Short answer
To make a sourdough starter, mix equal weights of flour and water in a jar and feed it daily for about a week. It is ready when it doubles within hours of a feed and smells pleasantly sour.
To make a sourdough starter, mix equal weights of flour and water in a clean jar, leave it covered somewhere warm, and feed it with fresh flour and water every day for about a week. The starter is ready to bake with when it doubles in size within four to eight hours of a feed.
What do you need to make a sourdough starter?
You need flour, water, a clean jar and a spoon. A kitchen scale helps, because weights are more reliable than cups when you are feeding a culture.
- Flour: wholemeal, rye or strong white bread flour. Wholemeal gives the fastest start.
- Water: lukewarm tap water, left to stand if it is strongly chlorinated.
- Jar: a clean glass jar of about 500 ml to 1 litre.
- Cover: a loose lid, a cloth or a plate, so gas can escape.
- Marker: a rubber band or tape to show how far the starter rises.
Keep the jar somewhere around 22 to 26°C, such as near a warm cupboard or above the fridge.
How do you make a sourdough starter day by day?
You make a sourdough starter over about seven days by mixing flour and water and feeding it daily. The table below gives a simple schedule in grams, and bakers adjust it to their kitchen.
| Day | What to do | What to expect |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mix 50 g flour and 50 g water | Little change, a few bubbles possible |
| 2 | Stir, leave, no feed yet if you see little | Possibly small bubbles |
| 3 | Discard half, feed 50 g flour and 50 g water | Activity may rise or dip |
| 4 | Discard half, feed again | May smell odd, which is normal |
| 5 | Discard half, feed again | Bubbles and a sour smell |
| 6 | Discard half, feed again, now twice daily if active | Clear rise after feeds |
| 7 | Feed and watch | Doubling in four to eight hours |
Some bakers feed twice a day from day four if the kitchen is warm. The goal is a regular rhythm of rising and falling, not a perfect timetable.
What should you do on day one?
On day one, weigh 50 g of flour and 50 g of lukewarm water into the jar, stir until smooth and cover loosely. The mixture should look like thick pancake batter.
Scrape down the sides, mark the level with a rubber band and set the jar somewhere warm. Do nothing else for 24 hours. The first day rarely shows much, and impatience is the most common reason new starters get abandoned.
What happens in days two to four?
In days two to four the starter may bubble, go quiet and then smell strange. This is a natural stage as different microbes take turns, and it does not mean the starter has failed.
Early bubbling often comes from bacteria that are not the ones you want long term. As the mixture becomes more acidic, those die back and the yeasts and lactic acid bacteria take over. The smell can pass through cheesy, nail polish or vinegar notes. Keep discarding and feeding, and use a clean jar if the old one feels messy.
When should you start discarding?
Start discarding from about day three, once the mixture has had time to start fermenting. Discarding keeps the volume manageable and stops the food supply from running out.
Before each feed, remove all but about 50 g of the starter. The discard can go into pancakes or crackers, so nothing needs to be wasted. If you did not discard, you would soon need a huge jar and a lot of flour to feed the culture.
How do you know the starter is ready?
A starter is ready when it reliably doubles in volume within four to eight hours of feeding and smells pleasantly sour. The key sign is predictability across two or three feeds in a row.
- Feed and mark the level on the jar.
- Check after four hours, six hours and eight hours.
- A domed top with many bubbles, including some big ones, shows a strong culture.
- Repeat the next day. If the result is the same, the starter is ready to bake with.
The float test, where a spoonful floats in a glass of water, is a rough extra check. It is not essential, because dense starters can sometimes sink even when they work.
What goes wrong, and how do you fix it?
Most starter problems come from low temperature, too little feeding or the wrong flour. The common ones are easy to fix.
- No activity: move to a warmer place, use wholemeal flour for a few feeds and be patient.
- Grey liquid on top: the starter is hungry. Stir it in or pour it off and feed.
- Thin and runny: use less water in the feed or a stronger flour.
- Pink, orange or fuzzy patches: discard the starter and begin again with a clean jar.
A starter that slows after a few days of activity is usually just hungry or cold. Feed it twice a day for a couple of days and watch it recover.
What is the difference between a starter and a levain?
A starter is the long-lived culture you keep and feed, while a levain is a portion taken from it and built up for one particular bake. The two words overlap, and some bakers use them interchangeably.
A levain is typically made a few hours before mixing the dough, using a spoonful of starter plus fresh flour and water. This lets the baker control the amount, the flour type and the timing, while the main starter stays untouched.
Where does Weirdough Bakery fit in?
Weirdough Bakery in Walthamstow, London, sells sourdough loaves, and its Deliveroo listing describes them as made with organic flour from a watermill. Its public sources do not describe how it makes or feeds a starter, so the method above is general home advice.
If you would rather buy a loaf than bake one, the menu page lists the breads recorded by this guide and the hours and location page gives opening times. This guide is independent and takes no orders.
Common questions
How long does it take to make a sourdough starter?
Most starters become active in five to ten days, but strong, reliable rising can take two weeks. Warmth speeds it up, and a cold kitchen slows it, so judge the starter by its behaviour rather than the calendar.
Why is there no bubbling on day three?
Early bubbles often die down around days two to four as the first bacteria give way to others. This lull is normal. Keep feeding on schedule and the activity usually returns by the end of the week.
Which flour is best for a new starter?
Wholemeal or rye flour tends to start a culture fastest because it carries more nutrients and microbes. Many people switch to white bread flour once the starter is active, and both work.
Can I make a starter with fruit or yoghurt?
You do not need them. Flour and water alone will make a starter. Some recipes add fruit juice or yoghurt to help the early days, but the added ingredients are not essential.
Everything practical is on the home page: Weirdough Bakery hours, menu and directions.
This article is general information from an independent guide, not from Weirdough Bakery itself. For the store’s current details see hours and location.