Sourdough Instructions

Be sure to read the complete set of directions with details before you begin.

Day One:

Add 40 grams/2 Tablespoons of water to the larger jar with the starter; stir.

Add 40 grams/1/8 cup of flour to the jar with the starter and water; stir until the flour is mixed well with the starter/water.

Don’t over stir.  A mix like thick lumpy pancake batter is fine.

 

Scrape down any starter that is on the sides of the jar. 

 

Put the lid on the jar just finger tight, then loosen just a ¼ turn or so.  This allows air out, but protects the starter from fruit flies, dust, and mold spores.

 

Put a rubber band on the jar level with the fed starter.

 

Put the jar in the warmest spot in your kitchen, away from drafts. Most homes are 68-72 degrees and that works well.

 

You want the starter to rise at least to double in size over the next 5-12 hours. Rise times vary a lot, depending on many variables.  When it doubles in size, it can be used for bread or other recipes that require active starter.

 

Beyond Day One:

Feed once daily, about every 24 hours.

 

Day 2 by Weight (measuring with scales):

Your starter weighs more now than the 40 grams you started with.

Weigh the jar with the starter in it.

Subtract the weight of the jar from the total weight with the starter in it to get the total weight for the starter inside.

Feed the starter water and flour in the amount of the weight of the starter in the jar. 

 

Day 2 by Volume (measuring with spoons/cups):

Your starter will be more than the 1/8 cup that you started with.

You will need to spoon the starter out and measure it before proceeding.

Once you find the volume of starter, feed it with the same amount of flour and about ½ that amount of water. 

 

Day 3+:

Repeat the steps for Day 2 as often as desired.

Container:

You will need a glass or plastic container about one quart in size to get started. 

 

Metal is not recommended. I use a glass jar with a plastic lid so I can tighten it when I store it in the refrigerator or loosened when on the counter. Glass also lets me see the starter clearly to monitor growth. When growing sourdough starter, it needs to let air out but protected from air coming in.  A jar can be covered with a coffee filter, paper towel, or cotton cloth secured with a rubber band.

 

The jar size you use is all dependent on your style of baking.  Some keep only a small amount of starter in the bottom of a quart jar and feed it when needed to make the amount needed for a bake. Most recipes I make require ½ cup to 2 cups of starter.  So that indicates that a quart jar is sufficient.  But if you make a large batch of pancakes, you may need more than 2 cups, so a larger container could be used.   

 

Measuring the Starter:

If using digital scales:

Weigh your empty container/jar.

Write the weight of the jar on the outside of the jar with a Sharpie.

 

Put the starter in the jar and weigh it again.  Subtract the weight of the jar from the total and you then know the weight of just the starter.

You should have approximately 40 grams of starter.

 

The weight of the starter is important for determining the feeding amounts. If you don’t have digital scales, you can measure with cups.  Details on that later. No need to know the weight of the jar. 

 

Feeding the Starter:

 

The most used feeding ratio is 1:1:1 by weight.

(1part starter:1part water:1part flour)

Sometimes it is necessary or desired to feed more at one time. The ratio can be increased to 1:2:2 or 1:3:3 and so on. A little heavier feeding can help a starving starter to recoup faster. Just know that it can be given too much flour at once, overfeeding. Increase with caution. 

 

If you are measuring weight with scales, one part is one gram. 

So, 40 grams of starter is fed with 40 grams of flour and 40 grams of water.

 

Water is heavier than flour so if you are measuring using cups, the feed the 40 grams (approximately 1/8 cup) starter with 2 Tablespoons water and 1/8 cup flour.  That is still a 1:1:1 ratio by weight.  If using cups, you’re feeding by volume that is equivalent to weight.

 

I have used King Arthur flour exclusively. I read that most brands of flour will work, even Great Value all purpose, and many choose to use a cheaper brand. King Arthur is not organic, but it is unbleached, and I believe that is a health benefit.  KA also has a high protein count which is another benefit. 

 

The flour used can be all purpose flour, bread flour, whole wheat flour, or rye, or a mixture of them.  I fed mine a half and half mix of bread flour and white whole wheat for over a year based on the original recipe I used to create the starter and the style breads I was going to bake.  I have recently transitioned to using bread flour only.  If your starter acts sluggish for any reason over time, mixing in a little whole wheat or rye can give it a boost.

 

Use filtered water only. (Chlorine and other chemicals in tap water will kill the starter). Most refrigerator filters and whole house filters will filter this out. If you don’t have filtered water, use bottled water. 

 

Day One - Feeding your starter:

Add 40 grams/2 Tablespoons of water to the larger jar with the starter; stir.

Add 40 grams/1/8 cup of flour to the jar with the starter and water; stir until the flour is mixed well with the starter/water. Don’t over stir.  A mix like thick lumpy pancake batter is fine. The consistency can vary from day to day. If it looks thick, add a few extra drops of water.  If it looks thin, add a sprinkle of flour.

 

Scrape down any starter that is on the sides of the jar. 

A silicon spatula works great to scrape the sides of the jar to leave the sides as clean as possible to watch where the starter rise happens. I use a wooden spoon (sometimes the handle) or silicon spatula to stir the starter with. 

 

Put the lid on the jar just finger tight, then loosen just a ¼ turn or so.  This allows air out, but protects the starter from fruit flies, dust, and mold spores.

 

Put a rubber band on the jar level with the fed starter. A rubber band on the outside of the jar will help to track the rise.

 .

