How to Make Your Own Sourdough Starter From Scratch
Have you been dreaming of fresh, crusty, chewy sourdough, made right in your own kitchen? Maybe you’ve been ogling over photos of artisan loaves, covered in beautiful floury designs? Has your belly been craving something a bit more “real” and unprocessed than commercially-made bread? Yes, Yes, Yes! All these things. But, maybe you’ve felt too intimidated to dive in and get your hands sticky – believing that sourdough is too difficult and complicated? I am here to tell you that it really is not! Sure, it takes a few steps and a little practice, but nothing you can’t overcome!
So are you ready to make sourdough at home?!
Okay, good!
The first and most important thing you will need to get going on your new sourdough adventure is a starter culture. What is sourdough starter? The starter culture is a colony of wild yeasts that are now living in flour and water – nurtured by routine “feedings” to keep them happy. They are what will make your bread rise, without the need for commercial yeast.
If you’re lucky enough to snag one from a friend, great! Starter cultures can also be purchased online, but are usually sold and shipped in a dehydrated state. I have heard varying success stories from folks using this type. So why not just make your own?
Let’s do it.
This article will go over the step-by-step process to transform three simple ingredients – water, flour, and apple – into an active and bubbly sourdough starter to get you on your way. We will also discuss feeding the sourdough starter, where to store it, and how to get it ready for baking.
For all the visual learners out there, a tutorial video is included at the end of this post!
SUPPLIES NEEDED
- A large, glass, air-tight glass container. We used a 2-liter flip-top container, or about a half-gallon.
- A mixing bowl
- A silicone spatula
- A kitchen scale
- Liquid measuring cup
- Filtered water
- Organic white bread flour. You can also use organic whole wheat if you’d like.
- One large organic apple, or substitute for two small
- A warm location
INSTRUCTIONS
DAY ONE
Step 1: Flour
In a large mixing bowl, weigh out 500 grams of organic white bread flour. You can also add some organic whole wheat if you prefer. Just make sure your total flour weight is still 500 grams! Don’t forget to either tare the bowl on the scale, or add the weight of the bowl in to the total! No, sorry, I can’t provide an equivalent in cups here. Different flours weigh varying amounts, so it may not be accurate if I tried. A digital kitchen scale is a super useful homestead tool to have on hand anyways, if you don’t already have one!
Step 2: Apple
Grate your apple. Keep the skins, but avoid the core. Add the grated apple to the bowl of flour. Why add apple? Some homemade sourdough starter recipes do call for flour and water only. However, flour and water can be pretty sterile. I have heard mixed success stories from folks using only flour and water. Some of their starters didn’t get active.
With the addition of apple, it basically stacks the odds in your favor that it will get active! Organic fruits and vegetables are more likely to have natural wild yeasts and beneficial bacteria on them. I stress the word organic here, because inorganic produce may not only lack the good things you need, but may have harmful additives that will ruin your starter.
Step 3: Water & Mix
Measure out 360 mL of room temperature filtered water. Add this to the bowl of apple and flour, and thoroughly mix. You will likely need to get in there and use your hands to do so, so wash up really well first!
Avoiding chlorinated water is pretty important when it comes to any fermentation process, including making sourdough. We use filtered water. A basic carbon filter is enough to remove most of the chlorine from city tap water. In a pinch, bottled water could be used, but don’t get me started on bottled water….
Step 4: Transfer
Dump, pour, or otherwise scoop the flour, apple, water combo into an air-tight container. The container needs be large enough to allow for at least doubling in size, if not more. Ours usually quadruples while rising. In this step, try your best to get it all mashed down into the bottom, with the top of the mixture fairly level. You’ll see why in step 5.
Step 5: Let it sit
It’s time to close the container up and watch her rise! But first, using some kind of washable marker that writes on glass, draw a little line on the side of your container at the top level of the mixture. (We love our wineglass writers – used around here for labelling kombucha bottles and jars of homegrown dried seasonings.) This is so you can monitor its growth. A large rubber band could also be used around the container to mark that line. The mixture could rise and then fall again, so you’ll want to look for schmears on the sides of the container – not just the current level.
