SOURDOUGH STARTER GUIDE
SOURDOUGH
STARTER FROM
SCRATCH
Your Free Guide to Making your own Sourdough
Starter to begin your Sourdough Baking Journey!
WWW.LADYSOURDOUGH@GMAIL.COM | SOCIALS: @LADY.SOURDOUGH
What is Sourdough & why learn the skill?
To begin, sourdough starter is actually a gut healthy bacteria. It is wild
yeasts, lactic acid and acetic acid bacteria that is produced after combining
flour and water together and going through a fermentation process. Which
is what this guide will teach you to do.
With your new sourdough starter you will be able to follow recipes that call
for “active bubbly starter,”” levain” and even”discard.”
Let’s talk about those terms, here is a quick breakdown of each:
“Active starter”- This is starter that has been activated by being fed, it
will rise up after typically 4-6 hours after its been fed and hit will hit “peak.”
Which is when it is considered ready to bake with for recipes that call for
“active” or “bubbly” starter.
“Levain”-This can be confusing, but it doesn’t have to be. Levain is
basically active sourdough starter, the only difference is people consider
levain as an “off shoot” of your main sourdough jar. Example: If you have a
large jar of sourdough starter but you only pull 50 grams of it to place in a
new jar and feed to make a recipe with, that is considered levain.
“Hooch”- Is a dark clearish liquid that can form on the top of your
sourdough starter or discard. It’s actual alcohol that was made made by the
bacteria and means it is very hungry, it can be dumped out prior to using
your starter.
“Inactive starter or discard”- These are also the same thing, the
discard is leftover sourdough starter you didn’t need for a recipe that has
fallen back to the line you originally fed it at. This should not be used for
baking with recipes that call for active starter. But it’s great to store in your
fridge for discard recipes, and to pull from when you want to feed and
activate. Feeding inactive or discard sourdough starter will then make it
“active starter” once it has had the chance to eat and hit peak. So with that,
let’s get started!
What You'll Need
Unbleached All-purpose flour
Water (filtered, chlorine from tap water can kill yeast)
2 Wide mouth glass jars or similar containers
A spoon or spatula
A kitchen scale (this is best for accuracy, cheap ones can be found on
amazon.)
Day 1
Mix Ingredients: In your jar, combine 40 grams of flour with 40 grams of
warm water (not hot so it doesn’t potentially kill the yeast.) Stir well until no
dry flour remains, scraping the sides down . Cover loosely with a lid, do not
screw on tightly.
Rest: Leave the jar in a warm area. The temperature of the starter is best
at (75-90°F) for 24 hours. If your home runs colder than this try leaving the
starter in your oven. You can turn the light on occasionally to warm it up.
Remember, you are growing a bacteria. It will do best in a warm
environment, I recommend using a kitchen thermometer to keep track of the
temperature.
Day 2
Time to Feed: Change will be minimal, but you might start to see
bubbles, which is a great sign of activity! If you don't see anything, do
not worry. Take 20 grams of your starter and put into a new clean jar,
throw out the rest. Add 40 grams flour and 40g warm water. Stir well,
scraping down the sides until fully mixed.
Rest: Cover and let sit for another 24 hours, keeping in mind to continue to
keep your starter between 75-90°F degrees. This might seem time
consuming to baby your starter but this is a crucial step to getting it
established as soon as possible.
Day 3-6
Time to Feed/Check Activity: Bubbles and a strange smell are signs of
activity. Proceed to follow the exact steps as Day 2.
Rest: Cover and let sit for another 24 hours, keeping it warm.
By Days 7 to 10:
The starter should be bubbly, have a tangy smell, and start to rise and fall.
It should double in size within 6-12 hours of feeding. Keep in mind the
smell will change. It will smell something like acetone when it has fallen and
is hungry. It will have a more tangy pleasant smell when it has risen and is
ready to bake with.
Ready to Bake:
Only once you see your starter more than doubling in size consistently,
bubbles all over (along the sides and the top) and a tangy sweet aroma
should you attempt to use it for baking. If you do not see it doubling or
more than doubling in size continue to be patient and feed every 24 hours.
I know many bakers who have said it took their starter over a month to
really start doubling and be actually ready to use. So patience is key here.
Once your starter is established your leftover starter (or discard) can be
saved and used for discard recipes. However, during the process of
making your starter from scratch I recommend throwing alway any leftover
starter you have as it’s technically not a sourdough starter yet.
Ongoing Maintenance
Regular Feeding:
Once your starter is established you will need to maintain it with regular
feedings, but you will no longer have to maintain its temperature between
75-90°F. Just keep in mind if your home is cooler it will take longer for
your starter to reach peak as it’s activity is much slower in the cooler
weather. If you prefer to not feed your starter on a regular basis you can
keep it in the fridge. This will cause it to go into a dormant state. Think
hibernation.
When it comes to feeding your starter (or discard) that has been in the
fridge it might take some additional time to “wake up” and really activate.
