How to Make a Sourdough Starter with Einkorn Flour (Step-by-Step Guide)

Want to bake gut-friendly sourdough with Einkorn flour from scratch? It all starts with a strong, active starter, and in this video, I’ll show you exactly how to build your own 100% Einkorn sourdough starter step-by-step using just flour, water, and time.

No commercial yeast. No stress. Just slow fermentation and bold, delicious flavor using nature’s original ancient grain.

If you’ve struggled with making starters in the past or want to switch to Einkorn, this tutorial walks you through everything you need to know to build a healthy, reliable starter, even if you’ve never baked bread before. I will walk you through 9 days (8 for the starter with bread baking on the 9th day) of building and using your einkorn starter. You’ll meet Ella, our brand new starter made from scratch.

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Tools & Ingredients Needed:
• Glass jar
• Small silicone spatula
• Digital scale
• All-purpose Einkorn flour
• Filtered water

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Step-by-Step Instructions:

Day 1:
• 60g AP Einkorn flour (½ cup)
• 60g filtered water (¼ cup)
Mix well in your glass jar. Cover loosely and let sit at room temperature for 24 hours.

Days 2–5:
• Discard half the starter
• Add 60g AP Einkorn flour (½ cup)
• Add 60g water (¼ cup)
Mix well. Cover and let sit at room temp for 24 hours.

Days 6–7:
• Discard half the starter
• Add 60g AP Einkorn flour (½ cup)
• Add 60g water (¼ cup)
Mix well. Let sit for 12 hours instead of 24.

Day 7-8 (Optional Levain Test):
Mix:
• 15g starter
• 60g AP Einkorn flour
• 60g water
Leave at room temperature and monitor. A healthy levain should double in size in 10–12 hours.

Day 8 (Levain Tests & Levain Build Late Night):
• 30g starter
• 120g AP Einkorn flour
• 120g water
Mix well. Let sit on the counter for 12 hours.

Day 9 - Bake bread!

If your starter still isn’t doubling in size, repeat Day 8’s process daily until it does. Warmer environments may speed this up.

Once your starter is doubling in 10–12 hours and showing strong fermentation activity, you’re ready to bake and officially name your starter 🎉

Pro Tip: Try the float test by taking a portion of your active starter and dropping it in water. If it floats, you should be ready to bake!

Starter Maintenance:
Keep feeding your starter weekly. Store in the fridge between bakes. Take it out, feed it, and let it become your baking partner for life. It will become stronger each week!

Chapters
0:00 Intro / What you’ll need
04:41 Day 1
09:41 Why use a starter?
13:44 Day 2
19:40 Day 3
23:51 Day 4
28:25 Day 5
31:23 Day 6
35:16 Day 6 after 3 hours (getting bubbly)
35:55 Day 7
39:10 Day 8 levain test (1/2 recipe)
45:53 Day 8 levain test results
46:59 Day 8 levain test round 2 (1/2 recipe)
51:40 Day 8 levain test results (1/2 recipe)
53:38 Name your starter! (Hello, Ella)
54:20 Day 8 levain build (full recipe late at night)
59:07 Day 9 activity after 7 hours (doubled in size)
59:53 Day 9 levain peaking & sourdough bread prep
1:10:23 bakers notes to keep in mind on your journey
1:12:27 proofed sourdough
1:13:29 bread into the banneton basket
1:13:40 scoring the bread & getting it into dutch oven
1:15:57 bread goes in oven (evening bake)
1:16:22 result
1:17:32 analyzing & sampling the bread
1:22:53 Final thoughts

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In this video, you’ll learn:
• The full day-by-day process of building an Einkorn starter
• When and how to perform levain tests
• How to know when your starter is truly active
• Pro tips for maintaining a healthy starter long term

Subscribe to @FearlessFlavor for more Einkorn recipes, sourdough guides, and fearless, real-food baking.

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