Last updated on June 5th, 2025
Table of contents
This Sourdough Starter with Milk combines mixing together two basic ingredients, flour and a liquid, feeding it and letting it ferment for a few days. This recipe will quickly get you started making delicious sourdough baked goods such as my sourdough rhubarb muffins since it only has a 3-5 day fermentation. This recipe is vintage inspired from my 1966 “Sunset Cook Book of Breads.”
I’ve recently tried my natural baking skills bread making and must say…nothing but love at first bake. I should have known I’d be an instant fan, as I grew up eating wholesome, homemade bread in the 80’s. Sourdough bread was popular then and now it has found it’s way back as a popular food in the 2020’s.
This sourdough starter recipe is from my 1966 “Sunset Cook Book of Breads” it is made using just milk and flour, and has a much shorter fermentation period. This recipe, traced to pioneers in the West and Alaska, is from a simple combination of milk and flour. For this recipe, it is best to keep at least 1 1/2 cups of this starter on hand and always feed with the same equal parts of milk and flour leaving it at room temperature until it again becomes bubbly then store in fridge.
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Ingredients
- Bread flour is a type of wheat flour that has a higher protein content of 11-14% and develops more gluten to give breads, rolls and pizza crust more structure and elasticity.
- Whole Wheat Flour is made by grinding the entire wheat kernel. It has a protein content of 13-15% and is rich in fiber with a hearty, nutty flavor primarily used to make wholegrain bread and baked goods.
- Whole milk is cow’s milk that has all of its natural fat content and has a richer, creamier consistency because it has not had the cream removed.
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Place flour and milk into glass jar.
- Cover with the lid partially off or cover with a or a beeswax cloth cover.
- Add 1 c. bread flour, 1 T. whole wheat flour, 1 c. whole milk. Feed starter 1 times in the day.
- Add 1 c. bread flour, 1 T. whole wheat flour, 1 c. whole milk. Feed starter 1 times in the day.
- Start taking out the discard. This will be 1/2 of the amount that is in the jar. Place discard in a separate mason jar and keep that in the fridge for up to 3 days.
- Feed again by adding 1/4 c. bread flour, 1 T. whole wheat flour, 1/4 c. whole milk. Feed starter 1 time during the day and keep on counter if using or in the refrigerator if only using once/week.
- Take out starter the night before you plan to use and give it a healthy feeding before baking the next day.
Notes
Tried this recipe?
Let us know how it was!Dietary Substitutions
For the past 12+ years, I have owned an all-natural specialty bakery converting conventional recipes to gluten free, vegan, wholesome, etc. Read more about it here.
TO MAKE GLUTEN-FREE
- Use a premium gluten-free flour blend like King Arthur Measure for Measure Flour.
TO MAKE WHOLE GRAIN
Use a mix of whole grain flours like whole wheat, spelt, einkorn, and dark rye. In my testing, I found that pumpernickel, barley and light rye flours tend to grow mold faster if not fed regularly because of their low protein content.
Equipment
Recommended tools: (affiliate links)
Storage
Countertop: Leave on countertop at least 14 days while building the starter. After that if you are not going to use everyday, move to the refrigerator with the lid sealed on. Pull out the night before you are going to use it and feed it.
More BREAD recipes
Leave a comment below and let me know how it turned out for you!
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