Make your own homemade Einkorn Sourdough Starter using only whole wheat einkorn flour and water. This easy DIY recipe guide will have you ready to make whole grain einkorn sourdough discard recipes in one week!
Einkorn Sourdough Starter
Making homemade sourdough starter with einkorn flour is incredibly simple and takes only minutes a day! With a little dedication and consistency you will be enjoying sourdough discard recipes featuring fully fermented ancient grain einkorn in just one week! Recipes like these Einkorn Sourdough Discard Crackers, my all-time-favorite Einkorn Pancakes using discard and Einkorn Sourdough Fry Bread! Now let’s jump into the recipe for making your own Einkorn Flour Sourdough Starter!
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What you’ll need:
- whole wheat einkorn flourÂ
- warm filtered water
Helpful Equipment:
- quart-sized or larger glass bowl or mason jar
- wooden spoon for mixing
- measuring cups
- breathable cotton tea towel
How to make an Einkorn Sourdough Starter
DYI your own Einkorn Sourdough Starter using only flour, water and some time! This is a great science experiment to do with kids to learn how fermentation works and it’s an easy and resourceful lesson they are likely to remember for a lifetime!
Step One/Day One: To make your own Einkorn Flour Sourdough Starter from scratch, add 1/2 cup whole wheat einkorn flour with 1/2 cup warm filtered water to a quart-sized or larger glass bowl. Stir the flour and water together well with a wooden spoon until smooth and no clumps of flour remain. Then cover the bowl with a clean cotton tea towel and set aside at room temperature for 24 hours.
Step Two/Day Two: After 24 hours, discard half of the starter mixture (actually throw it away, do not use the discard as there isn’t a proper balance of yeast and bacteria yet). To the remaining starter mixer, add another 1/2 cup whole wheat flour and 1/2 cup warm filtered water. Stir the flour and water into the starter well until all flour and water is incorporated, cover and set aside again at room temperature for 24 hours.
Step Three/Day Three: Repeat the process of discarding and feeding each day for days 3 through 7.
After seven days, your homemade sourdough starter should now be bubbling and doubling in size within 6-12 hours of it’s feedings. (If it’s not, continue the daily discarding and feeding schedule until it is doubling in size within that timeframe.) You can now use the discard in sourdough discard recipes like Sourdough Discard Pancakes!
Active Sourdough Starter Progress Pictures
Tips for Sourdough Starter Success & Maintenance:
- For every 24 hour period your starter spends at room temperature it needs to be fed according to the Day 2 instructions with the exception of being able to now consume the discard and use it in recipes.
- When you don’t plan to use your starter daily, “pause” it by placing a lid on top and storing in the refrigerator. For best results, remove your starter from the fridge and use it at least once a week and feed it before returning it to the refrigerator. *Note: A cold starter will take longer than a room temperature starter to rise after a feeding.
- Although your starter will typically have enough beneficial bacteria to be used in discard recipes after the first week it will still not be considered “mature” yet. A mature starter is necessary to bake bread. Typically a starter will not be ready to bake and rise a loaf of bread (without an additional leavening agent) for 4 weeks. This however widely varies depending on how much your starter was fed within that first month. The more often you can discard and feed your starter, the faster it will mature and increase in strength.
Einkorn Sourdough Starter Feeding Ratio
This recipe creates an 100% hydration sourdough starter using einkorn whole wheat flour. After the first week of feedings your starter will be established. You will continue feeding your starter equal parts flour and water before using it. After a feeding your starter should double in size within 6-12 hours and you’ll see an abundance of fermentation air bubbles throughout the starter. This is often referred to as a 1:1:1 feeding ratio, meaning equal parts starter, flour and water. This ratio is most accurately achieved by using weight measurements as opposed to volume measurements. However, no kitchen scale is needed to follow this DIY Sourdough Starter Recipe.
Why use Einkorn
Einkorn is an ancient grain with a nutrient-dense profile. It boasts of higher protein, essential minerals and antioxidant levels than modern wheat varieties. My favorite einkorn flour brand is certified free of glyphosate, and isn’t bleached or bromated. Einkorn has a simple genetic structure and different gluten composition compared to modern wheat, which makes it more easily digestible and although not gluten free, may be tolerated better by those with gluten or wheat sensitivities.
More Einkorn Recipes:
- Einkorn Sourdough Discard Pancakes
- Einkorn Sourdough Discard Crackers
- Einkorn Sourdough Fry Bread
- Einkorn Biscuits
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Einkorn Sourdough Starter
- Prep Time: 3 minutes
- Total Time: 7 days
- Yield: 1 sourdough starter
- Category: Einkorn
- Method: Mix
- Cuisine: American
Description
Make your own homemade Einkorn Sourdough Starter using only whole wheat einkorn flour and water. This easy DIY recipe guide will have you ready to make whole grain einkorn sourdough discard recipes in one week!
Ingredients
- Whole Wheat Einkorn Flour
- Filtered Water
Instructions
Day 1:
- In a quart-sized glass bowl or mason jar, add 1/2 cup whole wheat einkorn flour with 1/2 cup warm filtered water.
- Stir together well with a wooden spoon until smooth and no clumps of flour remain.
- Cover the bowl with a clean cotton tea towel and set aside at room temperature for 24 hours.
Day 2:
- Discard half of the starter mixture (actually throw away, do not use the discard).
- To the remaining starter mixer, add another 1/2 cup whole wheat flour and 1/2 cup warm filtered water.
- Stir well until all flour and water is incorporated, cover and set aside again at room temperature for 24 hours.
Day 3-7:
- Repeat the day two instructions each day for days 3 through 7.
Day 8 and Onward:
- Your homemade sourdough starter should now be bubbling and doubling in size within 6-12 hours of it’s feeding. (If it’s not doubling in size, continue the daily discarding and feeding schedule until it is doubling in size within that timeframe.) You can now use the discard in sourdough discard recipes like Sourdough Discard Pancakes!
- For every 24 hour period your starter spends at room temperature it needs to be fed according to the Day 2 instructions with the exception of being able to now consume the discard and use it in recipes.
- When you don’t plan to use your starter daily, “pause” it by placing a lid on top and storing in the refrigerator. For best results, remove your starter from the fridge and use it at least once a week and feed it before returning it to the refrigerator. *Note: A cold starter will take longer than a room temperature starter to rise after a feeding.
- Although your starter will typically have enough beneficial bacteria to be used in discard recipes after the first week it will still not be considered “mature” yet. A mature starter is necessary to bake bread. Typically a starter will not be ready to bake and rise a loaf of bread (without an additional leavening agent) for 4 weeks. This however widely varies depending on how much your starter was fed within that first month. The more often you can discard and feed your starter, the faster it will mature and increase in strength.
Keywords: einkorn sourdough starter, einkorn, sourdough starter, einkorn flour,
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