Sourdough Starter Tutorial

By Laila O'Boyle · June 29, 2026

Hi Early Risers!

This information lives as a pinned post on my TikTok and Instagram, but I wanted it to have a forever place that is easy to find. I’ll share the images and also include extra tips and tricks that I have learned over the years. It can be extremely hard to make a starter from scratch, so while I think it’s amazing that you want to, just remember it’s totally ok to buy one! The best option out there is to get one from your local bakery. Buy a couple things, be friendly, leave a tip, and then gently ask if they’d be willing to share just a little bit with you. Remember, you don’t need a lot!! If you can’t do that, I trust Parker at Basil and Bloom and you can buy his fresh or dehydrated starters here. I do not sell mine but if you live locally (I live in San Francisco), I am happy to share mine with you, just message me! I also have a mini starter course here for just $19.

Here is my tutorial on making a brand new starter using water:

Day 1: get the smallest jar in your house that has a lid. Put 20g warm water and 20g rye or whole wheat flour in the jar, mix well, and leave in a nice warm spot (75-80F or 24-27C). Photo of a small jar of freshly mixed starter.

For the next 6 days, do this every 24 hours or so (one week total): take 10g out, feed it 10g warm water and 10g rye or whole wheat flour. Throw away the extra from the day before and use a new clean jar each day - switching back and forth between two jars helps prevent mold.

You WILL have a “false rise” around day 3 and see less activity the following days. Do not panic - this is normal!

Days 8-14: remove 10g starter each day, mix it in a new jar, and feed it 10g warm water, 5g all purpose flour, and 5g rye or whole wheat flour. Always leave it in a warm (not hot) spot. We slowly reduce the whole grains because they cause faster fermentation - white flour gives you more time before it gets acidic or reaches peak.

You may or may not see activity. It is normal for it to smell very gross around days 5-10. Depending on your environment, it can take up to 45 days for a new starter to be ready. Do not use or consume the discard until it smells fruity and slightly acidic - and definitely not if it smells bad or like feet. If you begin to see mold, start over.

If it is taking forever, you feel stressed in any way, or it’s just not fun anymore…

…go buy a starter at your local sourdough bakery! They may even give it to you for free if you are polite!

Your starter is ready to use when it consistently doubles in the same time for 4-5 days straight. It should smell pleasant; whether it falls after peaking does not matter. This can happen as soon as 10 days, or can take over a month.

Once your starter is reliably doubling and fermenting dough, start maintaining a mini starter. Photo of a small jar of thick, ripe starter.

Daily tiny starter maintenance: 3g starter, 10g water, 15g all purpose or bread flour. Yeast ferments moving through water - less water means more time before you have to feed it again.

If your kitchen stays below 68F, feed every 24 hours; if warmer, every 12. If that feels like too much work, put it in the fridge 1 hour after feeding. The night before you want to bake, take it out, let it come to room temperature, feed it enough for a loaf, and use it once it’s at peak.

I hope this little image tutorial helps you when you are ready to make your own starter. Please remember that there is NO shame in buying a starter from a bakery or online! Within a few days, the microbiome of the starter will match YOU and your kitchen, so it is 100% yours.

THE PINEAPPLE JUICE METHOD!!! (Please check out all the information from Debra Wink who came up with this method).

Basically, do the whole process exactly the same but:

On day 5, switch to water.
By days 5-6 the starter should be really active, start to feed it twice a day.
Try baking with it around day 7!!
It will smell weird, like pineapple IPA, until you give it a couple of feeds with water.
DO NOT USE FRESH PINEAPPLE JUICE! (It contains bromelain which messes everything up!) Use canned or a juice box, something that doesn’t have added sugar.
If you don’t get a lot of activity by day 7, just give it a couple more days, do not get discouraged, it is still working better than just with water.

BUILDING UP YOUR TINY STARTER TO BAKE WITH:

Take your 25-30 grams and feed it 40g warm water and 40g flour, which will get you JUST enough to make my country loaf. The remaining couple of grams will be perfect for continuing your tiny starter. This is about a 1:1.5:1.5, should be ready in 5 or so hours.**
If you want to make more than a loaf, feed it the night before. If you want 200g for 2 loaves, feed 20g starter 100g water and 100g flour before bed and it should be ready to bake with in the morning.**

**These are approximations! Remember that temperature plays a major role in when your starter is ready.

Please leave me any questions or comments below. And remember about my course, here, if you’re still confused! It goes very in depth on all things starter. Thanks for reading, Early Riser. I hope you have a lovely day and a large oven spring!

Hugs,

Laila