Everything you Need to Know about Starting Sourdough

I'm late to the sourdough game, I know. But that means I get to learn from everyone else's mistakes, right?

So if you've put off making a sourdough starter because of the multiweek long, mathematical nightmare you've been lead to believe it is, don't worry, it's actually very easy and everyone is making it seem much more complicated than it is.

First, yeast basics.

If you're used to using active yeast packets, sourdough starter is just a goopier, tastier version of those. The science remains the same. Yeast is a living ingredient and eats flour. Warm water and sugar wake up the dried yeast and the flour feeds it. Your dough grows in size because the yeast is feeding and rapidly fermenting- producing carbon dioxide- as a result.

With a sourdough starter, instead of having the dried yeast that needs waking up, you have living yeast that needs to be fed. That yeast has been fermenting slowly which is why you'll see the same growth and bubbling in your jar that you see when waking up your active yeast packet.

Second, baking math basics.

For us American bakers, perhaps the first hurdle is that bread baking measurements are typically shown in grams rather than cups. This is not European elitism as I first assumed, but actually just a much better measurement when your two ingredients have such varying weights. And while 113g may seem more scientific or precise than 1 cup, do not be afraid, there is plenty of wiggle room.

You'll come to see 113g as the holy grail of bread baking measurements, but truly, it's just 1/2 a cup of water and about 1 cup of flour, depending on type.

Third, the endless sea of flour choices.

Realistically, it doesn't matter. Whatever you have in your cabinet is going to be fine. However, you're going to have more rise (carbon dioxide production) the more gluten and protein a flour has. Whole wheat is great for starting and you'll see a quicker fermentation process than you would a general all purpose flour. Try to steer toward unbleached flour rather than bleached for more nutrients.

Fourth, tools.

You'll need a scale and a glass jar with a lid. A digital scale is easiest because you can zero out the measurements and not have to remember the weight of your container. Use a glass jar because glass is impermeable and wont let anything in or out that we don't want. I prefer to keep a bigger jar with more starter because I make a lot of mistakes and I'm impatient but you can keep whatever size is easiest for you.

Starting your sourdough.

On the first day, God mixed equal parts warm water and flour.

113g of warm water

113g of flour.

Mix together into a slurry in a glass jar and put something breathable over the top like cheesecloth, tea towel, or paper towel.

On the second day, God did it again.

Now, you can discard half of your starter or not at this stage. If you've been curious about the discard in other starter recipes, it's really just so you don't make a huge mess by doubling something that's going to again double in size. You don't have to worry too much about the exact amount you discard, especially if you have a digital scale but for all the mathematicians keeping score, you'd discard about 113g of your starter.

113g warm water.

113g flour.

Mix together into a slurry and cover.

What to do with discard?

Discard is simply yeast that hasn't been feed. It's not going to have the same rise a loaf of bread would have or need so you it's great for flour based recipes that don't need a ton of rise like pancakes, crackers, biscuits, etc. It makes for wonderful compost and you could also put it in a smaller glass jar and save it in the freezer or gift it to someone. Or you could throw it out it. If moralizing the discard of 113g of water and flour is what's stopping you from making fresh bread, throw it out you'll be fine.

On the third day, God did it yet again.

I don't know why the guides always have day by day week by week care. You repeat the process of equal parts discarding and then adding warm water and flour. Once you start to smell a sour banana smell and see air pockets growing, you've done it!

See, it's very easy. I made my first loaf of bread on my starter's 5th day after it had exploded. Every recipe that exists was once just a kitchen experiment, usually a failure of one. There are tips and tricks you'll learn along the way but food, much like the rest of life, happens in practice and not theory. You just have to start.

Caring for your starter.

Congratulations, you've created a living thing akin to those water moss balls with hats everyone was on about a few years ago. Here are some very basic care tips to keep it alive.

When to feed my starter?

If you're keeping it at room temperature, the yeast babies are hungry! Feed them every 24-48 hours to make sure they don't cannibalize and die.

What if I don't want to be enslaved to a jar of yeast?

You're probably not going to bake bread every day, so feel free to put your starter in the fridge until you need it again. In the fridge, you can get away with not feeding it for about 2-4 weeks.

How do I wake it up from the fridge?

Take it out and let it warm to room temperature. Feed it and use it about 8-12 hours after feeding.

When is the best time to use the starter after feeding?

The best time to use it is right when it begins deflating from it's peak rise. The yeast have woken up and eaten all the sugar/protein you've provided and they're hungry for more. You've lulled them into a false sense of security and they'll be none the wiser when you add them to your mixing bowl and give them more food than they've ever seen.

How do I know my starter is good/bad?

Good- sour banana smell, bubbles and air pockets, spiderweb like tendrils when you tilt it away from the sides of the jar.

Bad- rotten smell, pink or orange veining/mold.

Best consistency?

You want it to be wet/goopy but don't have any water pooling. Add more water or flour to aim for consistency rather than an exact measurement, especially if you're using cups rather than grams to measure.