When is a sourdough starter ready for baking? If it's bubbly, is it time? Here's everything you need to know about baking with a young sourdough starter — how soon is too soon, the signs of readiness, and great discard recipes for a starter that isn't mature enough for baking bread yet!
You just started a sourdough starter… when can you bake with it?
Is there such a thing as too soon?
I'm sharing the answer on today's #AskWardee! Keep reading or watching below to learn more!
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Table Of Contents
The Question: When Is My Sourdough Starter Ready For Baking?
Sarah S. asked:
Hi, Wardee- After listening to your podcasts and watching your YouTube videos on sourdough, I've decided to try my hand at it again.
Here's my question: I'm on day three (started the new starter batch on Saturday- today is Monday) and while I've only started with 1/4 cup each of Berkey water and organic Rye flour, my starter is already bubbling like crazy and is even overflowing my glass pint jar. (And yes, I've been removing half of the starter before feeding it each day). I've wiped down the outside of the jar and shaken the jar a little to knock down the starter. Am I doing something wrong? It can't be that my starter is strong enough to bake with, right? It's only three days old. I've just never had starter react and grow and become bubbly that fast… I'd love any insight or idea have for me. —Sarah
Sarah, thank you for your question!
Because we're featuring your question today's #AskWardee, you're getting a gift — a FREE eBook and Video Package! Our team will be in contact with you so you can choose which one you'd like!
When Is Your Sourdough Starter Ready For Baking?
A sourdough starter might be quite lively in the early days, especially when using rye flour. It might also dip in activity after a few days as the organism balance shifts, and then get active again.
This is quite common and not a reason to throw it out! (Many people do, so sad.)
Just keep stirring and feeding (you can even skip a feeding).
As for when it's ready for baking…
If it's active and bubbly on day 5, even if it went through a lull, then use it sourdough recipes that are not dependent on strong leavening.
Ideal recipes at this point include: sourdough English muffins, sourdough pancakes, sourdough waffles, or sourdough pizza crust.
Wait a few weeks to make sandwich bread, because the strong leavening power will take that long to develop in a sourdough starter's culture.
However, you can make this no-knead einkorn bread (click here for free recipe) sooner than a few weeks because it's not dependent on the starter's leavening power quite as much as regular sandwich bread.
That's pretty much it!
FREE No-Knead Einkorn Sourdough Bread Recipe
Einkorn is a bit tricky to figure out how to use because it behaves differently.
Yet… you can skip the learning curve by using my free and AMAZING no-knead einkorn bread recipe!
The recipe is FREE, easy, and healthy, and takes only 15 minutes of hands-on time!
Click here for the free recipe: No-Knead Sourdough Einkorn Bread.
And soon your family will be saying: “This is the best bread EVER!”
Any Questions Or Comments?
If you have other questions or comments about your own experience with using a brand-new sourdough starter, be sure to leave them in the comments!
Helpful Links
- FREE No-Knead Einkorn Sourdough Artisan Bread Recipe
- How To Make An Einkorn Sourdough Starter
- How to Make a Sourdough Starter (FAQ's, Care Tips, Recipes, & More!)
- Sourdough A to Z eBook or eCourse
- Einkorn Baking eBook or eCourse
- Sourdough English Muffins
- Sourdough Pancakes
- Sourdough Waffles
- Sourdough Pizza
More Sourdough Posts from the #AskWardee Show
- Does Sourdough Bread Get Moldy? +Troubleshooting Dense Sourdough Bread #AskWardee 110
- 11 Tips For Lighter, Less Dense Sourdough Bread #AskWardee 053
- The Best & Healthiest Flours For Sourdough #AskWardee 065
- Sourdough Troubleshooting: How To Know When Your Starter Is Strong Enough For Bread-Baking
- Feeding Your Sourdough Starter… More Than Just Flour! #AskWardee 150
- Is Aged Flour *Really* Better For Sourdough? #AskWardee 122
- Can I Use Reverse Osmosis Water For Fermenting, Culturing, & Sourdough? #AskWardee 138
- How To Transition A Sourdough Starter To Einkorn #AskWardee 069
What Is The #AskWardee Show?
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You can make a soda bread too with a young starter. I use the same dough as for the English muffins, put it in a bread pan and bake it in the oven.
The photo above looks like an all-purpose flour loaf. Can you explain? My whole grain Einkorn looks mcuh darker with next to no holes. Please explain why the bread photo looks so different.
Hi, Linda.
The loaf above is from a blend of all-purpose and whole-grain einkorn. 🙂
~Danielle, TCS Customer Success Team
hi wardee, please help….i have a 3 week old whole wheat starter (milled myself) and it rises each day around 2/3 its original size in volume. I am now feeding it once a day 1:1:1, but at no stage that i have found, will this starter float in water……there are nice big bubbles in the starter and it looks great….i just cant move to baking with it unless it floats right?
Could it be the whole wheat i am using? it has the husks on..
Hi, Tom.
At 3 weeks old and with big bubbles your starter should be ready to use in baking breads. You can use a younger starter for things that don’t require a rise like English muffins, pancakes, waffles, etc.
We do not use the float test but go off of age and activity.
We don’t use wheat with the chaff on if that’s what you’re referring to.
~Danielle, TCS Customer Success Team
Help!
My starter has been doing great for the last 6 weeks. I had to leave to go out of town overnight and asked my daughter to feed it for the evening feeding, which she did. But no feeding the following morning and when I returned that afternoon, she had screwed on the cap to the mason jar real tight. It was very runny and now smells like vinegar. What should I do–keep going, add more flour, or what? I am so disappointed, but hope you can help me save this.
Hi, Roseann! I would try feeding your starter again and build it up to bake bread. If it just missed one feeding (and even if the cap was on tight), it should still be fine once you get your routine going again. It was probably runny and smelled very sour just because it had not been fed recently. As long as it isn’t moldy, you have a good chance of rescuing it. —Sonya, TCS Customer Success Team
My starter using whole wheat flour is now 9 days old…some foaming but no visible bubbles…I will keep going…my question is should I try twice a day feeding. .I am feeding 75 g.. second question..my quart jar is a mess can move ingredients to another jar without damaging the starter.
Hi, Randy,
With low activity in a new starter sometimes skipping a feeding helps the organisms to “catch up”. Temperagure plays a role as well if your home is cooler it is usually slower. I would skip a feeding as see how it does. Yes, you can move it into another jar without damaging it. 🙂 You are doing great!
~Peggy, TCS Customer Success Team
Hi wardee , my stater is 20 days old, still not show big bubbles and not floating, it’s whole wheat stater.. even not rising , but smells good.. I’m feeding daily by ration 1:1
Should I wait for more days to mature…
little bit disappointed.. hope you help me
Hi, Bindu: What is the temperature like in your house? It could be that the starter needs a warmer (but not hot) environment. When you feed it, make sure the flour is room temperature and the water is room temperature or slightly warmer. If your oven has a light that you can leave on, you might place your starter in there after a feeding to keep it warm. It’s a good sign that it smells good! 🙂 —Sonya, TCS Customer Success Team