Sourdough Day 1: Starting a Sourdough Starter From Scratch

Sourdough Day 1 is here and we are doing this! I have been watching videos, doing my research, and gathering my supplies — and today we are actually starting a sourdough starter from scratch. I want to be very clear about one thing right up front: I am not an expert. I have never done this before and I have no experience with sourdough whatsoever. We are going through this together, you and me, figuring it out one day at a time. So pull up a chair, grab your flour, and let’s give this a shot.

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Here is what you need to get started — and spoiler, it is not much. A kitchen scale (Shop on Amazon), whole wheat flour, room temperature water, a glass jar with a loose lid (no seal — the air has to be able to get in!), and a wooden stirring spoon. That is it. Simple supplies, big adventure.

I chose whole wheat flour for two reasons. First, whole wheat flour has more strains of wild yeast than all purpose flour, which means the starter is more likely to get active and strong. Second, my husband Jason is on a Mediterranean diet, and using whole wheat means everything I eventually bake from this starter will work for him too. Win win.

For Day 1 the measurements are simple: 60 grams of whole wheat flour and 60 grams of room temperature water, combined for a total of 120 grams. I used my kitchen scale for everything — precision matters more than you might think with sourdough. The consistency you are going for with whole wheat flour is PlayDoh, not pancake batter. Because whole wheat is thicker and denser than all purpose, the starter needs to be on the thicker side.

I stirred everything together, checked the consistency, and I think we nailed it. Once it is mixed, you find a spot on your counter, set it down, make sure the lid is loose so air can get in, and you leave it alone. That is Day 1, y’all.

We also need to pick a name for this little starter — I told it from the start that it needs to get used to me being a little willy nilly. Stay tuned for Day 2 to see how things are looking — and to help me pick a name! If you want to learn more about the science behind wild yeast and sourdough fermentation, King Arthur Baking has an excellent sourdough guide that helped me a lot as I was getting started.

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Sourdough Day 1 — About the Sourdough Journey

The Sourdough Journey is Stephanie’s series documenting her very first attempt at making sourdough bread from scratch — something she had never done before. She started this journey to make fresh homemade bread for her husband Jason, who is on a Mediterranean diet. Along the way her community helped name her whole wheat starter “Willynilly” — and together they cheered him on toward his first bake. What started as one starter became two, then took a dramatic turn — and now a whole new chapter of baking is underway. Start here at Day 1 and follow the whole story at stephaniecooksforacrowd.com!