As requested numerous times, this post has been edited to share with you how to make gluten free sourdough starter and regular sourdough starter. I highly recommend using King Arthur brand of flour whether you are consuming gluten or not as it is the brand that has best for me.
In December I started a new adventure and made my gluten free sourdough starter and I couldn’t believe how easy it was!
If you’re on Instagram, I am sure you have seen all the beautiful homestead pages and their gorgeous sourdough loaves. I know I have. I was amazed at how they were all so elegantly assembled and beautifully cut to create magical designs.
I thought that these loaves were only for professionals and there was no way that I, of all people, could make sourdough recipes let alone get a starter going. Well, I was wrong.
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Run Back To Your Roots
Sourdough starter really isn’t that hard to start. I mean, it’s just flour and water mixed together and naturally the yeast begins to come alive and ferments and grows. Or something like that. Honestly, I’m not big on all the technicalities of the way sourdough works but I do know it is healthier for you and it is supposed to be easier to digest.
Anyway, I joined this 365 challenge and we learned how to make sourdough starter from scratch and I’m going to show you how I started it.
Sourdough Starter From Scratch
For this recipe you will follow the steps exactly the same whether you use a gluten free flour or regular. I highly recommend King Arthur Measure for Measure if you are gluten free. And King Arthur Unbleached flour if you are using regular.
Now, I am going to apologize in advance as I don’t have a ton of pictures to show you but this is going to be super simple. Do not overcomplicate this starter. I know you have probably read so many recipes and are super confused. I was too. But it really is easier than you think and you don’t even have to measure anything. No scales, measuring cups, spoons. Nothing. Just eyeball it all. That’s how I learned so that is how I am going to teach you.
Before we start, you can do these steps either every 24 hours OR every 12 hours. When I started mine, I did every 12 hours and therefore had my starter much sooner. If you do every 24 hours, it will take about a week for your starter to be ready to use. Either one works just fine.
What you will need:
Flour – Gluten Free or Regular All Purpose
Drinking Water – lukewarm – I used water from our tap (city water)
Cheese cloth, coffee filter, paper towel
Mason Jar Ring or Rubber band
Steps:
Feeding Number 1
For your first feeding, you are going to combine 2-3 tablespoons of flour with 3 – 4 tablespoons of lukewarm drinking water. You are going to mix this well until everything is combined. You are looking for a thick pancake batter consistency. You don’t want this to be so runny that you can pour it out, but you don’t want it so dry that it is clumpy. You can add more water or flour if needed to find the desired consistency.
Once you have found the right consistency, cover your jar with a coffee filter and loosely place the ring or rubber band to secure it. You want to allow the starter to breathe while also being covered.
Leave the jar in a warm environment – above the stove, on the refrigerator, on a shelf or on the mantle. Around 68 – 70 degrees would be a good temp to keep it at.
Now walk away. Not too much is going to happen at this stage. It should look something like the picture below.
Feeding Number 2
For the second feeding you are going to double the amount of starter that is in the jar. This is always your goal – to double the amount in the jar.
Remove the cloth and ring off of your jar and add a few tablespoons of flour into the jar. You are going to compare the layers in the jar to determine how much flour is needed. You want the first layer of wet starter on the bottom and the same amount of dry flour on top of that so there are two even layers. Don’t get technical just eyeball it. Now, mix the two layers together – it will be dry and clumpy.
Next you are going to slowly add in some water and stir. You can always add in more water so start with small amounts. You are looking for the same consistency as the first time you mixed the starter – thick pancake batter.
Once you find the consistency, take a spatula and clean the sides of the jar up, place the coffee filter and ring back on the jar and set back in its place. There should now be double the amount of starter in the jar.
Feeding Number 3
Each feeding is going to go pretty much the same as feeding number 2. You are going to eyeball the amount of flour needed to double the starter and then slowly add the water to find the consistency.
For feeding number 3, you may start seeing some bubbles and your starter starting to rise. If you do, great! Keep going. If not, no big deal! It will happen, just keep going.
Feeding Number 4
For feeding number 4 you will probably need to do a discard before you can do your feeding.
A discard is when you have to remove some of the starter to make room for your starter to double. You can throw this discard away, keep it in the fridge until you have enough to make a discard recipe (pinterest) or you can even compost it.
To discard, simply remove enough starter from your jar so that after you do your 4th feeding, there is enough room in the jar for the starter to bubble and double in size. When I discard, I leave about an inch of starter in the jar before feeding it.
Feeding Number 5 – 7
For feedings 5 – 7 these steps are pretty much just the same as the previous ones. Feed your starter, look for bubbles, keep track of how much it is rising in size. If there is not enough room for the starter to double, discard some.
Usually, around feeding 6 or 7 is when you should see your starter bubbling and doubling in size. If not, it is ok just keep going, keep your starter warm, and able to breathe. It will get there.
However, when your starter has doubled in size, you can test it to see if it is ready to bake with. This is really simple. When your starter is at it’s highest you will take a clean spoon, scoop a little out and plop it in a glass of warm water. If it floats, it is ready to bake with, if not it still needs time. Keep feeding.
Starter is Ready
You can find plenty of recipes on pinterest to use your sourdough starter. I have made pumpkin muffins twice now with my starter and my kids LOVE them! I’ve also made a couple loaves of bread, and tonight I am making sourdough pizza!
When I use my starter for a recipe, I make sure to leave a bit in the bottom of the jar, do a feeding, and set it back on the counter. If I don’t use it within 24 hours, I do another feeding and place it in the fridge until I’m ready to use it again. When I am ready, I just take it out and let it warm up again, feed it and wait until it bubbles and doubles again.
I’ve read that people have left their starters in the fridge for months and was able to bring it back to life and they are super hard to kill once they are really active. Although, after all the work you did making it I wouldn’t just throw it in the fridge and leave it lol! Use that baby as much as you can!
Up Next: Make This Sourdough No Knead Bread Recipe For Beginners
Making a sourdough starter is honestly super simple, you just need to have lots of patience. I hope that I explained the process easily enough for you and you have faith in yourself to just eyeball it! Don’t complicate it, just use your heart to measure it! Lol! Remember, patience! It will get there!
If you have any questions just ask and I’ll do my best to answer! You can always check out Danielle @jonesroots on Instagram – this is where I am doing a homesteading challenge and learned to make this starter. She has videos and answers a lot of common questions.
Until next time,
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