beginner8 min read
Your first starter
Making a starter from scratch is the slowest part of sourdough, and also the simplest. It takes a few minutes a day for about ten days, and it mostly asks patience. This guide walks you through what happens, what is normal, and how you know it is ready.
How do I make a sourdough starter?
You mix flour and water in a jar, and then you feed it fresh flour and water every day for about ten days. That is genuinely the whole method. The first days look dramatic, then everything goes quiet, and then it steadily comes alive until it doubles reliably after every feed. You do not have to figure out the days yourself: you can build a starter in the Starter tab, and the app guides you through the ten days one day at a time, with a note for each stage so you always know that what you are seeing is normal.
How long does it take?
Plan for about ten days: that is how the 10-day guide in this app is built, with a first readiness check around day seven. Warmth matters most: above 24°C / 75°F a starter comes alive noticeably faster, while a cool kitchen below 20°C / 68°F can add a few extra days. Slower does not mean failing. As long as you keep feeding, it is on its way.
The false rise: why your starter goes quiet around day five
Almost every new starter has a dramatic burst of bubbles in the first few days, and then goes completely quiet around day five. This is the moment most people give up, and it is exactly the moment not to. That early activity comes from bacteria that will not stay; the real yeast is still moving in. Keep feeding on schedule, and the bubbles come back within a few days, this time for good.
Warmth speeds everything
A warmer kitchen usually makes my starter rise faster. In a cool kitchen, I expect the same feeding to take longer and plan around that.
When is my starter ready to bake with?
Your starter is ready when it roughly doubles within 4 to 8 hours of a feed, smells pleasantly tangy, and is domed and bubbly at its peak. A handy extra check, though not a foolproof one: a small spoonful floats in water. The app asks you exactly this on day seven of the journey. Before each bake, the planner looks at when you last fed it and, if it needs it, adds a step to feed and wait for it to peak.
Watch the peak
I usually bake when my starter has risen well and still looks bubbly and strong. If it has collapsed, I may feed it again before using it for bread.
Mark the starting line
I mark the starter level after feeding so I can see how much it rises. This simple habit teaches me more than guessing by eye.
Give it two feeds
If my starter seems sleepy after time in the fridge, I do not judge it after one feeding. I usually give it two calm feeds before deciding how strong it is.
How often should I feed it, and at what ratio?
A simple, forgiving rhythm: keep a small amount and feed it equal weights of flour and water, for example 20g starter, 20g flour, 20g water. Small amounts waste less flour and wake up faster. Feed once a day on the counter, or park your starter in the fridge and feed it about once a week. When you plan a bake, the app calculates the exact feed for you.
Feed with purpose
I choose my feeding ratio based on when I want the starter to peak. A smaller feed usually peaks sooner, while a larger feed can give me more time.
Keep it small
Once it's established, I keep about 20g in the jar. Less to feed, less discard, and it bounces back just as quickly.
Discard less often
I do not make large feedings unless I need a lot of starter. Keeping the starter small makes discard feel useful instead of overwhelming.
Feed before you need it
I try to feed my starter before I actually need to mix dough. That little bit of planning makes the whole bake feel calmer.
Can my starter live in the fridge?
Yes, and for most home bakers it should. The fridge is your starter's pause button: cold slows fermentation almost to a stop, so a fridge starter only needs feeding about once a week. Take it out, feed it, let it get bubbly, and it is ready to bake with. Sometimes it takes two feedings. The planner builds that wake-up time into your schedule automatically.
Use the fridge
When I am not baking often, I keep my starter in the fridge. It slows everything down and makes sourdough feel much easier to fit into real life.
Give it two feeds
If my starter seems sleepy after time in the fridge, I do not judge it after one feeding. I usually give it two calm feeds before deciding how strong it is.
How much starter do I need to bake?
Less than you think. A typical loaf in this app uses between 90 and 100g of active starter, and every recipe tells you the exact amount before you begin. That is why keeping a small jar is enough: the app calculates the feed that gets you to baking-day amount, with a little margin so your jar never runs empty.
Where do I get a sourdough starter?
Three honest routes. Grow one yourself from flour and water in about ten days: the app walks you through it. Get a spoonful from a friend's jar: that is a fully mature starter from day one, and one feed makes it yours. Or buy one, fresh or dried, from a bakery or online. There is no wrong door; all three end in the same place.
Can you freeze a sourdough starter?
You can, but you rarely need to. For a break of a few weeks, the fridge is enough. For months away, drying is gentler than freezing: spread a thin layer of starter on baking paper, let it dry completely, and keep the flakes in a jar. Revived with flour and water, it wakes up again within a few days.
Can you overfeed a starter?
Not really by feeding too often, but you can drown it: so much fresh flour and water in one go that the colony gets diluted and needs longer to catch up. If your starter seems sluggish after a very large feed, that is all it is. Return to a steady rhythm and it recovers on its own.