The mixture will now sit for 3 days. Keeping it in a spot that is about 70 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit (23 degrees Celsius) is ideal. Temperature is important! Too cool of conditions can lead to an inactive and moldy starter. It can be in the dark or light.
Ways to keep your sourdough starter warm:
If you’re making a sourdough starter during the summertime, you’ll likely have no issue keeping it happy by simply leaving the starter out on the countertop. However, if you attempt to create a starter during the winter (or if your house is otherwise on the cool side) it can be a bit more tricky. If you aren’t exactly sure what the ambient temperature is within microclimates in your house (e.g. in particular rooms, on the counter, etc) it is best to use a thermometer to assess the exact temperature where your starter is stored.
A couple options to provide warmth to a sourdough starter are to keep it near a warm appliance, use an electric heating pad or seedling heat mat nearby, or to wrap the container in classic holiday lights. I emphasize classic lights because newer LED lights do not get warm. These are all tricks we use and suggest for keeping homemade kombucha warm and active too!
Last but not least, our favorite easy way to keep both sourdough starter and the proofing dough warm is to keep it inside the oven – with the oven OFF, but oven light on! It creates the perfect cozy home. It if gets too warm in the oven, keep the door cracked open slightly. Keep the container on a plate or pan in case there are overflows.
DAY FOUR
(72 hours after step 5)
After 3 days, the mixture should be a bit bubbly. It mostly likely has risen, and should smell sweet and tangy, sort of like apple cider vinegar! It may also be a bit darker in color.
Step 6: Discard
It’s time to do the first discard, and then feed! To discard, first stir the mixture to knock out any air to let it fall back down to a more condensed state. Then you want to discard half of that amount. (I will talk about what to do with the discarded portion towards the end of this post!)
If you want to be exact, you can remove the mixture from its container, weigh it, and discard exactly half. We are lazy, and eyeball it. After mixing to knock out the air, I simply note the level it is in the jar, and gently tip out a little at a time until it looks like it’s down to about half of what I started with.
Step 7: Feed
After you discard, now it’s time to feed! See, the wild yeast in the mixture has probably eaten up a lot of their food already, and want more to continue to grow and be active. So let’s give her some food, ‘kay?
With your 3-day old sourdough starter, mix in another 250 grams of of bread flour and 170 mL of tepid filtered water. Mix thoroughly. You can do this either in a separate bowl, and put it back into a now-clean ferment vessel, or like we do, mix it in place. I guess it depends on your container and how easily you can get in there to stir well. If you do mix in place, make sure to clean up the sides a bit with a spatula afterwards so you can still monitor the rise and fall.
Step 8: Let sit again
Re-mark the top of the mixture height on your container if needed. Now, it’s time to let your homemade sourdough starter sit for 2 days, or 48 hours. Same as before, a spot that is about 75 degrees Fahrenheit is ideal.
DAY SIX
(48 hours after Step 8)
There should be a lot of activity and small bubbles now. It has likely risen even higher than the first time.
Troubleshooting:
Most folks breeze through this step without any issues, and their starter becomes nice active again after the first discard and feed. However, if you are going to experience any issues… this seems to be the step that does it.
- If there is no activity, let it sit an additional day or two. Sometimes that initial burst of promising bubbles and rise is a different bacteria at work. Once it dies out, the beneficial lactic acid and yeast we want present long term should start to develop – but maybe more slowly.
- Is your home on the cool side? Try to find a warmer spot!
- If the starter is bubbling but doesn’t rise after the first discard and feed, the mixture may be too wet or runny (as varying home humidities and flour types can lead to different consistencies). When a starter is too wet, the bubbles rise right through and out of the mixture – rather than being trapped inside and causing the starter to puff up and become spongy. Stir in more flour to thicken it up, adding just a few tablespoons at a time until it more closely resembles your original thick mixture from step 1 (a stiff dough).
- Another option is to try opening the lid of your jar. Cover it with a coffee filter or something else that will prevent fruit flies or other debris from getting inside inside.
