How to Make Sourdough Starter

Step 1

In a wide mouth 4 cup jar or bowl, whisk together 1/4 cup wheat flour with 1/4 cup All Purpose flour until thoroughly combined.

Step 2

Using a fork, stir in the water until no dry flour is remaining. The mixture will resemble a thick dough or paste that's a little on the dry side.

Step 3

Cover loosely with the lid or plastic wrap and leave in a warm spot in the kitchen (ideally over 70˚F) for 24-48 hours.

Step 4

Check your starter for activity, sometimes you'll see tiny bubbles and maybe a little activity. Sometimes you won't. If you see nothing, give it a stir...cover loosely and allow it to sit for another 24 hours.

Step 5

By this time, you should see lots of bubbles and expansion of your starter. To gauge how much your starter is growing in volume, you can place a rubber band around the jar at the top of your starter to see if it doubles in size. I prefer to just eyeball it. Discard half your starter (saving the discard in a separate container for later.)

Step 6

Add 1/2 cup all-purpose flour and 1/4 cup lukewarm water to the remaining starter. Stir to combine until no dry flour is visible. Cover loosely and allow to rest at room temperature in a warm location for 24 hours.

Step 7

At this point, you should see your starter doubling in volume with lots of bubbles each day. Continue feeding your starter each day by discarding half the starter then feeding with 1/2 cup flour and 1/4 cup water.

Step 8

Cover loosely and allow to rest at room temperature in a warm location for 24 hours. By day 7, your starter should be ready to use in your favorite recipe.

Step 9

To test if your starter is ready to use, feed the starter and time how long it takes to double in size. When your starter doubles in less than 4 hours, it's ready. Alternatively, you can do the float test. Simply fill a glass with water and place a bit of starter in the water. If it floats, it's ready to use. (I'm not a fan of the float test....just saying.)