I love sourdough bread. During the past year, I’ve been experimenting with ways to make a sourdough starter, not only start it but keep it alive. Here are nine ways to start and keep alive a sourdough starter. These methods are very easy and I bet you have at least some of these starter materials already in your home. If not they are easily obtainable, at least most of them.
How to Start a Starter
These general methods will work for any of the types of sourdough starter below. On average it takes one week to get your sourdough bubbly and useable. Leave your starter sitting on your counter or wherever it’s convenient, at room temperature, uncovered. Or if you want your starter covered, use a thin hand towel or breathable fabric so the gas can escape from the fermentation process.
- Day 1: Place half a cup of white flour and 1/2 a cup of your ‘starter’ ingredient (see list below) into a pint or small ceramic/glass bowl. Mix thoroughly.
- Day 2: Usually about 24 hours after your initial mixing, add 1/8 cup of water, and 1/8 of a cup of white flour. Mix thoroughly. Mix three or four times more over the course of the day without adding any more water or flour.
- Day 3: You should start to see a couple of small bubbles. Add another 1/8 cup of white flour and another 1/8 cup of warm water. Mix thoroughly and again, mix three or four times more over the course of the day. Don’t add any additional water or flour though when you stir.
- Day 4-7 repeat day 3. By now your sourdough should almost be at the top of the pint jar and ready to use and smelling sour. The starter should be bubbly and the consistency of melted marshmallows.
When you go to add your daily water and flour you might see a semi-hard layer on top of your sourdough. That’s perfectly normal, it just dried a bit overnight. Mix the layer into your starter when adding your water and flour. If you don’t like the hard crust on top add a teaspoon more of water on top of your mixture and don’t mix it in. Problem solved.
Types of Starters
These types of starters are all made from items I already had in my home, that naturally contain yeast on their own. I’m sure everyone has at least some of these. I’m listing them in order in what I consider are the strongest starters, they bubbled early and were useable before the week is out, to the weakest.
- Get a starter from a friend: I know this is a bit cheating, but getting a starter from a friend is easy and reliable. This is how I did it originally five years ago, and my starter is still going strong. If your friend has a 100-year-old starter then, by all means, ask her for some. All you need is about half a cup to get going. After that, it’s just a matter of feeding it and using it.
- Birch Sap: Scoop up half a cup of the bubbles sitting on top of the birch sap when you pour it into a pot to make syrup. Mix with sap with 1/2 cup of white flour.
- Yogurt Whey: This has to be from a live culture yogurt such as ‘Nancy’s Yogurt’ which is the brand I use. Or hey from your own whey if you make your own yogurt as I do. Read here to learn how to make your own yogurt. Mix half a cup of whey with white flour.
- Beer: I used a canned stout for my starter. Slightly more than 1/2 a cup of foamy beer and 1/2 a cup of white flour.
- Kombucha: I make my own kombucha, you can learn how to make your own here if you don’t already. But I imagine a store-bought brand would work as well. Use 1/8 cup of Kombucha, a 1/2″ square piece of SCOBY from the Kombucha, 1/4 of a cup of water and 1/2 cup of white flour.
- Apple Cider Vinegar: Again this has to be from a live culture apple cider vinegar. I make my own, you can learn about how to make your own vinegar here. Or you can use a brand such as Bragg’s which uses live starter. Add half a cup of cider and half a cup of white flour and mix together.
- Maple Syrup: Use 1/4 cup of syrup, 1/4 of a cup of water, and 1/2 a cup of white flour. This starter tends to be thicker than the others so you might have to add an additional tablespoon or two of water daily dependent upon your climate.
- Wine: From cheap, red, boxed wine. I believe it was a Costo brand. 1/4 + 1/8 cup of red wine, 1/4 cup of water, and 1/2 cup of water. Like the syrup, this mix was a bit drier than most, so you might need to add a couple of tablespoons more water depending upon your climate. This starter is rather slow to get going but it does bubble. I’m curious to see how it goes in the long run.
- Soy Sauce: It was the Kikkoman brand. I think if I used a Tamari sauce this might have worked better since Tamari is fermented. But it did work. Use 1/4 cup of soy or tamari sauce, 1/4 cup of water, and 1/2 cup of water. Again this is a drier mix so add a tablespoon more of water if you need to, otherwise it’s the consistency of peanut butter.
The Winner is Birch Sap
This is my favorite starter I’ve ever made, talk about an enthusiastic over achiever starter. You feed it a little and away it goes on day three. Now I realize that not everyone has access to birch sap. I’m guessing that any tree sap you can make into syrup would work just fine to make some healthy sourdough starter. But if you have access to Birch Sap you can read here all about how to make it. I’ve made some twice in two years and it’s worked beautifully and my starter from last year is still going. And the bread is amazing as well.
How to Keep Your Starter Alive
Feed it like a goldfish. That’s how you keep your starter alive, feed it just a bit every day, but don’t overfeed it. If you don’t use your starter daily then feed it about two tablespoons of white flour and just slightly more water every day. Stir the mixture after adding the flour and water. I use my starter about once or twice a week but if you plan on using it every day you’re going to need at least a cup of bubbly starter for your recipe and about 1/4 of a cup leftover to start again. My rule of thumb is if my starter has bubbled to almost the top of my pint jar then I can safely use it and still have leftover to start again. Usually if you add say 1/4 cup of water and 1/4 cup of flour you’ll end up with maybe a third of that amount again in the starter. So be careful of overflowing your container. If you don’t want to use your starter for a while and are tired of feeding it, say your going on vacation, put a lid on it, and put it in the fridge. When you get home, pour off the slightly gray looking water off the top and slowly start feeding your sourdough as above. It should be ready for use within the week.