Remember, its been dormant, so if you dont see any activitiy hours after
you have fed it, that is normal. It is not dead, just proceed with another
feeding or two. Please also keep that in mind incase you need ready and
active starter by a certain time. You might want to take your starter out of
your fridge a day or two early to ensure it is active and ready when you
need to bake. If you see a layer of hooch collecting, just leave it be until you
are ready to use it, then you can dump it out.
Tips:
Consistency: While first creating your starter it should have a thick,
pancake-batter consistency immediately after feeding. Adjust water or
flour by a few grams only, if needed. You will notice after your starter
has eaten it will always appear more liquidy than when you first fed it. If
you see hooch on the top of your starter, dump it out before proceeding
with a feeding.
Rubber Band/Marker Trick: I prefer to mark my jar immediately after
a feeding to keep track of it’s growth as it rises as well as taking note of
the time. Some people like to wrap a rubber band around the jar right at
the line of where it was fed. I personally prefer to use a marker and draw
a line right along the top of where it was fed to indicate its initial start
line. Once it has appeared to double I will draw another line at the new
top and watch to see if it continues to grow. If it does, then it has not yet
hit peak and needs more time. If you use your starter before it hits peak
it can cause your loaf to become gummy.
Float test: If you think your starter has reached peak and is ready
to use you can take a spoonful out of the jar and place it in a cup of
warm water. If the starter floats then it is ready to use.
Different types of Flours: I use Costco’s Kirkland organic all purpose
flour to feed my starter but you are welcome to use a different flour if
preferred, as long as it’s unbleached. Just follow the directions the
same as you would for all purpose. I know of many who use whole wheat,
rye, bread flour, among others. Just keep in mind some flours that are
higher in protein % will not pass the float test and will sink even when it
has properly peaked.
Mold:
There are times when it is possible your sourdough starter might start
to grow mold. Particularly when it has been left out on the counter and
gone too long without a feeding. That is why keeping up on feedings,
moving it over to a clean jar, and/or keeping it stored in your fridge for
longer periods of time is best for the health of your sourdough starter. If
you ever see mold along the walls of your jar or sitting on top of the
starter, it is best to throw the whole thing out. Which is why I highly
recommend keeping a back up jar of starter in your fridge, or a
dehydrated version of it in your pantry. Mold can appear as
discoloration, such as blue, grey, green, pink, orange, fuzz or streaky.
So when in doubt, just throw it out.
The Sourdough Starter Life Cycle:
Feed - Rise - Peak - Fall - Repeat
Ratios & Feeding Schedule:
In the sourdough world you will often see people refer to “ratios” such
as 1:1:1 or 1:10:10 to give a couple examples. That is referring to the
feeding ratio of your starter. Which will always been in the order of:
Sourdough Starter: Flour: Water
The starter will always be the first in order, and should always be “1.”
So a 1:1:1 example is equal parts. For example 20g starter, 20g flour,
and 20g water. Whereas a 1:10:10 would look like 20g starter, 200g
flour, 200g water.
Some people prefer to feed their starter at a higher ratio so it will take
more time to come to peak. Feeding at a 1:1:1 ratio will usually take 4-6
hours to hit peak. Whereas feeding your starter at a 1:10:10 ratio will
take much longer, closer to 8-12 hours. *The temperature is the main
factor in how long it will take your starter to come to peak aka eat
through all it’s food.*
Discard Jar: If you keep your discard jar in your fridge you can add to it
as needed and pull from it as needed to either feed and make new active
starter or use in discard recipes. If you are using it for discard recipes I
do recommend not letting your discard jar sit in the fridge for longer
than a month. You can absolutely let it go longer and it will be fine, but
pulling discard from a jar that has been sitting in your fridge from
months on end might cause your discard recipe to be more sour that
you prefer.
If I didn’t cover a question you have here you can check my Instagram
highlights where I have more information and resources! Or you can
send me a DM and I will do my best to answer.
Photo Library
Just fed starter
Side view: Starter after 4 hours,
rising nicely but needs to double,
drew second line to watch to see
if it continues to rise.
Side view: Starter after
about 6 hours, no
longer rising, more
than doubled.
Top view: Another indication
it is not ready is not enough
bubbles forming on the top or
along the sides.
Top view: Lots of bubbles
along top and sides,
starter has peaked and is
ready to use!
A Note from Jess,
My micro bakery, Lady Sourdough was born in 2023. Soon after I had quit
my job to stay home with my two sons. My youngest struggles with eczema,
primarily from food sensitives. I wanted a cleaner bread option for our family
and hoped sourdough would help with my son’s eczema triggers. So I was
gifted some starter from a friend of mine.
One thing led to another, and I soon found myself obsessed with making
sourdough and unable to stop, so my micro bakery was born. Thank you so
much for being apart of my sourdough journey, I hope so much that this guide
will give you the jump start needed to having your very own sourdough
journey.
If you need any sourdough supplies I do have an amazon storefront (the link is
in my bio on Instagram) where I do receive a small commission if you choose
to shop from it. I have even more information on my instagram page,
particularly good visuals in my highlights!
Thank you again for all of your support!
-Jessica Natvig
STAY CONNECTED
Socials via IG or TikTok:
@lady.sourdough
Email: ladysourdough239@gmail.com
THANK YOU!