Ultimate Primer On Making Sourdough Starter

If you’ve been yearning to try your hand at making homemade sourdough starter from scratch but just don’t know where to start, you’ve come to the right place! My Ultimate Primer On Making Sourdough Starter will guide you through the entire process of making, feeding, storing, reviving, and using sourdough starter to make the best darn crusty loaf of your life.

Prep Time5

Total Time5

Course: Bread

Cuisine: American

Servings:

Calories: 361kcal

Equipment

Ingredients

450 g Warm Water about 110F
80 g Honey
150 g Granulated Sugar
220 g Raisins
60 g Bread Flour
100 g Room Temperature Water
100 g Bread Flour
Bread Flour & Room Temperature Water as needed once starter is active

Instructions

Day 1: Add 450 grams of warm water, 80 grams of honey and 150 of grams sugar in a bowl, stirring until the sugar and honey have completely dissolved. Place 220 grams of raisins in an airtight container and pour honey water on top. Seal tightly and set in a warm spot in your kitchen. Done for the day!
450 g Warm Water, 80 g Honey, 150 g Granulated Sugar, 220 g Raisins
Day 2-3: Shake the sealed mixture twice a day, making sure to place your container back in a warm spot while the fermentation process continues. Again, make sure to place your container in a warm spot throughout the week to increase activity and help with fermentation.
Day 4-6: It’s time to introduce some fresh air into your mixture! Unscrew the cap of your container and place it gently on top. Throughout the next few days, the raisins will continue to rise to the surface and bubbles will signal growing activity within!
Day 7: By now your yeast water is bubbling and the raisins have risen to the top of your container! Time to measure out 60 grams of yeast water and mix with 60 grams of bread flour. Place the lid gently on top, making sure not to seal, and let sit overnight. The next morning you will see signs of fermentation — large bubbles amidst the mixture proving it is active and happy!
60 g Bread Flour
Day 8: Weigh 100 grams of your yeast water and bread flour mixture that has sat overnight into an airtight container, discarding the excess. Add 100 grams of bread flour and water, mixing to combine and seal tightly. Continue this same process morning and night, discarding any excess until a teaspoon of your starter floats on water. This means your starter is strong enough to be used in various recipes!
100 g Bread Flour , 100 g Room Temperature Water
Heads Up! Those leftover raisins and yeast water? Don’t throw them out! The fermented yeast water can act as a sweet cooking wine for various recipes and the raisins can also be repurposed for use in other recipes as well!

Video

Notes

HOW TO FEED & MAINTAIN SOURDOUGH STARTER

Once you have successfully completed the steps leading to day eight, your starter will be ready to use! That said, you’ll need to keep feeding it to maintain the happy little ecosystem that you have created.

Feeding your sourdough starter doesn’t take long; you’ll need about 3-5 minutes for each feeding. To feed your starter, add equal parts of water and bread flour by weight; I like using a nice even amount of 100 grams of each flour and water.

To start, it is advised that you feed your starter twice a day to help it gain strength. Once the starter is ready to use, you can slow down the feedings to daily or weekly depending on how often you plan on using it.

If you’re a baker that will be using the starter a few times a week, make sure to feed it daily so that it will be strong enough to act correctly.

If you plan on using the starter once a week or less you can keep your starter in the fridge. You will only need to feed it once per week as the low temperature will slow down the feeding process. Make sure to feed your starter the night before you plan to use it in a recipe so that way it is strong!

Note that the ratio of your feeding will also affect the rise. If the ratio (of starter to flour to water) is 1:1:1 it will move more quickly, whereas a ratio of 1:10:10 will dilute the microbial activity and slow it down considerably. Anything between 1:1:1 and 1:10:10 is an acceptable level of feeding, so you’ll need to find the ratio that works best for you.

Nutrition