How To Feed and Maintain Sourdough Starter

To enjoy all the delicious baked goods your sourdough starter produces, you must establish a good, effective feeding routine. Maintaining a bubbly and active sourdough starter is an easy process that requires a simple
but consistent routine of discarding and feeding. There are many different methods to feed sourdough starters. Here I’ll share the method that has given me the best success and the most beautiful, springy sourdough bread.

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When I first began baking sourdough, I had so many starter questions. I constantly stressed if my start was too thin or too thick, if my bubbles were bubbly enough, and if the amount of “rise” was sufficient…

Once I found this method of feeding sourdough starter, it took the guesswork out of sourdough. My starter rises and falls beautifully every time and my bread turns out consistently well-textured and delicious!

NOTE: This guide is intended for mature starters. Make sure your starter is well-established
before dropping down to 1 feeding a day OR storing in the fridge.

What is Sourdough Starter?

Sourdough starter is an active culture made from a mixture of water, flour and natural wild yeast. You may have heard the term “SCOBY” which stands for a symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast. The starter thrives because the wild yeast feeds off the flour and water creating a bubbly mixture that works to ferment the flours it’s added to.

The starter can be used to leaven (“rise”) bread instead of commercial yeast. It can also be used to ferment grains and make them more digestible.

Did you know you can make your own sourdough starter?! Check out this post.

Did you know this whole guide is offered as a FREE printable?

Why Do You Need to Feed Sourdough?

You don’t just use sourdough starter once and then you’re done. Your sourdough starter, with proper care, can last for 10’s, 20’s, and even hundreds of years! This is why I’m so passionate about my sourdough baking. My starter is the gift that keeps on giving!

Sourdough starter requires some maintenance, but once it becomes part of your weekly schedule, it’s not a lot of work. Sourdough starter can be fed as little as once a week (if stored in the refrigerator) or as frequently as every 12-24 hours if you keep it on your counter and bake with it daily.

Feeding sourdough starter a bit of flour and water, causes the wild yeast and bacteria in your starter to come alive and eat up the nutrients of the flour + water. When this occurs, the sourdough starter becomes “activated”. This activity is demonstrated by the rising of the starter and the bubbling that occurs. Every time you want to create a sourdough bread or roll that requires rise, you will need to activate your starter!

Tips + Tricks for Feeding Sourdough

• I recommend feeding the starter at a 1:1:1 ratio. This means equal parts flour, water and starter.
• I usually leave my starter out on the counter for a few days to accomplish my baking early in the week. If I don’t plan to make anything else that week, I place it in the fridge with a lid on.
• I highly recommend using a scale for precise measurements. Flour and water have different weights and it’s important to be consistent.
• Texture is important: When I first started making sourdough I heard the age-old saying “Make sure it’s the consistency of thick pancake batter”. I have found this to be accurate. If your starter is incredibly thin or overly thick, you may not be feeding it correctly!
• Starter will rise and fall differently depending on the temperature. In a very warm climate, a starter may hit its peak within 4-6 hours while a cooler climate may take 6-8.
• Feed your starter based on how often you use it. For daily use, keep it on the counter and feed it every 12-24 hours. For occasional use, store it in the fridge and feed it every time you plan to use it.

Sourdough Starter Terminology:

When I began baking sourdough, I heard so many terms I was not familiar with and was left to decipher by myself. Here are some common sourdough starter terms you may hear:

• 100% Hydration: All this means is the starter has been fed equal parts flour and water. Hydration can be adjusted in recipes by creating a “levain”.
• Active Starter: This is a starter that has been fed and has doubled in size, is bubbly and has a “yeasty” odor. Sourdough starter becomes active 4-8 hours after a feed.
• Discard: Discard starter is the sourdough starter in its NONACTIVE state- This means, no bubbles. Not yet fed. How my starter is when I’ve just pulled it out of the fridge or when it’s on the counter but I haven’t fed it in 8 hours or so. Never actually discard your discard. It can be used in so many recipes! Sourdough pop tarts, sourdough banana bread, and sourdough churros are a few of our favorites!
• Peak Starter: Starter “peaks” around 4-8 hours post-feed. “Peak” refers to when the starter is at its most bubbly and has doubled in size. I highly advise to try and use your starter for bread and rolls when it is at its peak activity.
• Levain: Just another version of feeding a sourdough starter. Instead of feeding the whole jar, some recipes recommend taking out a few tablespoons of starter and feeding it water and flour in a separate bowl. The entire amount is then used for the recipe. Levain allows you to adjust hydration for a single recipe without altering your entire starter.

