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The Ultimate Beginner’s Guide: How to Make and Maintain a Sourdough Starter from Scratch (7-Day Plan)

Overhead view of active sourdough starter showing many bubbles and foam in a glass jar.
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Learn the complete, simple process for creating your own active wild yeast culture, or sourdough starter, using only flour and water over seven days. This guide provides the step-by-step instructions necessary for beginners to achieve a bubbly starter for artisan bread baking.

Ingredients

Scale
  • 100g Whole Grain Flour (Rye or Whole Wheat recommended for starting)
  • 100g Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
  • 100g Unchlorinated Water (room temperature)

Instructions

  1. Day 1: Initial Mix. In a clean glass jar, combine 50g of whole grain flour and 50g of room temperature water. Stir well until no dry flour remains. Cover loosely (do not seal tightly) and leave at room temperature (ideally 70-75°F or 21-24°C) for 24 hours.
  2. Day 2: Rest. You may see little to no activity. Leave the mixture covered loosely for another 24 hours. Do not feed today.
  3. Day 3: First Feeding. Discard half of the starter (about 50g). To the remaining starter, add 50g of all-purpose flour and 50g of water. Mix thoroughly. Cover loosely and let sit for 24 hours. You should start seeing small bubbles.
  4. Day 4: Second Feeding. Discard half of the starter. Feed the remainder with 50g of all-purpose flour and 50g of water. Mix well. Activity should increase.
  5. Day 5: Twice-Daily Feeding Begins. Discard half of the starter. Feed the remainder with 50g all-purpose flour and 50g water. Mix. After 12 hours, repeat this discard and feed process again. Look for the starter to double in volume between feedings.
  6. Day 6: Consistent Feeding. Continue the twice-daily feeding schedule (discard half, feed 50g flour/50g water). The starter should become noticeably bubbly and smell pleasantly sour, not like acetone.
  7. Day 7: Assessing Activity. If your sourdough starter consistently doubles in size within 4 to 8 hours after feeding, it is considered an active sourdough starter and is ready to use for baking artisan bread. If it is sluggish, continue the twice-daily feeding for a few more days.

Notes

  • Use a clear jar so you can easily monitor the rise and fall of your wild yeast culture.
  • If your starter develops a layer of dark liquid (hooch) on top, stir it in or pour it off before feeding. This means it is hungry.
  • For long-term storage, place your active starter in the refrigerator after feeding. Feed it once per week to keep it healthy.
  • When you plan to bake, take the starter out of the fridge 1-2 days before and feed it every 12 hours at room temperature to bring it back to peak activity.

Nutrition

Find it online: https://pureplatepath.com/sourdough-starter-guide-from-scratch/