There’s nothing quite like the excitement of starting your sourdough journey. You’ve watched all the videos and read the blogs. You’re ready to create that perfect starter that will become your bread-baking companion. However, when choosing your sourdough starter, most beginners hit roadblocks that could easily be avoided. I’ve seen it happen to friends, family, and even myself when I first started. After helping dozens of people troubleshoot their starters, I’ve noticed the same mistakes keep popping up. The good news? Once you know what to watch out for when choosing your sourdough starter, you can sidestep these common pitfalls and get your starter thriving from day one.
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Pitfall #1: Choosing a Starter Recipe That’s Too Complicated
My friend Sarah decided she wanted to make sourdough bread. She spent hours researching online. She found a recipe that promised to create a “supercharged” starter in just three days. The recipe called for multiple types of flour and specific temperature ranges. Additionally, it had a feeding schedule that changed every 12 hours. It sounded impressive, so she dove in.
What Went Wrong
Sarah followed the recipe exactly. She mixed whole wheat flour, rye flour, and all-purpose flour. She set up a thermometer to monitor the temperature. She even set alarms on her phone to feed the starter at the exact right times. However, after five days, her starter looked like a sad, gray sludge. It had no bubbles. Additionally, it had a funky smell that made her kitchen smell like a locker room.
The problem? The recipe was designed for experienced bakers who understood the nuances of fermentation. It assumed knowledge about what different smells meant. Additionally, it assumed knowledge about how to adjust for temperature variations and when to deviate from the instructions. For a complete beginner, it was overwhelming and confusing.
The Solution
Sarah finally called me in frustration. I told her to throw out that complicated starter and start fresh with the simplest possible recipe: equal parts flour and water, once a day. That’s it. No fancy flours, no temperature monitoring, no complex schedules.
She started over with just all-purpose flour and filtered water. She fed it once a day at roughly the same time. Within a week, she had a bubbly, active starter that actually smelled like sourdough should—tangy and yeasty, not like something had died in it. If you’re looking for more guidance on choosing your sourdough starter, check out our review of Starter Sourdough: The Step-by-Step Guide, which provides excellent beginner-friendly instructions.
The Lesson
Start simple. Your first starter doesn’t need to be fancy. Once you understand the basics of how a starter works, you can experiment with different flours. Additionally, you can experiment with feeding schedules. However, for your first attempt, choose the simplest recipe you can find. A basic starter with all-purpose flour and water will work perfectly fine. You can always enhance it later once you’ve built your confidence.
Pitfall #2: Trying to Make a Starter in the Middle of Winter
My mom lives in a drafty old house in upstate New York. She decided to start her sourdough journey in January. The temperature in her kitchen hovered around 62 degrees Fahrenheit. She was feeding her starter religiously every day. However, after two weeks, it was still flat and lifeless. Additionally, it showed no signs of activity.
What Went Wrong
She was following a recipe that assumed room temperature around 70-75 degrees. At 62 degrees, the wild yeast and bacteria were moving at a snail’s pace. They weren’t dead, but they were essentially hibernating. Every day, she’d look at her starter, see no bubbles, and wonder if she was doing something wrong. She was on the verge of giving up entirely.
The starter was actually working—it just needed more time and warmth. The cold environment was slowing everything down, but she didn’t realize that. She thought she had failed.
The Solution
I suggested she move the starter to the warmest spot in her house—on top of her refrigerator, where the motor generated some heat. She also started wrapping the jar in a kitchen towel to trap warmth. Within three days, she started seeing bubbles. Within a week, her starter was doubling in size and smelling wonderful.
Another option that worked for her was using a seedling heat mat (the kind used for starting garden seeds). She’d place the starter jar on the mat, and it would keep it at a consistent 75-80 degrees. This was the game-changer. Her starter became active and happy, even in the dead of winter.
The Lesson
Temperature matters more than most beginners realize. If your kitchen is cold, your starter will take longer to establish. Don’t give up if you don’t see activity in the first few days. It might just need more warmth. Try placing your starter in a warm spot. This could be on top of your refrigerator, near a heating vent, or use a seed starting mat. The ideal temperature is 70-80 degrees Fahrenheit for establishing a new starter.
