There’s something deeply rewarding about baking sourdough bread, especially when it all begins with just flour and water. Watching a simple mixture transform into a living, bubbling starter feels a little like kitchen magic and once you’ve experienced it, you’ll understand why so many bakers fall in love with sourdough.
If you’re new to sourdough, making your own starter might sound intimidating. Maybe you’ve seen complicated methods, confusing feeding schedules, or stories about starters that have been passed down for generations. While those heirloom starters are wonderful, the truth is you absolutely don’t need one to bake incredible sourdough bread.
Creating your own starter from scratch is simpler than most people expect. With just flour, water, and a little patience, you can cultivate wild yeast and beneficial bacteria that will naturally ferment and raise your bread. It’s a slow process, but that’s part of the beauty of sourdough baking, learning to work with time instead of against it.
Before we dive in, let’s quickly explain what a sourdough starter actually is. A sourdough starter is a natural leavening agent made by fermenting flour and water. Over time, wild yeast and lactic acid bacteria develop in the mixture. These microorganisms create the rise, flavour, and texture that make sourdough bread so unique.
What is a sourdough starter?
A sourdough starter, also referred to as a sourdough culture, is fermented dough filled with natural wild yeast and bacteria called lactobacilli. The starter is what helps the bread to rise, unlike normal supermarket bread, which uses active dry yeast.
A sourdough starter is how we cultivate the wild yeast in a form that we can use for baking bread. Since wild yeast is all flour, the easiest way to make a starter is to simply combine flour and water and let it sit for several days. There’s no sorcery needed to capture the yeast, because it’s already in the flour, which means that literally anyone can make their own starter, and is likely why people have been doing this for thousands of years.
Think of your sourdough starter as a living thing, because it is, quite literally full of life! There are over 50 million yeasts and five billion lactobacilli bacteria in every teaspoon of starter dough, which is what gives sourdough bread its signature sourness.
Are you ready to partake in the ancient practice of making a sourdough starter for yourself? Let’s jump right in.
Jump to
- Sourdough Starter Recipe using dried starter flakes
- Step-by-step Sourdough Bread Recipe
- How to feed your sourdough starter
How to make your sourdough starter
What you’ll need
- Sterilised jar (approximately 1 litre in size to allow room for expansion, we recommend a Sourdough Starter Jar with Thermal Temperature Sticker)
- High-protein white bread flour
- Filtered or bottled water
- Danish dough whisk, spoon, or spatula
- Dough or bench scraper
- Banneton with cloth liner (or bowl lined with a tea towel)
- Wooden bread lame or sharp knife
Step-by-step guide to making your sourdough starter
Day 1: Getting Started
Let’s begin by creating the foundation of your starter.
Start by pouring 50g of filtered water into a clean, sterilised jar. Make sure your jar has been thoroughly cleaned. Running it through a dishwasher or washing it well with hot, soapy water works perfectly.
Next, add 50g of high-protein bread flour. Always keep your flour and water at a 1:1 ratio by weight. Whether you scale this up or down later, maintaining equal parts ensures your starter develops properly.
Mix the flour and water together until there’s no dry flour left. The mixture doesn’t need to be perfectly smooth, but everything should be fully hydrated. You’re aiming for a thick consistency similar to oatmeal or wet porridge.
Once mixed, loosely place a lid on the jar. Avoid sealing it tightly as fermentation begins, gases will form and need somewhere to escape.
Leave your jar at warm room temperature for 24 hours, ideally around 26°C (80°F). This warmth encourages natural yeast to begin developing. If your kitchen is cooler, fermentation may move slower. If it’s warmer, activity may speed up slightly just avoid placing your starter in very hot areas.
Day 2: First Discard & Feed
After 24 hours, check your starter. It may look very similar to yesterday and that’s completely normal. You might notice a few small bubbles starting to appear, which is a great early sign of fermentation.
Now it’s time for your first discard and feed.
Discard
Remove about half of the mixture from the jar, leaving roughly 1–2 tablespoons behind. Precision isn’t important here, you simply want to keep a small base of developing yeast and bacteria.
At this early stage, discard isn’t suitable for baking yet, so it’s best thrown away.
Why do we discard?
Discarding helps control the size of your starter and ensures the yeast receives fresh flour and water to feed on. This strengthens the culture and keeps it healthy.
Feed
Now feed your starter with:
- 100g filtered water
- 100g high-protein bread flour
Add the water first and gently mix it into the remaining starter. Scrape down the sides of the jar so everything is incorporated. Then add the flour and stir until fully combined with no dry patches remaining.
You should again see a thick, sticky, porridge-like texture.
Loosely cover the jar and leave it in your warm spot for another 24 hours.
Day 3: Spotting Activity & Building Strength
By day three, you’ll likely notice more visible signs of life. Expect to see increased bubbling, some rise in volume, and possibly slight collapse after peak fermentation. All of this is perfectly normal and means your starter is developing well.
Discard
Just like yesterday, discard most of the mixture, leaving about 1–2 tablespoons behind. This keeps your starter manageable and encourages stronger fermentation.
What About the Smell?
Around this stage, your starter may develop a strong or slightly unpleasant smell ( sometimes vinegary, tangy, or funky.) This is completely normal and a sign that fermentation is progressing. As your starter matures, the aroma will become more balanced and pleasantly sour, similar to fresh sourdough bread.
Feed
Feed your starter again with:
- 100g filtered water
- 100g high-protein bread flour
Mix water into the remaining starter first, then add flour and stir thoroughly until fully combined. You’re still aiming for that thick porridge-like consistency.
Loosely cover the jar and return it to its warm resting spot.
Daily Routine & What Happens Next
From this point onward, continue the daily discard and feed routine, ideally at the same time each day. Consistency helps your starter develop strength and reliability.
When is your starter ready?
After around 5 to 7 days of regular feeding, your starter should become fully active. Every starter develops at its own pace, but there are a few clear signs to look for:
- Plenty of bubbles visible throughout the starter
- A pleasant sour aroma, similar to yogurt or mild vinegar
- The starter consistently doubles or triples in size between feeds
If your starter reliably grows after feeding, it means the yeast is strong enough to raise bread dough.
Timing can vary
The timeline above is a guideline. Environmental factors such as temperature, flour type, and water quality can all affect how quickly your starter develops. Colder kitchens may slow fermentation, while warmer environments may speed it up.
If your starter shows little activity after several weeks, it may be worth checking your ingredients or storage temperature. However, most starters become active within the 5–7 day window.
What happens after your starter is ready?
Once your starter is bubbly, active, and consistently doubling in size, congratulations! You’re ready to bake your very first sourdough loaf.
Now that your sourdough starter is strong and ready to use, you can follow our sourdough starter recipe to properly activate it and begin creating your own sourdough bakes at home. This is where the real fun begins, turning your living starter into beautiful, flavourful loaves.
We absolutely love seeing what our baking community creates, so don’t forget to tag us on Instagram @youkneadsourdough and use the hashtag #youkneadsourdough so we can see your little yeastie come to life.
Happy baking and welcome to the sourdough obsession!