Supplies

• Weck Jars: These are my favorite jars to store starters in. The shape is wide and the glass is very clear which allows a good view of what is going on inside the starter. I’ve used everything from a giant jar to a small mason jar and found these to be the easiest.
• Measuring cups and spoons
• Kitchen Scale: This is essential. I rejected the sourdough scale dogma for a long time and ended up with a thin starter that just didn’t give me the results I wanted. So now I’m sold on the precision of this method!
• Rubber spatula: I love stirring my sourdough with a spatula like this one. It helps me clean off the sides of the jar and keep my jar nice and tidy.

Ingredients

1. Flour

I use all-purpose flour to feed my starter. You can also use bread flour on occasion. Bread flour has a higher gluten content which is helpful when building the gluten network in your bread. Some sourdough bakers swear by subbing in a bit of rye flour or even adding whole wheat now and then. I’ve had great success with all purpose so that’s what I stick to.

2. Water

Use filtered water. I like to slightly warm my water because it helps the sourdough starter dissolve and mix more easily.

10 Steps to Perfectly Feed Sourdough Starter:

Follow these steps for feeding sourdough starter to “Activate” your starter and start baking!

Step 1:

Begin by placing a clean bowl on your scale and zeroing the scale.

Step 2:

Next, pour all your starter into the bowl to measure how much you have.

Step 3:

Next, decide how much starter you want to keep and how much you want to discard. As a general rule, I recommend discarding half the starter and feeding half. (If you don’t have very much starter and you don’t want to discard any, you can also just feed the starter without discarding.) You really do not need a massive amount of starter. (I recommend always reserving about 50-100 grams to feed. This should create enough starter to make a batch of bread and 1 or 2 other recipes.)

Step 4:

Next, place your starter jar back on the scale (be sure to zero) and pour back in the amount of starter you plan to keep. Set aside the rest for a discard recipe.

Step 5:

Pour equal amounts of flour and water into your starter jar. At this point, you should have equal parts starter, flour and water. Stir. Set the jar out on the counter for 4-8 hours or until starter becomes very bubbly and doubled in size. I like to place a rubberband around the jar to gauge when the starter has doubled.

Step 6: Enjoy using your active starter to bake bread, rolls, desserts, and more!

Common Starter Issues + Solutions:

Why Is My Starter Runny?

Commonly caused by imprecise measurements, such as adding ¼ cup flour + ¼ cup water without weighing. Water and flour have different weights and the starter becomes too runny. Add a little extra flour at the next feed and weigh with a scale going forward.

Does starter need to be fed before storing in the refrigerator?

Starters are resilient and likely will be fine if you use some and place back in the fridge but the best practice is to feed them before returning them to storage.

Why isn’t my starter bubbling or doubling in size?

This can be caused by numerous factors. I recommend treating the starter like a brand-new one. Try leaving it out on the counter and feeding it every 12 hours for several days. Be sure to discard each time you feed. If your house is cool, store it in the microwave or oven. You can also try feeding with rye flour (which has a higher gluten content) for 1-2 feedings.

Discarding seems wasteful. Do I have to discard with each feed?

Once you have a mature starter it is not necessary to discard every single feed. However, if you don’t discard you will have way too much starter eventually and not be able to use it all. I never throw away starter discard. When I plan to make bread or rolls I take my starter out of the fridge, split it in half, and place the discard in a tupperware or bowl. Then I feed my starter and proceed with making bread. The next day I focus on using the reserved discard to make chocolate chip cookies, crackers, churros, pop tarts and more!

To Get Started With Sourdough, Check Out These Posts:

• Sourdough Starter
• Sourdough Kneading Techniques
• Sourdough Proofing

This guide covers the essentials of maintaining a thriving sourdough starter. As you become familiar with your starter, you’ll develop a routine that suits your baking preferences and lifestyle. Enjoy the journey of creating and nurturing your own sourdough culture!

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