There are so many posts like this online. You can find plenty of these on YouTube too. So, I don't know why I still get requests on how to make a starter from scratch. I feel like it's not necessary for me to add to it. I sound like I'm grumpy about this, but I'm not. I guess those of you who requested really trust me huh? LOL! Anyway, here's my version.
This video is a compilation of Instagram stories that I posted when I was sharing how to make a liquid starter, in real time. This was about 2 years ago. I thought of making another one, but it would be a waste of flour and what would I do with it after? So, this should do.
Here are what you'd need:
Wide mouth straight jar. It can be plastic or glass. It's easier to clean, no nooks and crannies. I like Weck jars, that's what I use.
A silicone spatula. One that is of medium size.
A rubber band or a whiteboard marker to track the growth of the starter
Flour. MUST be fresh flour. Flour that is close to expiry might not perform well. I recommend whole wheat flour for the first few days then slowly transition to bread flour.
Water. If you're not sure of the quality of your water, use bottled water.
Weighing scale. It's just a must for accuracy.
Day 1
Mix 10g wholewheat flour + 10g room temperature water. Stir well and leave it untouched for 24 hours. Leave it somewhere warm, around 28C. Do not cover the jar too tight. Just put the lid on loosely.
Day 2
To the existing 20g mixture from yesterday, add 15g wholewheat flour and 10g water. Stir well and leave it for 24 hours at 28C. There will already be some activity but it's not the yeast or bacteria we want.
Day 3
From the existing 45g, throw away 25g. Use 20g, and add 20g wholewheat flour + 20g water. Mix well and leave it for 24 hours 28C. There might be some odor starting now. If it smells like vomit, or baby poop, don't worry. You're on the right track.
Day 4
From the total of 60g yesterday, use only 20g, add 20g wholewheat flour and 20g water. Mix well. There might be little to no activity, but don't worry. It's part of the process. If there is activity, then it's great. After 12 hours at 28C, the mixture might be very runny. It might also smell really bad. Your entire kitchen might be affected. Discard most of it, keep 20g and feed again 20g wholewheat flour and 20g water.
Day 5
There should be activity already today. The starter should be doubling. Now, I suggest you feed once the starter has peaked. It means, the starter would have grown, and once it shows sign of collapsing, take 20g and feed again. This time, with 10g wholewheat flour + 10g bread flour + 20g water.
Do take note that if you keep your starter at 28C, it will rise and start to collapse much sooner. Maybe by 4th or 5th hour. Just feed it. For the last feed before your sleep, take 10g starter and feed it 20g flour (10g wholewhat+ 10g bread flour) and 20g water. This time, leave it some place cooler at 25C.
Day 6
When you wake up, the starter would have collapsed. It's a good sign. It's behaving more and more like a regular starter. Take 10g starter and feed it 20g bread flour + 20g water. Mix well and keep track of its growth. Mark down the rise in volume and also the time it takes. Maybe now it's tripling, in only 5 hours. Once it looks like it's about to collapse, feed it again at the same ratio using bread flour only. By now, your starter should be looking quite healthy.
Just keep feeding as such, and at night, for the final feed before you sleep, you can feed 10g starter with 30g bread flour + 30g water and keep it somewhere cooler. You can even feed it first, let it double in room temperature and keep it in the fridge overnight. In the morning, just take it out from the fridge and let it finish rising.
Day 7 onwards
The starter should start to smell sweet-ish. The texture is not runny, but more like thick batter. I have tried baking a loaf with a 7-day old starter before, but the bread is too sour for my liking. The starter performed well, but not strong enough yet. I recommend you feed it for at least 10 days before using it for your first loaf.
There are some even simpler methods that you just basically add flour and water to the starter without discarding any of it. While it also works, your starter will be quite acidic initially. There are many well written and well documented instructions to create a starter online. All methods work. You'd just need some patience and resilience. That's what I like about sourdough actually. It taught me patience.
Happy baking!
Lily
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