Hello everyone! I'm brand new to all things sourdough (except eating it frequently when I used to live in San Francisco, I am now in the Netherlands and miss my sourdough) and was really inspired to try and make my own after watching countless TikToks in my feed. I am now on Day 3, I'll post my notes so far here! Any advice or things to keep an eye on?

Note: I am located in the Randstad area of the Netherlands. It's fairly cold at around 7°c - 10°c lately. House warming is set to 20°c and I've been keeping her in a cupboard. I've been using patentbloem from Albert Heijn but I just learned that tarwebloem has more protein. So I will likely switch flour for tomorrow's feeding. Ideally I would like to go to my local windmill and get higher quality flour, but it's a bit less convenient than the local supermarket. But probably worth the extra distance!

Anyways onto my notes I've taken so far ☺️

*Sourdough Starter - Winter*
Began on 5/12/25

13:30 5/12/25:
60g AH Patentbloem
60g Cold Water
TOTAL 140g

Began starter at 1:1:1 ratio with cold water (according to a TikTok I followed).

13:24 6/12/25:
60g AH Patentbloem
60g Cold Water
TOTAL 140g

A little bit of bubbles on the surface but still loose. A distinct sour smell is starting to form.

13:05 7/12/25:
Discarded all but 20g Starter for 1:3:3 ratio.
20g Starter
60g AH Patentbloem
60g Cool Water (wrist measurement)
TOTAL 140g

More bubbles on the surface, but still loose. Discarded all but 20g Starter. Beginning a 1:3:3 ratio with cool water instead of cold after watching more instructive videos. Has a stronger sour aroma that's beginning to smell a little sweet. No real signs that it started to rise yesterday. I also cleaned the jar to accurately weigh it at 348g to make feeding measurements easier.

Just Started My First Starter!