Can you make a sourdough starter with whole wheat and dark rye flour?
That is actually an ideal combination for a starter. Whole grain flours like whole wheat and dark stone ground rye carry more of the wild yeast and bacteria you want, so they tend to get a starter going faster and keep it lively. One thing to expect is that rye starters often lean toward sharper, more vinegary acetic notes, which is great if you like a hearty tangy bread.
Answered by Hendrik, The Bread Code
From the book
Making a sourdough starter is very easy, all you need is a little bit of patience. It is in fact so easy that it can be summarized in a simple Flowchart 3.1 The flour you should use to bootstrap your starter is ideally a whole flour. You could use whole-wheat, whole-rye, whole-spelt or any other flour you have. In fact gluten free flours such as rice or corn would also work. Don’t worry, you can always change the flour later. Use whatever whole flour you already have at hand.
Where this was asked
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