Two Methods of Making Sourdough Starter: Wild Yeast Method and Quick Method
Learning to make a good sourdough starter is a liberating experience. You can keep it in your fridge for years, literally a hundred years, if you can remember to feed it twice a month and protect it from unfriendly bacteria by keeping your containers scrupulously clean. Once you’ve made a good starter, you can make an endless array of sourdough breads, pancakes, buns, rolls and flatbreads. I especially like using it to make the sourdough Ethiopian flatbread called injera, as it saves me from days of waiting for the batter to ferment and allows me to make injera on the day I am craving it.
I’ve included a traditional method of making sourdough starter and a quick method as well. The quick method cheats a little since the yeast isn’t derived wholly from the environment around the starter. Rather we start with a little commercial yeast and let it become sour over several days in the fridge. The traditional method results in a better flavor by far but the quick method is much easier. So, it all boils down to whether or not you are a purist in your pursuit of achieving a usable sourdough starter.

Two Methods of Making Sourdough Starter: Wild Yeast Method and Quick Method
Learning to make a good sourdough starter is a liberating experience. You can keep it in your fridge for years, literally a hundred years, if you can remember to feed it twice a month and protect it from unfriendly bacteria by keeping your containers scrupulously clean. Once you’ve made a good starter, you can make an endless array of sourdough breads, pancakes, buns, rolls and flatbreads. I especially like using it to make the sourdough Ethiopian flatbread called injera, as it saves me from days of waiting for the batter to ferment and allows me to make injera on the day I am craving it.I’ve included a traditional method of making sourdough starter and a quick method as well. The quick method cheats a little since the yeast isn’t derived wholly from the environment around the starter. Rather we start with a little commercial yeast and let it become sour over several days in the fridge. The traditional method results in a better flavor by far but the quick method is much easier. So, it all boils down to whether or not you are a purist in your pursuit of achieving a usable sourdough starter.
Calories: 576kcal
Ingredients
Wild Yeast Method: Ingredients to be used over the entire 4 days:
- 216 g bread flour divided into 33g (3 1/2 Tablespoons), 33g, 75g (1/2 cup), and 75g, respectively. (You can use any flour you prefer but the purpose of this video, I am using bread flour.), approximately 1 1/2 cups
- 1/2 cup unsweetened pineapple juice divided
- 2/3 cup filtered water or spring water
Quick Method: Ingredients for the entire day:
- 141 g bread flour divided into 33g, 33g, and 75g respectively. (You can use any flour you prefer but the purpose of this video, I am using bread flour.), approximately 1 cup
- 1/2 cup unsweetened pineapple juice divided
- 1/8 teaspoon active dry yeast I use Fleishmann's.
- 75 g water 1/2 cup
Instructions
Wild Yeast Method:Day One: Beginning in the morningIngredients:
- 33g (3 1/2 Tablespoons Flour)
- 1/4 cup pineapple juice
Instructions:
- Mix 33g flour (3 1/2 Tablespoons) and 1/4 cup pineapple juice. Stir vigorously until fairly smooth. Cover and allow to rest in a warm area of your kitchen or on a seedling mat. Stir two to three times during the day and before going to bed at night. You should not expect any significant activity in this starter for at least 48 hours, and possibly not even then.
Day Two:
- After 24 hours, the starter is completely inactive with some of the pineapple juice having separated and floating on the surface. Stir vigorously and replace lid, stirring again several times during the day, at least twice, and again before retiring for the night.
Day Three:Ingredients:
- 33g (3 1/2 Tablespoons Flour)
- 1/4 cup pineapple juice
Instructions:
- After 48 hours, we will feed the starter regardless of whether it is showing any activity.* Stir to combine and feed with another 33g flour and 1/4 cup pineapple juice, stirring vigorously to whip in air and fully incorporate the flour and juice. Cover and allow to rest overnight once again in a warm area of your kitchen or on a seedling mat.
