How to Start and Maintain a Sourdough Starter

A sourdough starter is a living culture made from just flour and water. It captures wild yeast and beneficial bacteria from the environment and uses them to naturally ferment and rise your bread.

Once you have a healthy starter, you can keep it alive for years or even generations with just a little regular care.

Let’s walk through the simple, no-stress way to start and maintain one.

What You Need to Start a Starter

You only need:

• Flour (all-purpose or bread flour works great)
• Water (filtered if possible)
• A jar or container
• A spoon

That’s it.

No yeast. No sugar. No special equipment.

How to Start a Sourdough Starter From Scratch

Day 1:

• Mix:
  • ½ cup flour
  • ¼ cup water
• Stir until thick like pancake batter
• Cover loosely and let sit at room temperature

Day 2:

• You may or may not see bubbles — that’s normal
• Discard half
• Feed with:
  • ½ cup flour
  • ¼ cup water
• Stir, cover, and let sit

Days 3–7:

• Continue:
  • Discard half
  • Feed once daily
• You should start seeing:
  • Bubbles
  • Rise and fall
  • A slightly tangy smell

By about day 7–10, your starter should be active enough to bake with.

How to Know Your Starter Is Ready

Your starter is ready when:

• It doubles in size within 4–6 hours after feeding
• It’s full of bubbles
• It smells pleasantly tangy (not rotten or moldy)

How to Maintain Your Starter (The Easy Way)

There are two main ways to keep a starter:

Option 1: Keep It on the Counter (Daily Baking)

If you bake often:

• Keep your starter at room temperature
• Feed it once per day
• Always:
  • Discard half
  • Feed with equal parts flour and water

Option 2: Keep It in the Fridge (Occasional Baking)If you bake once a week or less:

• Store your starter in the fridge
• Feed it once per week
• When ready to bake:
  • Take it out
  • Feed it
  • Let it become active again before using

How to Feed a Starter (Simple Ratio)

A simple feeding looks like:

• Discard half
• Add:
  • ½ cup flour
  • ¼ cup water
• Stir well
• Cover loosely

Consistency should look like thick pancake batter.

Common Starter Problems (And Easy Fixes)

My starter smells bad

• Usually means it needs feeding
• Discard most of it and feed fresh flour and water

My starter isn’t bubbling

• Give it time
• Keep it warm
• Feed it consistently

There’s liquid on top

• That’s “hooch” — it means your starter is hungry
• Pour it off or stir it in and feed

Don’t Overthink It

Sourdough starter is:

• Resilient
• Forgiving
• Hard to truly kill

People kept starters alive for centuries without scales, timers, or fancy tools.

A Faster Way to Get Started

Making a starter from scratch is rewarding, but it takes time.

If you want to skip the waiting period, you can start baking immediately with an established starter.

(Coming soon: Our 150-year-old Fifteen Acre Fix heirloom starter.)

Final Thoughts

Once you get into a simple rhythm, maintaining a sourdough starter becomes second nature — just feed it, use it, and enjoy the process.

In our Beginner’s Guide to Sourdough, we’ll show you exactly how to bake your first loaf step by step.