Drawn to its outside size
For temperature control around a starter jar
Brod & Taylor Sourdough HomeA small heating-and-cooling chamber for a jar, rather than a full dough bowl.
41 to 122°F, heats and cools8 × 10 in outside
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How to make a sourdough starter from scratch
Mix 50 g whole wheat or rye flour with 50 g water in a jar and leave it somewhere warm. Each day, keep 50 g, add 50 g flour and 50 g water, and stir. Keep going until it doubles within about 6 to 8 hours of each feed, feed after feed: then it is ready to bake with.
You need: a 1 quart jar, a scale, whole wheat or rye flour to begin, then bread or all-purpose flour, and room-temperature water (King Arthur uses 68 to 70°F). Expect a quick rise on day 2, a quiet spell on days 3 and 4, then steady doubling, often after a week or so and sometimes not for a couple of weeks (King Arthur). There is no deadline: keep feeding until it doubles reliably after each feed.
Day by day
Keep the jar at 75 to 78°F (24 to 26°C), King Arthur's ideal, if you can; a cool kitchen adds days. Mark the level with a rubber band after each feed. The once-a-day feeds to day 7 are our simpler routine; King Arthur's own method feeds twice a day, about 12 hours apart, from day 3. Either way, watch for the rise, not the calendar.
| Day | What to do | What you will see |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mix 50 g whole wheat or rye flour and 50 g room-temperature water. Cover loosely. | A thick paste; little happens. |
| 2 | Stir. If it has risen, keep 50 g, add 50 g flour and 50 g water. | Often a sudden rise and bubbles. This early activity is mostly bacteria, not the yeast you want yet. |
| 3 to 4 | Keep 50 g, feed 50 g flour and 50 g water once a day. | It goes quiet, may smell sharp or cheesy. Keep going: this is normal. |
| 5 to 7 | Feed once a day, switching gradually to bread or all-purpose flour if you like. | Bubbles return and it rises a little more each day. |
| 7 onward | Feed twice a day, about 12 hours apart, once it rises reliably, until it is ready. | It doubles within about 6 to 8 hours of a feed and smells pleasantly sour. |
How you know it is ready
It doubles (or more) within about 6 to 8 hours of a 1:1:1 feed, and keeps doing so feed after feed, with bubbles all through and a domed top. Then make your first loaf. See when a starter is ready for the signs and the float test.
If nothing happens
Most stalls are temperature: move it somewhere warmer, or use lukewarm water. Add a spoonful of whole wheat or rye flour to each feed. Chlorinated tap water can slow a young starter; leave it out overnight or use filtered water. Give it time: a quiet spell on days 3 to 5 is normal and passes. At any stage, fuzzy mold or pink or orange streaks mean throw it out and start again; once it rises reliably, so does a smell that is not its usual clean, sour one (an alcohol smell is fine). See when to throw a starter out.
Why you discard
Keeping only 50 g before each feed keeps the jar from overflowing and gives the yeast plenty of fresh food. Without discarding you would need to double the feed each day. The discard can go into pancakes, crackers or a yeasted dough; see less discard and smaller starters.
Questions bakers ask
How long does a new starter take?
There is no fixed number of days. King Arthur's guide says it could be 7 days or less, or up to a couple of weeks; its starter, fed twice a day from day 3, should double within about 6 to 8 hours by the end of day five, and King Arthur says to keep feeding for as long as it takes. A cool kitchen, or all-purpose flour from the start, makes it slower.
Why did my starter rise on day 2 and then stop?
The early rise is mostly bacteria that thrive before the culture becomes acidic. As the acid builds, they die back and the jar goes quiet until the yeast takes over. Keep feeding.
Do I have to use whole wheat or rye?
No, but they start faster. You can begin with them and switch to white flour after the first week.
Can I use tap water?
Usually yes. If your water is heavily chlorinated and the starter is slow, leave the water out overnight or use filtered water.
Equipment for this job
Keep what you own when it does the job. These are the other exact models we profile.
Drawn to its outside size
OXO Good Grips 11 lb Stainless Steel Food Scale
For seeing the display past a wide bowl
OXO Good Grips 11 lb Stainless Steel Food ScaleA pull-out display helps keep the reading visible under larger containers.
11 lb (5.0 kg), reads in 1 g steps