Sourdough starter to first loaf
A starter takes patience more than skill. The signs that it's ready matter far more than the calendar day, which is where most people go wrong with it.
24 items
Makes your own editable copy. No account needed.
The items
- A jar, wide enough for a hand and a spoon to fit
- Strong white flour, plus a bag of rye or wholemeal to start it offRye or wholemeal ferments faster than white — using it for the first few feeds gets a sluggish starter going.
- Kitchen scales that measure to the gram
- Filtered or dechlorinated water, if the tap water is heavily treatedChlorine can hold back the wild yeast at the start. Boiled and cooled tap water works if there's no filter.
- A rubber band or marker to track the riseWrapped round the jar at the level right after feeding, so a flat starter and a risen one are obvious at a glance.
- A warm, draught-free spotNear the oven or on top of the fridge. A cold kitchen can double the time everything takes.
- A feeding schedule that's actually stuck toOnce or twice a day at roughly the same times. Irregular feeding is the most common reason a starter never gets going.
- A discard container, unless every feed is being baked with
- Recipes that use discard, so nothing gets wastedPancakes, crackers and flatbreads all work — anywhere the rise doesn't matter.
- Signs it's ready to bake with
- Doubles in size within four to six hours of a feed
- Smells yeasty and slightly sour, not like nail varnish
- Floats when a small spoonful is dropped into water
- Banneton or a bowl lined with a floured cloth, for proving
- Dutch oven or a lidded casserole dish, for baking with steamSteam in the first fifteen minutes gives a proper crust — a lid traps it, an open tray doesn't.
- Bread lame or a sharp blade, for scoringWithout a score, the loaf splits wherever it likes, usually not where it was meant to.
- Digital thermometer, for checking the loaf is actually doneA hollow sound is a guess. 96-99°C in the centre isn't.
- Troubleshooting a sluggish starter
- Move it somewhere warmer
- Feed with rye or wholemeal for a few days
- Check the flour hasn't been sitting open for months
- Give it longer before assuming it's dead — most recover
- What to do about a mouldy starterFuzzy patches, especially pink, orange or black, mean starting again — a healthy starter doesn't grow mould, and this isn't one to rescue.
- An ongoing rhythm once it's establishedFridge storage with a weekly feed suits an occasional baker; the counter with daily feeds suits someone baking often.
Makes your own editable copy. No account needed.
Questions people ask
- How long before a starter is ready to bake with?
- Five to fourteen days, depending on temperature and flour. It's ready when it doubles in size within four to six hours of a feed, not on a fixed day of the week.
- What if a layer of dark liquid forms on top?
- That's hooch — alcohol from a hungry starter, and harmless. Pour it off or stir it in, then feed as normal. Fuzzy patches of colour are the thing to worry about.
- Why isn't a starter rising?
- Usually the flour, the temperature, or the feeding schedule. Wholemeal or rye ferments faster than white, and a cold kitchen slows everything down — give it longer.