With this easy Sourdough Starter Recipe, you can make delicious Sourdough Bread, Sourdough Pancakes, waffles, pizza, pretzels, and more right at home. It’s easier than you think, and with just two ingredients—water and flour—it’s inexpensive to make Sourdough Starter from scratch.
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While you may have heard that making sourdough is a complex process that requires time, money, and an inherited starter—I’m here to tell you not to be intimidated. People have been doing this for thousands of years without fancy techniques or tools, and I’m going to teach you how to do it, too.
What is a Sourdough Starter?
It’s basically a fun at-home science experiment with a delicious result. Sourdough starter is wild yeast that is cultivated using water and flour and then used to make baked goods rise, like sourdough bread. It’s been around since before the Ancient Egyptians, and it was the only way to make leavened bread until active dried yeast became available in the 1800s.
While commercial yeast is faster to use since you don’t have to wait for the yeast to ferment, it won’t give you the great benefits of sourdough, the distinctive sour taste, or the same feeling of achievement!
Sourdough Starter Recipe Video
See Natasha create her own sourdough starter with just flour and water. With patience and consistency, it’s simple and fun. It’s so easy, so let’s start your sourdough journey now!
How to Make a Sourdough Starter
While the process sounds mysterious, it’s so simple. Watch our video tutorial to see our simple process in action. Ready? Let’s start growing some wild bacteria on our kitchen counter–err–let’s make sourdough starter!
The 3 Stages of Creating a Sourdough Starter
There are 3 basic steps to making your own sourdough starter. In this sourdough starter recipe, I don’t overcomplicate it because it’s truly a simple, forgiving process.
- Create – a medium for yeast and bacteria to thrive (water + yeast)
- Grow – Strengthen and build up population of yeast and bacteria with regular feedings
- Maintain a healthy starter with consistent daily feeding of flour
How long does it take to create a sourdough starter?
This sourdough starter recipe takes about one week of consistent feeding to nourish and strengthen the yeast, but these are a few of the factors that can change how fast your starter grows, so patience is also important (but so worth it):
- Room Temperature – 70 to 75˚F is ideal
- Flour type – start with whole wheat or rye flour and use all-purpose for feeding
- Water quality – use spring water, filtered or dechlorinated water
- Feeding schedule – be consistent
Tools for Making a Sourdough Starter
It’s simple to make a sourdough starter with just two tools.
- Clear Glass Jar – use a quart mason jar or 3/4 qt Weck Jar with loose-fitting lid. Thoroughly wash and rinse. A Weck Jar is my favorite because it weighs exactly 400 grams without the lid so the math is easy, and it has a loose-fitting lid which is important to prevent pressure build-up. You can also set a lid loosely over a mason jar.
- Digital kitchen scale – you can make a starter without a scale (I’ve included cup measurements) but your process and later bread-making will be so much faster, easier, and more precise with a scale that measures in grams. It’s worth the small investment now.
Pro Tip:
A rubber band or dry-erase marker makes it easier to track the starter’s starting point and feeding times. And a silicone spatula makes for the easiest cleanup.
Ingredients
There are only two ingredients for creating a sourdough starter: Flour and water. We use two different flours here, one to establish the starter and one to maintain it (see the explanation of flours above).
- Whole Grain Rye Flour or Whole Wheat Flour – organic is best, but regular Rye or Wheat will work as well. These sturdy, less processed grains create a stronger starter more quickly, but you don’t have to continue to bake with these flours.
- All-purpose flour – I prefer organic here as well and avoid bleached flour. After the wild yeast is established, this flour is used to maintain and feed the starter since is cheaper and what most people stock in their pantry
- Water – use room temperature filtered water, spring bottled water or dechlorinated water is needed since chlorine hinders yeast growth. To dechlorinate your water – boil and cool tap water, or leave a jug of water on the counter for a day to dechlorinate. If your house is cooler, use lukewarm water (not more than 85˚F). Avoid cold water which will slow the growth.
What is the best flour to create a sourdough starter?
To begin and establish a starter, use wholegrain rye flour and whole wheat flour – preferably organic. I have created starters with both and they grew equally well. See a photo of the difference below. In rye flour, the germ and bran haven’t been processed away as in all-purpose refined flour, so it gives more food for the wild yeast to eat.
I have tested creating a starter with all-purpose flour and it took 3 times as long to show bubbling activity. All-purpose is best used to grow and maintain your starter but you should initially start with rye or whole wheat flour.
How to Make a Sourdough Starter
It’s simple to make sourdough bread starter in just a few minutes each day. In most cases, you’ll be making bread in just a week!
