Want to make sourdough bread, but not sure where to start? You’re in the right place.
We’ve pulled together our sourdough resources to create a guide that takes you from beginner to baker. Start by making (or buying!) a sourdough starter, learn how to feed and maintain it, then begin baking with our classic recipes. Don’t know the tools you actually need? Unsure what to do with all that discard? We’ve got you covered there, too. Let’s get baking.
If you want to make your own sourdough starter from scratch
To make your own sourdough starter, you only need three things: flour, water, and time. You’ll start by combining equal parts flour and water. Let that mixture rest at room temperature, and then regularly discard some of it and refresh with more flour and water. As the mixture sits over the course of several days, it will begin to cultivate a flourishing community of microorganisms (which is what makes your bread rise) and slowly become bubbly and vigorous.
You’ll keep up a regular schedule of refreshing (or “feeding”) the starter twice a day, every 12 hours, until it doubles in size within six to eight hours. This can take anywhere from five to 14 days, depending on conditions. (So if you’re not seeing much activity, just be patient! And feel free to call our Baker’s Hotline for troubleshooting and advice.) Once the starter has reached this point, you can start baking with it or keep maintaining it until ready to use. (See “How to maintain sourdough starter” below.)
Instead of taking days to make a starter from scratch, you can have one delivered in the mail. Our fresh sourdough starter is a mature, ready-to-use sourdough culture. You’ll just need to refresh it with flour and water (in other words, “feed” it) until it’s bubbly and doubles in size within six to eight hours. Then, it’s ready to bake, or to be stored and maintained until you want to use it. (See “How to maintain sourdough starter” below.)
Wait, did someone give you some of their starter? If someone gifts you some of their starter, the best thing to do is to feed it immediately. Combine equal parts (by weight) starter, flour, and water, and let sit at room temperature. Gauge how active the sourdough starter is: Did it double in volume in six to eight hours? If so, it’s ready to store and maintain for future use, or to bake with right now.
Did the starter not double in volume? Feed it again. Continue these maintenance feeds every 12 hours at room temperature until the starter doubles in size in six to eight hours. Then get baking, or store it according to your maintenance schedule.
How to maintain sourdough starter
Generally, there are two routines you may choose to maintain your sourdough starter. Depending on your choice, here’s how often to feed sourdough starter:
- Twice daily at room temperature: If you’re a regular sourdough baker, the best way to have ripe starter when you need it is to keep your starter on the counter at room temperature and feed it twice daily, about every 12 hours.
- Once a week in the fridge: If you’re a more casual sourdough baker, it’s easiest to keep your starter in the fridge and feed it once a week. (We recommend leaving it on the counter for a few hours after feeding to start fermenting before returning it to the fridge.) Then, a day or two before you want to bake, give it a couple of feedings at room temperature before using it to bake.
To feed sourdough starter, you simply discard some of the existing starter, then replace it with flour and water. Essentially, you’re giving the starter’s microorganisms food (in the form of flour) to keep them happy and healthy. Once fed, the starter will become active and bubbly again, doubling in volume before it exhausts itself and begins to sink back down.
