You’re about to bring life into being using just flour and water.

Billions of wild yeasts and bacteria are dormant in your flour right now, waiting to wake up. In a few days, they’ll transform a simple paste into a bubbling, living culture.

Some sourdough starters have been kept alive for over 100 years and passed down through generations. Yours starts today.

This is basically adopting a pet made of flour. Are you ready?

Over the next 1-2 weeks, you’ll watch life emerge. It’s like a science experiment you can eat.

• Days 1-3: Strange smells, maybe some bubbles. Chaos as microbes battle for dominance.
• Days 4-7: Things start to settle. Your starter finds its rhythm.
• Days 7-14: A thriving colony emerges. Ready to bake!

Every starter is unique, shaped by your kitchen, your hands, your flour. There’s no wrong way to do this.

Some starters take longer. That’s normal. Patience is part of the process.

Simple ingredients, extraordinary results:

• Whole flour (whole wheat, whole rye, or whole spelt)
• Water (unchlorinated; bottled if your tap is chlorinated)
• Glass jar or container
• Spoon for mixing
• Loose cover (for gas exchange)

That’s it. No special equipment. Bakers have been doing this for thousands of years with far less.

A kitchen scale helps but isn’t required. You can eyeball it.

Your flour is contaminated with millions of microbes. These wild yeasts and bacteria live on the surface of the grain (the hull).

Whole flour has more of this natural contamination than refined flour, which means a faster, more reliable starter.

You can switch to a different flour later once your starter is established.

Gluten-free flours like rice or corn also work!

Mix together ~50g whole flour and ~50g water (room temperature, unchlorinated).

Stir until no dry flour remains. This activates the microbial spores in your flour.

Cover with a loose lid or inverted glass (not airtight; you want gas exchange).

Place in a warm spot (24-28°C / 75-82°F) in your kitchen. Near the oven or on top of the fridge often works well.

The measurements don’t need to be exact. You can eyeball it.

An epic battle is now happening in your jar!

Scientists have identified over 150 different yeast species living on a single plant leaf. These same microbes live on wheat and rye berries, and all of them are now fighting for dominance in your starter.

When you mixed flour and water, enzymes began breaking down starches into glucose. The wild yeast and bacteria that survive this battle are the ones best adapted to consuming this glucose.

This is why we discard the leftovers for the first few days. Unwanted pathogens may have been activated.

Let the mixture sit for 24 hours in a warm place.

The microbes are waking up from sporulation and coming back to life. The water reactivates the dormant spores, and they begin consuming the glucose released by the enzymes breaking down the flour starches.

After 24 hours, check your mixture:

• Smell it: Notice any change? It might smell strange, like vinegar, alcohol, or even vomit. This is completely normal! Unwanted bacteria are active in the early days before the good microbes take over.
• Look for bubbles: Even small ones count
• Size increase: Has it risen at all?

You might see early signs of fermentation, or you might not. Both are normal.

Even if you see nothing (or it smells terrible), microbes are active at a microscopic level. Do not give up!

Time for the first feeding using the 1:5:5 ratio:

1. Take ~10g from yesterday’s mixture (about 1 tablespoon)
2. Place it in a new clean container
3. Add 50g flour + 50g water
4. Mix thoroughly, cover loosely

Discard the rest of yesterday’s mixture.

The 1:5:5 ratio means 1 part old starter, 5 parts flour, 5 parts water.

Let the mixture sit for another 24 hours.

With each feeding, the microbes best adapted to fermenting flour are gaining the upper hand.

Repeat the same feeding process:

1. Take ~10g from yesterday’s starter
2. Add 50g flour + 50g water
3. Mix, cover loosely
4. Discard the rest

Continue feeding daily until your starter shows clear signs of activity.

Some people see activity by Day 4, others need 7-10 days, and some up to 20 days. Patience!

After feeding, wait 6-12 hours then check for these three signs:

• Bubbles: Visible air pockets in the dough (CO₂ from yeast)
• Size increase: Any amount counts!
• Smell: Lactic acid (yogurty) OR acetic acid (vinegary)

All three together indicate your starter is ready.

The “float test” is NOT recommended. It doesn’t work reliably with all flours.

Don’t worry, this is completely normal!

The process can take 4-20 days depending on your flour, water, and environment.

Signs may even weaken after Day 2-3 as only a few select microbes start to dominate. This is normal. Bad smells (vinegar, acetone, even vomit) are also normal and will improve as your starter matures.

Tips: Keep feeding daily. Ensure water is unchlorinated. Try a warmer spot (24-28°C / 75-82°F). After 10 days with no progress, try a different flour.

You did it! 🎊

You’ve created life from flour and water. Billions of microorganisms now call your jar home. This is YOUR starter, unique to your kitchen, your hands, your environment.

Give it a name if you’d like. Many bakers do. This could be the beginning of a years-long friendship.

Before your first bake, give it one final feeding and wait 6-12 hours until it’s bubbly and active.

From now on, keep the discard! It’s delicious in pancakes, crackers, and pizza dough.

How to maintain your starter depends on when you want to bake next:

• Baking tomorrow? Feed 1:5:5 (or 1:10:10 if warm or waiting 24+ hours)
• Baking next week? Store in the fridge. Add a thin layer of water on top to prevent drying.
• Taking a break for months? Dry your starter for long-term storage. Spores can survive for years!

You’ve done something ancient and magical. The same wild fermentation that fed civilizations for thousands of years is now bubbling away in your kitchen.

This starter is the foundation for countless loaves, pizzas, and pastries to come. Treat it well, and it could last a lifetime.

Ready for your first loaf? The Bake Sourdough Bread journey awaits!

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