Creating a Whole Wheat Starter

Creating a Whole Wheat Starter

“There are many ways to create a starter. This is a simple method using Whole Wheat and All-Purpose flours. It can be used to make white, wheat or rye breads, rolls, muffins, etc."

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Day 1:

In a clean bowl or jar, mix together:

115g whole wheat flour (1 cup)

115g warm filtered water (1/2 cup)

This is considered a 1:1 ratio since the amounts of flour and water in grams are the same.

Day 2:

In a clean jar, reserve 38g (2 Tbsp) of starter from Day 1. Discard the rest. (Do not save discard yet.)

25g whole wheat flour (2/1/2 heaping Tbsp)

25g all-purpose flour (2/1/2 heaping Tbsp)

60g warm filtered water (4 Tbsp)

On day 2, you may see your starter double in size. This is called a false rise. It is a rise caused by the bad bacteria. You do not want to use your starter yet.

Day 3:

You should start seeing activity including bubbling and a fruity aroma. You should start doing 2 feedings daily (about 12 hours apart).

In the morning, transfer 38g (2 Tbsp) of starter from Day 2 to a clean jar. Discard the rest. (Do not save it yet.)

25g whole wheat flour (2/1/2 heaping Tbsp)

25g all-purpose flour (2/1/2 heaping Tbsp)

60g warm filtered water (4 Tbsp)

Do this again in the evening.

Days 4-6:

From here on, you will be feeding your starter twice daily for 2 weeks until your starter gets really strong. Each day, you should be seeing more activity – more bubbles, and on the side of the jar you should see indications that it has been rising and falling.

38g (2 Tbsp) of starter

25g whole wheat flour (2/1/2 heaping Tbsp)

25g all-purpose flour (2/1/2 heaping Tbsp)

60g warm filtered water (4 Tbsp)

Days 7 and beyond:

Continue feeing your starter twice daily. Note that you will be using less starter each feeding. This is called a 1:5:5 feeding and will help keep your starter strong and keep you from having to feed it more than twice a day. (1 part starter: 5 parts flour: 5 parts water) Notice there is just a touch extra water because the whole wheat in the feeding will absorb more water than if you were feeding straight all-purpose flour.

10g (1/2 Tbsp) of starter

25g whole wheat flour (2/1/2 heaping Tbsp)

25g all-purpose flour (2/1/2 heaping Tbsp)

55g warm filtered water (scant 4 Tbsp)

You may start using your starter in discard recipes once it doubles in size. (Pancakes, muffins, rolls,…)

After 3 days of your starter doubling and falling, it is ready to bake your first loaf of bread.

After 14 days: Continue to feed your starter twice daily if you are leaving your starter on the counter.

If you are not baking often, you can store your starter in the refrigerator and feed it weekly. Be sure to give your starter at least two feedings before you bake a loaf of bread.

A sample feeding chart is shown below:

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