Before you can use tools like a brotform, artisticallycopy an intricate scoring pattern you saw on Instagramor bake a beginner sourdough recipe, you need one thing: a sourdough starter. It’s the one non-negotiable for all naturally leavened foods. So when you’re ready to be on Team Sourdough, here are four types of places to source one.
In case you’re unfamiliar with the idea, a sourdough starter is, essentially, pretty simple: flour plus water plus time. Supported by the wild yeast and lactobacilli in the air, the flour and water become a living culture. That living culture is an entity capable of birthing some of the world’s favorite baked goods.
A Sourdough Starter, So What?
So what’s the big deal with sourdough starters? Dubbed “America’s rising pet” by the New York Timesand considered a little like love by Bon Appetit, a sourdough starter is, honestly, a pretty magical thing. Watching one grow is enough to wake up the wonder in the most cynical of souls.
Think about it: all you need to give a starter is regular flour and water. In exchange, it will grow, bubble, change and, if you bottle some up for a friend, even reproduce. A starter can outlive you. It can last for generations. That simple blend of flour and water can birth some of the best breads of your life.
So maybe it’s no wonder people take their starters seriously. They name them like pets. Search around online, and you’ll find starters with incredible pedigrees: there’s a starterlegendarily brought over on the Mayflower.On Etsy, you can findunique cultures from DerbyshireorSan Francisco.
So when you’re ready to dip your toes into the world of sourdough, a starter is Step One. You won’t need a centuries-old starter to bake amazing bread, but you will need a starter from somewhere. So where can you get one? Should you make it or buy it? Here are some ideas.
Where to Get a Sourdough Starter
Where you get your sourdough starter all depends on you. Do you feel up to the challenge of cultivating your own? Would you rather ask a friend for some, or do you want to buy a starter online? Whatever your style, there’s an easy option for you.
- Go DIY with This Recipe, from Baked: The Blog. All you need are flour, water and less than a week of time to cultivate your own starter, in your own kitchen. How? There are lots of tutorials online, but this one’s pretty handy. Go to thecollaborative Canadian cooking blog Bakedfor an easy-to-follow step-by-step five-day guide. One week from now, you could have your own homegrown starter sitting on your kitchen counter, who knows?
- Buy from a Big Bread Brand, like King Arthur Flour or Breadtopia. Over on the King Arthur Flour website, you can buy a one-ounce starter for $8.95 and have the confidence that comes from a product endorsed by almost 800 other happy customers. If you’re an Amazon Prime member (ps did you hear about the new deals for Prime members at Whole Foods?), you can order from Breadtopia for about $11 including shipping and have a cousin to the starter in my fridge. It’s not necessarily better to order from big brands, but it is credible and convenient. Bonus: the big guys typically include instructions and information to guide you in your sourdough beginning.
- Get Some from a Friend. If you know someone who bakes sourdough, chances are he or she will be glad to share starter with you. Bakers regularly discard (or make pancakes with) part of their starters, so it’s no big deal to pass some along.
- Explore the Possibilities Online. If you’re interested in a special kind of starter–one from Alaska? Italy? Finland? France?–the world is at your fingertips online. Search on Amazon to find a wide variety, from rye sourdough starters to Gold Rush starters, or browse Etsy to get inspired with idea. You can even find starters on eBay.
If you’re toying with the idea of baking sourdough and unsure of where to start, take it from someone who was scared: get a starter. While, sure, people joke that it’s a pet, the truth is it’s adaptable to your lifestyle and fairly hard to kill. I learned this invaluable tip from Heartbeet Kitchen: you don’t have to feed it every day if you don’t bake all the time. Instead, you can keep it in the fridge, revive it once a week and bake. Now, in the summertime, while it’s hotter in our homes, it’s especially easy to bring the starter back to happy bubbles, so it’s an especially great time to jump in. Trust me, the revolutionary experience of slicing into your own fresh-baked bread is worth the adventure.
disclaimer: this post contains Amazon affiliate links, through which I receive a small commission on any purchases made.
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FAQs
If you want to purchase a starter, I would recommend: Asking at your local bakery (this is a good idea because the starter will be liquid so you don't have to hydrate it, and it will be a local starter). Purchase from a reputable baking company, rather than a random Etsy seller.
