Fresh-Milled Sourdough Starter (7-Day Guide)

About this recipe

Build a vigorous sourdough starter from scratch using fresh-milled hard red wheat and rye. Wild yeast lives on the bran, so freshly milled flour wakes up faster than commercial flour.

Ingredients

• freshly milled hard red wheat flourabout 350 g total over the week
• freshly milled rye flourabout 100 g (used days 1–2 to jumpstart fermentation)
• filtered water (75–80°F)about 450 g total over the week
• clean glass jar with loose-fitting lid1 quart capacity
• digital scalereads to 1 g

Instructions

1. 1

   Day 1: Combine 50 g fresh-milled rye and 50 g water in the jar. Stir, cover loosely, rest at 75°F for 24 hours.

2. 2

   Day 2: Discard half. Add 25 g rye + 25 g hard red wheat + 50 g water. Stir, cover, rest 24 hours.

3. 3

   Day 3: Expect bubbles and a sharp smell. Discard all but 20 g. Feed 50 g hard red wheat + 50 g water. Switch to 12-hour feeds.

4. 4

   Day 4: Discard all but 20 g; feed 50 g flour + 50 g water every 12 hours. Activity should peak then deflate between feeds.

5. 5

   Day 5–6: Continue 12-hour 1:2.5:2.5 feeds. Look for predictable doubling within 6 hours after feeding.

6. 6

   Day 7: Float test — drop a teaspoon of starter in water. If it floats, the starter is ready to bake with. If not, continue daily feeds 1–3 more days.

7. 7

   Maintenance: feed 1:1:1 daily at room temperature, or weekly in the refrigerator. Bring out and feed twice before any bake.