Easy Recipe For Sourdough Starter With Potato Flakes

If you’ve ever dreamed of making your own sourdough bread, the first step is creating a sourdough starter. This simple mixture of flour and water captures wild yeast from the environment, allowing you to bake delicious bread with a unique flavor. In this guide, I will walk you through the process of making a sourdough starter from scratch.

What is a Sourdough Starter?

A sourdough starter is a culture of flour and water that ferments over time, developing naturally occurring yeast and bacteria. This leavening agent is what makes your sourdough bread rise, giving it that delightful texture and tangy flavor.

Ingredients for Sourdough Starter

Creating a sourdough starter requires just two ingredients:

Whole wheat flour (1 cup)
Water (1 cup, preferably filtered)

Instructions to Create Your Sourdough Starter

Follow these steps to create a thriving sourdough starter:

Day 1: In a clean glass jar, mix 1 cup of whole wheat flour with 1 cup of room-temperature water. Stir it until there are no dry patches of flour. Cover the jar loosely with a lid or cloth to allow air circulation, and let it sit in a warm spot (around 70°F to 75°F) for 24 hours.
Day 2: Check your mixture for bubbles. If you see some, that’s a good sign! If not, don’t worry, some starters take longer. Discard half of the mixture and add another 1 cup of whole wheat flour and 1 cup of water. Stir and cover again.
Day 3: You should see more bubbles and it should smell a bit sour. Again, discard half, and feed it with the same amount of flour and water. Stir well and cover.
Days 4 to 7: Continue this feeding process every 24 hours. As the days go by, your starter should become more active, doubling in size and emitting a pleasant sour aroma.
Ready to Use: After about a week, your starter should be bubbly and should double in size within a few hours of feeding. At this point, it’s ready for baking! If you’re not ready to bake, you can refrigerate it and feed it once a week.

With this starter, you’re now ready to embark on your sourdough baking journey. Enjoy the process and the wonderful bread you’ll create!