Graceful Little Honey Bee

How to Make Sourdough Starter

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Learn how to make sourdough starter for delicious and healthy homemade bread!

Sourdough Starter

 Before yeast was commercially available, people made sourdough bread by capturing wild yeasts from the air in a process called fermentation. Fermentation is gaining a lot of attention lately because of all the health benefits including making food more easily digestible, the presence of good bacteria (think yogurt), etc.

FUN FACT: Alaskan Prospectors used to carry sourdough starter with them because they didn’t know when they would be able to buy supplies.

I’ve been wanting to try my hand at fermentation and I decided that sourdough starter would be a good place to start. This recipe uses store-bought yeast, but you can find recipes using only flour and water if you are feeling adventurous.

How to Make Sourdough Starter:

Mix flour and yeast, then gradually beat in water until smooth. (It will expand so you may want to place a plate underneath just in case it bubbles over.)

Cover and store in warm, dry place for 4 days or until it smells sour.

Store in plastic airtight container in the refrigerator until ready to use.

TO KEEP STARTER: Once per week beat in 1 tbsp all-purpose flour and 1 tbsp warm water until smooth. Let stand overnight or until bubbly. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

TO REPLENISH STARTER: For each 1 1/3 cups of starter used, add 1 1/3 cup all-purpose flour and 1 1/3 cup warm water back in beating until smooth. Cover and let stand overnight or until bubbly. Refrigerate until ready to use.

I’ve since made a few loaves of sourdough bread using this recipe which were AMAZING. They didn’t taste as sour as I thought they would though.

Making sourdough starter is really easy and would make a great science experiment for kids.  Also, you can share your starter with a friend if you want, just remember to “feed” it every time you use it. I wonder how long I can keep mine alive…

Have you ever made sourdough starter or any other fermented food? If not, do you think you would ever try making your own sourdough starter? I’d love to know!

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Sourdough Starter in a mason jar.
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3.80 from 10 votes

How to Make Sourdough Starter

Homemade Sourdough Starter at home.
Prep Time5 minutes
Active Time4 days
Total Time4 days 5 minutes
Course: Bread
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Sourdough Starter
Cost: 3

Equipment

  • Mason Jar

Materials

  • 3 1/2 cups all-purpose four
  • 2 1/4 tsp or one package regular or quick active dry yeast
  • 2 cups warm water should be very warm, but not hot to the touch
  • 2 qt or larger non-metallic container I used a glass jar
  • cheesecloth or other breathable material to cover

Instructions

  • Mix flour and yeast, then gradually beat in water until smooth. (It will expand so you may want to place a plate underneath just in case it bubbles over.)
  • Cover and store in warm, dry place for 4 days or until it smells sour.
  • Store in plastic airtight container in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Notes

TO KEEP STARTER: Once per week beat in 1 tbsp all-purpose flour and 1 tbsp warm water until smooth. Let stand overnight or until bubbly. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
TO REPLENISH STARTER: For each 1 1/3 cups of starter used, add 1 1/3 cup all-purpose flour and 1 1/3 cup warm water back in beating until smooth. Cover and let stand overnight or until bubbly. Refrigerate until ready to use.

 

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  1. Rebecca N says

    I attempted to make a sourdough starter last year, and after a week of our kitchen smelling like stinky feet I gave up and threw it all out. :-) Maybe I should have given it more time, but it was stinky! I will have to try this one with yeast as the starter. Thanks for sharing!
    Reply

  2. Heaven says

    I've never tried this but it's something that has always been in the back of my mind. I enjoy your site. Following on g+ and bloglovin. This is pinned. Thanks!
    Reply

  6. kentuckylady717 says

    Hi, I used to have the starter yrs. ago, and I don't recall having to use yeast.....my sis-in-law gave me a starter and as she called it I had to feed it every week, I would add certain things to it, can't remember but I know it was not yeast....and I used to make the best rolls out of it...she would make cakes, I never tried that....do you know of something like this ????
    Reply

