Four-Day Sourdough Starter Recipe (with Video)

Make Day 1 Starter
1. Combine all ingredients in a small bowl
2. Mix with a rubber spatula until the ingredients are thoroughly incorporated (the more you mix, the more air will be incorporated into the starter, which will help feed the natural yeasts)
3. Place the mixture in a clean jar and cover loosely with plastic wrap (we want some contact with the air as this is where many of the natural yeasts come from, but we don't want the starter to dry out)
4. Pour 1/4 cup of water into the pan of a tabletop proofer and set the proofer to 95 F
5. Place the jar in the proofer. Cover and leave to ferment for 24 hours
Make Day 2 Starter
1. Combine all ingredients in a small bowl; discard remaining Day 1 Starter and rinse out jar
2. Mix with a rubber spatula until the ingredients are thoroughly incorporated
3. Place the mixture back in the clean jar and cover loosely with plastic wrap
4. Refill the water pan and turn down the proofer to 86 F
5. Place the jar in the proofer. Cover and leave to ferment for 18 hours
Make Day 3 Starter
1. Combine all ingredients in a small bowl; discard remaining Day 2 Starter and rinse out jar
2. Mix with a rubber spatula until the ingredients are thoroughly incorporated
3. Place the mixture back in the clean jar and cover loosely with plastic wrap
4. Refill the water pan and turn down the proofer to 82 F
5. Place the jar in the proofer. Cover and leave to ferment for 18 hours
Make Day 4 Starter
1. Combine all ingredients in a small bowl; discard remaining Day 3 Starter and rinse out jar
2. Mix with a rubber spatula until the ingredients are thoroughly incorporated
3. Place the mixture back in the clean jar and cover loosely with plastic wrap
4. Refill the water pan, keeping the proofer at 82 F
5. Place the jar in the proofer. Cover and leave to ferment for 12 hours
6. At this point, the starter should have at least doubled in size (it is okay, expected even, that it doubles or triples and then actually falls back down before the 12 hours have elapsed)
7. If the starter has not doubled in size, repeat steps 1 - 5 of this section until it does
8. Once the starter doubles in size within a 12-hour period, it can be used for baking immediately, or it can be prepared for storage
Preparing Ongoing Starter for storage
1. Combine all ingredients in a small bowl; discard the remaining starter and rinse out the jar
2. Mix with a rubber spatula until the ingredients are thoroughly incorporated
3. Place the mixture back in the clean jar and cover loosely with plastic wrap
4. Refill the water pan, keeping the proofer at 82 F
5. Place the jar in the proofer. Cover and leave to ferment for 3 hours (the starter should rise actively during this period)
6. Cover the jar tightly with plastic, and place it in the refrigerator for up to 1 week
Refreshing or bringing Ongoing Starter out of storage for use
1. Combine all ingredients in a small bowl; discard the remaining starter and rinse out the jar
2. Mix with a rubber spatula until the ingredients are thoroughly incorporated
3. Place the mixture back in the clean jar and cover loosely with plastic wrap
4. Pour 1/4 cup of water into the pan of a tabletop proofer and set the proofer to 82 F
5. Place the jar in the proofer. Cover and leave to ferment for 12 hours (the starter should double in size over this period)
6. If the starter has not doubled in size, repeat steps 1 - 5 of this section until it does
7. Once the starter doubles in size, it can be used for baking immediately