Perfect Sourdough Starter -

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Who needs store-bought baked goods when you can prepare this Sourdough Starter at home with only two ingredients? Once you have the Sourdough Starter, you can use it in tons of different recipes.

Whether you’re planning to make sourdough bread, muffins, or any other flavorful baked treat, having a Sourdough Starter available to work with is quite convenient. Although you can buy this product from the store, it’s not nearly as flavorful or fresh as it is when you prepare it at home with simple ingredients. And while it may sound like a challenge to make this starter from scratch, it’s much easier than most realize. Get ready to gather your ingredients and equipment to prepare the Sourdough Starter over the next several days! Making sourdough bread and watching a living thing make something edible is going to be an amazing process!

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Why You’ll Love This Sourdough Starter Recipe

It’s such a super simple recipe that anyone can follow, whether you’re new to baking or not.
You will only need two ingredients to prepare this Sourdough Starter from scratch.
Rather than buying the starter from the store, you will have it at home and can use it when preparing different recipes, such as sourdough bread.

Sourdough Starter Tools/Equipment

Glass Jar with Lid – Use a 16-ounce glass jar to hold the Sourdough Starter. Make sure it’s a clean glass jar. I just recently found this great jar and love the fact that it has a thermometer strip and measurments so you can monitor your starter’s progress and the breathable lid.
Wooden Spoon – If you don’t have a wooden spoon, you can always use a rubber spatula.

Sourdough Starter Ingredients

Water – It’s best to use filtered water when preparing this recipe.
All-Purpose Flour – When selecting your flour for the Sourdough Starter, go with the unbleached version. Any brand of flour will do the job, although I highly recommend King Arthur Flour for consistency and quality. You can use whole wheat flour, whole-grain flour, or even organic bread flour.

As long as you have these ingredients and equipment, you’re ready to begin the process of preparing your Sourdough Starter. Making your own sourdough starter is quite exciting. With a cup of flour, cup water, cup flour, and a warm spot, you can be on your way to making an active starter. Following detailed instructions is going to help you make a good sourdough starter.

What Can I make With Sourdough Starter?

FAQs for the Homemade Sourdough Starter

How long does it take to get the perfect base for sourdough starter?

It can take up to two weeks to achieve that ideal base, so be patient. Continue to tend to your Sourdough Starter to yield the best results. The fermentation process can be different based on the environment you’re growing the starter in! Count on a couple weeks for your sourdough starter to work correctly.

How often should I feed the starter?

It’s best to feed your starter once daily. If you’re storing it in the fridge, allow it to reach room temperature before doing so. It’s a good thing to feed your starter, so don’t forget that it’s on the kitchen counter or fridge!

What types of foods can I make with this starter?

In addition to sourdough bread, you can use this starter to prepare pizza crust, muffins, homemade pretzels, pancakes, and so much more. It’s great to have around the home, especially if you’re a baking enthusiast.

How to Make Sourdough Starter

Sourdough starter is simply a live fermented culture of water and flour, think of it as a wild yeast. A good sourdough starter takes about 7 days, give or take a few depending on the temperature of where it’s kept.

It is truly as simple as mixing together flour and water in a jar each day. This is how you “feed” your hungry sourdough starter. I find it easier to remember when I keep it in a pretty jar in my kitchen in a warm but visible spot. The following recipe will take you step-by-step through making your perfect sourdough starter.

Sourdough Starter

Make your perfect sourdough starter that will become the base for some delicious sourdough recipes like breads, bagels, muffins and waffles.

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Course: Mixes and Bases

Cuisine: American

Keyword: sourdough,starter,yeast,baking

Prep Time: 15

feeding time: 7

Total Time: 7 15

Equipment

sourdough jar
wooden spoon

Ingredients

3 cups all-purpose flour (approximately)
1¾ cups warm water (approximately)

Instructions

Day 1
Combine ½ cup unbleached all-purpose flour and ¼ cup warm water in your jar; cover and let it rest. You can use tapwater as long as it is chemical/chlorine free.
Day 2
At this point hopefully you will notice that yourflour mixture has bubbles at least on the top. This is exactly what you want,this means that it is properly fermented. We are just gonna let it sit againuntil tomorrow.
Day 3
This day I want you to remove half of yourstarter, I know, why are we getting rid of it? You don’t have to toss it out; you can mix it in with any of your flour recipes if you like.
You may see a liquid floating on top of yourstarter at this point, this is what's known as “hooch” . It smells terrible but it just means that your starter is ready to be fed.
Stir in another ½ cup unbleached all-purpose flour and ¼ cupwarm water until well mixed, it should resemble pancake mix texture.
Day 4
From here on out we are going to repeat theprocess from day 3 each day. Toss out or use half of the starter mixture thenstir in ½ cup unbleached all-purpose flour and ¼ cup warm water.
Your mixture will begin to grow and you will see bubbles of all different sizes forming throughout.
When your mixture has doubled in size, is fluffy and full of bubbles, and the sour smell is mostly gone it is ready. Once your sourdough starter has reached this phase, transfer it to a fresh jar.
★ Be patient, it may take up to twoweeks to get your base perfect depending on the feeds and the temperature inyour kitchen.

Notes

Time for your sourdough starter to grow and amounts of flours and water used will vary, depending on growing environment such as humidity and temperature.

Get ready to easily prepare this Sourdough Starter with just two ingredients. As long as you’re willing to feed your starter regularly, you can keep it around and use it to prepare all kinds of flavorful foods. The best practice for making the right amount of starter is to make sure you are feeding it! What are your favorite sourdough recipes?