Edith's Bread

How to Make a Sourdough Starter From Scratch in 7 Days?

A sourdough starter is a stable culture of wild yeast and lactic acid bacteria living in a flour-and-water paste. You do not need to buy one, and you do not need pineapple juice, grapes, or any other trick. You need flour, water, and about a week.

How to know it’s actually ready?

The reliable test is consistency: it should double predictably, within a similar window, after several consecutive feedings. A starter that doubles once and then sulks is not ready to raise a loaf. The float test — a spoonful in water — is a reasonable quick check but produces false negatives with wetter starters. Trust the rise-and-timing pattern first.

Why bother discarding?

Because without it, the acid concentration climbs until it suppresses the very yeast you’re cultivating, and the volume becomes absurd. Discarding keeps the culture young and the jar manageable.

What does not matter?

Brand prestige. The bread cannot tell. Colour and enamel finish. Cosmetic. A dark interior hides scorching better; that’s all. Oval vs round. Round suits boules, oval suits bâtards. Round is more versatile.

How to use it?

Preheat the empty pot with the oven at 475–500°F for at least 30 minutes. A cold pot gives up most of the advantage. Load the dough on parchment — safer than trying to invert into a screaming-hot pot. Lid on, 20 minutes. Lid off, 20–25 minutes, until deeply browned and 205–210°F inside. Cool on a rack at least two hours before cutting. See why cutting early makes bread gummy.