Feeding and Maintaining Your Sourdough Starter (2024)

FAQs

How do you feed and maintain sourdough starter? ›

To revive the dried sourdough starter, add 50 grams to a clean jar with 100 grams of water and 100 grams of flour. Let sit for 24 hours at room temperature. The next day transfer 25 grams to a new jar and feed with 100 grams of water and 100 grams of flour. Feed the starter once a day until it starts to double in size.

Feed the starter every 12 hours until you see it double or triple in volume within 6 to 8 hours; this means it's ready to bake with.

You must discard some of your sourdough starter each time you feed it. You'll discover that discarding is necessary to build a healthy and thriving sourdough starter - but it's not actually as wasteful as you might think.

Feed the starter 1/2 cup (4 ounces, 113g) water and a scant 1 cup (4 ounces, 113g) all-purpose flour twice a day, discarding all but 1/2 cup (4 ounces, 113g) of the starter before each feeding. It should soon become healthy, bubbly, and active.

Yes, after your starter is established (about 10 days after you created it), you can move it from room temperature storage, where you feed it everyday, to the fridge. A starter stored in the fridge can be fed once a week. If you plan to use it often, you can store it for up to two months without feeding.

You can leave the starter in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days at a time between feedings. We recommend feeding sourdough starter at least twice a week for best results. Remember, if you're planning to make bread on a given day, you'll feed sourdough starter the night before you bake.

Myth 7: You can't overfeed sourdough starter.

While starters do need regular feeding, it is possible to overfeed one. Each time you feed a starter, you thin out the population of microorganisms by adding flour and water. The remaining yeasts and bacteria eat the new flour and multiply, rebuilding the population.

The answer appears to be Egyptian sourdough. Scientists have revived yeast microbes from 4,500 years ago to make a loaf of bread unlike anything on the grocery store shelves today, as part of an experiment to better understand the gut bacteria of ancient humans.

The rule of any kitchen is “When in doubt, throw it out,” but I wouldn't panic and toss your starter if you only missed 1-3 days of feeding. If it's more than 3 days AND you have a warm kitchen, you'll have to make the call based on how well you know your starter.

Storing your sourdough starter

If you aren't intending to use your sourdough starter every day, it is best kept in the fridge. To do this, feed it as instructed above, seal the jar and then stand at room temperature for 2-3 hours (to help reinvigorate the yeast) before placing in the fridge to store.

Does sourdough starter need to be airtight? ›

It will need a lid or cover, but not something airtight: Sourdough starter emits gas, and a sealed canister can explode. If you have intermittent baking plans, you may want something that can be lidded more tightly and stashed in the refrigerator.

15. What if I miss feeding my sourdough starter? If you miss one of your starter feedings, it'll be just fine. Give it a feeding when you next remember it needs one, and continue with your daily feedings as usual.

Yes. A more mature starter will have a better established colony of lactobacillus (the good bacteria that give you the distinctive sourdough flavor). So as your starter matures and ages, it will develop a much stronger sourdough flavor.

Check it every so often, ideally every other day. It should smell pleasantly sour and have visible bubbles on top. You should NOT see watery liquid on the surface or smell alcohol. Depending on the strength of your starter you can go between 2 days and 1 week between feedings.

Day Five: Feed the starter (repeating day three instructions) first thing in the morning and then again in the evening (about 12 hours apart). Day Six: If your starter has been very active and always doubles in size (or more) between feedings, then your starter is ready to bake with.

For the best results, feed your starter two days in a row before baking. If you're not using it immediately then store it in the fridge.

You can do that every 12 hours if you leave it in a warm spot. Once we've got it rising and falling, now it's time to choose the timing of when to use it. If we feed the starter and use it straight away, then there isn't enough yeast activity in the starter to give the dough a good rise.

You most definitely can bulk ferment sourdough too long. If you leave the dough to ferment for too long, it will become "over fermented". Over fermented dough will lose its structure and become a soupy, sloppy mess that you will not be able to shape.

However, if you see a pink or orange tint or streak, this is a sure sign that your sourdough starter has gone bad and should be discarded. The stiff starter above was left out at room temperature for two weeks. It's definitely time to throw it out and start over.

Should you discard sourdough hooch? ›

The dark liquid is a form of naturally occurring alcohol known as hooch, which indicates that your sourdough starter is hungry. Hooch is harmless but should be poured off and discarded prior to stirring and feeding your starter.

Along with a predilection for gambling, which concerned townsfolk, the miners brought with them or made bread starters. The starters were so important that they would cuddle them on cold nights so the yeasts and bacteria that made them viable didn't die, writes Avital Ungar for San Francisco Travel.

