A sourdough starter is just flour, water and time. That's it. No special equipment, no magic — just a little daily attention over about a week.
Here's exactly what to do, day by day.
What You Need
- A clean jar (500ml or larger)
- Rye flour (for the first few days — rye ferments faster)
- Bread flour
- Water (room temperature — tap water is fine if your tap water tastes good)
- A rubber band to mark the level
Day 1
Mix 50g rye flour and 50g water in your jar. Stir well, cover loosely and leave at room temperature. Mark the level with a rubber band.
Day 2
You might not see much yet. That's fine. Discard half and feed again: add 50g rye flour and 50g water. Stir and mark.
Day 3–4
Bubbles should be appearing. The mixture will smell funky — sour, maybe a bit like cheese or alcohol. This is good. Keep discarding and feeding daily with equal parts starter, flour and water.
Day 5–7
Switch to bread flour if you prefer a milder flavour. The starter should now be doubling in size within 4–8 hours of feeding. When it reliably doubles and smells pleasantly sour and yeasty — it's ready.
The Float Test
Drop a small spoonful of starter into a glass of water. If it floats, it's active and ready to bake with. If it sinks, give it another day.
Shortcut
If you want to skip the week of waiting, our live sourdough starter arrives ready to bake with after just one feeding. Great if you want to get started today.
— Peter, Simpel Surdej
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