Before we get into loaves, stretch and folds, and scoring pretty designs on top of your bread, let’s talk about the heart of every sourdough recipe: the starter.
If sourdough feels intimidating, I promise you’re not alone. Almost everyone starts out thinking there’s some secret sourdough club they’re not a part of.
The good news? A sourdough starter is really just flour, water, and time.
That’s it.
A starter is a living culture of wild yeast and beneficial bacteria that naturally develop when flour and water are combined and fed regularly. Over time, those wild yeasts become strong enough to leaven your bread, giving sourdough its rise, flavor, and character.
Think of it as a pet that eventually starts paying rent.
What You’ll Need
- A clean glass jar
- Bread flour (or unbleached all-purpose flour)
- Water
- A kitchen scale
- A little patience
Day 1
Combine:
- 50g flour
- 50g water
Mix until no dry flour remains.
Cover loosely and leave at room temperature for 24 hours.
Now walk away.
Seriously.
Nothing exciting is going to happen yet.
Day 2
You may see a few bubbles. You may see absolutely nothing.
Both are completely normal.
Discard half of the mixture and feed with:
- 50g flour
- 50g water
Mix and let sit for another 24 hours.
Days 3–7
Continue the same process every day:
- Discard about half
- Feed 50g flour
- Feed 50g water
Somewhere during this time your starter will likely get dramatic.
It might double in size.
It might smell strange.
It might look incredibly active one day and completely lifeless the next.
This is normal.
The hardest part of building a starter is not convincing yourself it’s dead.
Keep feeding it.
When Is It Ready?
Most starters take anywhere from 7–14 days to become reliably active.
You’ll know it’s ready when:
- It doubles in size consistently after feeding.
- It’s full of bubbles throughout.
- It smells pleasantly tangy and slightly yeasty.
- It can double within 4–8 hours after a feeding.
At that point, congratulations—you’ve officially joined the sourdough club.
My Favorite Feeding Ratio
Once established, I typically maintain my starter using a 1:5:5 feeding ratio.
For example:
- 20g starter
- 100g water
- 100g flour
This keeps it happy, healthy, and predictable for baking.
A Few Things I’ve Learned
- Sourdough follows temperature, not the clock.
- Starters are far more resilient than people think.
- If you miss a feeding, don’t panic.
- If it doesn’t look perfect, don’t panic.
- If you find yourself Googling “Did I kill my starter?” at midnight, welcome to the club.
We’ve all been there.
Feeling Overwhelmed?
If building a starter from scratch feels like one more thing on your to-do list, I get it.
That’s exactly why I offer my dehydrated sourdough starter.
It’s the same starter I use in my own kitchen, dried and packaged so you can skip the guesswork and get baking sooner.
Whether you’re brand new to sourdough or just want a head start, it’s an easy way to jump right into the fun part: baking bread.
Shop my dehydrated starter here: [INSERT LINK]
Because sometimes flour, water, and patience are magical… and sometimes it’s nice to have a little shortcut.
xo,
Staci
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