How to Make a Sourdough Starter with Bread Flour

A fair number of people want to try sourdough but cannot get their starter to rise. I have had questions about it more than once. Fundamentally it is this: discard half, add equal weights of flour and water, and stir well. That really is all there is to it. It may feel wasteful, but discard the half properly — it matters, not least for keeping unwanted microbes in check.

Here is how to raise the sourdough starter you need in order to bake basic sourdough loaf. Let's get one going.

What you need:

• Bread flour (Kitanokaori)40g
• Water (around 20°C)38cc
• Stirrer
• Digital scale
• Storage container

1. Put 40g of bread flour and 38cc of water into a storage jar (with bread flour alone I set the water slightly below the flour) and mix well. Leave it at room temperature.

2. After a day, discard half of it, add 20g of bread flour and 18cc of water, and mix well. Leave it at room temperature. In my experience the yeasts and lactic acid bacteria tend to multiply towards the bottom of the jar, so I recommend discarding the top half and feeding the bottom half that remains.

3. After another day, discard half again, add 20g of bread flour and 18cc of water, and mix well. Leave it at room temperature.

4. Repeat step 3.

By about the third day bubbles appear on the surface and it begins to smell slightly acidic. If all goes well you will have a starter that rises properly within seven to ten days. The way to tell whether the culture is coming along is the smell: acidic, a little fruity, and something like a nukadoko pickling bed. Nothing unpleasant or rotten about it at all.

I have tried Haruyokoi, Yumechikara and Kitanokaori as bread flours, and for now I have settled on Kitanokaori. Each behaves differently in flavour and rise, so it is worth trying a few.

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The sourdough starter made with rye and whole wheat is here. Because they carry more minerals, rye and whole wheat make raising a starter easier than bread flour alone. If bread flour gave you trouble, do try this one.

How to start a sourdough starter with rye and whole wheat