Starting your own sourdough starter might sound intimidating, but it’s actually one of the easiest and most rewarding kitchen projects you can try.
With just two simple ingredients—flour and water—you can create a bubbly, active starter that will bring delicious homemade bread to life.
Whether you’re a total beginner or just curious about the process, this guide breaks it all down into simple steps.
Get ready to bring the magic of sourdough into your home and impress everyone with your baking skills!
CAPTURE STAGE
•DAY 1 (hour 0)
Into a tall container with a lid, measure 150g of filtered or distilled room temperature (68°-78°F or 20°-25°C) water and 100g of whole grain rye flour. Stir. Place a lid on the container, loosely, and let sit at room temperature.
•DAY 2 (24 hours later)
Remove/discard 1/2 of the rye flour/water mixture from yesterday (you don’t need to be super precise at this point). Into your container with the remaining 1/2 of the mixture, add 150g room temp water and 100g whole grain rye flour. Stir to combine. Cover loosely and let sit at room temperature.
CULTIVATE STAGE
•DAY 3 (24 hours later, 48 hours into the process)
Measure 75g of your flour/water starter mix from yesterday and discard the rest . Return only the 75g of starter to your jar and add 75g of room temperature water, 35g of all purpose flour, and 35g of rye flour. Stir and cover with a loose lid. Let sit at room temperature.
•DAY 4 (24 hours later, 72 hours into the process)
Repeat process from day 3.
•DAY 5 (24 hours later, 96 hours into process)
Repeat process from day 3.
MAINTENANCE STAGE
•DAY 6 (24 hours later, 120 hours into process)
Your starter is now ready to use for baking. To maintain it (from this point through forever), measure 25g of starter from the day before and discard the rest. To that 25g of starter, add 50g room temp water and 50g ap flour. Stir, cover with a loose lid and let sit at room temperature. Do this daily, every 24 hours, to maintain your starter if you’re a casual baker. If you bake a lot OR if you’ve had your starter in the fridge and you need to get it ready to bake again, feed once every 12 hours.
If you’re not baking often, keep your starter covered in the fridge and feed once monthly. When bringing it back into active rotation, feed it once every 12 hours for a couple of days until it’s bubbling and active again.
