01Gather flour, water, and a clean jar
Set out bread flour, filtered water, a 500 ml glass jar, scale, and spoon. Wipe the jar dry — soap residue slows fermentation.
Label the jar "Starter Day 1" with today's date. You will thank yourself on day 4.
Food & Cooking
Sourdough Starter From Scratch
7-day feed schedule, discard rhythm, float test — a living starter you can bake with
2h13 photographed stepsBeginner
Build a sourdough starter from nothing: weigh flour and water, mix your day-one paste, cover and mark the jar, feed and discard on a simple schedule, read bubbles and smell, pass the float test, and maintain a fridge backup. Every step is photographed — no vague 'wait until it looks ready' without telling you what ready looks like.
What you'll learn
- Mix a 1:1 flour-to-water starter and keep it alive
- Feed and discard without wasting half your flour budget
- Read bubbles, rise, and smell — hungry vs ripe
- Pass the float test before baking
- Store a maintenance starter in the fridge
Inside this course
- Day 1 — Mix and restFlour, water, jar, patience.
- Days 2–3 — First bubblesCover, mark, watch it wake up.
- Feeding rhythmDiscard half, feed fresh flour and water.
- Ready to bakeFloat test, fridge backup, first loaf path.
Full step-by-step lessons with photos unlock with a subscription.
Free preview
First steps from Day 1 — Mix and rest
See how every step looks — photo, checklist, and pro tips included.
02Weigh 50 g flour and 50 g water
Tare the jar on the scale. Add 50 g flour, then 50 g water (100% hydration). Equal weights, not equal volume — flour compacts.
Total starter: 100 g. Small on purpose so feeds stay cheap.
Pro tip. Use lukewarm water if your kitchen is cold — not hot, or you kill wild yeast.
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Step 1
Gather flour, water, and a clean jar
Step 2
Weigh 50 g flour and 50 g water
Step 3
Mix until no dry flour remains
Step 4
Cover loosely — air must get in
Step 5
Mark the level with a rubber band
Step 6
Day 2 — look for bubbles and smell
Step 7
Discard half the starter (about 50 g)
Step 8
Feed 50 g flour + 50 g water
Step 9
Stir, mark the band, wait 4–12 hours
Step 10
Smell check — ripe vs hungry
Step 11
Float test — a spoonful in water
Step 12
Move a backup to the fridge
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