It is a very good combination and one worth exploring. The yeast contained in the beer marries well with the yeast in your sourdough starter and produces a rich and complex sourdough flavor.

A Mature Sourdough Starter is More Sour Than a Young One

If you have made a starter from scratch, it doesn't fully mature and develop its full depth of flavor until a good few months down the line. A more mature sourdough starter will give a more sour flavor. So be patient, and give your starter time to mature.

What is this? stir your starter in between feedings - try stirring it twice in between feedings and really give it a chance to get oxygen into the mix. This will help to activate your starter without too much effort.

What kind of container should you use to store sourdough starter? Pellegrinelli says the fermentation process of sourdough starter will corrode metal. Therefore, she recommends storing sourdough starter in a plastic or glass container.

Glass and plastic are both excellent choices for sourdough starter containers. They're clear, durable, and dishwasher friendly. So while ceramic sourdough crocks are absolutely gorgeous, I don't find them to be as functional as glass or plastic.

If you desire an extra-sour sourdough loaf, cover it and refrigerate immediately. The dough will rise slowly overnight or up to 24 hours. Allowing the dough to remain longer in the refrigerator isn't beneficial, as an extended time in the refrigerator will lead to off flavors and diminished dough strength.

I prefer to use wide mouth glass jars, as the are easier to see the fermentation bubbles of the starter, easier to clean, and the wide top makes stirring simpler. You can use large mouth Mason Jars or Weck Glass Jars to house your starter.

You should toss the sourdough discard from your starter for at least the first 7 days. In this early period, the discard will contain bad bacteria which can potentially be unsafe for you to consume. What is this? After about 7 days, your starter should have started to rise and bubble.

Should you feed sourdough starter every 12 or 24 hours? ›

Continue feeding your starter every 12–24 hours until it doubles in volume every 8–12 hours, has a pleasant, yeasty smell, and passes the float test (see note). Once it passes the float test, your starter is ready to be baked with! The whole process of getting your starter established can take anywhere from 5–10 days.

Sourdough starters, often referred to as mother dough, have a nearly 6,000-year history that spans the globe and are responsible for feeding the planet millions of times over.

Compared to whole wheat flour, rye flour is said to be the most nutrient- and amylase-dense option for a sourdough starter. Overall, it has a lower gluten protein content than wheat flour, which means it produces slack, sticky, and dense doughs.

A sourdough starter needs to at least double its volume, but could even triple if it's really active and happy. What is this? Ideally, it should be doubling within 4 to 6 hours of feeding - but it can sometimes happen within just 2 hours if it's warm.

Sourdough Starter Baking Questions

Your sourdough starter should be rising predictably and on regular feeding schedule. If your starter is barely rising between feedings or taking a significantly long period to peak using a high feeding ratio (1:1:1), it is most likely not strong enough to naturally leaven bread.

To revive your old sourdough starter (or make starter more active), try feeding it with half regular flour (bread flour or all-purpose) and half wheat or rye flour. Rye seems to make sourdough starter especially bubbly!

This issue is often caused by a burned-out/ fused starter solenoid or motor. Alternatively, this can also be caused by a dead battery. But whatever the cause maybe, if you experience nothing when you try to turn on the ignition, make sure to get your vehicle thoroughly checked.

Use Warm Water to Control The Temperature. If the weather is cold and your dough won't budge, please use warm water during the initial mixing phase. It will help to jumpstart the rising process. I actually use warm water 90% of the time when making dough (I tend to use cooler water in the summer).

Your starter needs to be fed about 1x per week if refrigerated, and every day if left at room temperature. Generally, about 5-6 hours after feeding my starter is ready. The time may vary based on room temp, dough temp, etc. The starter should have doubled in volume and started to recede and/or pass the float test.

Feeding by Volume

If you feed 1/2 cup of starter with 1 cup flour and 1/2 cup water, the starter will be at 100% hydration. If you feed your 1/2 cup of starter with 1 cup flour and 1/4 cup water, the starter will be at 50% hydration.

How long do sourdough starters live? ›

As long as your starter is mature (i.e. at least 3 months old), your starter should be happy in the fridge for about 2 months without any attention. At this point, you can feed/refresh it again and place it back in the fridge if you still don't need it.

Yes. A more mature starter will have a better established colony of lactobacillus (the good bacteria that give you the distinctive sourdough flavor). So as your starter matures and ages, it will develop a much stronger sourdough flavor.

No. You can scale back to once a day or even scale up to three times a day, whatever works for you and your schedule. I like to feed it at least once a day to keep it strong and ready for baking. If you aren't baking for a while, you could store your starter.

Place in a jar and let it sit at room temperature for around 12 hours, until it's doubled in size. For the best results, feed your starter two days in a row before baking.