- If your starter has risen and fallen, or, if seems to not rise after the first discard and feed, and instead it has a dark liquid formed on top, it may actually be overly active and hungry! Stir in a little more flour (and warm water as needed, if it becomes too thick and dry) and let it sit again. Wait a day or two to see if it perks up and begins to rise and bubble.
- Try to feed it with half whole wheat or rye flour, which usually enhances activity.
- Keep feeding! Don’t give up, unless it is obviously moldy.
Once your starter regains activity, move on to the next step.
Step 9: Discard and Feed
Repeat steps 6 and 7 again – the discard and feed. If your homemade sourdough starter has been nice and active, it is okay to make it just a tad more wet this time. Discard half and add the same 250 grams flour and 170 mL of water. If needed, add a few extra splashes of water – maybe about 30 to 40 mL more – until the desired consistency is reached (smooth and easy to stir, but not runny). As mentioned in the troubleshooting tips above, too runny/wet of a starter can sometimes make it rise less, though that has never been an issue for us.
Step 10: Sit one last time
Cover the sourdough starter and let it sit out one final time. This time is only for 24 hours.
DAY SEVEN
If your starter is bubbly and active after those last 24 hours – congratulations – you did it! You now have a super happy homemade sourdough starter that is ready for baking with! Check out how crazy our starter got on the final day! This thing was rip-roarin’ ready to go!
Step 11: Name her
It is a tradition among sourdough bakers to name their starter culture. Don’t break tradition now! It is said to bring bad baking luck. We don’t need any of that! Our gal is named Apple. I know, suuuuper creative, right? See our top 60 Punny Sourdough Starter Names for more clever ideas.
So… What do I do with it now?
Well, you bake with it! Check out our go-to, simple, no-knead sourdough bread recipe and instructions. I highly suggest these sourdough focaccia, cornbread, and pizza crust recipes too. Enjoy!
But hold up! Before you run off to make a loaf of bread, I highly suggest you continue on to read this article all about ongoing sourdough starter care. It covers:
- How to routinely feed your sourdough starter – which is a little different than the feeding process we did here to create it.
- How frequently to feed your sourdough starter.
- Where to store your starter: in the refrigerator or at room temperature?
- How to ready your sourdough starter for baking, and more!
FAQ: What is that dark liquid on the top of my sourdough starter?
When the yeast in a sourdough starter has eaten up all of its available food and is hungry for more, it produces a thin dark layer of liquid on top. This is an indication that your starter is more active than you’re feeding it. It is a naturally-occurring alcohol created by the yeast, called hooch. This is totally normal! Do not freak out.
Either pour it off the top, or simply mix it back in, then discard and feed as usual. If this happens while you are first making your sourdough starter, also discard some and feed it with the given ratio provided. Ours almost always has a thin layer of hooch developed when we take it out of the fridge for our weekly baking.
FAQ: What to do with discarded sourdough starter?
So many options! It does not need to go to waste. There are all sorts of “sourdough recipes” out there. We make some really killer whole wheat crackers with fresh herbs from the garden – check out that recipe here! Chickens really enjoy eating the discarded starter too. It is full of healthy probiotics for them! Some folks make pancakes, pizza dough, muffins, all sorts of things! Worse case scenario, throw it in your compost and bury it.
There you have it!
Your crash course on making your own sourdough starter is complete. I hope you also have a good idea of how to tend to it. Now it’s time to put this to good use!
I hope you found this helpful! If so, please share! As always, feel free to ask questions in the comments below too. Here is a video to go along with everything we just discussed:
How to Make Your Own Sourdough Starter
Equipment
- Large, glass, air-tight container (2 liter or half-gallon)
- Kitchen scale
Ingredients
- 500 grams organic bread flour or all-purpose flour
- 360 mL filtered water, room-temperature
- 1 large organic apple (or 2 small apples)
Instructions
- Wash your apple, but avoid using soaps or produce wash. Using a cheese grater, grate the organic apple into semi-fine shreds. Use the skins, but discard the core.
