Creating Your Own Sourdough Starter

Few things in life are better than a fresh loaf of baked bread. In particular I am partial to breads made from a sourdough starter, but how do you get a starter if you do not already have one?

Well, the most common way most of use acquire our first sourdough starter is to find a family member or friend who already has one. Most people who love baking with sourdough love to have company and are more than willing to share not only their experiences, but their starter with new sourdough bakers.

Fresh Starter

However, if you do not know of any baker's or have access to a sourdough starter, short of buying one off the internet, you have only one option left and that is to make your own by capturing the wild yeast that already resides in your own kitchen. Capturing wild yeast is of course free, allows you the satisfaction of knowing how you pioneer ancestors felt, and it can be kinda of fun to say “hey, look what I did!” The downside to capturing your own yeast culture is that the results can be a somewhat unpredictable depending on your location and time of year. Most people seem to have the best results in the summer and fall when there are more wild yeasts floating around in the air.

If you are already an avid baker, there may be enough wild yeast in hanging around in your kitchen to activate a starter. I suggest that everyone try this at least once, heck I know many sourdough bakers that will only bake with these homegrown cultivated starters. So if you have the afford the time and feel like walking on the wild side, go for it. This is the way I acquired my first sourdough starter and it never let me down. When you’ve captured some wild yeast successfully, you’ll feel very accomplished. Here’s how to set your trap.

In the beginning, I use stone ground whole wheat flour as whole grains generally have up to 200 times the amount of microorganisms as white flours. I also choose to use unsweetened pineapple juice as opposed to water to start my wild cultures because the acid in the pineapple juice encourages the growth of desired bacteria and yeasts, while discouraging the growth of bad bacteria and yeasts. Pineapple juice is naturally sweet, unsweetened pineapple juice simply means that it is 100 percent juice with no add sugars. I use the the Dole brand 6 ounce cans of 100% unsweetened pineapple juice, but any brand will do. According to Wink, Oftentimes, a new culture will appear to start off very strong, only to die a day or two later. The early expansion is caused by a prolific gas-producing bacterium which many mistake for yeast. Pineapple juice can be added to flour instead of water at the beginning, to insure against unwanted bacteria and the problems they leave in their wake. It doesn't change the end result, but it does seem to keep things on the track to finish on time.

Sourdough Starter Recipe

To set your sourdough trap, add to a clean bowl, one cup organic whole wheat flour, and ¾ cup unsweetened pineapple juice. Cover the bowl with a clean tea towel and place on your kitchen counter. Many books tell you to place your starter in an area where in which you think there is the highest concentration of airborne yeast as well as the warmth that is needed to begin fermentation. If I knew where such a place was I would tell you, but as I am no clairvoyant, I just leave mine on the counter and it always seems to work. Stir your starter 2 to 3 times a day to help aerate the yeast and cover it back up with the tea towel. You probably won't see any activity out of the starter for the first two days, but have patience, if you follow these steps this will work.

• 1 cup stone ground whole wheat flour.
• ¾ cup unsweetened pineapple juice.

Starter After three days.

On the third day, add another cup stone ground whole wheat flour and ¾ cup pineapple juice. Stir to incorporate completely and cover with the tea towel and place it back on the kitchen counter to allow the yeasts and bacteria to multiply for two more days. After the fourth day you should begin to see a few small bubbles appearing on the surface of your starter. Stir your starter 2 to 3 times a day to help aerate the yeast and cover it back up with the tea towel. If you are seeing quite a bit of activity then that's great as well; each environment is different so just follow the plan, your almost there.

• 1 cup stone ground whole wheat flour.
• ¾ cup unsweetened pineapple juice.

On the fifth day, you should see a light to moderate amount of bubbles on the surface of your starter. Now we are going to feed the starter and kick it into gear. Remove on cup of the starter and place in a clean bowl. Add 1 ½ cups each stone ground whole wheat flour and water. Stir to incorporate completely and cover with the tea towel and place it back on the kitchen counter to allow the yeasts and bacteria to multiply for one more day. After the starter has been feed for 12 to 24 hours it is ready to be used.

• 2 cups stone ground whole wheat flour.
• 1 ½ to 1 ¾ cups lukewarm water.

Starter after five days.

So that's all there is to making your first whole wheat sourdough starter. If you want a white flour starter, all you have to do is substitute the two cups of whole wheat flour on day five with bread flour. Then each time you feed your starter simply use a bread or all-purpose flour. The only reason we used the whole wheat flour to start with was to gain the advantage of the extra microorganisms found in the stone ground wheat flour. Once you have a good supply of yeast, the type of flour you use is a matter of personal preference.

Generally, I can have a full blown ready to bake with starter in five days using this method during the spring and summer months. However, I bake quite a bit and I may have more wild yeasts in my kitchen than the average person. I cannot prove this, but it's a working theory. Don't worry if it takes a bit longer for your starter to get going. When it’s developed a yeasty, sour aroma, put it in a clean jar with a lid and refrigerate it until you’re ready to use it. If the surface of your starter begins to look dry during the for the fermentation process, give the mixture a stir, if necessary add 1 tablespoon water.

If for some reason you decide to forgo the initial use of pineapple juice and use water to create your starter and you mixture begins to mold or develop a strange or peculiar color or odor instead of a “clean, sour aroma,” then throw it out and start again. It's very possible that you have inadvertently acquired a strain of bacteria that could cause your food to have an unpleasant taste and possibly cause you or your loved ones to become sick. It is for this particular reason that I use the pineapple juice in my wild yeast starters.


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