Sourdough Starter#

I’ve tried a few different instructions for making a starter. This is the best and most reliable I’ve found: https://www.theclevercarrot.com/2019/03/beginner-sourdough-starter-recipe/.

Tips#

• On days 2 and 3 your starter may be ‘going off’. Don’t get excited. This is ‘bad yeast’ from the whole wheat. On day 3 or 4 the starter will seem to die down.
• By day 6 you should notice that the starter is ‘bubbling’.
• I disregard when guides say ‘double in size’, I don’t think it doubles.

Maintaining the Starter#

Most guides detail the mass or volume you should keep from the discard and the amount of water and flour to add. I don’t enjoy the repetitive weighing or measuring; it doesn’t serve me. So I eyeball it. Once you have a starter which is bubbling, you will know how the consistency is supposed to be: tacky / sticky / extra doughy.

If you have about 1/3 cup of starter in a jar (3 inch cylinder, 1 inch tall), +/- 25%, then what I do is:

• Add 2 to 3 ’tall’ tablespoons of flour to the jar
• Add warm water - turn my sink on for a half of a second into the jar
• Mix with a fork, the consistency should be tacky / sticky / extra doughy
• Add a little more water or a little more flour as needed to get the right feel
• The main thing is that you want to no more than double the amount of starter you begin with. Doubling is fine, but aim for slightly less. That’s the amount of flour and water to add. If you do less, the starter will ‘finish eating’ quickly and if you add too much the starter may die.

Photos#