- Add the called-for flour, grated apple, and water to a mixing bowl and thoroughly combine.
- Transfer the mixture into a large glass airtight container that has enough room for it to at least double in size, minimum. (Ours usually quadruples while fermenting) Pack the mixture down into the bottom of the container. Close the lid.
- To monitor growth, mark the side of your container with a washable marker or rubber band at the top level of the mixture.
- Let the mixture sit for 3 days at a temperature of 70-75 degrees F. It should bubble and rise during this time.
- After approximately 72 hours, thoroughly stir the mixture and then discard half of the amount. Then, thoroughly mix in another 250 grams of flour and 170 mL of tepid filtered water to the remaining starter mixture. This is called "feeding" the sourdough starter. You can do this either in a separate bowl, and put it back into a now-clean ferment vessel, or like we do, mix it in place.
- Re-mark the container to note the height of the mixture. Let sit at 70-75 degrees, for 2 days or 48 hours this time.
- After 48 hours, repeat the same discard and feed process as done previously. Discard half, feed, mix, mark the level, and cover again.
- Allow the sourdough starter mixture to sit for a final 24 hours.
- Once complete, you now have a happy and active sourdough starter! Store it in the refrigerator when not in use, giving it a discard and feed weekly. OR if stored at room temperature, feed it daily to keep it alive.
Notes
- If there is no activity, let it sit another day or two.
- If your starter has risen and fallen, or, if seems to not rise after the first discard and feed, and instead it has a dark liquid formed on top (called hooch), it may actually be overly active and hungry! Stir in a little more flour (and warm water as needed, if it becomes too thick and dry) and let it sit again. Wait a day or two to see if it perks up and begins to rise and bubble.
- If your home is cold, try to find a warmer spot if possible!
- If the starter doesn’t rise at all after the first discard and feed, try opening the lid of your jar. Cover it with a coffee filter or something else that will prevent fruit flies or other debris from getting inside inside.
- Another troubleshooting tip is to feed with half whole wheat or rye flour, which usually enhances activity.
- Ensure that you use an organic apple.
243 Comments
Louise Bennington
I’ve been trying for almost 3 weeks unfortunately. I can’t get past the first rise. Once it rises it falls then never rises again. I’ve tried adding flour, making it cooler and warmer, using less water, using half whole wheat flour to make, using only whole wheat flour to feed, using only bread flour to feed, using only bread flour to make, I tried using organic wild blueberries instead of apple even. Everything is organic. No matter what I do, I can’t get past first rise … 🙁 any other tips?
Aaron (Mr. DeannaCat)
Hi Louise, that sounds frustrating and I am sorry you are having difficulty getting the starter going. We have heard from some people in the past that they had similar issues and we couldn’t figure out what exactly the problem was. That is one of the reasons we starter making Dehydrated Organic Sourdough Starter (Dry but Alive!) for people to purchase, it is a fairly easy and straight forward way to creating your own starter in less time and ingredients. Let us know if we can help out in any other way. Good luck!
Louise Bennington
It finally worked!! Took FOREVER for some reason but I’m glad I just kept feeding it. I used your guys recipe for simple sourdough bread and it came out awesome! So excited to try again. Any tips for making the loaf less dense? It was still good but every time I bake bread it comes out a bit dense so it must be something I’m personally doing wrong lol
Aaron (Mr. DeannaCat)
Hi Louise, glad you were finally able to make your own sourdough starter and baked your first loaf. Are you baking in a dutch oven or combo cooker? We find that preheating our bakeware for close to an hour before placing the loaf in the hot bake pan for baking helps with “oven spring”, also keeping your dough in 70-75 degrees F (during the stretch and fold and bulk fermentation phase) before you cold proof it overnight helps keep the dough active and fluffy. It just takes a little experimentation to get it right, our first loaf didn’t look anything like the loaves we now bake either. Hope that helps and good luck!
Marcey
Hello,
Do you always need to discard before feeding? I want to Bake 2 loaves of bread and not too sure about the measurements to feed, etc.
