Sourdough Care and Feeding

I don't recall what prompted me to give sourdough a go exactly. It was likely that I enjoy a good sourdough, but don't enjoy the ridiculous price tag.

I did a fair amount of googling, and came across several good posts on www.thekitchn.com.


This post specifically was my starting point: https://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-your-own-sourdough-starter-cooking-lessons-from-the-kitchn-47337


There were several others as well, that I blended ideas from to produce my own strategy, but I don't recall the links (sorry). I have started, stopped and started about a half-dozen times. It has really been quite easy. I can't say I really get the carrying on some people do about "hundred-year-old starters" and such. It takes about a week to get one going. It really isn't that hard either. You really could just start one when you were planning to make a loaf (well, a week before you were planning to make a loaf...)

First the Tools:

Kitchen scale- I favor measuring by weight for this. A small kitchen scale works great.

Glass or plastic container with a loose fitting lid - I use a 1 quart, wide-mouth mason jar, and one of those plastic screw on lids.  A two quart might be a little more convenient, but one quart if easy to come by. The lids are sold in a six-pack, I saw them first on Amazon, but then found them at the local grocery store.

And the ingredients:

Flour - I used store bought all-purpose white flour the first time. It worked fine. In later starts, I supplemented occasionally with whole wheat. My most recent is primarily home ground, whole-wheat (a mix of hard red and hard white). I occasionally supplement with white flour. I definitely prefer it. It has a more complex flavor, and adds a nice bit of texture. Some people like to get exotic and add some rye or or other flour... I might try that at some point. Right now. I have 50 lb bags of wheat. It is cheap, convenient, and easy.

Water - Tap water is fine. I prefer filtered, I don't know if it really matters, but since we are trying to grow things, I think chlorine is best avoided.


On to the process.


Day 1:
Measure equal parts by weight flour and water into the jar
mix thoroughly.
put on the lid
put it someplace room temperature, an low light. Doesn't need to be dark, just avoid direct sunlight.

The specific amount is not too critical. The way I do it is this:
I place the Jar on the scale with the lid removed and tare(zero) the scale.
I put in some tap water - somewhere between 20 and 40 grams (usually closer to 20).
I note the weight then zero the scale
I add flour until I reach the previous weight.

I then stir with a long handled metal teaspoon. I use a rubber (or silicone) spatula to scrape down the sides, and then loosely screw on the lid. Don't tighten it down, you want gasses to have the ability to get in and out.

Then just set it someplace quite and out of the way.

Day 2:

Repeat the above process.


really. That's it. Add equal amounts by weight flour and water, mix thoroughly, lid and set aside.

Day 3-...:

Continue repeating the process. Just keep feeding it equal amounts of flour and water every day.

Within a weeks time, it will start to get bubbly, and will smell a bit... vinegary and yeasty. (less yeasty and more vinegary with white flour). It is then ready for use in your various sourdough recipes.

From then on it is just maintenance. Feed it every day. Actually you can miss a day, maybe two between feedings. But it will start to look sad fairly quickly. Also, make sure it is fed the day before you intend to use it.


Keep in mind, after each feeding cycle it will expand and then contract, so don't let the jar get much more than half full.



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