First, let's get this out of the way. There are as many sourdough starter recipes as there are humans making sourdough starter. Trust me, I've read (almost) all of them. This is both good and bad. It's good because there's a lot of wiggle room, and if you need to adjust the ratios of ingredients along the way, that's totally OK; you can make a successful sourdough starter without following some magic formula. It's bad because there is no magic formula. It's not like simply following the step-by-step instructions for a cake recipe. Your success depends on a number of factors like the type of flour you use and the temperature of your house, and it requires constant monitoring and adjusting and going with your gut. What does it smell like? What's the texture like? How much is it growing throughout the day? Where is it at its peak? What colour is it?
For my starter, I started off using this simple recipe from Food 52, but eventually (after some recommendations from other bread-making friends), I switched to this recipe from The Perfect Loaf. If your photos and experience vary wildly from mine, that's totally OK, every starter is different!
- On day one, I mixed 1/2 cup all-purpose flour and 6 tablespoons filtered water in a large glass jar, covered it with a tea towel, and set it in a plastic container (in case of overflow) in the only spot in my house that somewhat consistently stays in the 70-80 degree range (you want it in this temperature range, so if you have a proofer or a proofing setting of your oven, even better! I don't have either).
Image Source: POPSUGAR Photography / Tara Block