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If you are interested in dipping your toe into sourdough bread baking, for starters you’ll need a starter.
There are many great resources on the web for building a starter from scratch, but I suggest buying one. I outline why in more detail here — Sourdough Focaccia: A Beginner’s Guide — but in short, it’s for ease.
But also because:
- If you’re curious about sourdough, get to it! Making a starter from scratch takes weeks.
- They’re relatively cheap (or free if you get one from a friend or baker).
Where to Purchase a Sourdough Starter
I have had success purchasing and activating sourdough starters from two places:
- Breadtopia via Amazon ($9)
- King Arthur Flour ($9)
Both places offer guidance for “activating” the starter. Breadtopia’s instructions live on their website. King Arthur Flour sends along a booklet with details, but also provides online help.
In short, to “activate” each, you simply add flour and water, stir, and wait — that’s all there is to feeding a sourdough starter.
How to Activate a Sourdough Starter
A purchased starter generally arrives in a small bag or container. I’ve created a short video for activating a KAF starter. You can use this same process for activating a Breadtopia starter as well:
Follow these steps to activate it:
- Place starter in a vessel. I love these deli quart containers for this purpose.
- Add a handful or two of all-purpose flour and roughly an equal amount of water (room temperature tap water is what I use). Stir. If you like being precise: add 45 g each of flour and water. (Note: You may need to add a little more flour or water to get the consistency right, which should be like a thick batter.)
- Wait. You may see bubbles and action (rising!) in as few as 6 hours; it may take more like 18 to 24 hours. Variables include the time of year, the temperature of your kitchen, the temperature of your water, how much water and flour you used, etc.
- When the starter has roughly doubled in volume, it’s likely ready to go. Drop a spoonful of it in a glass of water. If it floats, you’re ready!
- If it doesn’t float after 24 hours, add more flour and water (equal parts), stir again, and wait.
- If you aren’t seeing any action after another 12 hours, discard most it it, and add more flour and water (equal parts), stir, and wait. Just be patient. Before you know it, your starter will be rising and bubbling and ready to go.
How to Feed A Sourdough Starter
If your starter floats, and you’re ready to start baking, measure the required amount into a bowl and proceed with the recipe. Here are two great beginner’s sourdough recipes:
If you’re not ready to bake, discard most of it, add an equal amount of flour and water (45 g each or so), stir it together, cover with a breathable lid — these are fun — and stash in your fridge.
From here on out, you’ll need to feed it roughly once a week — I’ve left it for as long as three weeks without a feeding, and it has been fine, but I don’t recommend waiting that long in between feedings.
You don’t have to be precise with each feeding and you don’t have to use a lot of flour and water to feed it: a handful of flour, a few splashes of water is all you need. If you like being more precise, use 45 g each flour and water to start:
- Place the vessel holding your starter on a scale, and add 45 g flour:
2. Add 45 g water:
3. Stir together and mark the top of the mixture with a rubber band:
4. Wait until the starter doubles or nearly doubles:
5. Test it! If it floats, you’re good to go!
Before long, you’ll get the hang of your starter’s rhythm: how it rises and falls, how it behaves when you feed it more regularly, how it behaves when you neglect it, how it smells at various stages, etc.
When you’re ready to bake, the goal is to “catch” the starter at its peak — this is when it is the strongest/most alive. If you miss the opportunity, and the starter collapses, don’t despair: simply discard some of it (or don’t), and feed it again with equal parts flour and water by weight, stir, and set it aside to rise again.
Maintaining a Sourdough Starter
- After I use my starter for a bread recipe, I like to replenish it with a very small amount of flour and water (roughly equal parts by weight). Once I add the flour and water and stir it all together, I cover the vessel with a cloth cover, and stash it in the fridge.
- Every time I use it or feed it, I discard most of it, and feed it with equal amounts by weight water and flour.
Questions? Thoughts? Shoot!
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kim says
I’ve been thoroughly enjoying your book (best pizza we’ve had since moving to Maine!) and would love to give some sourdough a try. I see that you’ve linked to Breadtopias live starter vs their dry starter. Does it matter that it’s now winter and the live starter will be shipping to Maine in frigid temps? Thanks.
alexandra says
oh yay! This makes me so happy. Thank you 🙂
I don’t think it matters regarding the weather — the live starter is very thick/sticky and concentrated. I think as long as you roughly follow the instructions on Breadtopia’s website for activating it, you can’t go wrong. But: I don’t think you can go wrong with the dry starter either. I think, but don’t quote me, the live starter may activate more quickly? And therefore you’ll be able to get to baking more quickly.
kim says
Thanks!
Catherine says
Hi! I’ve been maintaining a starter for about two months now feeding weekly and storing in the fridge. The last few times I’ve fed it it has barely doubled in volume and doesn’t float – any ideas on what’s happening? Should I feed it again if I test and notice it’s not floating? Thanks 🙂
alexandra says
Hi Catherine! I would discard about 90% of it and feed it with equal parts (by weight) water and flour: try 75 grams of each. Let it sit for at least 8 hours and see how it’s looking. If you’re noticing activity and you think it will continue to rise, let it continue rising; if it looks only somewhat active, I would repeat the discard process.
