WILBREAD

Make Your Own Sourdough Starter

Prep Time
2 h 30 min
Additional Time
14 Days
Total Time
14 Days 2 h 30 min


Making your own sourdough starter can be a fulfilling experience since it allows you to create a unique starter by controlling the flavor and selecting the type of flour you prefer. So, if you're interested in making your own sourdough starter, don't hesitate to give it a try!

Ingredients

  • 50 g Water
    • Bottled or filtered water is recommended.
  • 50 g Flour
    • You can use the type of flour you prefer. (all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, bread flour, etc.)

Equipment

  • Jar
  • Spatula
  • Scale

Instructions

(Show/Hide Images In The Recipe)

1. Day 1:
Combine water and flour in the jar. Mix until the flour is fully hydrated and there are no dry clumps. Loosely cover the jar with a lid or a paper towel secured with an elastic band. Place the starter in a warm place for 24 hours.
50 g Flour
50 g Water

Create your sourdough starter - day 1

2. Day 2:
Take your starter and give it a good stir. No need to add anything today, just aerate it and put it back for another 24 hours. If you see bubbles forming, that's great! But even if it's not doing anything, that's okay too. Just give it time.

Create your sourdough starter - day 2

3. Day 3-14:
Feed the sourdough starter with a 1:1:1 ratio (e.g. 20g starter + 20g water + 20g flour) using a 50/50 blend of whole wheat and all-purpose flour. Repeat this process every 24 hours for at least 14 days or until your starter is active and bubbly.

Create your sourdough starter - day 3-14

Create your sourdough starter - day 3-14

4. Day 15 and forward:
Once your starter is active, bubbly, and doubles in size within a few hours of feeding, it can be used for baking. (The time it takes for a sourdough starter to peak can vary between 4 and 12 hours after feeding, depending on the room temperature) After this point, I recommend feeding your starter with a 1:2:2 ratio (e.g. 20g starter + 40g water + 40g flour).

Create your sourdough starter - day 15 and forward

Tips:

  • To avoid taking your starter out of the jar every time you feed it, determine the empty jar's weight first and note it, preferably on the jar. Once you're ready to feed the starter, sum the jar's weight plus the amount of starter you plan to feed and only remove the rest of the starter.
    e.g. I have a jar weighing 31 g and I need 20 g of starter. I will leave 51 g total and remove the excess.
  • If your starter seems idle after the 7th day, start feeding twice a day, every 12 hours in order to help give it a boost.