Looking for an easy, sourdough starter recipe for beginners? Adapted from Artisan Sourdough Made Simple, follow my no-nonsense guide for practical tips, tricks, and ongoing care- anyone can do it.

Beginner Sourdough Starter Recipe

Only a small amount of whole wheat flour flour

Day 1: 60 g flour + 60 g water = 120 g starter

Day 3: Remove &amp; discard half of the starter/ 60 g starter + 60 g flour + 60 g water = 180 g starter

Day 4: Remove &amp; discard half of the starter/ 90 g starter + 60 g flour + 60 g water = 210 g starter

Day 5: Remove &amp; discard half of the starter/ 105 g starter + 60 g flour + 60 g water = 225 g starter

Day 6: Remove &amp; discard half of the starter/ 112.2 g starter + 60 g flour + 60 g water = 232.5 g starter

Day 7: Remove &amp; discard half of the starter/ 116.25 g starter + 60 g flour + 60 g water = 236.27 g starter

At a glance, your overall daily schedule with measurements should look like this:

Is it possible to use sprouted grain flour and if so could it be used on day 1 to set up the starter?

I'm on Day 3 and just fed my starter, but I realized I accidentally stirred the hooch back in which made it pretty watery. Like pour out of the jar watery instead of scooping it out... :/ Did I just destroy it? I completed the feeding and it's back in its warm spot, so just crossing my fingers!

Hello, I’m on day 5 now and my starter always have hooch. Is that ok? Should I alter something or feed my starter 2 times a day? It has a lot of activity  and growth for the first 12 hours after feeding and would fall down after that time. I also noticed that hooch (watery substance in the middle) would form as early as 3 hours after feeding.

Im on day 6 and my starter smells soooo strongly of gym socks. Is that ok? I was gagging it was so strong. Also I kept it in the oven with the light on overnight but no hooch and lots of bubbling throughout. Could that be the cause of the strong smell?

Thank you for the recipe! My starter is on day 4, it has lots of bubbles but it didn’t rise... was also very runny 12 hours after the feeding so I fed it again. It smells like puke (very strong sour smell) is it normal? Thank you in advance!

How does gluten free sourdough starter turn out or is it a no no

Hi, im a little confused on how much my starter should be kept in a warm place. I want to put it in the microwave with the light on, but im not sure if it needs to be in there all day everyday. What day does it stop needing to be put in a warm place? And should i keep it in there all day? Im a kid and my parents might get annoyed if I ask them not to use the microwave. Thank you for writing such an in depth post!

My bread turned out perfect !! I stuck to the recipe and followed every step and it turned out perfect !! so proud of myself !!:) Tank you Emilie !!! Your recipe was easy to follow and fun !! I have "Seymour" in the refrigerator now..:)

thanks again, 
Kathy

I have just began my starter. It’s currently in my oven with the light on. We keep our house fairly cool and there is not an are that reaches 75 degrees.  Is the starter going to work?

What do I do with the starter to make bread?

Hello! I am on Day 2 of my sourdough starter. It has doubled in size and has both small and large bubbles on top. My question is - should I leave it for another day (as per your beginner sourdough starter instructions for Day 2) or should I feed as per the Day 3 instructions?  Thank you!

Quick question.  You say (day 3) 60g flour (1/2 c - which is correct conversion), then you say 60g (1/4 c) warm water...  is it 60g or 1/4 cup??  Thank you.

Day 5 of my starter and it has doubled with nice bubbles throughout and on top. I did the float test before feeding it and it actually floated!  Die this mean the starter is ready or should I give it a couple more days of feeding before using?

At my son’s restaurant, his pastry chef had a starter more than 100 years old. I’ve always wanted to do this and I’m so glad I found your recipe. 

It took the full seven days, and some of those days were very smelly, but my starter now has a wonderful yeasty, almost beery smell, the texture is exactly as you describe and it’s doubling every day. It’s perfect thank you! 

Quick question. Above you say when you take it out of the fridge to use, feed it at room temperature to wake it back up. Does that mean if I want to bake on Saturday, I should take it out Friday and feed it and let it sit out to grow overnight? Just want to make sure.

Hi! This is such a helpful post and site - love it.
I'm new to this. I tried creating a starter from a different recipe (before finding yours). I thought it was ready on day 4 so I baked with it. Bread came out ok but I obviously had to wait a few more days since the bread didn't really rise and was very dense. 
Thinking that day that the starter was ready I put it in the fridge overnight. The next day after baking and not liking the result I took it out of the fridge and found your site so started your day 2 process on my existing starter. I've been doing it for 3 days and all I get is bubbles, small rise and then it flattens out again and bubbles disappear (I also get the hooch which I pour out each day).
Should I keep going? Should I move to feeding twice a day? not too sure what to do :(
Thanks in advance for your help!!!

Hi! Just wanted to update that IT WORKED! Sunshine (our new baby starter) is great, getting fed daily and I have already made my first loaf using your beginner sourdough bread recipe and it was delicious !!! Thank you again so much

Emilie- I started with great rise/bubbling from day 1 to day 3, fed on day three and from day 3 to day 4 experienced no rise or bubbling. Should I just continue to discard and feed as normal, or do I need to lengthen my time between feedings? As it stands I've been feeding every 24 hours :) 

Thanks!

Brooke

This worked for me 100% and I've only ever made bread once before. I'm so excited to make some sourdough bread!

Just happened across your posting here and wanted to say I thought it was very well written. You answered all the questions I had but didn’t know how to ask or where to look! Thank you!

My starter has risen and spilled over the jar.  Unfortunately, it does not fall. There are lots of bubbles throughout.  Should I keep feeding it until it does fall?

beginner sourdough starter recipe

Servings: 240

Author : Emilie Raffa

Ingredients

Instructions

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