Do you what to make delicious artisan sourdough bread? The first thing your going to need is a good strong sourdough starter. Below I have broken down the process in a step by step, Beginners Guide to Making a Sourdough Starter. Included are lots of photos to show you what to expect as your sourdough starter develops.
This project does require a bit of time and commitment, but I promise you the reward is absolutely worth the effort. I have been baking with my current starter for over 6 years, in that time it has bounced back many times from being abandoned in the back of the fridge. Whether I had forgotten it because of moving homes, new babies being born, or life and work just taking over, with a little attention and feeding I have always been able to bring it back from the dark side. Now, let me begin by answering a few key questions.
What is a Sourdough Starter?
A sourdough starter is flour and water mixed together that has been allowed to sit out and ferment. The mixture of flour and water allows the natural wild yeasts in the flour, and a bacteria called Lactobacilli to develop and grow. This process of creating a natural, biodiverse yeast for rising bread dates back over 5000 years.
Sourdough starter, versus commercial yeast is special in that a sourdough starter creates a slow fermentation process to occur in the dough. This slow ferment allows for the breakdown of lectin and phytates by the Lactobacilli that exists in sourdough starter. By breaking down the anti-nutrients (lectin and phytates) we are able to digest the nutrients available to us in grains. I have read a sourdough starter can break down as much as 90% of the phytates in flour! That is pretty impressive. The process of a quick rise, that which occurs with commercial yeast, does not allow time for this process to occur. Commercial yeast does not introduce lactobacilli acid to the dough, nor does it have a wide variety of wild yeasts, rather it has one strain of a very quick acting yeast.
Is it Hard to Make a Sourdough Starter?
Creating your own sourdough starter takes a little time and the patience. If you are able to dedicate a few minutes 1-2 times a day to feeding, and stirring your starter, you can make your own. Honestly it is really very easy and quite a rewarding process.
How Long Will it Take Me to Make a Sourdough Starter?
If you are up for embarking on the process of making your own sourdough starter, I have a step by step tutorial on how to do it, as well as photos of the progress. I have broken it down into a 7-day process however it may take longer depending on your flour, water, and environment. On the other hand, some people will have success in an even shorter time, 3-4 days.
What You Will Need.
- 16 oz. Glass mason Jar. I like this size because it is big enough to hold a substantial amount of starter, even when active, and yet small enough that you’re not up to your elbows in starter when mixing it.
- All purpose flour (preferably unbleached and organic).
- Organic whole wheat or rye flour, preferably stone milled and organic. The addition of stone milled, organic that is either whole wheat or rye simply jumpstarts your starter. Sourdough starter develops best when it can eat and digest the starches and yeasts available in whole grains.
- Filtered water, chlorine and fluoride free
- A good digital scale. If you don’t have this I will substitute in the measurements, however know that weight in baking is far more accurate. If you plan to keep up with baking and take on more challenging hydrations and recipes I highly recommend a digital scale.
Day One
Time to begin the journey.
50 g stone ground flour, I use 1847 red wheat all purpose flour
50 g filtered water (nothing with chlorine or fluoride in it)
Mix well and leave at room temperature for 24 hours.
I initially weigh my vessel; I like to use a 16 oz. wide mouth glass mason jar; mine weighs 440 grams. So now I know that tomorrow, when I pour off my starter to the weight of 490g, I know I have poured off to half. Then I zero my scale, add 50 grams’ water and zero it again to add 50 grams’ flour. I also like to place an elastic band around the jar at the level the starter reaches when mixed. This way I can measure how much my starter has increased in volume more accurately.
Day Two
You can see in the pictures above, that after the first 24 hours we actually have a little bit of action. Notice the little bubble in the lower right corner of the first photo. That is evidence that carbon dioxide is being released as the yeast and bacteria are converting long chain starch molecules to simple sugars. The carbon dioxide is what causes the bread to riser, and creates the bubbly holes in it.
Pour out half of your starter weight, you want it to be the weight of your vessel plus 50 g
Add
50 g water
50 g flour (blend of stone ground and unbleached all purpose)
Day Three
Today you will notice a little more activity. This is a great sign, and wonderful if you are seeing this on day three. If your starter is not producing any bubbles yet, do not worry, it is still early.
50 g starter
50 g water
50 g flour (blend of stone ground and unbleached all purpose)
Day Four
As my starter is gaining strength, and I get closer to using it, I like to begin increasing the volume today I will be mixing:
80 g Starter
80 g water
80 g organic all purpose flour, or a mix of stone ground all purpose and organic all purpose. From this point on, feel free to continue using a mix of stone milled, an regular unbleached all purpose. It is also perfectly fine to switch too regular unbleached all purpose. However, every once in a while, you may want to feed your starter some stone milled flour to give it a little boost.
Day Five
100 g starter
100 g water
100g flour
Day Six
100 g starter
100 g water
100 g flour
Day Seven
100 g starter
100 g water
100g flour
This is my starter about four hours after feeding. You can see it has more than doubled in volume, and very fluffy in texture.
If your starter has doubled in volume, it is time to perform the float test. Drop a little spoonful into a glass of water, if it floats, your ready to go! Pour off the amount of starter needed for your recipe, feed the starter once more, allow it to increase in volume and place in fridge for storage until you need it next. Just remember, give yourself time to feed it again before the next time you plan to bake.
Here is a photo of the bread I baked with my new starter, not bad for first round. This is my Milk, Honey & Oat Sourdough Bread. If you prefer to start with something a bit more standard, try my Simple No-Knead Sourdough Bread recipe.
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