Question: as you’ve been feeding it, how much are you discarding before you are feeding it? And did you start this starter from scratch?
debbie says
How do you make enough starter to do multiple loaves of sourdough? I have stayed away from it for 2 reasons: throwing so much away, and how to get enough ? I have been baking Italian loaves..but want to move forward with this ..HELP?? I love your book and site, I also follow you on Instagram..
alexandra says
Hi Debbie — I hear you! The discard part of it deterred me for awhile as well. These days, if I am baking regularly, I don’t waste much. But if I take a break and have to revive my starter, I do find myself discarding a fair amount to get the starter back up to speed.
To answer your question: if you want to make multiple loaves, I would divide your active starter into 2 or 3 containers (all you need is a few tablespoons of starter in each container). I use deli quart containers. Then feed each one with equal parts by weight flour and water: try 75 grams of each. Each container will give you enough starter for one loaf.
rose says
Hello Alexandra, I would like to know if I can pull the sourdough out of the fridge (when using for bread making) and use it right away or do I need to let it warm to room temp? Tks in advance!
alexandra says
Hi Rose! Generally, I take my starter from my fridge, discard most of it, feed it with flour and room-temp water (equal parts), stir it, and let it rise. If you use your starter often, and you pull it from the fridge, and it looks active, you can test it out: drop a spoonful of it in water, and if it floats, it’s ready. But generally, a starter from the fridge needs some time to “wake up” and usually needs to be fed, too.
Tammy says
Received a starter, from a friend. It had the schedule attached and ‘feed’ recipe. In my enthusiasm to keep the starter going, the schedule made it look to ‘feed’ it before Saturday (I received it on Wednesday) When I took out the 1/2 cu of starter, the recipe my friend gave me said 1 cu of flour, and 1/2 cu of water, it wouldn’t even stir up. SO, I thought maybe I was suppose to just ‘add’ it to the whole thing. HA, yeah now I see that was not correct. Have I wrecked it now? Can I save it? Please help. Thank you. Lesson learned to check website first. yikes!
alexandra says
You can definitely save it!
OK, here’s what I would do: I would take a very small amount of the starter (like less than a quarter cup) and place it in a new vessel: something like a quart container. Feed it with equal parts by weight (do you have a digital scale??) flour and water: try 75 g each flour and water. (If you don’t have a scale, use 1/2 cup flour and 1/3 cup water and see what the consistency gets you … you don’t want it as thin as pancake batter, but it shouldn’t be as stiff as bread dough either.) Give it a stir, cover it loosely with a lid or towel, mark the height of the starter with a rubber band and leave it at room temperature to rise. In 6-8 hours, it should be rising nicely.
Andrea says
Starter question! My starter is definitely doubling in size after being fed but does not float when I put a bit in water. I got this starter from a friend about 4 weeks ago. I forgot about it the first week, discarded most of it and fed it (1 c flour, 1/2 c lukewarm water) and put it back in the fridge and have done this now two weeks in a row. Yesterday i took it out of the fridge, fed it and have let it sit on the counter top and fed it twice over this time. Any suggestions? I really want to bake with it!
alexandra says
Hi Andrea! How long at room temperature are you letting it sit before testing it? Also: when testing it, have you tried a narrow glass filled with water and just a spoonful of starter? Sometimes when I fill a bowl, like a cereal bowl with water, and drop my starter in, it doesn’t look buoyant, but it actually is … it’s just the vessel.
Drs says
Real fast way to start a sourdough starter is to use some kumbucha to add to your flour with a little water or you cab shread some SCOBY into the flour mix!!
alexandra says
So interesting! Love this idea. We brew our own kombucha. Going to try this!
Santos_L_Halper says
Couple of things I’d add:
1) It’s actually worth being precise when you feed your starter.
As in, use a scale.
See, most sourdough recipes are developed using a 100 percent hydration starter (always fed with equal parts, by weight, of flour and water). Deviate from this formula a bit and it doesn’t really matter. Deviate from it a bunch, however, and your rise times can be wildly different than you anticipate – as much as sourdough rise times can be anticipated, of course.
Regardless, the hydration of your starter is an easy variable to control and, given the unpredictable nature of sourdough baking, controlling what you CAN control is generally worth it.
2) If you have a starter that is particularly difficult to wake up, consider using a bit of whole wheat or rye flour when you feed it. These less processed flours retain more of the naturally occurring yeast and bacteria that make a starter work, so they can help coax a recalcitrant starter back to life.
*Yes, you are technically making a levain when you add a different kind of flour to your starter, but if that kind of thing is a huge deal to you, then chances are that you already know what you’re doing and aren’t hanging out here, looking for tips!!!
Oh. And if your starter ever smells like a hockey locker room or has pink or orange mold on it, toss it and start over.
alexandra says
Thank you for all of this, Santos! You are absolutely right regarding baking times. I have noticed that when my starter is on the liquidy side, the bulk fermentation happens faster. I have also heard that rye works wonders on an inactive starter. Thanks again for taking the time to share all of this!
Gulen McKeever says
Hi Alexandra,
I am a private chef and I have always been amazed with sourdough and foccacia even though never had a chance to bake much. Due to the corona virus, I am forced to stay at home and made my own sourdough and tried your recipe. It was just freaking awesome.
Thank you so much,
Gulen
alexandra says
So happy to hear this, Gulen! Thanks for writing. Happy Baking!