How to Create Your Own Sourdough Starter

Start from scratch

Build your own sourdough starter

Making your own sourdough starter is easier than you might think. All you're doing is mixing flour and water, then giving the naturally occurring wild yeast and beneficial bacteria time to grow. Over the next week, they'll multiply into a healthy fermentation culture that can be used to bake beautiful sourdough bread.

Keep your starter somewhere warm (ideally 24-27°C). A consistent temperature is one of the biggest factors in successfully creating a strong, active starter.

The key condition

Keep it consistently warm

Keep your starter somewhere warm (ideally 24-27°C). A consistent temperature is one of the biggest factors in successfully creating a strong, active starter.

Begin the culture

Day 1

Feed

  1. Add 50g organic wholegrain rye flour to a clean jar.
  2. Add 80g water (30°C).
  3. Stir until no dry flour remains. The mixture should be quite wet.
  4. Loosely place the lid on the jar. Do not seal it airtight.
  5. Leave somewhere warm (around 25°C) for 24 hours.

What to Expect

Don't expect much activity yet. The mixture will simply look like wet flour. This is perfectly normal as the naturally occurring yeast and bacteria are only just beginning to wake up.

Watch before feeding

Day 2

Before Feeding

Have a look and smell your starter before feeding it.

You're looking for:

  • A mild sour or yoghurt-like aroma
  • Tiny bubbles beginning to appear
  • A slightly swollen or porous texture

If it still smells like wet flour or even wet grass, fermentation is only just getting started. That's completely normal. If there's very little activity, simply leave it for another 24 hours before feeding.

Feed

  1. Add 50g organic wholegrain rye flour.
  2. Add 80g water (30°C).
  3. Stir well.
  4. Leave for another 24 hours.

Activity should be building

Day 3

Before Feeding

Your starter should now be noticeably more active.

Signs you're looking for include:

  • Small bubbles throughout the mixture
  • Bubbles forming around the sides of the jar
  • A noticeable increase in volume (sometimes close to doubling)
  • A pleasant aroma similar to wheat beer, crackers, biscuits or toasted grain with a gentle tang

Don't worry if it hasn't doubled yet. Every kitchen is different and temperature plays a huge role.

Feed

  1. Add 50g organic wholegrain rye flour.
  2. Add 80g water (30°C).
  3. Stir thoroughly.
  4. Leave for another 24 hours.

Refresh the culture

Day 4

Before Feeding

By now there should be no doubt that fermentation is well underway.

Your starter should have:

  • Plenty of bubbles throughout
  • A light, airy texture
  • A noticeable rise after feeding
  • A clean, pleasantly sour aroma

This means your wild yeast and beneficial bacteria are becoming well established.

Feed

Rather than continuing to grow the same jar, it's time to refresh your culture.

  1. Transfer 50g of your starter into a second clean jar.
  2. Add 50g organic wholegrain rye flour.
  3. Add 80g water (30°C).
  4. Stir thoroughly.
  5. Leave for 24 hours.

You can discard the remaining starter or save it for other recipes.

Prepare for baking

Day 5

Before Feeding

Your starter should now be very lively.

You should see:

  • Lots of bubbles throughout the jar
  • A significant rise after feeding
  • A light, fluffy texture
  • A pleasantly tangy aroma with no unpleasant or rotten smells

If your starter is consistently rising and showing these signs, it's developing exactly as it should.

Feed

  1. Transfer 30g starter into a clean jar.
  2. Add 50g organic wholegrain rye flour.
  3. Add 50g organic strong white bread flour.
  4. Add 130g water (30°C).
  5. Stir thoroughly.
  6. Leave somewhere warm for 12 hours.

The final check

Ready to Bake?

After this final feed, your starter is capable of baking bread.

For the strongest and most reliable results, we recommend feeding it another 2-3 times before your first bake. Although it is active now, a sourdough starter continues to become stronger, more predictable and more flavourful over the next 4-6 weeks.

Signs Your Starter is Ready

Your starter is ready to bake with when it:

  • Doubles (or even triples) in volume after feeding.
  • Is full of bubbles throughout, not just on the surface.
  • Has a pleasantly sour, slightly fruity or yoghurt-like aroma.
  • Has a light, airy texture.
  • Reaches its highest point before slowly beginning to fall.

If yours is doing all of the above, congratulations! You've successfully created your own natural sourdough starter. From here, all it needs is regular feeding to keep it healthy and active for years to come.

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