Want to make sourdough bread but don't have any sourdough starter? No worries, making your own in a two-quart glass or plastic container is easy.
Sourdough starter can be made from flour and milk or mashed potatoes left to sit out and attract wild yeast spores that occur naturally in the kitchen. That can be a little tricky.
Here's a simple sweet starter recipe for you. There are only four ingredients. Flour, sugar, yeast, and water. That's it! The starter recipe I'm sharing gets a boost from a "store-bought" yeast packet. You can use either regular or rapid-rise yeast.
I buy yeast in bulk since I bake bread often. If you use bulk yeast, measure two and one-half teaspoons for your starter.
Well, actually, there are five ingredients in the sourdough starter. The fifth one is a pinch of patience. I promise there will be rewards! I suggest you read the instructions more than once, but it's pretty simple!
Day 1. In a plastic or glass bowl, dissolve one packet of yeast in warm water. Next, stir in flour and sugar using a wooden or plastic spoon. Keep stirring until the batter is free of lumps. NEVER use a metal spoon! Cover the bowl loosely with a clean tea towel and let it sit in a warm spot overnight.
On day 2, give it a good stir, cover it, and refrigerate. For the next two days, stir it daily and put it back in the refrigerator.
On day five, divide the mixture in half, discard half, or give half to a friend, along with feeding instructions and recipes like my friend Colleen did for me! Feed the remaining starter again with 1 cup of flour, one cup of milk, and 1/2 cup of sugar. Once again, stir daily for the next four days.
Sourdough is a living thing full of hungry yeast that needs nourishment to stay alive. This method of leavening dates way back to ancient days when bread was one of the main staples in the human diet. A sweet sourdough starter like this is often affectionately called "Herman."
On the tenth day, feed Herman again. Give it the same feeding: 1 cup of flour, one cup of milk, and 1/2 cup of sugar. Then stir daily for four more days.
Day 15 is finally here! The starter is ready to be used in baking! Yay! This is what you've been waiting for! Today, use part of your starter for baking something wonderful. Then, keep at least one cup of starter in the refrigerator and continue the stir and feed cycle. You can throw away or give away any leftover starter.
From then on, your starter will be ready for baking every ten days! Here's some more good news! A well-tended starter can stay healthy and live for years and years!
Here's what I do instead of discarding the extra starter. I bake a bigger batch of bread or try one new sourdough recipe instead. And let me tell you, I have friends who can't wait until it's baking day!
Remember The Little Red Hen? Like the busy hen, I've found out most folks would rather eat the bread than bake it. They'd rather have a fresh-baked loaf than a cup of starter.
But I love making bread and how my kitchen smells while it bakes. Best of all, I love to see the grin on someone's face when I hand them a loaf of sourdough bread! So it's always a win/win.
Like any habit, it takes a little time to establish and make it part of your daily routine. I suggest you keep your sourdough starter in a visible spot in your refrigerator so you see it daily. It takes only minutes a week to keep your Herman happy and well-fed.
Here is a recipe for San Francisco-style sourdough bread. But remember, this sweet starter is not just for bread! You can make biscuits, pancakes, donuts, or cinnamon rolls. On my next baking day, I will make some sandwich buns! I bet they will be amazing!
Happily, the art of bread baking is on the rebound, and for a good reason! Homemade bread has no preservatives, and sourdough is one of the healthiest types of bread you can eat.
The fermentation process creates probiotics that are good for gut health and makes it easier to digest. Research has also indicated that sourdough fermentation may modify carb molecule structure, lowering the bread's glycemic index.
A Herman-style sourdough starter that can be made into bread, donuts, muffins, biscuits, pancakes and more!
There are many ways to pause the fermentation process and put your sourdough starter on hold. Even the most devoted baker needs a time-out at some point. My research indicates freezing the starter is a good solution. When I need to press pause in my baking schedule, I will divide my starter into one-cup portions and store it in freezer bags.
Then, when I'm ready to bake again, I can remove one or more starter bags from the freezer and return them to their home in the green plastic bowl. Once it's defrosted, I will resume the feed/stir cycle and continue baking delicious sourdough delights every ten days.
Are you intrigued to try making sourdough bread? It would be a fun project with children and a great way to spend time together in the kitchen. Have you ever made sourdough bread or used the starter to make other delicious baked goods? I'd love to hear from you!
