Starting a Sourdough Starter: The Basics

I’ve wanted to start making more bread for some time now. I dream of large, luxurious loaves baking on a daily basis, making the house smell like a bakery. But I don’t. I even have Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day, but my fridge, you see, is teeny tiny when you’re trying to feed six people. Most days we have to play a few games of Tetris to fit the leftovers in and get the door to close and a bucket o’ dough just doesn’t fit. But oh, how I wish it would. Focaccia be mine!

This week was different. This week I took the plunge. I’ve started a sourdough starter. It’s the first step towards making my very own bread. I’m pretty excited about it, and Ole is too. I could tell when he came home and spied the mug of goo on the counter and, knowing nothing of my plan at all, he asked, “Sourdough starter?” And all the nerdy foodie stars aligned. There was a reason I married this man. That is it.


To help me in the sourdough starter process is my dear Lene, who appears to have aged four full years rather than just turning four last month. And this is the story of how I spent all of 3 minutes in the kitchen with my four-year-old making a sourdough starter earlier this week. Three minutes? Yes. Science experiment with the preschooler and the toddler? Goodness, yes.

Step 1: Water. A quarter cup of it. I used tap water and let it sit to remove the chlorine. You could also use mineral water, and aim for the water to be at room temperature. Add it to a glass container that’s about pint-sized. I am out of canning jars because they’re all full of food, so I used this lovely mug instead.

Step 2: Whole wheat flour. Three-eighths of a cup here. I buy Bob’s Red Mill most often because the lovely Rainbow down the street carries it making it easily accessible. King Arthur is also good for snobbery in the flour aisle. Be a snob. It’s worth it.

Step 3: Mix it up and scrape down the sides. I used a regular old spoon, and as long as you don’t have reactive spoons, this should also work for you. Reactive metals would include copper, cast iron or aluminum. You could also use wood or silicone or whatever, I suppose.

Step 4: Cover loosely. We don’t want those pesky moths that seem to sneak in the door every time it opens in the evening landing in there. A cloth would also work here, but don’t seal it because we want the air to be able to get in and out.

And wait. For 12 hours we wait. Then we repeat the process: 1/4 cup water mixed in. Then add 3/8 cup of flour. Wait for 12 hours. Throw out half of the mixture. (Compost.) Add in 1/4 cup of water and stir. Add in 3/8 cup of flour and stir. Scrape the sides, cover and wait. Hopefully you will see some of these: BUBBLES!

I thought I had killed my starter. I had seen the bubbles, but then after my second feeding there were very few. It looked lifeless and sad. So, I gave it a stir at 12 hours to see what it would do. It *had* been cold in my house, and I’d learned through the sourdough ecourse (information below) I’m taking that it could slow down the process. So, I gave it a stir instead of feeding it and waited. And it paid off. Just four hours later I have an inch more starter growing, and I have quite a few more bubbles! And when that starter looks nice and bubbly and starts filling up my cracked-handle mug, well, then I’m ready to bake. Soon there will be bread.

If your starter doesn’t take off, try, try again. Don’t get discouraged. Be sure you’re not using distilled water; mineral water and tap water (because it has minerals in it) is best. Try a different spoon. Is your flour fresh? Check out the ecourse below for more information on maintaining your starter and the hows and whys of growing it.

This post on the beauties of creating your very own sourdough starter is sponsored by GNOWFGLINS eCourse, where you can learn the art of mastering traditional cooking methods and sourdough! Check out the Sourdough eCourse and join me because, um, I may have registered for it and gotten sucked in. It is quite probable. (There is a crepe and crepe cake topic. I mean, come on. Of course I got sucked in.)