Easy Sourdough Starter
Don’t let sourdough starter scare you, because it actually isn’t complicated and doesn’t have to be that time-consuming. Make it past the first 7 days and your starter becomes a once per week project. Your sour little kitchen pet.
Ingredients
1/2 cup wheat flour - Day 1
1/2 cup all-purpose flour - Day 1-6
1/4 cup all-purpose flour - Day 7
1/2 cup bottled water - Day 1
1/4 cup bottle water - Day 2-7
Prep - Day 1
Combine 1/2 cup wheat flour, 1/2 cup app-purpose flour, and 1/2 cup bottle water into the container you have chosen to house your starter. The container should have a loosely fitting lid and be made of a clear plastic or glass material. I like to use a large Ball Wide Mouth mason jar.
After the mixture is combined, loosely cover the container and let the starter sit out on the countertop for approximately 24 hours.
Prep - Day 2-6
During Days 2-6 your starter should start to get bubbly and begin to have the pleasant sour smell of sourdough. If by Day 6 your starter isn’t forming bubbles and rising and falling after feeding, add additional days before moving on to the steps for Day 7.
Depending on the size of your container, you’ll begin to run out of room. Discard portions of your starter as needed during this initial process, but, make sure to leave at least 25-50% or you’ll have to begin the entire process again.
Feed the starter by adding 1/2 cup all-purpose flour and 1/4 cup bottled water to your starter. If your starter appears to be too liquid or too dry, add more or less water. Sourdough starter should be the consistency of very thick cake batter.
Mix until all of the dry flour has been incorporated.
Loosely cover the container and let the starter sit out on the countertop for approximately 24 hours.
Prep - Day 7
Your starter should have the pleasant sour smell of sourdough and look bubbly at this point. It should also grow in size within a couple hours of feeding.
If needed, discard excess sourdough starter. This discard should be ready to use in baking if it passes the float test. The float test is a good way to make sure your starter will work to rise dough. Fill a bowl with water and then gently place a small amount of starter into it. If the starter floats, it’s ready to use.
After using or discarding, feed the starter by adding 1/4 cup all-purpose flour and 1/4 cup bottled water to your starter. If your starter appears to be too liquid or too dry, add more or less water. Sourdough starter should be the consistency of very thick cake batter.
Mix until all of the dry flour has been incorporated.
Loosely cover the container and let the starter sit out on the countertop or in the fridge until it’s ready for use.
Enjoy your starter, because this will help you create the food you knead in your life.
Refrigerated Storage
Refrigerated starter should be fed at least once per week. Discard each time you feed to ensure that your starter continues to thrive (even if you aren’t baking with it that week).
Remove the starter from the fridge at least a day before you plan to use it.
Feed the starter by adding 1/4 cup all-purpose flour and 1/4 cup bottled water to your starter. If your starter appears to be too liquid or too dry, add more or less water. Remember, sourdough starter should be the consistency of very thick cake batter.
Mix until all of the dry flour has been incorporated.
Loosely cover the container and let the starter sit out on the countertop for about 12 hours.
Perform the float test and if ready begin making your dough. If the float test fails, repeat steps 2-5 (optionally, cutting the time to approximately 6 hours instead of 12 if you are in a crunch for time).
Use the starter and then feed it by adding 1/4 cup all-purpose flour and 1/4 cup bottled water to your starter. If your starter appears to be too liquid or too dry, add more or less water.
Let the starter sit on the counter for approximately 2 hour before putting it back in the fridge.
Remove the starter from the fridge after a week and use or discard, then repeat the process of feeding.
Countertop Storage
Countertop starter should be fed at least once every 1-3 days. This is often the choice of bakers who make a lot of sourdough. Discard each time you feed to ensure that your starter continues to thrive (even if you aren’t baking with it that week).
Perform the float test and if ready begin making your dough. If the float test fails, feed the starter, let it sit for several hours and then try again.
Use the starter.
Feed the starter by adding 1/4 cup all-purpose flour and 1/4 cup bottled water to your starter. If your starter appears to be too liquid or too dry, add more or less water.
Tips
Adding wheat flour to the starter in the beginning, or throughout, can help to get things going. If you don’t have wheat flour, don’t worry, all-purpose flour works just fine!
Because tap water often contains chlorine, make sure to begin and then feed your starter with bottled water.
Mixing starter inside of a mason jar? Use a chopstick to do the stirring!
Set a reminder or calendar event on your phone, so that you don’t forget to feed and discard. Think of your starter as a sour kitchen pet, don’t kill it.
If you are planning to do a lot of baking with the starter during a particular week, avoid discarding so that you can build up the amount you’ll need later on. You can also increase the amount of flour and bottled water you add while feeding.
Be careful not to overfill your container. Starter can more than double its size so leave plenty of room for it to expand.
To ensure my mason jar doesn’t seal closed, I put the lid on upside down and then loosely screw on the band.
Name your starter, because, it’s the law. Let me introduce to you, my starter, Robert Dough-ney Jr.
