Sourdough 101: How to Create and Maintain a Starter

If you’re like me, the thought of getting started on creating a sourdough starter was overwhelming and daunting. As a full-time working professional, I truly thought I had zero time to devote to such an endeavor. However, after I jumped in I realized just how easy and fulfilling this hobby was. Creating something delicious from scratch is truly so rewarding and although it may seem impossible, I promise you, it’s not! 

My starter, "Flora", after an overnight feed

What Is Sourdough Starter?

A sourdough starter is a yeast culture that gives sourdough its signature flavor and rise, eliminating the need for commercial yeast. The best part? It’s just flour, water, and time. 

In this guide, I’ll walk you through the simple steps to create a thriving sourdough starter from scratch, along with tips to keep it happy and active.

What you need 

Before we begin, gather the basics: 

• Flour (I use bread flour)

• Water (filtered is best)

• Glass Jar with a tight lid.

• A spoon or spatula (I like a rubber spatula)

• Kitchen scale

• Sharpie (optional-see below)

Step-by-Step: Making your Sourdough Starter

Day 1: Mix Flour and Water

• In a clean jar, combine: 

  • ½ cup (60g) flour

  • ¼ cup (60g) water

• Stir well to combine until no dry bits remain. The consistency should be like thick pancake batter.

• Loosely cover with a lid or cloth (to let air in but keep debris out)

• Store at room temperature (70-75 degrees F or 20-24 degrees C)

  
  

Day 2: Check for Activity 

• You might see small bubbles - this is a sign of fermentation!

• Stir and let it sit. Don't feed it yet!

  
  

Day 3-7: Daily Feedings 

• Discard half of the starter (about ¼ cup) 

• Add ½ cup flour + ¼ cup water and stir well

• Keep it at room temperature and feed it every 24 hours 

  
  

By day 5-7,  your starter should be bubbly, slightly sour-smelling, and doubling in size within a few hours of feeding. If not, keep feeding daily - it may take up to 14 days, depending on temperature and flour type. 

*If using a kitchen scale to measure ingredients, I recommend weighing the jar before getting started and writing the weight in grams on the bottom with a sharpie so you can get the exact weight of the starter before feedings (we’ll discuss how this comes into play later). This is not a requirement, only if you want to be exact with feeding measurements. 

How to Know Your Starter Is Ready

A mature starter should: 

• Have a pleasant tangy smell (not rotten or moldy) 

• Be bubbly and active 

• Double in Size within 4-6 hours of feeding

How to Maintain Your Sourdough Starter

Regular Feedings: 

• If baking daily: Feed every 24 hours

• If baking weekly: Store in the fridge and feed once a week

The best part of maintaining your sourdough starter is that you don’t have to feed it every day and bake bread like you own a micro-bakery. I work 5-6 days per week, I do not have time to tend to my starter every single day. I keep my starter in the fridge Sunday night through Thursday morning each week. I let it get to room temperature on Thursday, then feed it Thursday night and Friday night so that it’s ready to use on Saturday and Sunday. 

If there comes a time when you know you won’t be able to make sourdough for a few weeks or over a month, rest assured you can leave your starter in the fridge and pull it out whenever you're ready. You can store your starter in the fridge for up to 2 months without feeding it once. Over time, it may develop a layer of dark-colored juice known as Hooch. Hooch is an alcohol by-product created by the yeast culture in the starter. It looks nasty but it's harmless and this does NOT mean you have ruined your starter. You can either pour it out or mix it into the starter when you’re ready to pull it from the fridge and feed it. I typically mix the hooch into the starter before feeding unless the hooch is super dark and it has been sitting in the back of my fridge for many months.

Reviving a Refrigerated Starter: 

• Take it out, discard half, and feed it as usual

• Let it sit at room temp for a few hours before using

• Feed your starter

Feeding Ratios and Timing

Once you have established your starter, you can either feed by exact ratios or feed by consistency. More often than not, I feed my start based on consistency. I’m looking for a thick pancake batter consistency after feeding and will adjust with more flour if it’s too runny or more water if it’s too thick. If you are feeding based on exact measurements, this is where the jar weight comes into play as I mentioned earlier. If you need to know exactly how much starter is in your jar, you take the weight of the jar with the starter in it and subtract the weight of the empty jar, written in Sharpie on the bottom. 

1:1:1 Ratio (Equal Parts)

• This is best for daily feeding at room temperature and should double in size in 4-.6 hours.

• Example: 100 grams starter, 100 grams flour, 100 grams water

1:2:2 Ratio

• This is an ideal ratio if you are looking to slow down fermentation time. This would be a good feeding time if you feed at night before bed, as the starter should double in size in 6-8 hours. 

• Example: 25 grams starter, 100 grams flour, 100 grams water

1:5:5 Ratio 

This ratio is by far the slowest ratio and is ideal for building starter strength and keeping it active without overgrowth. This may also be ideal for warmer environments where fermentation happens too quickly. This ratio should double in size in 12+ hours.

Example: 10 grams starter, 50 grams flour, and 50 grams water

PRO TIP: Do NOT discard the starter into your sink. The starter will harden and clog your pipes. 

Feeding Schedules and Timing

For daily bakers (room temperature starter) 

• Morning (7-9 AM): Feed 1:2:2 or 1:3:3.

• Afternoon (12-3 PM): If using a faster ratio (1:1:1) 

• Evening (7-10 PM): For overnight feeds use a 1:3:3 ratio if using in the morning

For weekly bakers

• Once per week: Take it out, discard half, and feed 1:1:1 or 1:2:2.

• Let it sit at room temperature for 4-6 hours before putting it back in the fridge

• Before baking, feed 2-3 times to reactivate.

Common Starter Problems and How to fix them

1. Starter smells bad or rotten

   • Discard most of it and feed with fresh flour and water

   • Keep feeding daily to promote good yeast growth

   • If it truly smells THAT awful, throw it away and start over

2. Starter isn't bubbly or won't rise

   • Keep in a warmer spot. I like to keep it near a sunny window, especially when my house is colder in the winter or in summer with the AC blasting

   • Use filtered water to feed

   • Feed it twice a day until it can double in size

3. Starter isn't sour enough

   • Let it ferment longer before feedings

   • Use different types of flour to feed it (whole wheat or rye)

4. Starter smells like acetone or nail polish remover

   • She's hungry! Discard most of the starter and feed with fresh flour and water

   • Feed at least once per day or twice per day

Once you have established a beautiful, bubbly starter you'll be that much closer to creating that beautiful, homemade loaf of sourdough you've been dreaming of. For any questions on growing and maintaining your starter you can email me at hannah@floraandflour.com

Come back next week for my full sourdough bread baking guide!