Day 1:

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.
2. Stir together well with a wooden spoon until smooth and no clumps of flour remain.
3. Cover the bowl with a clean cotton tea towel and set aside at room temperature for 24 hours.

Day 2:

1. Discard half of the starter mixture (actually throw away, do not use the discard).
2. To the remaining starter mixer, add another 1/2 cup whole wheat flour and 1/2 cup warm filtered water.
3. Stir well until all flour and water is incorporated, cover and set aside again at room temperature for 24 hours.

Day 3-7:

1. Repeat the day two instructions each day for days 3 through 7.

Day 8 and Onward:

1. 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!
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.