      • Annetta says

        I use to make a friendship bread with it, but that was years ago and I can't remember anything that went in to it but cinnamon and sugar :( it was great all my friends did it to. We passed it around a lot.
        Reply

          • Kitty says

            Here is the first recipe to get your starter going: http://www.justapinch.com/recipe/stormy-stewart/amish-friendship-bread-starter/healthy-sweet-bread#.T1LX1PFnyQg.pinterest You use yeast to get it started but then only add milk, sugar, and flour to feed it. Somewhere I have a bunch of recipes you can make out of the starter as well as how to feed it only once so that you don't have to keep giving it away. I also stumbled upon this with is for a one time use but haven't tired it yet! http://www.redflycreations.com/2012/10/the-amazing-amish-cinnamon-bread.html

  8. Lydia @ Thrifty Frugal Mom says

    I haven't made sourdough in years! A lady from church gave me some starter soon after we were married and I made it some then but with just the two of us, we didn't go through bread very fast and I eventually gave it up. Her recipe took potato flakes and as I recall, was a bit more complicated than this too. But we do love sourdough bread and I've been thinking of trying it again!
    Reply

  9. Amanda says

    I followed this recipe to a T & my starter has a hard crust on top. What did I do wrong, & can I still use this one or do I need to start over?
    Reply

    • Missy Rakes says

      You may have used a jar that was too small and when it expanded it hit the cloth at the top and formed a crust. Mine did this too, but I removed it right away. I would remove the crust and see if your starter has a nice sour, yeasty smell to it. If not, I would throw it out and start over.
      Reply

  11. Jean | DelightfulRepast.com says

    Missy, I came here from your 25 Old-Fashioned Recipes post. I'm an old hand at sourdough bread, made my starter from just flour and water (you can find the directions on my blog). I keep my starter in a half-pint jar in the refrigerator (no need to keep a huge quantity of it) and make sourdough bread twice a week. My husband is addicted to it. I figure even though I buy expensive organic flour I still save a few hundred dollars a year on bread. Your blog is lovely and I look forward to reading more.
    Reply

  12. Dianne w says

    I use to make sour dough bread with the potatoes flakes. When you get tired of making bread or rolls make cinnamon & raisin bread or cinnamon rolls with pecans very good.
    Reply

  13. DONNA says

    I make sourdough bread at least once a week,, it's been a while since I made my starters but, I feed it 3 tbs of potato flakes, 3/4 cup sugar, and 1 cup warm water and leave over nite or 8 hrs, to ferment,, then I take a cup out and make bread and put the rest back in frig. I sell 6 loaves a week where my hubby works. I do use yeast in the cooler months to help it rise,,,love sourdough bread.. love your posts too....
    Reply

  14. Linda From Dallas says

    I have heard that you have to live at a certain sea level for it to really get sour. That it why it's so popular in San Francisco.
    Reply

  15. Virg says

    Never done this. Okay so I made the starter and its in the frig ready to go. I use some of it, so I will need to replace with flour and water. Then it says to let it sit for a while then refrigerate. So the whole thing comes out of the refrig then goes back in afterwards?
    Reply

  16. Franceska says

    I'd LOVE to start this. Growing up, this was always going around. We all called in friendship bread as we always shared the starter. When we give a starter to someone else, how do we give a part to them to start but not lose any for us? Thank you and I agree with you about certain things are a lost art. It's up to us to learn it and share with our children so they keep it up!
    Reply

  17. Julie says

    Can't wait to try this, but I don't see directions for baking the bread with it. Can you tell me how to bake it, please.
    Reply

  18. Dianna Whitby says

    I've been making my own bread since 2012, Rather than figure out where to store the starter, I make it fresh every 3 weeks and feed it twice a day for 3 to 4 days. My son and grandson love it. My nieces and nephew demand "Nana's Sourdough Rolls" at every family dinner
    Reply

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