Sourdough is made by a natural process of fermenting flour and makes a bread that is easier for our bodies to digest than regular flour breads. Don’t be scared off by the idea of fermenting and making sourdough, it is unbelievably easy! Making your own sourdough starter only takes a minute or two per day. I think the hardest part is remembering to feed your starter everyday!

A few years ago I wanted to make sourdough bread but I didn’t have any sourdough starter. I asked friends, looked on Craigslist and asked around at work. No one had any starter. I remembered my mom having starter when I was a kid and it was something you passed on to friends and neighbors, no one made it from scratch. I didn’t even know if that was possible so I hopped on the internet and began searching.

Amazingly I did find a very simple recipe. I wrote the instructions on a piece of scratch paper that I still have but unfortunately I didn’t write down the website I got it from so I can’t go back and thank them for helping me become a sourdough fanatic!

I was recently reading Wild Fermentation by Sandor Ellix Katz, a book I highly recommend to those interested in learning more about fermenting foods. He explains in detail the process of fermentation, the history of sourdough plus recipes on making a variety of fermented foods. It is a fascinating read and if you aren’t already a fermenting fanatic, you will quickly become one!

I’m sharing this easy sourdough starter recipe with you so you can start making your own fermented goodies and become a sourdough addict like myself! In the next few weeks I also will be sharing some of our favorite sourdough recipes for you to try once you have a lovely bubbling sourdough starter.

Sourdough Starter:

1. In a pint size glass jar, mix 2 Tablespoons of flour* and 2 Tablespoons of lukewarm water. The consistency of the mixture should be more like thick pancake batter than a lump of bread dough. If you didn’t measure exactly and it is too dry, add just a tiny bit more water until the consistency is more wet.

 

• Cover the jar loosely with a breathable cover like cheesecloth or a hand towel and let it sit on the counter at room temperature (it does best in 70-80 degree temps). You will notice that the mixture will start to develop bubbles and a nice sour smell after the first few days.

 

 

• Feed your starter one to two times per day for the next seven days by adding the exact same measurement (2 TBS flour and 2 TBS water). If the top of the sourdough starter begins to get a hard crust, simply pick it out and discard before feeding the starter again.

 

 

• After seven days your starter should be very bubbly and have a delicious sour smell. This is how you know it is ready to use. Once you have a recipe you are going to use, make sure you know how much starter you will need and feed your starter accordingly. For example, if the recipe calls for 1/4 cup of starter you will need to feed your starter enough of the flour/water ratio to have 1/4 cup of starter plus extra to keep feeding for future use.

 

 

• Each day you will need to feed your starter the same ratio of flour/water once per day to keep it alive. The beauty of sourdough is that you can make the starter in any quantity you want as long as you keep the 1:1 ratio of flour to water.

 

 

• If you are not going to be home everyday to feed your starter, you can put it in the refrigerator for a few days without having to feed it. Just don’t make the mistake I did last year and forget about it or you will have a funky mess to discard and will have to make your sourdough starter from scratch again.

 

*I have used both whole wheat and unrefined white wheat flour to make the sourdough starter. I know of some gluten free folks who have been successful in using other types of gluten free flours in their sourdough.

Update: Here is our recipe for How to Make the Perfect Loaf of Sourdough Bread