How to Create a Fresh-Milled Sourdough Starter from Scratch

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If you’ve ever dreamed of baking beautiful, flavorful bread straight from your own kitchen, creating a fresh-milled sourdough starter is the perfect place to begin. It’s simple, inexpensive, and deeply rewarding — and once your starter is active, you’ll have everything you need to make artisan-quality loaves full of flavor and nutrition. 

Why Fresh-Milled Flour Makes the Difference

Freshly milled flour is alive with enzymes, nutrients, and natural microbes that help your starter thrive. Unlike store-bought flour that’s often months old, fresh-milled flour brings your starter to life faster and gives your bread a richer, more complex flavor.

Each grain contributes its own character:

• Hard White Wheat (or Hard Red Wheat): Great all-purpose base with mild flavor.
• Rye: Encourages activity and gives your starter a robust rise. 
• Soft White Wheat: Ideal for non-bread recipes and starter discard bakes.
• Spelt (optional): Adds mild flavor and variety. You can use one grain or blend them — the key is freshness.
  

Our favorite feeding combination for bread hard white and rye. You can feed soft white and spelt if you are making pancakes or quick bread with those grains. We've used hard white and rye discard in our quick breads and pancakes with great success.

Basic Tools You’ll Need

You don’t need a lot to start your sourdough journey — just a few basics:

• Wide-mouth glass jar: Easier for stirring and tracking growth.
• Rubber band or marker: To mark your starter’s rise.
• Danish whisk (this is our favorite tool for sourdough!) 
• Mixing bowl 
• Kitchen scale 
• Loaf pan, Dutch oven, or baking sheet 

Optional but helpful: A Dutch oven or loaf pan for your first bake.

Step-by-Step: How to Make a Fresh-Milled Sourdough Starter

Consistency is everything when it comes to creating a strong, active sourdough starter.

Here’s a simple 10-day plan using fresh-milled flour (FMF):

Day 1

In a clean jar, mix: 50g fresh-milled flour (FMF) 50g room temperature water Stir thoroughly, cover loosely, and let sit at room temperature. 

Day 2

Check your jar — stir it once or twice during the day. A mild grainy aroma is normal. 

Days 3–6

Each day: Keep 50g of starter, discard the rest. Add 50g water + 50g fresh-milled flour. Stir and cover loosely. 

By Day 5 or 6, you’ll notice bubbles, a tangy smell, and light activity.

Day 7

Begin twice-daily feedings (every ~12 hours): 50g starter + 50g water + 50g flour each time. 

Days 8–10

Continue feeding twice a day. At this stage, try using a 50/50 blend of hard white wheat and rye for extra strength and flavor. Day 10 you can start saving your discard and using in discard recipes. It's not quite ready as a standalone leaven for bread yet. It's also a good idea to keep a little bit of discard in case things go south. This will allow you to start where you left off instead of starting over.

When your starter doubles within 4–6 hours of feeding and smells pleasantly tangy, it’s ready to bake! Your starter will usually be ready to bake with somewhere around days 14-21. The older the starter, the more mature and better your first loaf will be.

Looking for a recipe for your first loaf? Check out our Basic Fresh Milled Sourdough Loaf.

Pro Tips for a Healthy Starter

• Watch for mold: If you see pink, orange, or fuzzy white mold, discard and start over.
• Feed regularly: Consistency = success. Bookmark our Sourdough Feeding Calculator to take the guess work out of feeding your starter and adapting for all of your favorite recipes.
• Keep a backup: Dry some mature starter in case of accidents.
• Save your discard: Store it in the fridge for pancakes, muffins, or crackers — nothing goes to waste!
• Check out our post, Fresh Milled Sourdough Starter Maintenance: How to Keep Yours Lively and Happy for more tips.

Jump-Start Your Sourdough Journey 

Don’t want to start from scratch? You can purchase a Dehydrated Whole-Milled Sourdough Starter Kit directly from 7 Good Ears and rehydrate it in just a few days. It’s a great option if you want to skip the early waiting phase and get baking faster.

Track Your Progress with the Sourdough Journal

To make your sourdough experience even smoother, I’ve created the 7 Good Ears Sourdough Journal — a companion for tracking feedings, hydration, timing, and your bread results. It’s perfect for beginners and experienced bakers alike who want to document and refine their craft. (Stay tuned — the Sourdough Journal will be available soon!) Click here to be notified when the Sourdough Journal and other resources are available.

Final Thoughts

Starting a fresh-milled sourdough starter is more than just a baking project — it’s an invitation to slow down, connect with your ingredients, and enjoy the simple magic of fermentation. With a few basic tools, some quality grains, and a little patience, you’ll soon have a thriving starter that can bring life (and incredible flavor) to your kitchen for years to come.