Starter. Just start.

I always tell people it’s not as complicated as everyone makes it seem. The hardest part is just starting. You scroll through article after article, TikTok after TikTok, with people explaining the steps, the rules, and everything that could possibly go wrong. But it’s really not that serious. Unless you’re baking for a Michelin starred restaurant, fresh bread out of your own oven is already amazing. Once you start, it’s hard to stop and even harder to go back to store bought or restaurant table bread.

Flour, salt, water.

That’s all you need for sourdough. And to make a starter? Just flour and water. Even simpler.

You’ll hear people say “feed at this time,” “wait until it peaks,” “count the bubbles,” and more. It’s a lot. But it doesn’t have to be. I got my starter from a trainer who already had one going. I couldn’t recommend that more. There are places that sell starters online, and if you visit a local bakery that makes sourdough, some will happily give you a bit of theirs. From my experience, the sourdough community is pretty generous.

Once you have your starter, it’s kind of like a pet. You do need to feed it to keep it alive. Some people follow strict feeding schedules. I don’t. Hopefully by now you’re catching on to how I do things. I don’t let sourdough overwhelm me or take over my life.

That said, you still need some patience. I make over 50 loaves a week and I use just one jar of starter. That’s all you need. And here’s an unpopular opinion: my starter lives in the fridge most of the time.

The night before or morning of a bake, I take it out, throw in some bread flour and water, and mix it until it’s like a thick paste. Then I leave it alone.

That’s where you let the process do its thing. You want the starter to ferment and get bubbly. That’s your natural yeast doing its work.

I check on it hours later, and if it has doubled (or more often, overflowed out of the jar), that’s my sign it’s active and ready to go. I use what I need, make my dough, and throw the rest of the starter back in the fridge until next time.

Flour. Salt. Water.

Three ingredients.

One bucket.

Two hands.

No fancy equipment.

It’s so simple.

Just start.