No Discard, NO WASTE, Sourdough Starter

Follow this step by step instructional video, and find out how to make a sourdough starter WITHOUT discarding as you make it. Of course, if you would like to make more and have the discard available earlier, feel free to double, or triple the recipe:
Day 1: 1Tbs whole wheat flour + 1/2 Tbs non-chlorinated water
Day 2: 1 Tbs unbleached AP flour + 1/2 Tbs non-chlorinated water
Day 3: 2 Tbs unbleached AP flour + 1 Tbs non-chlorinated water
Day 4: 1/4 c unbleached AP flour + 2 TBS non-chlorinated water
Day 5: 1/2 c unbleached AP flour + 1/4 c non-chlorinated water
Day 6: 1 c unbleached AP flour + 1/2 c non-chlorinated water
Tips:
*Water measurements are a guideline. If your starter seems a bit dry, add just a little more water.
*Sourdough grows best in warm places.
*If your starter seems a bit slow and not growing as well as you would like, then remove a little of the AP flour, and replace it with whole wheat flour.
*7 days should be sufficient to achieve mature sourdough starter, but extending the time will improve its efficiency and maturity.
Azure Standard link:

[@hansenmarc]

Thank you for sharing your no-discard approach to making sourdough starter. It’s much appreciated. I can’t believe how many people think you need to discard half every day! I guess there’s a lot of folklore around making a starter and not as many evidence-based recipes.

[@southcountyhomestead]

I'm sure you're right. I'm glad you found this helpful.

[@Umm_ahmed2012]

Love the way you meticulously walked us through the step by step of your starter process! I’ll wait for more from you👍

[@sharonwright-greene3283]

Ive learned, when I started out with Whole Wheat Flour, & Water by the 3rd day it was very active, and on the 4th day I started feeding it Organic Unbleached All Purpose flour from tne on and by day 4 it was doubling in size on day 5 it was almost rriple in size and my day 6 it was over runing by Day 7 I was making Bread, So Starting ut With Whole Wheat Flour was the Deal Breaker and I have heard other KZbinrs say that also, But its whatever your preference is,, I have a Very Mature, Over Active Starter and She gives me a Perfect loaf every time ... Just my experience Start out with Whole wheat and feed it will Bread Flour or AP Flour is a Very Great Regiment for a Quick and Healthy Starter... Blessings to you

[@71volare]

I agree about adding the organic Whole Wheat flour, but you fed too early. I would have let the sourdough starter tell me when it needed feeding. on Day four, I would have just replaced the lid and fed again after it rose.

[@tammylawson3763]

Please send me day by day instructions!!

[@welshrarebit1153]

I’ve heard the exact opposite most say whole wheat flour or whole grain rye flour is the best the whole grain has more wild yeast.

[@southcountyhomestead]

If you aren't seeing good results and growth in your sourdough by day 3, I would recommend replacing about 1 TBS of your AP flour with whole wheat. I have started doing that on a regular basis if I don't see the improvement I like, or even when I feed it for the first time right out of the refrigerator. It's making a huge difference in the success of my recipes.

[@DianeBlackbird]

i wouldn,t use clean jars everytime if you,re growing bactairia

[@johnnybellamy3855]

I like the fact that you didn’t use scales to create your starter and you use American standards to make it. 1/2 cup water 1/2 cup flour etc. I can do this I haven’t had any luck with weighing everything. I have also use filtered water and I probably need distilled water from now own. Thanks for info n video.

[@lesleyhoban6559]

Have u dehydrated extra starter

[@debihall1697]

Oh my goodness. I love you.. Thank you so so so much for put it in writing… I’m new to this and that makes it so easy!!!!! You are a dream come true!

[@southcountyhomestead]

My pleasure. I hope it works great for you. Happy baking 😀

[@BeYou4You]

Tap water does work, you just need to leave it out so that the chlorine will evaporate

[@welshrarebit1153]

The same thing happened to me after day three it went dormant. But still smells fermented and feels aerated. I’m on day six now so let’s see if it behaves 😅

[@southcountyhomestead]

I found that adding a little bit of whole wheat flower helped tremendously. If it smells right but it's not rising as well as it should, try that. Let me know how it works 🙂

[@tdowgkilla7894]

After day three I put all discard in the fridge and will use it on a later date. The other videos I watched shows the discard in the fridge and not used daily... I'm going to smell and research some more before using but I'm sure that's what I am going to do. There are also no discard recipes also so I may try that...

