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Easy Sourdough Starter Recipe With Wholewheat Flour for a Beginner

Clara Karushi
Make your active bubbly Sourdough Starter at home from scratch with just water and wholewheat flour. If you are a beginner, worry not. I'm showing you how-to in these easy-to-follow instructions below. Included is a video guide of how I made this Sourdough Starter.
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Prep Time 5 minutes
Fermenting time 7 days
Total Time 7 days

Equipment

  • 1 Glass or Plastic Bowl or Jar With a Lid (This should be able to hold your starter sufficiently as it expands so as not to flow over the jar or bowl if possible)
  • 1 Small Whisk or Wooden Spoon (A normal spoon will still do in the absence of a wooden spoon)
  • 1 Clean Kitchen Towel

Ingredients
  

  • Clean Room-temperature (or lukewarm) Water
  • Wholewheat (Atta) Flour

Instructions
 

  • In a suitable glass jar or plastic bowl that has a lid, add equal proportions of flour and water, that is half a cup of water and half a cup of flour. We’re looking for 100% hydration.
    *I use clean unchlorinated rainwater. In case yours is chlorinated, ensure to boil it, cool it then use it for your sourdough starter recipe. Boil plenty of it and cool it so you’ll have enough water for the multiple times you’ll need to feed your starter.
  • Mix the flour and water with your wooden spoon or whisk until well-mixed.
  • Cover loosely with the lid and transfer the bowl or jar to a place in your kitchen or pantry where the mixture will not be disturbed.
    The reason we’re covering it loosely is to allow for the oxygen needed by the fermentation process to be accessible to the mixture as well as allow space for any gases emitted to escape.
  • Let the mixture remain undisturbed for 48 hours, that is 2days.
  • After 2 days, uncover the mixture, and evenly stir it.
    Add half a cup of flour and half a cup of water.
    Evenly stir the mixture with your wooden spoon or whisk.
  • Cover loosely with the lid. From this point onward, I like to loosely cover the entire bowl, lid and all, with a clean kitchen towel.
    Fruit flies are unwelcome guests that love sourdough starters.You’ll see them begin to hang around your starter.
    The longer it ferments, the more they’ll want to get into your starter.
    I have found that covering your fermenting mixture of flour and water with a clean kitchen towel an effective way of keeping fruitflies at bay.
  • Place it again in your usual spot.
    We will allow it to ferment for 12 hours.
  • After 12 hours, evenly stir the fermenting mixture, discard half of the sourdough starter.
    *By discarding, I don’t mean throwing the discarded Sourdough Starter away. I like to collect my Sourdough Starter discards in a separate jar or appropriate container. (up to 3 to 4 discards) I will then use the discard in a recipe such as pancake, pizza crust, etc.
  • From now on, you will follow this pattern with your developing Sourdough Starter.
    Every 12 hours, evenly stir the mixture, discard half of it, then feed the remaining one with half a cup of flour and half a cup of water, stirring it evenly, covering it loosely with a lid, then a clean kitchen towel.
  • Keep to this procedure until you begin to see it turn into a bubbly Sourdough Starter.
  • Usually, my fermenting mixture begins to form little bubbles on the 5th day.
    If it’s not very cold in my kitchen, it becomes bubbly on the 6th day. This means it now has the leavening agent or wild yeast needed to leaven my recipes.
    Sometimes also, when I use a different type of flour, it could go up to the 7th day.
    When the kitchen is generally cold, my Sourdough Starter will usually form a day later than usual.
    This particular one I’m demonstrating with went up to the 7thday. I could tell it was because my kitchen was getting colder than normal even with my preferred wholewheat flour. I use Butterfly's Stone Ground Atta in Kenya)
  • The longer you feed your new Sourdough Starter, the bubblier it gets.
    I continued feeding my Sourdough Starter on days 8 and 9, every 12 hours too. It got thicker and more bubbly than ever.
  • In case your fermenting flour and water mixture hasnt formed a Sourdough Starter by day 10, (evidence being formation of some bubbles in the mixture) try and change the flour and start all over again.
    Formation of a Sourdough Starter shouldn’t be a complicated process. It may take much longer for instance if you are using all-purpose flour.
    From my experience though, especailly with wholewheat flour, it should have formed a Sourdough starter any time from Day 6 to Day 9.
  • Once your Sourdough Starter has formed, keep feeding it every 12 hours then work with it in your recipes. If not, keep it in the refrigerator and feed it weekly.
    Keep in mind also that when you need to use your refrigerated Sourdough Starter, ensure to get it out of the fridge and to feed it at least 8 to 12 hours before using it.
  • A sourdough starter that is well taken care of will keep going for years.
    I trust you will enjoy your sourdough starter journey, as you enhance your hospitality for the glory of God.

Video

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