Sourdough Starter Basics

Sourdough starter is a simple concept but it’s also the holy grail of a good sourdough bread! It will determine whether your bread has a good rise and also add the flavor, or degree of sourness, to your bread.

A sourdough starter can be made from scratch or you can “inherit” some from a friend or local bakery to start your own at home. Making a sourdough starter from scratch takes about a week to establish a good host of wild yeast, which isn’t added but is pulled from the air. Where as if you inherit one, you just need a tablespoon, and you can be making bread within the next few days. Here’s the tired and true recipe I use to feed my sourdough starter ever day:

Start with 30g of sourdough starter

Add 50g of water

And 50g of all purpose unbleached flour

mix until combined, cover with a breathable cloth and rubber band, and let sit at room temp for 4-6 hours or until sourdough starter looks fluffy and has about doubled in size.

One sure way to know if you have something that will at least make bread is to do the float test.

Once sourdough starter looks fluffy gently pour it into a bowl of water and the sourdough starter floats then it’s good to go! Meaning it’s an active starter that with help your bread to rise.