feeding sourdough starter

Learn how to feed and maintain a successful sourdough starter in 3 easy steps! Tips shared for choosing the best flour, the right jar, and how to keep it alive (without the stress).

Feeding Sourdough Starter: My Best Tips &amp; Tricks

Sourdough Starter

one)

Digital Kitchen Scale

flour

Water, filtered tap water

Remove and discard half of your sourdough starter from the jar.

Feed what&#8217;s left in the jar with equal parts flour and water by weight (1:1:1 feeding ratio). You need a digital kitchen scale for this. Because we all work with different quantities of starters, this 1:1:1 feeding ratio is best understood by example. So, if you have 60 g of starter in the jar, feed it with 60 g flour + 60 g water. If you have 30 g of starter, feed it with 30 g of flour and 30 g of water. Mix well with a fork, scraping down the sides as needed. Cover the jar with a lid. The lid can be airtight or loosely placed on top- your choice. Note: if the jar is airtight, the pressure will build up fast. Keep an eye on the jar so it doesn&#8217;t burst.

Let your starter rise at room temperature, ideally 75+ F (the warmer it is, the faster it will rise), until bubbly, active and double in size (2-12 hrs). When your starter is at peak height, it&#8217;s ready to use. Eventually it will fall back down, and become inactive again. Then, you&#8217;ll need to repeat the feeding process.

Thanks, Emilie. I'll quit worrying about the starters and go back to worrying about whether or not the trip we're planning actually happens.
Steve

Hi again, Emilie

As I have noted prior, I have greatly enjoyed your book as it has enabled me to ramp up my sourdough baking forays to new delicious levels.  My problem is that I am not a multi-time per week baker and one can only deal w sourdough feeding discards for pancakes, banana bread, etc for so long. For your readers that find themselves in the same situation, especially right now with inflation causing huge upticks in flour prices, I would suggest consideration of  a low maintenance “no discard” sourdough technique.  This is not as radical as putting the sourdough to hibernation by drying into flakes, but utilizes much less water so that interval feeding is not required at all.  I have used this now for over 8 months and I am very pleased.
I would place a few links here in my Comments, but they would likely be bounced by the mods.  An interested reader can just do an Internet search for “NO DISCARD SOURDOUGH STARTER” and the best instructions will pop up in the first half-dozen “hits.”
I especially like this method during the Summer months when my baking may only be once a week or even less.  I left my starter for 2 weeks recently while traveling in Europe, and returned with recipes that I wanted to try.  My no-discard starter was ready and able and did not disappoint!   Thanks again.

I bake a loaf of sourdough about every 4 days. I have two starters that I alternate. I put them in the refrigerator immediately after feeding. When I want to bake I take the one I didn't use last time out of the refrigerator and immerse the the jar in hot tap water for about 30 minutes to bring it to room temperature or a bit higher. I do a float test, which shows the starter is active almost every time. Then I use it to make my dough (your basic sourdough recipe, which is great), feed it and right back into the refrigerator. I've probably made over 200 loaves since I started in April 2020. With this method I don't have to feed the starter and wait for it to double before baking.

Hi Emilie,
It doesn't quite double in the fridge but nearly doubles in the hot tap water. Float test almost always shows it's ready. If it doesn't float I try my other starter and feed the first one and put it back in the fridge. Both starters are 100% hydration. One starter is all AP flour and the other is 50/50 whole wheat /AP. The all AP is a bit more active but both produce fine loaves with your basic recipe. 100 grams starter, 100 grams water, 100 grams flour are my starter feeding proportions.
Steve

Glad it's working for you, Emelie. It has made my life easier, for sure.
Steve

Thank you so much for your teaching:)
I am confused only with one thing -  how to maintain the starter?
If a want to feed it once a week, what is the right ratio?
Let say, I have 100 gm of starter, discarding half - I will have 50 gm of starter  - what will be the right amount of water and flour to feed it each week?
Thank you so much!

Thank you so much Emelie. It does help. My niece, who also loves your book, and I were talking about it and that was her thought. To follow up, do I have to weigh the jar contents each time I feed it and then take out the discard. Today I weighed the contents of my jar because I was wondering if it should be 113 g x 3, flour, water and starter. It weighed quite a bit less than 339 g. I guess that's the science in action. The bacteria is possibly consuming the flour and water.

