Make this easy sourdough starter recipe with just flour and water – no yeast needed! With my fail-proof tips, your quick, homemade sourdough starter can be ready for to use in just 5 days.
Using bleached flour won’t ruin your starter, but over time it will become less active. If you run out of unbleached, all-purpose flour, you can use bread flour instead.
I call this quick sourdough starter my 12-hour sourdough starter. For the first 12 hours, I kept my sourdough starter in the oven on the “proof” cycle at 85 degrees.
The mixture will be very thick and pasty. Do not thin it out! This quick sourdough starter needs that flour for fermentation and energy. You’ll see how thin the mixture gets after 12-24 hours after every feeding.
Look for signs of fermentation: tiny bubbles on the bottom of the starter, pinprick sized bubbles on top. If you don’t see any signs after 24 hours, ensure your starter is being in an area that is at least 75º F.