Day Four:Ingredients:
- 150g (1 cup Flour) divided
- 150g (2/3 cup water) divided
Instructions:
- By the next morning (around 60 hours) you should start seeing some activity. Feed with 75g flour (1/2 cup) and 75g (1/3 cup) water, stirring vigorously to combine. Allow to ferment throughout the day.
- Six hours later, or once the starter is active and bubbling, feed it again with a 75g flour-to-water ratio. Continue doing this until you have the amount of starter you want to have on hand. Refrigerate overnight unless you plan to wake up in the middle of the night to feed your starter. Once you have the amount desired, refrigerate until use, remembering to feed it every week or two. Be sure you have it in a container that will allow the starter to rise 30% without spilling over or erupting from outgassing.
- (*Note: if there is no activity after 48 hours, throw the starter out and begin again. Something has gone wrong.)
Quick Method:Ingredients for the entire day:
- 141g (approximately 1 cup) organic unbleached bread flour, divided into 33g, 33g, and 75g respectively. (You can use any flour you prefer but the purpose of this video, I am using bread flour.)
- 1/2 cup unsweetened pineapple juice (divided)
- 1/8 teaspoon active dry yeast (I use Fleishmann's.)
- 75g (1/2 cup) water
Instructions:
- Mix 33g flour, yeast, and 1/4 cup pineapple juice. Stir vigorously until fairly smooth. Cover and allow to rest in a warm area of your kitchen or on a seedling mat.
- After about 2 1/2 hours, check to see if the yeast has become active. If not, your yeast is bad. Throw out the batch and start again with fresh yeast. More likely, the starter is active, full of bubbles and has risen quite a bit. Stir to deflate and whip in more air.
- After another 2 1/2 hours (the yeast should be quite active) feed the yeast again with 33g flour and 1/4 cup pineapple juice.
- After another 2 hours, transfer to a four cup bowl and feed with 75g (1/2 cup) flour and 75g (1/3 cup) water. Refrigerate and allow sourdough flavor to develop for several days before using. You can use it on the second day but the flavor will be only mildly sour.
Notes
Feed every week or two with a 75g flour-to-water ratio, keeping refrigerated between uses.
Nutrition
Serving: 189g | Calories: 576kcal | Carbohydrates: 118g | Protein: 17g | Fat: 2g | Sodium: 9mg | Potassium: 294mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 12g | Vitamin C: 11.8mg | Calcium: 37mg | Iron: 1.6mg
Below are the equipment and products I used in this recipe. Click on the photo to order yours through my affiliate link with Amazon.com, for which I receive a small advertising fee. Please visit my Store for more information.
Hydrofarm Seedling Heat Mat
Thank you so much for this recipe. I got on here searching for a yeast starter recipe. I had one going strong for 7 years. I checked on it one day and it was moldy. I couldn’t believe it. I will use your yeast starter recipe and try the quick injera. My other recipe takes about 12 hours from Start to finish. We love It, but if I could cut that time down, that would be wonderful. I could make it more often. I’ll let you know how it goes 😊
You’re quite welcome, Naoka. I’ll be interested in how you like the quick injera recipe. It isn’t as sour as the long-fermented injera but in every other way, it should be the same. The benefit of making my recipe is that you can have injera whenever you want, without waiting for the leet to ferment. I hope you like it. Good luck!
Danielle
What is nicer than that sour bubbling starter. In the last step of wild yeast recipe, after feeding it, does it ferment for 6 hours, then refrigerator? When I “feed” it, do I let it come to room temperature and then ferment for 6 hr?
Thanks. Love, love, love this. The injera looks exactly like my favorite restaurant.
Hi, Elle,
Thanks for your kind comments. I love bubbling sourdough starter too! What’s wrong with us, lol? To answer your questions, complete your sourdough starter and refrigerate it immediately after your final feeding. You don’t need to bring it to room temperature before using it. In fact, that will throw your measurements off because it will expand a lot when reaching room temperature. A cup at room temperature is not the same as a cup right out of the fridge. I always measure my sourdough starter cold. Once you have used as much as you need for a recipe, feed it again and put it back in the fridge. You should feed the refrigerated starter every two weeks or so to keep it viable.