Day 1: Make your Starter (Stage 1 – Create)
- Stop! Before you do anything, record the weight of your jar on a kitchen scale in grams on the jar with a permanent marker.
- Mix 100g (3/4 cup) Rye or whole wheat with 100g (1/2 cup) room temperature water into the glass jar. Once combined the mixture should be thick (rye flour is especially thick, like a sandy paste), but it will become thinner as the yeast breaks down the gluten. Scrape the sides of the jar.
- Cover the jar with a loose-fitting lid at room temperature for 24 hours. Mark the height of your starter with a rubber band or dry-erase marker and record the date.
Pro Tip:
The ideal room temp for growing sourdough starter is 70-75 degrees. Don’t be tempted to put your starter in a warm oven to speed it up. I tried that, and it grew too fast and exhausted my yeast so it stopped growing and I had to start over. Allowing the yeast to grow and develop slowly in the environment it will be used in is best.
Day 2: Check your Starter
- No Change – You probably won’t see anything changed. You may see some small bubbles, but leave it to rest for another 24 hours.
Day 3: Visible Bubbles (Stage 2 – Grow) and First Feeding
- Discard: Remove and throw away half of the starter (discard in the trash so it won’t clog your plumbing). You should have 100 grams or 1/2 cup remaining in the jar.
- Feed: Add 100g (3/4c) ALL PURPOSE FLOUR and 100g (1/2c) room temperature water.
- Mix the starter with the added flour/water until completely mixed. Use a silicone spatula to scrape down the sides, then loosely cover and rest for another 24 hours.
Pro Tip:
If you don’t see visible bubbles it may be due to your environment, flour, or just plain luck. Discard and feed anyway to continue with the schedule. You may need to add a few extra days at the end to strengthen your starter, but that’s ok! Patience is key, so keep on the plan.
Day 4: Lots of bubbles
- Discard all but 100g of the starter.
- Feed: mix in 100g all-purpose flour and 100g room temperature water
- Stir, scrape the sides, cover, and rest again
Pro Tip:
Some starters seem to slow down growth at this stage (called a false start) for seemingly no reason. This is normal, so just keep with the schedule.
Day 5: More bubbles and some growth
- Discard all but 100g of the starter
- Feed: Mix in 100g all-purpose flour and 100g room temperature water
- Stir, scrape the sides, cover, and rest again
Day 6-7: Nearly doubling in size!
- Discard all but 100g of the starter
- Feed: Mix in 100g all-purpose flour and 100g room temperature water
- Stir, scrape, cover, and rest until the starter has doubled in size. Continue this routine until the starter doubles in size in 4-6 hours, and then begins to recede after 12 hours. This means it’s probably ready to use!
Testing Sourdough Starter for Readiness
- Growth Rate: The Starter grows to more than double in size within 4 to 6 hours and recedes after 12 hours.
- Smell: The starter should smell good—like sourdough bread or like brewing yeast, have bubbles and a dome-shaped top
- Floats: Drop a bit of starter into a bowl of water. If it floats, it’s ready to bake bread. Hooray!
Maintaining a Sourdough Starter (Stage 3: Maintain)
Once it passes the float test and your starter is established, you can feed it daily or weekly depending on how often you want to bake. See our detailed Tutorial on how to Feed and Maintain Sourdough Starter. You can even dry it out to take a months-long pause. This is great news because you can travel or pause without ruining your starter.
- Frequent baking: Store at room temperature. Begin daily discard and feeding schedule to keep the starter healthy and continue strengthening it (Discard all but 100g of the starter and Feed by mixing in 100g all-purpose flour and 100g room temperature water)
- Less frequent baking: Store in the refrigerator. Once a week, discard and feed then let it rest at room temperature for 1 to 2 hours before refrigerating. If baking, remove the starter from the fridge and bring to room temperature overnight. Discard and feed. When the starter reaches its peak, remove the portion needed for the recipe, then feed and refrigerate.
Pro Tip:
Once your starter is mature, don’t throw away your sourdough discard. You can use it in recipes like Sourdough Pancakes, Sourdough Crackers, Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookies, and many other sourdough discard recipes.
Naming Your Sourdough Starter
Many people choose to name their sourdough starters. I loved my sister-in-law’s idea and copied it—Doughseph. After three years of making the dreamiest sourdough, he’s a part of the family.
Why Won’t my Sourdough Starter Rise?
It’s common to have a starter that isn’t ready by day 6 or 7. Keep feeding it for another week until you see it double and the texture is spongy and puffy with large and small bubbles. It should also smell sour and pleasant.
Sourdough is very forgiving so long as you don’t add hot water which kills the yeast. Just keep feeding it and discarding and it usually bounces back.
