How to Make a Sourdough Starter From Scratch + Day by Day Progression! | Sourdough Starter Recipe

Learn how to make a sourdough starter from scratch with my sourdough starter recipe! It's really simple, but it does take some time and persistence. In this video I'll show you a day by day progression so you know exactly what to expect when making your own sourdough starter!

SOURDOUGH STARTER RECIPES:

TIME STAMPS:
0:00 Intro
0:59 Equipment
2:06 Day 1
2:24 Day 2
2:47 Day 3
3:00 Day 4
3:33 Day 5
3:46 Day 6
4:06 Day 7
4:30 Day 8
4:42 Day 9 & 10
5:14 Day 11
5:33 Making Pancakes
5:53 Making Bread
6:07 Day 15
6:23 Day 22
6:38 Geeky Science
8:07 Recipes that use your starter
10:10 Bloopers

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STARTER RECIPE:

Day 1:
Mix together 30 grams of whole wheat flour and 30 grams of warm (no warmer than 110 degrees F) chlorine free water in a very clean small jar. Cover loosely with a lid and mark the height of the starter with a rubber band or sharpie. Set aside in a warm spot out of direct sunlight.

Day 2:
Discard all but 30 grams of the starter from the previous day. Add 30 grams each of whole wheat flour and water. Cover and mark the height of the starter. Set aside in a warm spot out of direct sunlight.

Days 3-6:
Feed and care for the starter in the same way as day 2.

Day 7:
Make a mixture of 30 grams whole wheat flour and all purpose flour.

Discard all but 30 grams of the starter. Add 30 grams of the 50/50 flour blend and 30 grams of water and mix well. Cover with a lid and mark the height of the starter. Set aside in a warm spot out of direct sunlight.

If your starter begins doubling after 8-12 hours, start feeding it twice a day. If there is little activity, you're safe to feed it once a day.

Days 8-14
Begin feeding your starter with 30 grams of unbleached all-purpose flour and water.

[allste]

It's actually ill advised to sitr sourdough starter with metal. Wood is actually the best option. You also should not be telling people to save their discard from the first several days; it still has a ton of bad bacteria in it that we don't actually want to consume. You really should not be using discard until at least day 5-7 and that's only *if* your starter is becoming mature at a relatively normal pace. Where I live the temperature fluctuates so much that my starter tends to take a little extra time to mature so I don't use discard until day 10 usually.

[lilguilty]

Thank you for this simple 10 minute video and not dragging it out for 40+ minutes. I literally searched day by day sour dough starter and this was the first video so much better than everyone else

[rebeccagoodwin]

Awesome! I’m on it! Thank you for your response and your encouragement!

[jena]

Loved the video! I am trying this tomorrow!

[KiraLyricalMuse]

Wow 🤩 just wow that dress is amazing and so accurate. I’m impressed. This doll came out awesome.

[tatianayakovenko]

Thank you for your awesome video! I'm sticking to your recipe now. That's gonna be my second attempt for making a sourdough starter. I tried to make one earlier by following other blogger's instructions. At some point I thought it wasn't working out because after 3rd day its growth slowed down ... so, unfortunately I discarded it all. I had no idea that it was totally normal, and that I just had to keep feeding it. Well, other blogger never mentioned it, his starter was growing beautifully, so I got discouraged and just waisted a bunch of flour.😕 I'm so glad that your video popped up. Wish me luck 😊

[chanellemendoza]

I've searched high and low for a regular sourdough loaf on your page with no avail! I'd love to see you take your starter and bake a regular loaf I am a beginner and love your page! Thanks

[jamesking]

Sourdough breads got me through 2020, but it's amazing how quickly the techniques are forgotten I should have spread my starter thinly on wax paper and dried it for the futu



. Thanks for taking me back to the basics. Sourdough got me through 2020. Instead of neglecting my starter, (it went bad!) I should have spread my starter on wax paper to dry for later use. I think that's the secret to generational sourdough. Heres to a fully vaccinated, sourdough infused 2021! Peace and hope for a brighter tomorrow. Keep up the good work.

[Plasmastorm_nevv]

Can you use flour that has been frozen? We have a weevil problem in Florida and I've had to toss flour that wasn't frozen first due to infestation.

[laurab]

I am maybe 6 days in. My starter smells good with a it of sourness, but very few bubbles and barely any rising. I think my house might be a bit too cold at around 68 degrees. Praying I can get it looking like yours!

[minahamidi]

What kind of water you recommend? meniral or filterd through refrigerator carbon filters? I tried several times but failed at day 3!😢I was thinking the problem should be water.

[hannahpierce]

What about bread flour? Can you use that?

[melrhymenoceros]

Can I ask why you switched to just all purpose flour? Does it help when it's not rising?

[ericacalihan]

How do you know its ready to go in the fridge?

[nanudipaleudiXD]

Did you discard on day 3, day 4 etc? Or you only discarded on day 2?

[rebeccagoodwin]

Hi! Loved your video. Thank you so much for sharing. I am 7 days into my starter and had doubling around day 3 … I kept on with the daily feeding of 30g/30g distilled water but have not had any more rising or doubling since day three. I have a lot of bubbles and it smells fine… now I’m thinking that when you say feed it everyday I should also be discarding everyday too, which I hadn’t been doing. (I picked that up in some of the other comments) I thought it was just first day or two. I am wondering if I can discard all but 30 g and start over with that. I am using King Arthur all purpose flour…. May I ask what are your thoughts on? And also if it doubles on day 3 does that mean it’s active and ready to use… I guess I thought it has to be a week or longer…. Thank you!

[monika.mitchell]

This was super helpful! I always get confused when it comes to the discard aspect though. What’s the difference between discard or when you just add starter directly to a recipe? What would be the need to feed the starter without discarding for volume? Or do you need the volume to make sure you have enough starter for recipes without using up all of your starter? 😅

[KiraLyricalMuse]

I’m on day 3 and mine smells super sour. 😢 should I toss some out?

[hmh]

I have been using organic Einkorn (allergic to rye) And local springwater at 100* and in 11 days at around 77* in my Kitchen (hot this summer) I have had zero activity !!
….and my starter seems runnier than pancake batter- even though I feed it daily (weighed 30 g each )and discard….could the water or rm. Temp. be too warm? Can’t figure out why I’ve not had ANY activity/bubbles/change in level…a cpl of times I used organic unbleached whole wheat instead, but still nothing!!! Baked a lot in my kitchen and find it hard to believe I don’t have any yeast in the atmosphere or in the good quality Flour?
Any ideas?

[killianmmmoore]

I'm using a a pasta grammar recipe
Feed every 2 days first 2 weeks then every day for 2 more weeks
If house is warmish during the day but cool in the evening will it take more then a month ?
Flour water ratio is 2part flour to 1 water