A sourdough starter is just flour and water that’s been given enough time and attention to come alive. That’s it. There’s nothing precious about it, and there’s no perfect schedule, only the rhythm you can actually keep.

What you’ll need

• A clean glass jar (mason jars work beautifully)
• Unbleached all-purpose or whole wheat flour
• Filtered water at room temperature
• A loose lid or breathable cloth
• About 7 days of patience

Day one

Mix 50g flour with 50g water in your jar. Stir until smooth, scrape down the sides, and cover loosely. Set it somewhere warm and forget about it for 24 hours.

Sourdough teaches you to slow down. The starter doesn’t care about your calendar.

Days two through seven

Each day, discard about half of what’s in the jar and feed it 50g of flour and 50g of water. Around day four or five it’ll start smelling sweet, then a little tangy. By day seven, it should be doubling in size within a few hours of feeding, that’s your sign it’s ready to bake with.