Your own Sourdoug Starter

Last month we showed you how to easily make your own sourdough bread. But you don't have a starter? No problem, here we show you how to make your own sourdough starter!

Our sourdough starter and one of the delicious sourdough breads.

Georg is our bread baker! Two weeks ago, he revealed how he makes our delicious sourdough bread. The only challenge with sourdough bread: Where do you get the starter?

I made our first starter myself back then because it’s quite simple. Coincidentally, we stumbled upon a rye sourdough starter at a market, which we then took with us. Because there’s a rule with sourdough: The older, the better!

So, if you have no other way to get a sourdough starter, you can easily make one yourself.

Making Sourdough Starter

Day One

  1. Ensure that the jar is thoroughly washed and clean. As sourdough produces gas during the fermentation process, the container should not be completely airtight. Use either a mason jar with a lid but without rubber or a regular, sufficiently large screw-top jar (e.g., a pickle jar) with a small hole in its lid.

  2. Add 50g whole grain flour and 50 ml lukewarm water (~38°C) to the jar. Stir everything with a spoon until a lump-free batter forms. Then close the jar and let it sit in a warm place (25°C – 30°C) for 24 hours.

Day Two

  1. Open the jar and add another 50g whole grain flour and 50 ml lukewarm water (~38°C). Stir everything again with a spoon until a lump-free batter forms. Close the jar again and let it sit in a warm place (25°C – 30°C) for another 24 hours.

Day Three

  1. Open the jar and check the contents for mold. Typically, none should have formed, but it’s possible. If you discover mold, you must discard the contents and start again.

  2. If no mold is present, repeat the steps from the second day. Add 50g whole grain flour and 50 ml lukewarm water (~38°C), stir everything, close the jar again, and let it sit in its warm place (25°C – 30°C) for another 24 hours.

  3. Don’t worry if your sourdough starter has already developed a slightly sour or vinegary smell. It could also have a slightly unpleasant odor. As long as no mold forms, it’s acceptable. However, if mold appears, you must start over.

Day Four

  1. Ideally, the sourdough should have risen significantly today and have a sour smell.

  2. If that’s not the case, repeat the steps from the third day.

  3. If the sourdough has risen and no longer has an unpleasant smell, congratulations! You have successfully cultivated your own sourdough, now known as a sourdough starter.

Hints

Your sourdough starter may not be very active at first, BUT: It gets better with time. The older it gets, the better it ferments. So, don’t give up right away! To support it, you can add a bit of yeast to the bread dough (CAUTION!!! NOT IN THE STARTER). 2g are enough to make the bread dough beautifully fluffy

Depending on the flour you use, you’ll get a wheat, rye, or spelt sourdough. We always keep our starter “pure” by using only the same type of flour we used at the beginning.