown your starter from scratch, and could potentially keep it alive for the rest of your life and pass it on to your grandchildren(!!) it only feels right to give the thing a name.
There are so many dough and/or bread puns out there, you can totally have fun with it. Clint Yeastwood, Bread Pitt, Doughlene…the options are endless.
Mine? His name is Stanley.
That’s it! Your starter is alive and well, and can now be used to bake bread, make pancakes, and/or have deep conversations with when you’re alone in the kitchen.
Coming up next in my series on uncomplicated sourdough: maintaining your sourdough starter! I’ll be sharing how to store it how much/how often to feed it, and eventually, some recipes for what to make with it!
still feel like sourdough is too much for you?
I feel you; I was there a few years ago, generally frustrated and overwhelmed by the length, complexity, and equipment required to make sourdough, which is why I’ve made it my mission to strip down sourdough bread to it’s basics and create a process that’s doable for everyone!
If you’re still not quite ready, head over to my 24 Hour No Knead Faux Sourdough recipe and bake a loaf of almost-sourdough bread with yeast. It’s not the same, but is still a great loaf of homemade bread!
If you’re still with me, let’s do this!
Questions? Follow along on Instagram to see me make and maintain my starter there, or leave a comment below with anything you need to make this process as simple and stress-free as possible!
How to Make a Sourdough Starter
Ingredients:
- unbleached, organic all-purpose flour (whole wheat or all-purpose, whichever you prefer)
- room temperature water
Instructions:
day 1: stir 2 Tablespoons of flour and 1.5 Tablespoons of lukewarm water in any 4-cup capacity container you have (mason jar, glass mixing bowl with a lid, plastic food storage container, etc). Cover the jar with a lid and let sit at room temperature.
days 2-4: add another 2 Tablespoons of flour and 1.5 Tablespoons of lukewarm water to the container each day around the same time. Don’t stress about feeding it an hour earlier or later each day. It’ll be fine. You might see some little bubbles forming and smell some sour things happening throughout these days. You might not. Keep covered and at room temperature in between feedings.
day 5: feed twice today, about 6-8 hours apart- each time using 1/2 cup of flour and 1/4 cup of water. if your starter is looking alive (bubbly, rises when you feed it), it’s done! If not:
day 6: repeat yesterday’s instructions, feeding twice. at this point, you can use your starter to bake a loaf of bread, or can cover and place in the fridge 4-6 hours after the second feeding, where it can stay dormant for a week or so until you’d like to use it again. See my How to Keep A Sourdough Starter Alive post for more instructions on storing and feeding long-term!
NOTES:
Most sourdough starter instructions include ‘discard’, aka throwing away some of your starter so you don’t end up with way more than you need. I prefer to instead create a much smaller starter, never wasting anything, and using it to make pancakes when I have more than I need. If at any point in the process your starter is rising above the lid of your jar, switch to a larger jar, or pour off about half of it into another container, stick in the fridge, and save to make pancakes over the weekend (or feed to your chickens, compost, etc).