Before I can teach you how to make sourdough bread you first have to make, or obtain, a sourdough starter.

I was super lucky and a friend gave me some of hers, which was given to her by a baker, and I have since shared mine as well. I have been working with the same sourdough starter for 3 months now, and have managed not to kill it. From what I read though, this beautiful natural yeast is very hard to kill.

If you can't find a friend or baker to get a bit from, here's where you can buy some sourdough starter or make your own from scratch!

Now that you have your starter you need to learn how to feed it and care for it.

The starter I was given was refrigerated. I first had to bring it out of hibernation so that it would be proofed and ready to make bread with. If you are planning on not using your starter very much I suggest keeping it in the fridge because you will need to feed it only once a week. If you have it on the counter like me, it needs to be fed 3 times a day or more, depending on how hot it is out. READ: How to bring sourdough starter out of hibernation.

Feeding refrigerated sourdough starter:

If you keep your starter in the fridge, all that is required is that once a week you take it out of the fridge, pour a little of the starter into the garbage or compost, and add in flour (equal to the amount of starter you have) and half the amount of water as flour. So if you put in 2 tablespoons of flour, you just add one tablespoon of water. Mix well so there are no lumps or clumps. Voila, your work for the week is done.

Note: Be sure to change containers each time. If you find a brown liquid (hooch) on top of your starter skim it off and garbage it.

Feeding countertop sourdough starter:

NOTE: If you keep it on the counter, you will have a lot more than if you keep it in the fridge. I would recommend only keeping your fridge starter at 1/4 cup. As you bring it out of hibernation that's the time to grow it by adding more flour and water than you would if it were to stay in the fridge.

Get a new container, your counter starter, flour and about half the water as the flour.

Mix thoroughly, leaving no lumps or clumps. It should end up as a nice slurry, not too thick but not too thin. If it is too thick, add a bit more water, and if it's too thin, add a bit more flour.

NOTE: Always leave at least half your container empty, the starter will GROW to at least double.

I made sure to mark it for you, so you can see what happens in 4-6 hours! It usually takes 8-12 hours to proof in the winter.

4 hours later...BOOM!

Now I will test it to see if it is proofed (ready to make bread with). Just put a little spoonful in a glass of water and see if it floats.

Yeah, she's good to go! I already knew it would be though because I've gotten the hang of just being able to look at the starter and can tell when she's proofed. Will be nice, bubbly and thin just like this:

I am making sourdough bread today, so I take out what my recipe needs, and feed the remaining starter again.

Always, always use a fresh container each time you feed. Your starter can get a very paint thinner type smell if you don't.

Here you can see the difference between proofed starter, and my just mixed starter.

I hope I didn't make things too complicated or overwhelming for you. It truly isn't that tough, it's all about timing, getting used to working with this baby, and a bit of care and attention. I joke that my starter is my 4th child.

So you may wonder, what do I use all this starter for. Do I make 3 loaves of sourdough bread a day?

Not at all. Even though each time you feed your starter you have to pour some out, I never throw mine in the compost or garbage, I use it! You can make anything that takes flour and water in the recipe, with sourdough starter. I make the most delicious pancakes in the world with this stuff! Biscuits, long rise buns, even scones.

I will be sharing my recipes next, I felt that this post would be too lengthly if I included them here, plus, you have to get busy making or obtaining your first sourdough starter!

Happy Proofing :)

<3 @LyndsayBowes