Thanks,
Marcey
Aaron (Mr. DeannaCat)
Hi Marcey, it is best to discard before you feed because it allows for that much more activity in your starter. If your starter is in a quart or liter sized jar like ours, we would discard the starter so there is an inch or two left in the bottom of the jar and feed it a scant cup flour and a half cup water (you may add a little more water if it is too thick). Once you reach peak activity, I think there will be enough starter for you to use for two loaves while also leaving enough behind in the jar for the next time you bake. Hope that helps and good luck!
Marcey
Hello!
By about a day and a half to two days my starter erupted and spilled all over. I did have a plate under it to keep my over clean. I had it in a large mason jar. It then fell and when I looked at it at the end of day two, it is now just about 3/4 ” above my line. Today is Day 3 and need to discard. My question is should I have done that on Day 2 as it was so active or was it suppose to do that?
Any thoughts would be appreciated!
Thanks,
Marcey
Aaron (Mr. DeannaCat)
Hello Marcey, sounds like you’re creating a very active starter. It is fine waiting till the third day as there will likely still be beneficial bacteria within your starter that will still be present during your next discard and feed. Good luck and let us know how it turns out for you!
Kety
Hi Deanna and Aaron!
My sourdough starter is at Day 7. I can see some bubbles, but , it is not runny, it doesn’t have any liquid on the top and it is sitting on 25C. It’s not moldy and it tastes sour. My problem is that it is not rising at all. So my question is – what do I do with it now? Do I discard and feed or I wait another day, just observing?
I have another question – can I leave the discard in the fridge for some time? I want to use it to make some crackers, but I don’t have the time right now. How much time is it safe to stay in the fridge?
Thank you for your help!
Aaron (Mr. DeannaCat)
Hello Kety, your starter doesn’t necessarily need to have a layer of liquid on top, that is typically referred to as ‘hooch” which occurs when your starter is hungry and needs to be fed. If it smells and tastes sour, that is a good thing because it shows that there is some activity in there. You may have to adjust the ratio of flour and water to make the starter a better consistency, kind of like thick pancake batter. If your starter is in a one liter container, I would discard an amount of starter so there is about 2 inches of starter left in the jar. From there, feed the starter about 1 cup of flour and 1/2 cup water. Slightly adjust your amounts to reach the right consistency and leave the starter around 75 degrees Fahrenheit as you have been. It should rise within a span of 4 hours or so. If your discard is sour enough you can leave it in your refrigerator for a week or two without any problems. We store our sourdough starter in the refrigerator and take it out about every two weeks to feed it and use for baking. Hope that helps and good luck!
Chrissy
I’m so confused by the texture of my starter at first step versus your pictures. What is the consistency of the mix at its first step supposed to be? Yours seems pretty wet but mine is fairly dry even though I accidentally added too much water. Thanks!
Aaron (Mr. DeannaCat)
Hello Chrissy, it should almost look like oatmeal as it is much thicker than the starter will actually be once the process is completely finished. You may just have to “eyeball” it, if it’s dry just add a little more water until a better consistency is reached. Usually there is some room for adjustments so just go with what seems right and you should be able to get the soon to be starter active. Good luck!
Dessaray Greminger
Hi Deanna and Aaron!
I’m on day 3 of my sourdough starter, Little Yeasty hehe, with tomorrow being the first feed and discard day.. but this morning I saw mold 🙁 obviously I should start over? Where did I go wrong? Is it possible it got too warm? Temps have been swinging from 60 to 85 in our house this week.
I know you two are busy with the move right now, so no rush on a response!!
Xoxo,
Dessaray
Aaron (Mr. DeannaCat)
Hi Dessaray, sorry for the delayed response. Hopefully you got the mold issue remedied? It seems like your temperatures were good so I am not sure why it started to mold? Let us know how it worked out for you or if you were able to start over with success. Hope all is well and good luck!
Heather
Hello!
I created my starter, and it rose to the top of the jar and began to fall after only 24 hours. It already swells like sweet apple cider vinegar. Should I still leave it to sit for 72 hours, or should I begin step #2 because it has fallen and is hungry?