It’s easy to make sourdough bread at home using this simple sourdough starter recipe. Start today and you can enjoy a loaf of homemade bread in about a week!
More Bread Recipes
While your starter is growing, try these easy, beginner-friendly recipes to enjoy delicious bread made right at home.
Sourdough Starter Recipe (VIDEO)
Ingredients
- 100 g Whole Grain Rye Flour or Whole Wheat Flour, preferably organic (100g = 3/4 cup)
- 500 g All-purpose flour – preferably organic and avoiding bleached flour, used to maintain and feed the starter
- 1 qt filtered water or spring water is even better*, room temperature
Instructions
Day 1 Make your Starter
- Record the weight of your jar in grams before you add anything and label the jar with your starting date for easier tracking.
- Add 100 grams (3/4 cup) whole wheat or rye flour and 100 grams (1/2 cup) water. Stir together thoroughly with a fork (it will be very thick), scrape down the sides with a spatula. Cover with a loose-fitting lid and let it rest at room temperature for 24 hours*. Put a rubber band around your jar to mark the growth of your starter. Label the jar with a date to track.
Day 2: No Changes Noted
- Likely nothing is happening. You might see some tiny bubbles or it will look exactly the same. Let it rest for another 24 hours
Day 3 (stage 2) Visible Growth and Bubbles in Jar
- Remove and discard half of the starter in the trash so it does not affect the plumbing. You should have 100 grams (1/2 cup) of starter left. Add 100 grams (3/4 cup) all-purpose flour and 100 grams (1/2 cup) room temp water. Stir thoroughly, scrape down the sides of the jar, cover loosely, and rest at room temperature for 24 hours
Day 4 (72 Hours into the process): See a lot of bubbles
- Remove and discard all but 100 grams of starter. Add 100 grams (3/4 cup) all-purpose flour and 100 grams (1/2 cup) room-temperature water. Stir thoroughly, scrape down the sides of the jar, cover loosely, and rest 24 hours. Note: In a couple of my many tests, my starter seemed to slow down its growth on day 4 for no apparent reason. If that happens, just keep feeding it – it will turn back around.
Day 5: Visible growth and bubbles.
- Remove and discard all but 100 grams of starter. Add 100 grams (3/4 cup) All-purpose flour and 100 grams (1/2 cup) room-temperature water. Stir thoroughly, scrape down the sides of the jar, cover loosely, and rest 24 hours.
Day 6-7: Your starter may double or more
- Remove and discard all but 100 grams of starter. Add 100 grams (3/4 cup) All-purpose flour and 100 grams (1/2 cup) room-temperature water. Stir thoroughly, scrape down the sides of the jar, cover loosely, and rest until more than doubled in volume.
Testing Your Starter
- When your starter is ready, it should peak between 4-6 hours and start to recede after 12 hours. It should smell sour and pleasant, drop a dollop of your starter into a bowl of water. If it floats, it’s healthy enough to use in recipes. If your starter isn’t ready by day 7, continue feeding it following this schedule. It may take a bit longer depending on many factors—such as the flour use and the environment.
How to Maintain your starter
- For frequent bakers: store at room temperature. Discard and feed every 24 hours. To use the starter, feed and wait for the starter to reach its peak, 4-6 hours then remove the portion needed for the recipe.
- For casual bakers (weekly): store in the fridge. Once a week, discard and feed the starter, then let it rest at room temperature for 1 to 2 hours before returning it to the fridge. If baking, remove the starter from the fridge and bring to room temperature overnight. Discard and feed. When the starter reaches its peak, remove the portion needed for the recipe, then feed and refrigerate.
Notes
- Temperature is key: The room temperature will affect how quickly the starter develops. The ideal growing temperature is 68-75 degrees. a cold kitchen may take longer. For colder kitchens, consider storing in a warmer location or start with lukewarm 85˚F water.
- Use non-chlorinated water: Chlorine can hinder the growth of yeast and bacteria. Use filtered water or spring water for best results. To dechlorinate your water, you can boil and cool or set your water into a vessel and leave it on the counter for 1 day to naturally dechlorinate and come to room temperature.
- Consistency: try to feed your starter consistently at the same time each day.
- Patience is essential: Starters can vary in how quickly they develop, so don’t worry if yours takes a little longer. Don’t try to speed it along in too warm of an environment or you can exhaust your yeast.
Filed Under
Hi Natasha, thank you for inspiration! I am on day 7 beginning of 8. The starter is floating, almost frothy on top, but didn’t double. Do I continue feeding? Or is this done?
Hi Paulina, floating is a great sign, but yes, I do recommend feeding it until it doubles in the time window.