Hi there, thanks for your post. I have had a sourdough starter for nearly 3 weeks, and I feed it regularly. Each day, it rises and falls as expected. The rise isn’t completely double but it’s very close (probably about 1.75x). However, it does not rise breads. I’ve now tried 5 or 6 loaves, sandwich bread and traditional sourdough loaf, and it will not give them any rise. 

I’ve used the same flour. I don’t have any hooch. I use a scale for precision. I have fed it at the same time every day… still, nothing. Any ideas?

Yes, yes, yes,  This article was very helpful.  Thank you very much

If you want to make your own bread, knowing how to make a sourdough starter will come in handy so that you can have the best developed flavor and texture! It takes a few days as the starter grows and ferments, but I promise it's easy.

How to make a sourdough starter

glass jar (about 2 cups)

Flour*

Water

Rubber band

 Add 50 grams water and 50 grams of flour to your jar and stir well to combine. Scrape the edges down to the bottom. Cover with a breathable top (I like to use a piece of an old t-shirt and then use the ring that came on the mason jar to screw it on or a rubber band). Set in an out-of-the-way place that stays a somewhat constant temperature (around 70 to 75 degrees F.). If you don't have something to weigh your flour, it will be about 6 level tablespoons of flour and 4 tablespoons of water.

You can use just about any flour that you have. You'll get a quicker start by using a whole grain flour like rye or whole wheat, and you'll also have more luck using organic flours if possible (less chemical residues to inhibit yeast growth).

After 24 hours (day 2), add an additional 50 grams of flour and 50 grams of water, stir well, scrape down the sides, cover, and set aside.

Day 3: add an additional 50 grams of flour and 50 grams of water, stir well, scrape down the sides, cover, and set aside. You might be seeing a few bubbles in your mixture an hour or so after "feeding" it the flour and water; that's good!

Day 4: discard all of your starter mixture except for 25 grams (or you can start with a clean jar and measure in 25 grams of your starter mixture and add your next ingredients to the clean jar, too). Add 50 grams of flour and 50 grams of water, stir well, scrape down the sides, cover, and set aside. (This would be 2 tablespoons of your original starter mixture, plus 4 tablespoons of water and 6 tablespoons of flour.)

Day 5: add an additional 50 grams of flour and 50 grams of water, stir well, scrape down the sides, cover, and set aside.

Day 6: add an additional 50 grams of flour and 50 grams of water, stir well, scrape down the sides, cover, and set aside.

Day 7: discard all of your starter mixture except for 25 grams (or you can start with a clean jar and measure in 25 grams of your starter mixture and add your next ingredients to the clean jar too). Add 50 grams of flour and 50 grams of water, stir well, scrape down the sides, cover, and set aside. (This would be 2 tablespoons of your starter mixture, 4 tablespoons of water, and 6 tablespoons of flour.) NOTE: Sometime around day 5, 6, or seven you make want to start feeding and discarding every day. If you starter is very runny after 24 hours, move to the daily discard and feed schedule.

You are going to keep up this schedule until your starter gets lots of bubbles and grows in volume to double or triple its size a few hours after you feed it. It can happen in as short as 5 days and as long as 14 days. After day 5, start putting a mark on your jar or a rubber band marking the level of the mixture right after you fed it. Then watch to see if it increased in volume before deflating again.

Once you start getting bubbles after you feed your starter flour and water and it doubles or triples in volume, then it is active and ready to use! It will smell like yeast dough. ALSO start using a lid that just rests on the jar (don't screw it down) instead of the fabric at this point so the top of your starter doesn't dry out.

Use your starter to make my favorite classic sourdough loaf or any other recipes that calls for a sourdough starter.

TO REFRESH your sourdough starter: Follow the recipe and use the amount of sourdough starter it calls for, but always make sure you are reserving at least 25 grams of starter. After you use what you need for the recipe, simply put 25 grams of starter in jar, feed it 50 grams of water and 50 grams of flour and set it aside. It'll be ready to bake again tomorrow. Or see the notes on how to store the starter if you are not baking every day.