Put the jar in the warmest spot in your kitchen, away from drafts. Most homes are 68-72 degrees and that works well.

Any cooler than 68 degrees may require wrapping your jar with a towel and/or putting it on a heated growing mat. Some people use the microwave or oven with the light on as they are insulated. The challenge there is that someone may turn on the heat and cook your starter. 

 

You want the starter to rise at least to double in size over the next 5-12 hours. Rise times vary a lot, depending on many variables.  When it doubles in size, it can be used for bread or other recipes that require active starter.

 

Feed once daily.

The starter should be fed flour and water daily, about every 24 hours.

You will need to repeat this feeding process every day around the same time. It doesn’t have to be exact as the starter is very resilient and times vary. Feeding every 24 hours is just a good habit to get into to keep it at its best. 

 

Day Two by Weight (measuring with scales):

Your starter weighs more now than the 40 grams you starter with.

Weigh the jar with the starter in it.

Subtract the weight of the jar from the total weight with the starter in it to get the total weight for the starter inside.

Feed the starter both water and flour in the amount of the weight of the starter in the jar. 

You can make this more streamlined by using the “tare” button on the scales. Once you get the weight of the starter calculated, you can tare the scales and add that amount of water needed to the jar. Tare again after the water is added and measure the flour. 

 

Day Two by Volume (measuring with spoons/cups):

Your starter will be more than the 1/8 cup that you started with. You will need to spoon the starter out and measure it before proceeding. You can start a clean jar or just put it back in the Day 1 jar (no need to clean it). And it’s ok if you don’t scrape out every tiny bit of the starter. Close, rather than exact measurements, are fine.

Once you find the volume of starter, feed it with the same amount of flour and about ½ that amount of water. 

 

Day Three and Beyond:

Repeat the steps for Day 2 as often as desired.

 

These directions for feeding are for a 1:1:1 ratio. Be sure when feeding, the measure for water and flour is never less than that ratio. It’s better to feed more than less. Consistent feeding of lesser amounts will starve the starter. 

In 2-3 days, you will have enough starter to possibly make a recipe of something. Just know that your quart jar can’t be filled to over half the size of the jar to allow room for the starter to rise and fall. So, when it’s half full at feeding, and you don’t plan to bake yet, you need to consider options.

 

1)    Make a “discard” jar for the fridge. Use a second quart jar to put extra starter in to keep stored in the refrigerator. When the time comes to feed and your jar becomes too full to leave room to rise, remove starter from your feeding jar and put it in the extra jar.  The starter you remove is called “discard”. It doesn’t need to be “thrown away” as there are lots of recipes out there using the discard rather than active starter.  (pancakes, crackers, pizza crust, bagels, brownies, and even bread). Close the discard jar tightly with a lid and store it in the refrigerator. The closed jar and the cool temps will slow down fermentation. You can continue to add to this jar over the next few days and then cook with it.  Keeping a discard jar in the refrigerator reduces the amount of flour needed/used to feed the active jar.

 

2)    After feeding, put a tight lid on the active starter jar and put it in the refrigerator. The active starter can be “put on hold” in the refrigerator indefinitely. It just needs to be fed occasionally. I think it’s best to feed at least once a week. I try to take mine out, feed it and make something at least once a week.  That way, my starter stays healthy.  I have revived a stored starter that was in the back of the fridge, unfed, for several months and it is possible. It just takes time, flour, and water.

 

3)    Some people that bake a lot, keep a gallon or bigger crock of starter going. They use it when it’s freshly peaked for bread, then just put the crock in the fridge. They bake out of the crock for a few days (this would be like baking with discard). Then when the amount of starter in the crock gets low, they feed it right in that same crock and after it peaks, they start the process starts all over.  

 

 

 

Active starter is considered when the starter has peaked. This indicates that the starter has used the flour for food and is at its best. It will then begin to fall. At the 24-hour point, it will likely be almost back to the rubber band marker and will be much waterier. This shows that the flour food is gone, and the starter is hungry. It would likely taste too sour and not work well to bake with.  If left too long (hours/day) it may form a gray liquid on top. This is called hooch. Some people pour it off, but it is recommended to stir in and continue with feeding. A good feeding will help it to recoup. It’s ok to increase the feeding to a 1:2:2 ratio for a day or two to give it plenty to feed on and get it back to a healthy consistency.   

 

 

Sourdough starter is leaven (like commercial yeast) made from fermented flour and water.  It is used to make baked goods rise (like commercial yeast).  A sourdough starter ferments using yeast from the flour and your home. That being said, your growing container should be about a quart in size and preferably glass.  Plastic works too, but many would rather use glass.

 

The instructions are specific, but sourdough is very forgiving. Just remember that sourdough bread was made when the wagon trains crossed America and they had no measuring cups and digital scales. Exact measurements and ratios “work” but sourdough can also be made with heart and good judgement as well. Get your starter going and then try something. Expect fails. They happen. It’s OK. 

 

It is suggested to make a little feeding station to keep your tools/flour/water handy and to make this all an easier task.

 

Check out the following online FB pages/blogs/websites/YouTube for instructions and recipes. Just be mindful that they all have their own processes that work for them and may be totally different from what has been given in the directions we are sharing. In the sourdough world, there are many ways to make it happen and they are all right. These folks are very popular and are easy to follow:

 

-Sourdough for Beginners

 

-Farmhouse on Boone

 

-Little Spoon Farm

 

-The Clever Carrot