Making sourdough bread from scratch can seem intimidating. It takes work and lots of patience, but if you can commit to both, you’ll have amazing fresh sourdough (and other goodies from discard!) at your fingertips anytime you want it.
Sourdough starter is a living thing! You will have a live culture of bacteria growing in your sourdough as the starter ages. It’s like how yogurt has bacteria in it, in a way!
How do you keep a sourdough starter alive? Like with most other living things, you feed it every day! No, you don’t feed it chicken nuggets and doritos, just flour and water.
Starting a sourdough starter:
The flour: You want to use UNBLEACHED all purpose flour for your starter. You can use different types of grain such as wheat or rye, but my favorite is the King Arthur Unbleached All Purpose Flour!
The water: You’ll want to use lukewarm water for your starter. If your house is exceptionally warm, use cool water. And vice versa
The jar: I like to use a jar with a lid that latches. I’ve also seen people just place a kitchen towel over the jar mouth and secure with a rubber band. Whatever works best for you, but remember, the sourdough will be creating pressure in the jar, so you don’t want to secure too tightly with a lid!
How to start: Use 60 g (about 1/2 cup) unbleached all purpose flour and 60 g (about 1/4 cup) lukewarm water. Cover and let sit for 48 hours. It should start to form bubbles! After the 48 hour period, you will feed your starter once daily.
How to feed: Discard 1/2 of sourdough starter (keep it, but only after the first week has passed! You can use it for so many other things like my Lemon Sourdough Cake. Any discard in the first week should be tossed, as it has not balanced between good and bad bacteria yet. Don’t want an upset tummy!) and mix in 60 g unbleached all purpose flour and 60 g lukewarm water. You will do this every day! *You always want to feed your starter equal parts or more than what it weighs in grams. If you have 50g starter, you need to feed at least 50g water and flour.*
Help! My starter looks weird!
If your sourdough starter looks a little yucky in its first few days of life, no need to worry! The liquid you are seeing is something called “hooch”.
“During the creation process, and even after your starter has been established, a dark liquid might appear on the starter . This liquid is called “hooch” and is an indication that your starter needs to be fed. It also has a very stinky smell, similar to rubbing alcohol or gym socks. This is normal. Don’t freak out. Any time you see this liquid, it’s best to pour it off, along with any discolored starter present. However, on Day 2 just leave the hooch alone; you can get rid of it tomorrow when you start the feedings.” –theclevercarrot.com
When is it ready to use?
Your starter is ready to use usually around the 1 week mark. You want your starter to be stretchy and full of bubbles. That’s how you know it’s fermenting!
After you use your starter, you can either stop or keep feeding that starter for the rest of eternity!
How long will it last?
Sourdough starter that is properly cared for can last as long as you want it to, really! Look up world’s oldest sourdough starter, I bet you’ll be shocked!
If your starter stops producing bubbles for more than a week, it may be dying. If it is growing mold, toss it! If it’s changing colors, congrats, you have your own science experiment (and definitely should not use it to make bread).
Overall, once you get the hang of sourdough starter, it’s an easy process. Remembering to feed it until you have a routine established is my biggest fault with sourdough starter!
Roots of a Southern Kitchen 