Your First Week With a Sourdough Starter

A starter is two ingredients and a small daily commitment. You will probably give it a name.

All you need is whole wheat or rye flour, unbleached all-purpose flour, lukewarm water and a clean quart jar. The wild yeast and bacteria come along with the flour.

The plan

1. Day 1: Stir 60 g of whole wheat flour with 60 g of water. Cover it loosely and leave it somewhere around 75 F.
2. Day 2: Do nothing but look at it. There may be a few bubbles.
3. Days 3 to 4: Discard all but 60 g. Feed it 60 g of all-purpose flour and 60 g of water. It may smell odd, and it may go oddly quiet. Both are normal.
4. Days 5 to 7: Feed it once or twice a day the same way. Mark the level with a rubber band.

How to tell it is ready

It should double in size within about six hours of feeding, and smell pleasantly tangy, like yogurt. In a cool house, this can take two weeks. Do not give up on day six.

What can go wrong

• Bubbly, then nothing: this false start is very common. Keep feeding on schedule.
• Clear liquid on top: it is hungry. Pour off the liquid and feed it.
• Pink or orange streaks, or fuzzy mold: throw it out and start over. Those are not safe.

Living with it

Once established, a starter can live in the fridge and get fed weekly. Bake with the discard in pancakes and crackers. Tell people its name. They did not ask, but we support you.