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Easy Sourdough Starter Guide: Make Your Natural Yeast Culture From Scratch

A highly active sourdough starter, showing significant bubbling and foam, sitting in a glass jar on a wooden windowsill.
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Follow this simple, step-by-step guide to create your own active sourdough starter from scratch. This beginner sourdough guide explains how to feed your natural yeast starter and maintain it for delicious homemade sourdough bread.

Ingredients

Scale
  • 100g Whole Wheat Flour or Rye Flour (for initial activation)
  • 100g Unbleached All-Purpose Flour (for maintenance)
  • 100g Unchlorinated Water (room temperature)

Instructions

  1. Day 1: Mix 50g of whole wheat or rye flour with 50g of room temperature water in a clean glass jar. Stir well until no dry flour remains. Cover loosely and let it sit at room temperature (ideally 70-75°F or 21-24°C) for 24 hours.
  2. Day 2: You may see small bubbles or no change. Discard half of the mixture (about 50g). Feed the remaining starter with 50g of unbleached all-purpose flour and 50g of water. Mix thoroughly, cover loosely, and wait 24 hours.
  3. Day 3: You should see some activity, perhaps small bubbles. Discard half of the starter. Feed with 50g of unbleached all-purpose flour and 50g of water.
  4. Day 4 through Day 7 (or until active): Repeat the discard and feed process every 24 hours. Discard half, then feed with 50g flour and 50g water. Look for consistent doubling in volume within 4-8 hours after feeding, a dome shape at the top, and many bubbles. This indicates an active sourdough starter.
  5. Maintenance: Once your sourdough starter is consistently doubling, you can switch to feeding once every 12 hours if keeping it at room temperature, or move it to the refrigerator for weekly feeding.
  6. To Feed Before Baking: Take the starter from the fridge (if applicable). Discard all but 50g. Feed with 100g flour and 100g water. Let it sit at room temperature until it doubles reliably (usually 4-8 hours). This is your active sourdough starter, ready for wild yeast bread making.

Notes

  • Use filtered or unchlorinated water; chlorine can inhibit the growth of wild yeast.
  • A consistent temperature helps build a strong culture. Cooler kitchens slow fermentation, requiring longer wait times between feedings.
  • If you see dark liquid (hooch) on top, stir it in or pour it off, then feed your sourdough starter immediately. This means it is hungry.
  • For the best results when baking, use your starter when it is at its peak—doubled in size and very bubbly.

Nutrition

Find it online: https://fooddexterity.com/sourdough-starter-guide-from-scratch/