How to make your own sourdough starter from scratch

Thinking about making sourdough your own sourdough starter from scratch

It seemed last year, sourdough was all the rage; literally everyone was going crazy for sourdough. Everywhere people were talking about how to make your own sourdough starter from scratch.

In some locations, yeast was hard to find if not impossible. Flour was on the fringe of becoming unavailable, so, many started to stock pile while they could.

The basics

If you have flour and water, you have the essentials of a sourdough starter. Having your own starter is well worth the time investment, as you can use it in so many ways from breads, to pancakes, pastries, bagels, pizza. Honestly the possibilities are almost endless.

When I first thought about how to make my own sourdough starter from scratch I was intimidated for sure. Not to mention that the idea of having to “feed” and “water” the starter to keep it “alive” was a daunting concept to say the least, as I have killed almost every house plant I have ever owned.

Sourdough has proven to be a worthwhile experience. Once established, the care really is not intensive or time consuming and the trade off is that I can make just about any kind of sourdough creation I’d like, without the need for commercial yeast.

Everything sourdough

There are many resources on the internet and Google to read about how to make your own sourdough starter from scratch and the ratios of flour to water, fermenting times for a mature starter, etc. The 2 stars of the starter are wild yeast and a beneficial bacteria called lactobacilli. The starter is what makes your breads and baked goods rise. Of course with commercial yeast, there is no waiting for fermentation, it’s fairly stable when kept in your refrigerator and ready to use. Sourdough on the other hand takes time and a little patience. If you are looking for a quick bread, sourdough isn’t for you.

Are there any benefits to eating sourdough?

There are benefits to using sourdough as it is less likely to cause a spike in blood sugar than the bread you buy off of your grocery store shelf. Some believe that the wild yeast found in sourdough bread increases it’s nutrition content and thus makes it easier for the body to digest over your grocery store bread. All nutrition content depends on what type of flour is used and what else is added to it.

How to make your own sourdough starter from scratch

To create your own sourdough starter you need to decide what kind of flour you are going to use. I like to use hard winter wheat flour and grind the berries myself in my grain mill. You do not have to go out and invest in a grain mill and bulk wheat berries just to make sourdough bread. You can easily use store bought flour to feed and maintain your sourdough starter.

You need to select a container; I use a 1 gallon glass jar with a glass lid that is NOT air tight. This will allow the flour and water to “breathe”, collect the wild yeast from your environment and develop the lactobacilli bacteria.

To begin, you need equal parts flour and water; for example 1 cup of flour to 1 cup of water. You do not need to keep a lot of mature starter to make your sourdough creations. I like to use the 1 gallon container, because it gives the starter lots of room to grow and then deflate a bit after feeding, so you will want to use at least a 1 qt jar to get started.

The process

Combine your flour and water, mixing well until no lumps are present. Cover the jar loosely with something like cheese cloth or a clean kitchen towel. The jar will sit out at room temperature for 24hrs. This is day 1

Day 2, you will take out about half of your starter (approx. 1/2c). Then add about 1c of flour and almost 1c of water. The water should not be freezing cold, but not too hot either. Mix well to combine and make sure there are not lumps. Cover again and let the starter rest for 24hrs.

Day 3, you may start to see some bubbles or a fruity kind of aroma in your jar. It may even be apparent that your starter has grown. Today you will feed your starter twice, preferably at equal spacings 12 hrs apart. At each feeding keep 1/2c of starter and discard the rest. To this 1/2c, add 1c of flour and about 1/2c water, covering each time and allowing the starter to rest in between feedings.

Day 4, take out 1/2c starter and discard the remainder of the jar. You will be feeding your starter twice today, 12 hrs apart, repeating Day 3.

Day 5, remove the 1/2c starter and discard the rest. Today you will repeat the steps from Day 3. By now, your starter should have doubled in size and volume. There should be obvious bubbles and the starter should smell tangy or like vinegar. If all of the above are present, you now have an active and healthy sourdough starter! If you are not seeing bubbles or your starter doesn’t seem to be growing, repeat the steps from Day 3 until you have an active starter. Here is a link to a video explaining the process: https://youtu.be/wdrViqdqTTQ

Ready to use

Once your sourdough starter is active and healthy it’s ready to use. Remove however much starter your recipe needs and proceed making your new creations. You will need to place your starter in a permanent home, where it will live and grow. This is where my 1 gallon jar comes in handy; I can grow the starter as big as I need in this container and I never need to switch it out for another one.

Have sourdough starter, now what?

Now that you know how to make your own sourdough starter from scratch, if you know you are going to be using your starter on a regular basis, you will need to feed and water it everyday. If you plan to use your starter once or twice a week, you can feed it and place it in the refrigerator for longer term storage. Your starter will be able to handle too much feeding, but it can not handle having not enough flour and water.

Some people continue to discard, some do not. I do not discard; instead I use the extra starter to make pancakes and store them in the freezer until I need them. As long as you continue to feed and water your starter properly, it will be healthy, active and provide you with an endless amount of baking possibilities.

If you liked this post, check out our other post https://hiddenfarmlife.com/how-to-make-your-own-goats-milk-soap/ And stay tuned for more informational and interesting content!

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