So here is the question, how do I make a natural sourdough starter? It’s just flour and water! (I prefer using plain, unbleached bread flour since it is healthier, but if you want more flavour in your dough, you are free to use other kinds of baking flour or whole wheat flour, It will work perfectly fine.) Yes that’s it, just flour and water! All you have to do is add equal amounts of flour and water, mix them together and put the mixture in a wide-mouthed glass jar if you have one, any rubbermaid is fine, or a tupperware container, just make sure you have a lid. Try not to use any metallic containers or metal utensils because they will ruin your dough and you wouldn’t want that to happen. Make sure your container is clean because you don't want any mold grow with your starter.
The next step is to place your sourdough starter at a warm area where it is slightly warmer than normal room temperature (70-80oF / 20-26oC). Cover the container with a lid or plastic wrap and leave a tiny hole for sourdough starter to breathe. The sourdough starter needs some air to expand but if there is too much air it will dry out. Check the starter after 14 to 24 hours, the longer time it is the better fermentation it gets. Repeat the process again, but this time, add equal amounts of flour and water and mix them together with the starter you got. It will expand everytime you check it so make sure you have empty space for it to prove. Keep doing the previous procedures until it starts getting lots of bubbles and a sour odour. That’s it, you’re done with the sourdough starter! Making a sourdough starter can be no-brainer. It might take up to 3 to 7 days and it really depends on the room temperature.
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Sponge
Sponge is basically your sourdough starter, add this in your dough instead of adding yeast. Take half or a portion of your starter out to a new container (the rest goes back to the fridge), add a cup of warm water and a cup of flour to the starter and mix it in just as the previous instructions, let it prove for several hours until you see bubbles, the longer it proves the more sour flavour you will get, usually I do this before I go to sleep and work on it the next morning. Again, the proving rate depends on the temperature.
How to keep the sourdough starter
Once your sourdough starter is ready, you can keep it in the fridge. Remember to keep the lid or the plastic wrap on and leave a tiny hole for it to breathe. You only need to feed it (feeding it means adding water and flour to it) once every 5 to 8 days after it is ready. Once it is placed in the fridge, it might build up a layer of Hooch during fermentation. You can just gently stir the liquid back in it or pour it off if your starter is too wet.