Pitfall #3: Using the Wrong Type of Water
My cousin Mark lives in a city with heavily chlorinated tap water. He started his starter using tap water straight from the faucet. After two weeks, he had nothing but a gray, lifeless paste. He tried everything. He tried different flours, different feeding schedules, and different temperatures. However, nothing worked.
What Went Wrong
Chlorine in tap water is designed to kill bacteria. That includes the beneficial bacteria that make sourdough starter work. Every time Mark fed his starter with chlorinated water, he was essentially poisoning the microorganisms. Additionally, these were the very microorganisms he was trying to cultivate. The starter couldn’t establish. This was because the wild yeast and bacteria were dying off faster than they could multiply.
He didn’t realize this was the problem because the recipe he was following didn’t mention anything about water quality. It just said “water,” so he assumed tap water was fine.
The Solution
I suggested he switch to filtered water or bottled water. He started using water from his refrigerator’s filtered water dispenser. Within three days of switching to filtered water, his starter finally started showing signs of life. Bubbles appeared, it started rising, and it developed that characteristic sourdough smell.
Some people also have success letting tap water sit out overnight in an open container, which allows the chlorine to evaporate. But filtered water is the most reliable solution.
The Lesson
Water quality matters. If your tap water is heavily chlorinated, it can prevent your starter from establishing. Use filtered water, bottled water, or let tap water sit out overnight to allow chlorine to evaporate. This is one of those details that can make or break your starter. Additionally, it’s easy to overlook. For more information on choosing the right container for your starter, see our guide on Essential Sourdough Starter Containers.
Pitfall #4: Not Understanding the Feeding Schedule (And Giving Up Too Early)
My neighbor Jennifer started her starter with great enthusiasm. She fed it every day for a week. However, she didn’t see much activity. She thought it wasn’t working. Therefore, she started feeding it twice a day. Then three times a day. By the end of two weeks, she was exhausted. Additionally, her starter was a soupy mess.
What Went Wrong
Jennifer didn’t understand that a new starter needs time to establish its microbial community. In the first few days, you might see very little activity, or even no activity at all. This is normal. The wild yeast and bacteria are slowly building up their populations. But Jennifer thought “no bubbles” meant “it’s not working,” so she started overfeeding it.
Overfeeding dilutes the microorganisms before they have a chance to establish themselves. It’s like trying to build a sandcastle while the tide keeps washing it away. Every time she fed it too frequently, she was resetting the process.
She also didn’t understand the concept of discarding. She kept adding flour and water without removing any starter, so her jar kept getting fuller and fuller. Eventually, she had a massive amount of inactive starter that was just wasting flour.
The Solution
I explained the basics: start with a small amount (maybe 50 grams of flour and 50 grams of water), feed it once a day, and discard half of it before each feeding. This keeps the starter at a manageable size and ensures the microorganisms have enough food.
The key is patience. It might take 7-14 days for a starter to become fully active, and that’s normal. You might see activity on day 3, or you might not see it until day 10. Both are fine. The important thing is to be consistent with your feeding schedule and give it time.
I also showed her how to recognize the signs of an active starter: it should rise and fall predictably after feeding, it should have bubbles throughout, and it should smell tangy and yeasty (not like rotting food or chemicals).
The Lesson
Be patient and consistent. A new starter needs time to establish itself. Additionally, you might not see activity for the first week. Feed it once a day. Discard half before feeding. Furthermore, trust the process. Don’t overfeed. Additionally, don’t change your feeding schedule out of impatience. Consistency is more important than frequency in the early days.
Pitfall #5: Trying Multiple Starters at Once (And Getting Confused)
My friend Alex got so excited about sourdough that he decided to start three different starters at once. He wanted to compare different methods. One with whole wheat flour, one with rye flour, and one with all-purpose flour. He labeled them carefully. Additionally, he set up a whole system to track which was which.
What Went Wrong
After a week, Alex was completely confused. He couldn’t remember which starter he had fed when, which one was showing activity, or which method was actually working. He had three jars on his counter, all at different stages, and he was mixing up their feeding schedules. One day, he fed the wrong starter twice and forgot to feed another one entirely.
The problem was information overload. He was trying to learn too much at once, and he couldn’t properly observe what was happening with any single starter because he was juggling three different experiments. He also couldn’t tell which issues were caused by his method and which were just normal beginner challenges.