[@southcountyhomestead]

Great idea. I hope it works well for you. Let me know how your recipes turn out.

[@Julie-kb3mo]

😊 It's natural for growth to slow after 3-4 days. I tried similar recipe, and it works ! (My room temp is on the lower end, so it takes longer ) It's very unnecessary to continually change containers for stirring and feeding. Just saying ... 🙂 That makes a LOT of extra steps and dishes to clean.

[@southcountyhomestead]

Thank you for your comment. You are correct, changing containers is not necessary. I started with such a small container that I had to move up, and then I think I just got a little picky about my jar looking clean and pretty 😂

[@jeangorman5450]

are you just leaving it on the counter at night? what temperature is your house?

[@cherylwhite654]

why do you pour it into a bowl each day them back into a jar? why not start with a bigger jar and just feed in the same jar

[@southcountyhomestead]

Cheryl, that is such a great question. I wish I had a great answer to match. Truthfully, that part was completely unnecessary, and I could have saved myself the trouble, but I just thought it would look cleaner, and I didn't see any harm in it. You can absolutely start with a bigger jar, and keep it in there.

[@HeyPearly]

NO! NOT EVER, NO DISTILLED water, Bottled water is ok, Tap water -ok,(if you are on a well) The reason people say no to tap water,is because most town/city water is chlorinated. However, you CAN use town/city water that IS chlorinated, IF you place it in a pitcherwithout a lid & allow it to stand on your counter overnight to allow the chlorine to evaporate. Using the handle/stem of a wooden spoon is preferable to metals, to stir your starter. This little tip is from a long time Sourdough baker who learned all this (& more!) at the school of hard knocks, AKA: Boo-Boo School. Hope you don't mind a friendly tip or 2, offered to be helpful.🙂

[@mayamikadze4864]

this music really bothers when you are listening and want to learn something....

[@southcountyhomestead]

I'm sorry about that. I've been working on finding a good balance. I've actually just purchased a microphone for my camera, which will help me to control the volume better in the editing process. Thank you for the input.

[@anitamcgrath906]

Why don’t people use a spatula when cleaning the jar or bowl.

[@southcountyhomestead]

To each his own, I guess.

[@tammylawson3763]

Do you use unbleached flour?

[@southcountyhomestead]

@@tammylawson3763 I do. Organic, unbleached flour is the only flour I buy, so I don't even think about mentioning it. I'm not sure it would make a difference, honestly though.

[@davidadausuel4537]

You shouldn’t use any metal to stir the starter.

[@joanshealy1662]

That’s a myth you can use stainless steel no problem

[@mrgreenbudz37]

I'm a little confused, at first you were making your starter with whole wheat bread flour then jump over to all-purpose flour saying that all purposes has more sugars to feed the starter than whole wheat. Please clarify

[@southcountyhomestead]

I'm so sorry. I understand why that's confusing. Whole wheat will kick start better than all purpose flour, especially if using organic. I believe it has a better balance of the flora and fauna necessary to start fermentation. Once it's off to a good start, all purpose flour is great, because it has more sugars and less fiber than whole wheat. I hope this helps. Happy baking 🙂

[@mrgreenbudz37]

Now I understand and thank you for clarifying that part. I am jumping into bread making and feel a little overwhelmed yet. I am 62 and been cooking since I was a kid but not baking. So this is all very new to me and I love it. thank you very much@@southcountyhomestead

[@southcountyhomestead]

@@mrgreenbudz37 It's my pleasure 🙂

[@debbievinsant4610]

It’s the metal spoon and I wouldn’t take out of jar to feed it. The metal in the spoon is killing the yeast. Happy baking!

[@R.Akerman-oz1tf]

Yeah, I don't know about the spoon; but a lot of waste & unnecessary cleansing.

[@southcountyhomestead]

Thank you for the advice 🙂

[@southcountyhomestead]

@@R.Akerman-oz1tf good point

[@donnarichey144]

I see you are using a metal spoon, I thought you should not use metal use plastic or wood.?

[@southcountyhomestead]

I've that from some, but I've never had a problem with it. I suppose if I were to keep it in a stainless steel container it might affect the starter, but for just a quick stir, it's probably not an issue. If you're more comfortable with wood or plastic though, I can't imagine any harm in that. Happy baking 😃