Day 1: Whisk together in glass jar or bowl – 2 Tbsp buckwheat flour, 2 Tbsp sweet rice flour, and 1/3 cup water. Cover with a wet cloth, leave to rest 24 hours at room temp.

Day 2: Whisk together in glass jar or bowl – 2 Tbsp of yesterday’s mixture (the starter), 2 Tbsp buckwheat flour, 2 Tbsp sweet rice flour, 1/3 cup water. Cover with a wet cloth, leave to rest 24 hours at room temp. (Save remaining starter in a jar in the fridge – this is called the ‘discard’ and can be added to during the week, then used in baking pancakes, muffins, crackers, etc – search ‘sourdough discard recipes’ for ideas.)

Day 3 through Day 6, 7 or beyond: Repeat above each day until the mixture becomes bubbly under the surface, has air pockets, and a sweet-sour smell. It took 7 days for me, but it can take longer. Use visual cues for readiness – watch my video if you’re not sure.

Before using starter to make bread, you will need to ‘refresh’ or ‘feed’ it: In clean, lidded, glass jar, place 1/4 cup starter, 1/2 cup water, 3 Tbsp buckwheat flour and 3 Tbsp sweet rice flour, and mix until combined. (Place discard in the fridge to use in other baking.) Place lid on jar, and a rubber band around the jar to indicate level of starter before rising, so you can see when it has doubled. (See example in video.) Allow starter to develop for 8-12 hours at room temp, until doubled in size. The time it takes depends on temperature in room. (If starter is taking too long to double, place it in a warm spot like in the oven, temp off with oven light on.)

Once your starter has doubled in size, is bubbly, and has a sweet-sour aroma, it’s ready to use! After measuring out the portion needed for your recipe, refresh the starter as above and store until ready to use again.

Storage of starter:

Room temp if baking every day: store in glass jar with lid and refresh daily after removing starter needed for recipe

Fridge: store in glass jar with lid, refresh once a week; may need to refresh twice in 12 hours before using in recipes to get it active again

Freezer: store in glass jar with lid, thaw and refresh a few times before using

Have fun, and be patient!!! It can take a couple of weeks for the starter to ‘start’!