Hi Natasha! I started my sourdough starter last night, about 20 hours ago, and it’s already more than doubled in size. You said this recipe shouldn’t see any activity for the first 24 hours, so I’m wondering if my room is too warm or should I feed it less than recommended for the first feeding?
Hi Shelley! Yes, your climate/temperature can affect this. The bubbles now are just early activity. You don’t need to change anything, feed it as instructed.
Hi Natasha, I was wondering if you should keep your starter in the same jar the entire time, or how often you move it to a new clean jar?
Hi Shelley! Its good practice to clean it every 1–2 weeks (or sooner if messy). You can transfer your starter to a clean jar when buildup gets crusty, there’s dried starter up the sides, or it smells a little “off.”
Hi Natasha! I was wondering – is it possible to make a gluten-free version of this sourdough?
Hi Zara, Based on my research, yes, you can use spelt, einkorn or gluten-free flour to make sourdough started, however you will need to make adjustments for each type of flour and consider adjustments to the process as well. Some things to consider, while spelt flour can be used 1:1 with wheat flour, it absorbs more water than wheat flour. Einkorn has a different gluten structure compare to wheat/rye and can be trickier to work with. Finally almond flour is gluten free and it won’t contribute to the gluten structure the starter needs. I hope these notes are helpful.
Very much so – I’ll play around and experiment a little but I so appreciate your initial guidance on where to begin! Your recipes are all so fantastic – I’m making your chicken fajitas for lunch as we speak! Thank you for sharing your talents with the world!!
That’s just awesome! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review, Zara!
Hi Natasha! Thank you for sharing this recipe. I started my sourdough starter this week, and am currently on Day 4 (feeding in the evenings). On the morning of Day 7 of my starter we will be leaving for an overnight trip and won’t return until the evening of Day 8. What do you recommend? Should I do the discard and feed the starter the morning of Day 7 and leave it on the counter? Or should I do a discard and feed and put it in the fridge? Realistically, I won’t have time to bake until Day 14, and would continue baking on a weekly basis. Hoping to keep this starter going as it seems to be progressing nicely thanks to your recipe and tips.
Hi Renata! You can discard, feed it, and put it in the refrigerator. When you return, you may need to discard and feed it for a few more days before baking to get it strong and active. It should be doubling in size 3-4 hrs after feeding and it should pass the float test.
Hi Natasha,
I am new to making sour dough and so excited to try your recipe. We love sour dough!
I am wondering how to store the discard and how long it is good for and the process for keeping it so I can use for my next loaf of sour dough.
Thank you so much.
Tami
Hi Tami! I cover that in my blog post here- How to Feed Sourdough Starter.
Hi Natasha! Have been following exactly! Day 1 & 2 were great. After Day 3 I don’t get any bubbles. What am I doing wrong? If there are no bubbles should I still be feeding or wait?
Hi there! It’s pretty common for starters to seem to “stall” after a few days. If you don’t see visible bubbles it may be due to your environment, flour, or just plain luck. Discard and feed anyway to continue with the schedule. You may need to add a few extra days at the end to strengthen your starter.
Hi Natasha! I’m on day 5 of my starter. I’ve been feeding it in the evening, but want to switch to morning feedings. If I wait the extra 12 hours to feed it, will I mess it up?
Hi Dorothy, its best to feed it daily, if you want to switch to a new time you can feed it twice in one day to keep it healthy.
Help!
I just started making my starter for the first time ever on Friday morning. When I got up Saturday morning, my starter had doubled and bubbled but I didn’t realize that it was ready for feeding. So I waited 24 hours before feeding. BIG MISTAKE. When I got up on Sunday morning, it had totally deflated and there was a dried crust on top. Monday morning I started over for the third time. Should I be feeding twice a day if it is ready?
Signed,
Plenty of flour and water.
Hi Bob! That’s totally normal. That first big rise was early bacteria, not true yeast growth. It deflates when it runs out of food and is ready for a feeding. You do not have to start over, just discard and feed it with the 1:1:1 ratio (starter, flour, water). If you live in a humid climate or if your kitchen is warmer, it can ferment faster and in that case you’ll want to either move it to a cooler spot, feed it with cooler water, or feed it more often (every 12hrs). The ideal room temperature is 70-75 degrees. Make sure to cover it loosely so it doesn’t dry out and create a crust on top.
Help!
After day 1 my starter almost tripled on size and was bubbling to beat the band, now at day 6 there’s very little bubbling and it doesn’t grow in size at all but it is smelling like it’s fermenting. I’ve been using King Arthur whole wheat flour instead of all-purpose flour of that makes a difference.