Thanks! 🙂
Aaron (Mr. DeannaCat)
Hello Heather, I would let it sit for one more day to give the bacteria and yeast more time to populate. However, you can probably start a day early after only 48 hours. Good luck!
Jill
Great post! I made my first starter last night, before I found your site. I cut up 5 organic grapes pretty finely and added to my flour and water. It’s almost doubled in size already…seems to be slowing down now though. Whew! Question….do I need to somehow strain out the pieces of grapes at some point? The recipe I am following does not mention it, and your recipe does not mention removing your apple shreds.
Thank you very much….will be following your direction from here on!
DeannaCat
Hi Jill – Way to be creative in using grapes! No, the grapes (or apples) will simply dissolve into the starter. You won’t even be able to tell they were there by the end of the process. Enjoy!
TERESA ROBINSON
Hi! This is my first sourdough starter recipe I’ve tried, how is it supposed to smell? Just wanted to be sure what I’m smelling is normal.
Thank you,
Teresa
Aaron (Mr. DeannaCat)
Hello Teresa, it should smell tangy and slightly sweet, almost like ACV, yogurt, or yeasty beer smell. Just stick to it and see what you come up with. Good luck!
Aaron (Mr. DeannaCat)
Hello Jill, we have a local bakery here that first started their sourdough starter with blueberries! You don’t need to do anything with the fruit because it will soon disappear into your starter and will become unnoticeable. Congratulations on your new starter and happy baking!
Shellbe Cucuel
Hi! I just baked my first ever loaf of sourdough and I am ridiculously excited! I followed your directions exactly and it turned out amazing! Thank you so much for giving such great direction. I have made so many recipes and projects from your blog and everything has turned out great 🙂 I have enjoyed your Spotify playlists too! Finding this blog has made this quarantine life a lot more interesting! Lol
Love & Light,
Shellbe
Kristina Udd
My starter was great until after the second discard and feed. It’s only risen about an inch in two days. I don’t know if I should discard and feed or just continue to wait and let it develop to see what it will do. It is full of bubbles, just not rising much. It’s in a warm spot and I’m using whole wheat flour. Any advise?
Aaron (Mr. DeannaCat)
Hello Kristina, try stirring in a 1/2 cup of flour and see if that helps. Sourdough starters that are more wet usually don’t rise as much because the air bubbles escape out and aren’t trapped inside like starters that are thicker in consistency. As long as it isn’t molding you still have a chance to make it work. Hope that helps and good luck!
Renae Mattson
Hello,
First of all, I’m so grateful to have discovered you on Instagram! My son and I have started to raise monarch caterpillars after being inspired by your work 😊
Second, and the real reason I’m in this thread, I’ve used your recipe twice to begin a sourdough starter. Both times, it doubled in size within 24 hours and then collapsed within the next few hours.
My question is, do we need the full 72 hours to mature a new sourdough starter, or should I move to the feeding stage after this initial 24 hour rise? I threw out my first attempt out of panic, but having it happen a second time, I wonder if I’m just overthinking this.
Thanks so much for sharing your expertise on so many homestead topics. I am in the process of setting up an indoor seedling unit 😊
Best, Renae
Aaron (Mr. DeannaCat)
Hello Renae, so glad to hear you and your son have found something you enjoy together. Yes, you need the full 72 hours to start the process of creating a healthy and active sourdough starter from scratch. It is fine if the mixture rises and falls, it is still active, just follow the timeline as close as possible and you should have a healthy and active sourdoughs starter within one week. Hope that helps and good luck, thank you for being a member of the community!
Kjersti Etue
Just started mine yesterday and it looks perfect! In fact, it has doubled in size in 28 hours. I’m worried it will continue growing and spill out of my 2 liter jar before I hit the 72 hours. What should I do? Thanks!
Aaron (Mr. DeannaCat)
Hello Kjersti, you may have to transfer the mixture into a larger jar if it starts to overflow or just wait it out and see what happens. Good luck with your newly made starter!