Happy Cooking!
Danielle
It seems like when you feed, you do not discard any of the existing starter. I’ve seen other recipes call for this. With your recipes, is this a necessary step? I’d love not to have to discard any, since it’s wasteful, or requires me to make something with it (like pancakes, etc.) each day, something I don’t really want to do. Thanks!!
That’s a great question, Yvonne, and I believe you are the only person who has asked it. I do not discard any of my existing starter for the same reason. I don’t like waste. The only time I discard starter is when I have too much on hand and it’s becoming a burden. I use it so frequently, excess starter is rarely an issue for me. If you are beginning to become overwhelmed by starter, it is time to discard some of it. Otherwise, keep it and use it to your heart’s content for injera, sourdough pancakes, sourdough bread, and whatever suits your fancy. You are only limited by your imagination.
Happy cooking!!
Danielle
Hi this recipe looks great and I am excited to try especially as grocery store is completely sold out of flour and yeast in corona lockdown. My question is can this be used as a substitute for commercial active dry yeast in recipes that call for it? If so, how would I do that? Is there a special ratio are there pitfalls I should try to avoid? I’d really appreciate any help or advice you could give and thank-you for a very informative video.
Hi, Redone, Yes! You can replace yeast with sourdough starter. It’s wild yeast! Once you have made the starter and it is nice and active, take 1/4 cup and add it to your bread recipe. It will take longer to rise, several hours to two days, depending upon how sour you want your final product to be. I have to say, I’m not an expert on baking bread. Everything I know I learned from an amazing website: http://www.breadtopia.com. If you want clear, technical information, I suggest you talk to Eric at Breadtopia. His recipes will have you making great European loaves in no time. I wish I could be more helpful. Good luck, wash your hands, stay home and, stay safe during this terrible pandemic. And as always, Happy Cooking! Danielle
Does the quick method eventually become as good in flavour etc as the traditional?
I also need to make spelt sourdough too so when do I introduce that four? When I am ready to make a loaf and add the sourdough starter to it? Novice here
Hi, Jaine,
Thank you for your questions.
I think the slow, traditional method will always give you a slightly better flavor. The quick method will eventually become close.
I’m not sure exactly what you are asking so I’ll answer in this way:
To convert your white flour starter to a spelt starter: as soon as you have a viable starter, when it is bubbling and active, take a portion out (like 1/4 cup) and feed it the 30 grams of spelt flour and 30 grams of water. When that becomes active, which should happen in a few hours, feed it again with the spelt flour and water combination. Be sure to use weight measurements rather than volume. Continuing this way, feeding your starter twice a day, you should quickly end up with a starter that has a negligible amount of white flour and will be made of nearly entirely spelt. It will have a grainier texture than your white flour starter.
It isn’t necessary to have a spelt starter to make a very good loaf of spelt bread. You can add 1/4 cup of white flour starter to 100% spelt flour and have nearly a 100% spelt loaf of bread. 1/4 cup is a very little portion of the overall ingredients. If you’re a purest, you can certainly make a starter from 100% spelt flour.
Once the starter is bubbling and active and you have enough to make bread (1/4 cup a loaf) as well as enough in reserve to feed and rebuild your supply of starter, then you are ready to make bread with it. This is a very good recipe for spelt bread from Breadtopia.com. I learned everything I know about making bread from Eric at this site. It is by far my favorite breadmaking resource. https://breadtopia.com/spelt-bread-recipe/
Good luck and happy cooking! Danielle
Great recipes! I’ll make the quick starter and then try making injera. So exciting!
Thanks, Iris. Good luck, and let me know how it works out. Drop me a line if you have any questions. Happy cooking! Danielle