Hi Mike! Whole wheat flour can ferment faster because it has more nutrients and wild yeast to provide than white/all purpose flour. This is normal behavior for a starter, sometimes it can slow down around this time. Just stick with it, it may need a few more days. One thing to be aware of- whole wheat absorbs more water, so your starter may look thicker and have a harder time rising. You can use a little more water to help. Also- check your room temperature and make sure it’s ideal, 70-75 degrees Fahrenheit is a good temperature for it to thrive. If it’s any cooler than that, move it to a warmer spot.
Hi Natasha! I started your recipe for yesterday morning. I followed the steps using rye flour, room temp filtered water and a scale. I awoke this morning to quite the rise in my starter, it more than doubled. Now we are going thru a couple of days of lots of sun and very warm temps which is going to be followed by temps in the low 60’s starting tomorrow. My kitchen faces south but my starter is not in direct sunlight. I marked the level it was sitting at this morning with an elastic, it has risen a little, it’s 2:30pm. I have to admit that I did give the mixture a stir twice yesterday. (a recommendation from other recipes…that I failed at) Would the temp in kitchen caused this surge?? Or was it the stirring? I have moved my starter to another side of my kitchen. I expect a drop in my starter by the time I get up tomorrow. But I’m hoping not to the point where it won’t rise because of sheer exhaustion, poor fella! Regardless, tomorrow will be its first feed. Let’s see what happens…wish me or him luck! Thanks for recipe!
Hi Angie! It could be the temperature fluctuations, but it’s common for it to get sluggish around this time. You can feed it with rye/whole wheat flour for a few days to give it a boost. Keep it at a consistent temperature 70-75 ideally, and it should recover.
hey natasha! i’m on day 4 of my sourdough starter using your recipe! i fed it as you explained on day 3 and it was much bigger that evening than 24 hours later. this morning (day 4) it had deflated from what it looked like last night and i only discarded like 20 grams in order to have 100. is this normal?
Hi Anastasiya! Yes, that’s completely normal. It eats through its food and then collapses. Just keep discarding and feeding on schedule. Always end up with 100 g starter before adding fresh flour and water. The discard amount can vary depending on how bubbly/airy your starter is.
Natasha, when making sour dough starter, can I use bread flour instead of all-purpose flour to start and continue to use it when feeding my starter?? Thank you.😗
Hi Rosemary! Bread flour can work too, but it can slow down fermentation and take longer to develop a healthy starter since it has fewer nutrients than whole wheat/rye flour.
Hi, Natasha! Thank you for the delicious recipe! I’ve made a dozen loaves and loving my new hobby! I keep my starter in the fridge and take out and feed before making another loaf but do you have to discard every time? Also, could you post a raisin cinnamon sourdough recipe? Ty!
Hi Suzanne! If you keep your starter in the fridge and bake once or twice a week, you don’t need to discard every time. Discarding is really only needed with daily room-temp feedings to keep it balanced but if you’re using it weekly, you feed it to keep your supply up.
I don’t have a cinnamon-raisin version, but you could add these in the bulk fermentation during the last stretch and fold.
Thank you! Love your recipes. Tried your yummy sloppy Joe recipe, too!
So happy to hear you’re loving the recipes, Suzanne!
My starter is bubbling and growing afte 24 hourrs. Should I feed? Or continue to let it sit?
Hi Nikki! It has some early activity which is great and can sometimes happen. You can still wait to feed it on day 3.
I’m new to baking sourdough I’m excited to try.
You’re going to be obsessed with it once you get your first loaf and taste it!
This looks amazing! I love sourdough bread! How much of the starter do you use when you make a loaf of bread?
Hi Connie! I have those instructions in the Sourdough Bread Recipehere.
Can you start with Einkorn Flour? It is a whole wheat flour.
Hi Sherry. I haven’t tested that. Based on what I’ve read, yes- but you may want to research this as well to learn more about what to expect when using einkorn flour.
How should the consistency of the starter look like around day 3 or 4? I did the same 100g starter, 100g water, and 100g flour but it is very runny and liquidy, is that normal?
Hi Elise. That can happen. Just stick to your feeding schedule and it should start to thicken and bubble as it matures. If you notice it’s not thickening, or not getting much rise and if you live in a humid climate, you may need to use less hydration and make a thicker paste (like thick pancake batter), or give it a boost by feeding it with whole wheat or rye flour for a couple of feeds.
Hi Natasha. Can I also use whole wheat to ” feed” the starter?
Thanks
Hi Maria. Yes, but it ferments faster and absorbs more water so you may have to increase the hydration.
It will also have a stronger taste, earthy and more tangy.
Thanks Natasha. You’re the best 👌
God bless