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What are the amounts of flour and sugar for the starter?
2 cups warm water (110 degrees, or about the temperature of warm bathwater)
2 cups all-purpose flour plus 2 more cups, divided, to feed the starter
2 cups all-purpose flour plus 2 more cups, divided, to feed the starter
1 packet dry yeast
1/4 cup plain white sugar plus one more cup, divided, to feed the starter.
2 cups milk, divided, to feed the starter
Good golly, Carmella. I don't know what happened there but go back to the post, please. The recipe card is there now! Reach back to me if any questions!! So sorry!
Hello I’m a bit confused about the flour I’m i use if 4 cups to start or 2? Please clarify for me. Thank you
I'm so excited for you to try this! Believe me, I was challenged about the way I should write the instructions. Oh my gosh, now I totally understand why you are confused! I listed flour twice!!! I have amended that! I'm so glad you asked and made me fix my mistake!!!
Start with 2 cups of flour on the first day you stir up your starter.
Each time you feed the starter, day 5 and day 10, you add a cup of flour. That's why I list a total of 4 cups in the recipe. (Except I listed it twice!!)
So thankful to you for catching this and I sure do hope you will give sourdough a try, the results are delicious! Let me know!!!
The Sour dough starter 'back in the day' always sat covered on the counter - no refrigeration, what makes the difference?
I'm not really sure! I am old, but I wasn't making sourdough in the olden day myself! I took a break from baking sourdough and froze my starter a while ago. I think I might take it out and try keeping it on the counter. I suspect the bread would have more of the characteristic tang if I do! I do love sourdough!! I'll post my results if it turns out that it works! Thanks for taking the time to comment! ❤
I’ve made the sour dough starter and it is wonderful and easy! Now I’m back to day one with my starter. What are my ingredients?
Here you go! There’s a link to that https://gbskitchen.com/how-to-make-san-francisco-style-sourdough-bread/
The link listed the ingredients but not the amounts. Thanks
There's a complete printable recipe on the post. Let me know if you don't find it. I emailed you.
Hi I missed my day 10 feed of my starter will it effect my sour dough starter? TIA
I replied in an email saying you'll be ok! How did it turn out!!
How do I bake at the end of the feeding period? Can I get recipes fir biscuits,pancakes and bread loaves? Can't wait to start it.😋
Thank you
Here is the article that explains how to feed the starter and bake the sourdough bread! As for other sourdough recipes like pancakes and biscuits, Pinterest is your friend!
https://gbskitchen.com/how-to-make-san-francisco-style-sourdough-bread/
Do you use rapid rise yeast ?
either one will work
Can you freeze the starter on day 15? I did not know I would have so much left over. I used rapid yeast in my last yeast add in. I hope rapid is ok? I don't remember what kind I started with.
Will skim or low fat milk work?
You don't need milk, just water.
oh I am so sorry, it's been quite a while since I've been working with sourdough- it's on vacation in my freezer! Yes, skim milk or lowfat is fine to feed it!!
I was wondering if you let it sit on your counter instead of the fridge? Also how did it go? Worry about the milk part, will it go moldy? I have a sourdough going and it doesn’t use sugar or milk. Want to try this one also. I’m a glutton for punishment 🤣. Thank you 😊
I always kept this sourdough starter in the fridge.
What is the purpose of discarding half of the starter on the fifth and tenth day when you add more "feed"? Would the quality of the starter be as good if you just added the "feed" to the original volume, just increasing the total volume?
Quite a bit of time has passed since I wrote that article and I have learned a lot about sourdough since then, specifically in 2024. I will be posting new information and techniques, I'll soon be taking a second class and I have baked a lot of sourdough so far this year. You are absolutely right. Back when I was first given my first starter and instructions, that's what we were taught. Throw it away. How sad. Today, I remove 1/4 cup from my "mother" to start a new loaf and feed her with just flour and water. The volume grows until I take out more "starter" to bake with. I don't feed her every day and when I'm not baking for a few days, I keep her in the refrigerator. I named her Dora. I hope you will stay tuned for updates next month. My husband and I both lost our moms in January and it has been a slow start to new work so far this year. Good luck!! Sourdough is so hot right now and largely because of our renewed interest and knoowledge about gut health!