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how to make sourdough starter

How to Make a Sourdough Starter from Scratch

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  • Author: Ryan Yates
  • Prep Time: 10 minutes daily
  • Fermentation Time:: 5 to 10 days
  • Cook Time: Up to 10 days
  • Total Time: 0 hours
  • Yield: Makes about 1 cup of starter 1x
  • Category: Bread, Basics
  • Method: Fermentation
  • Cuisine: American

Description

This step-by-step guide will teach you how to make a sourdough starter at home using just flour and water. It’s a simple, natural process that builds flavor and texture into your future loaves of bread. We’ve added a small twist to the standard method—a touch of pineapple juice on day one—to give your starter a stronger beginning and help prevent early spoilage.

Equipment:

 

  • Digital kitchen scale

  • 1-quart glass jar or clear container

  • Spoon or small spatula

  • Breathable cover (coffee filter, tea towel, or loose lid)

  • Rubber band or masking tape to mark growth

Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 50 grams whole wheat flour (for day 1)
  • 25 grams pineapple juice (room temperature, for day 1 only)
  • 475 grams unbleached all-purpose flour (for days 2-10)
  • 500 grams filtered room-temperature water (for days 2-10)

Instructions

  1. Day 1: Get It Started
    In a clean glass jar, mix 50g whole wheat flour with 25g pineapple juice. Stir until no dry spots remain. Cover the jar loosely with a towel or coffee filter and let it sit at room temperature (around 70°F or 21°C) for 24 hours. This gentle acidity from the juice helps support healthy yeast and discourages bad bacteria.
  2. Day 2: First Feeding
    You might not see much change yet. Add 50g unbleached all-purpose flour and 50g filtered water to the mixture. Stir well, scrape down the sides, and cover again. Let it rest another 24 hours.
  3. Day 3: Discard and Feed
    Discard about half of your starter (roughly 100g). To the remaining mixture, add 50g flour and 50g water. Mix thoroughly and cover.
  4. Days 4 to 10: Build Strength
    Continue the same discard and feed process once a day. Each time, remove half and feed with 50g flour and 50g water. Around day 5 or 6, bubbles should be forming and the mixture should start to rise and fall between feedings. The smell should become pleasantly tangy.
  5. When It’s Ready:
    Your starter is active and ready for baking when it reliably doubles in size within 4 to 6 hours of feeding, has a light sour aroma, and forms bubbles throughout. This usually happens between days 7 and 10.
  7. Storing the Starter:
    If baking regularly, keep it at room temperature and feed daily. For occasional use, store it in the fridge and feed once a week. Before baking, bring it to room temperature and give it two feedings to reactivate.

Notes

Most traditional starter recipes use only flour and water, but the addition of pineapple juice on the first day helps lower the pH quickly. This makes it harder for undesirable bacteria to survive in the early stages and gives beneficial yeast and lactobacillus a better head start. It’s a trick used by some professional bakers to ensure more consistent results.

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1 Tablespoon
  • Calories: 30 kcal
  • Sodium: 0mg
  • Fat: 0g
  • Carbohydrates: 6g
  • Fiber: 1g
  • Protein: 1g

Find it online: https://www.simplycookingrecipes.com/recipes/how-to-make-a-sourdough-starter