What is the best flour to start a sourdough starter with? ›
All-purpose Flour
It strikes a perfect balance of softness and structure, making it an ideal choice for various recipes. Due to its wide availability and affordability, all-purpose flour is often my top recommendation for creating and maintaining a sourdough starter.
How old does a sourdough starter need to be? ›
Do not attempt to use your starter to bake a loaf of bread until at least day 7. It just won't work! You might see a lot of activity within the first few days, but what you're observing is bad bacteria, good bacteria, and yeast all fighting over one food source, your flour.
Can I ask a bakery for some sourdough starter? ›
Unfortunately, I had no birthright to any starter, but the practice of asking a friend or neighborhood baker for a portion of their starter is certainly an option. From there, it just takes proper weekly feeding and refreshing to keep it happy, and you're good to go.
Is grocery store sourdough real sourdough? ›
The bakery in the supermarket is really a fakery. Most bread comes in frozen and par-baked. The bread is finished in the supermarket ovens. The company that makes the original product probably does use sourdough starter but also might add some sugar to speed up the rise time.
Do you have to discard sourdough starter every time you feed it? ›
It would be best if you discarded some portion of your starter each time you feed it unless you want to continue to let it grow. Eventually, you need to discard the used “food” (flour and water) that's been used to sustain your starter during the last fermentation period.
How long does a sourdough starter last? ›
Your sourdough starter is the foundation of baking sourdough bread. Through proper maintenance and a little attention, it can last indefinitely and provide you with countless healthy and delicious loaves of bread.
How often should you feed sourdough starter on counter? ›
Once you've successfully created your starter, you'll need to feed it regularly. If you bake a lot of sourdough treats, you may want to keep it on your counter, at room temperature. While this means feeding it twice a day, it also means your starter will be ready to bake with at the drop of a hat (er, oven mitt).
Can I use tap water for sourdough starter? ›
*If making sourdough is new for you, do not be discouraged if you starter takes longer to get active than mine – stick with it, it will happen! *Tap water is usually fine, if you are not sure, use boiled and cooled water, you can use it at room temperature or cool; do not use distilled water.
What is the healthiest flour for sourdough starter? ›
The best flour blend for creating a new sourdough starter is 50% whole-meal flour (whole wheat or whole rye) and 50% bread flour or all-purpose flour. I recommend a 50/50 mix of whole wheat flour and bread flour.
Distilled water might seem like a good option, but it's actually not great for your little yeasty friends. They need some minerals and stuff that are usually filtered out in the distillation process. So go for filtered or bottled water instead, and your starter will be living its best life in no time.
How do I know when my starter is ready to use? ›
Ideally, it should be doubling within 4 to 6 hours of feeding - but it can sometimes happen within just 2 hours if it's warm. If your starter is not doubling, it's not ready and it will not have the ability to rise bread (and you'll end up with very under fermented sourdough bread).
Do you have to discard every 12 hours for sourdough starter? ›
Starter that's kept at room temperature is more active than refrigerated starter, and thus needs to be fed more often. Room-temperature starter should be fed every 12 hours (twice a day) using the standard maintenance feeding procedure: discard all but 113g, and feed that 113g starter with 113g each water and flour.
What happens if sourdough starter doesn't float? ›
The float test is a technique to see whether the starter has trapped enough gas to adequately lift your bread dough. To perform the float test, simply spoon some of your starter into a cup of water. If the blob sinks straight to the bottom, the starter has not developed enough to adequately trap carbon dioxide.
Is Panera sourdough made with starter? ›
While our business has expanded well beyond St. Louis since then, that same sourdough starter is still used in our iconic sourdough bread and the craft of baking bread fresh each day remains at the heart of Panera Bread.
Can someone give you sourdough starter? ›
You can easily share your sourdough starter with friends and family - whether you're gifting, sharing or sending a starter, the easiest thing to do is take 20g of sourdough starter and place into a small jar and then add 20g of flour and 20g of water.
What do bakers have to do for sourdough starter every day? ›
Maintaining A Sourdough Starter:
Leaving it out on the counter, it will need to be fed equal parts water and flour every 12-24 hours. Warmer homes or frequent baking will require more frequent feeding (around every 12 hours), while colder homes every 24 hours.
What does sourdough starter do to baked goods? ›
A sourdough starter is used to seed fermentation in new dough when baking bread and is responsible for leavening (making rise) and flavoring a loaf of sourdough bread.