The Solution
I told him to pick one starter—the all-purpose flour one, since it’s the simplest—and throw out the other two. Start fresh with just one starter, learn how it works, and then once you’re comfortable, you can experiment with different flours.
He restarted with a single starter, and suddenly everything became clear. He could see the daily changes, understand the feeding rhythm, and recognize when it was ready to use. Once he had one successful starter, he understood the process well enough to experiment with different flours later.
The Lesson
Start with one starter. Master the basics with a single starter before experimenting with different methods. Additionally, before experimenting with different flours. Trying to compare multiple starters at once leads to confusion. Additionally, it makes it harder to learn what’s normal and what’s not. Once you’ve successfully established one starter, you’ll have the knowledge and confidence to experiment with variations.
Bonus Pitfall: Following Advice from Someone in a Completely Different Climate
My sister-in-law lives in humid Florida. She followed a starter recipe from a blogger in dry Arizona. The recipe called for very specific hydration levels and feeding schedules. These worked perfectly in Arizona’s dry climate. However, they were completely wrong for Florida’s humidity.
What Went Wrong
The flour in Arizona absorbs moisture differently than flour in Florida. The starter that worked perfectly in Arizona was too dry and stiff in Florida’s humid environment. The wild yeast couldn’t move through the thick paste, and the starter struggled to become active.
She kept following the recipe exactly, thinking she was doing something wrong, when really the recipe just wasn’t suited for her environment.
The Solution
I suggested she adjust the hydration slightly. Add a tiny bit more water to account for the humidity difference. Once she made that small adjustment, her starter took off. It was a simple fix. However, it required understanding that recipes sometimes need to be adapted to your specific environment.
The Lesson
Recipes are guidelines, not absolute rules. If you’re in a very humid or very dry climate, you might need to adjust the hydration slightly. Don’t be afraid to tweak things based on what you’re observing. If your starter seems too dry, add a bit more water. If it seems too wet, add a bit more flour. Additionally, trust your observations.
Recommended Filtered Water Options
If your tap water is heavily chlorinated and you’re struggling with your starter, here are two excellent filtered water options that I recommend:
1. Hskyhan Alkaline Water Filter Pitcher
The Hskyhan Alkaline Water Filter Pitcher is a great option for removing chlorine and other contaminants from your tap water. This 3.5-liter pitcher features a 7-stage filtration system that removes chlorine, fluoride, lead, and other harmful substances. Additionally, it includes two filters that can purify water for several months.
What I love about this pitcher is that it comes with an LED timer that tracks the filter’s lifespan. This reminds you when to replace the filter. The pitcher fits easily in most refrigerators. Additionally, it’s BPA-free and safe for daily use. The filtered water from this pitcher works perfectly for sourdough starters.
2. Alkanatur Alkaline Hydrogen Water Filter Pitcher
The Alkanatur Alkaline Hydrogen Water Filter Pitcher is another excellent choice for sourdough bakers. This pitcher removes fluoride, chlorine, microplastics, PFAs, and lead from your water. It uses an activated coconut charcoal carbon filter. Additionally, it functions as a water ionizer with a pH of 9.5 and adds beneficial magnesium to the water.
This pitcher is particularly effective at removing chlorine, which is essential for sourdough starter success. The alkaline water it produces can also benefit your overall health. Meanwhile, for sourdough purposes, the key benefit is the removal of chlorine and other contaminants that can harm your starter’s microorganisms.
Final Thoughts
Starting a sourdough starter is part science and part art, but most importantly, it requires patience and consistency. The biggest mistake beginners make is trying to do too much too quickly or giving up too early. Remember: every experienced sourdough baker started exactly where you are now, and most of them made these same mistakes.
Start simple. Use filtered water. Be patient. Feed consistently. Master one starter before experimenting. And don’t be afraid to ask for help when you get stuck—the sourdough community is incredibly supportive and full of people who’ve been exactly where you are.
Ready to start your sourdough journey? Choose the simplest recipe you can find, set up your starter in a warm spot, and give it at least two weeks to establish itself. Trust the process, and you’ll be baking amazing bread before you know it! Once you have your starter going, you’ll need the right equipment. Check out our recommendations for Best Dutch Ovens for Sourdough Bread and Sourdough Proofing Baskets (Bannetons) to complete your baking setup.