Hi Melissa-
I am on day 17 of my starter, i think due to weather fluctuation, my starter is only doubling in size after a discard and then an additional feed day. On discard day, i see barely any rise, once i feed it the next day, It takes around 12 hours to double in size. There is definitely live yeast as it is doubling, just taking a while. Should i switch to twice a day (discard in the morning + feed in the evening)? Any other suggestions?

Thank you, I'll let you know how my first loaf turns out!!! Of course I'm going to use your recipe!

Thank you for the detailed instructions! My starter is now active and has been working great!

What a great information! Thank you so much! I was looking for a very easy description to understand the process of making the sourdough. I am in a day 5 now. I started with the organic whole wheat and then mixed with all purpose in day 2. It is doing well and I will keep mixing until I receive the final product.

I have been making sourdough bread for a year now.  My starter is a lot less thick then it used to be but my bread still tastes good.  I have taken the starter down to 25 grams and added more but it is still not as thick.  Should I be concerned about this.  Thanks

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TrhN_uDqNgo

All you need to know to make a sourdough starter at home using flour and water! And here's the rest of the info if you still have questions:

https://www.blessthismessplease.com/how-to-make-a-sourdough-starter/

The post includes a printable time-line, an FAQ section, and a trouble shooting section to help make getting into sourdough bread baking and starting your very own sourdough starter at home easy!

How to make a Sourdough Starter - Bless This Mess Please -

One starter is all AP flour. The other is 50/50 AP/whole wheat. The resultant loaves are slightly different in taste and color. I like them both.

Right. Heat in a hot tap water bath, use when it passes the float test, immediately feed and put right into the refrigerator. 

Longest one of the starters has been in the refrigerator after feeding was December 28, after making my 55th loaf of 2022, to January 27, when I made my first loaf of 2023, because we were on a trip to Bhutan. I put the starter jar in hot tap water bath and when it passed the float test it made a fine loaf of bread.

Another question. Received your book and can’t wait to bake! 

Almost at 2 weeks and it still has not doubled in size. This morning there were bubbles of various sizes, so in a whim, I did the float test and it floated!! Does this mean it is ready to go?

Sounds good and I can guess on hot water bath but how long would I leave it in?  I will try to find where you have any tips to read.  Thank you

Hello Emilie, 
I had great success with your sourdough starter recipe this summer. However, in September I found out I had to go gluten free. So I had to get rid of the starter I had going. I’m now at a space where I’d like to try a starter again but it has to be gluten free. Do you have any pointers or advice for how to begin a gluten free starter? Anything will help. Thank you!

If you decide to store your sourdough stater in the frig., should you let it peak before storing?

Hello,

I've had great success with your recipes..thanks! I took a break from baking and am back to it. My neighbor gave me some starter (we both follow your tips) and I've been feeding it twice a day to activate it. It is doubling in size rather quickly but with very few bubbles. There are tiny bubbles on the sides and very few on the top. Not any larger ones like I've had in the past. Any thoughts on what I might be doing wrong or how I can encourage larger bubbles?

After I put my active sourdough in the refrigerator, do I have to wait 1 week to feed again?  I want to share some starter with neighbors and was hoping not to wait a week to make more starter.

I mistakenly used bread flour to replenish my starter.  Will the starter still work for my next batch of bread?  I note you say in your book to only use regular flour for replenishing the starter.  Love your book, by the way. Five stars *****

Hello! Is it ok if I feed my sourdough starter with all purpose and then when making bread use bread flour?

Hi!! I’ve had my starter for afew weeks now but i find its sinking more than its rising even after a day in the fridge, can i still only feed it once a week if it has sank? and then when i plan to use it feed it and then keep it on the counter to use when risen? and when i do use it, should i be feeding it straight after and then putting it in the fridge?

Hi!! 

First two loaves were beautiful following your recipes to a T! However, in thinking I wanted to bulk my starter supply to bake more often, I added 1:1 flour and water 2-3 times without discarding. The amount I added was not 1:1:1 with the starter (only 1:1 flour). I just realized this today and recreated 1:1:1 starter:flour:water, but did I completely mess up my starter?! It is still bubbly, growing, and happy! Thanks so much for your helpful recipes!!

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