HOW TO: Feed Your Sourdough Starter

Are you confused about feeding a sourdough starter?? SO common! There is so much out there on the internet that contradicts itself and it's so easy to get confused. It's actually very simple, and a lot of people tend to overcomplicate it.

I am now several years into my sourdough journey, and I can tell you it's been a lot of trial and error. I like to try things out for myself before taking someone's word for it, but if you need a foolproof way to feed your starter, read on!

I got my starter from a good friend, but you can purchase starters from someone else. You can also start yours from scratch with flour and water, but it's a much longer process. I've never tried that method myself, but I know others who have so I know it works! The best way is to find someone who has a healthy starter and ask if they'd be willing to give you some of theirs!

The first few feeds are really just to build up the strength of your starter and help it acclimate to your home. Don't get discouraged if your starter isn't doubling right away, but it should take off fairly quickly, especially if you received a good strong starter from someone! You'll feed the starter, wait about 12 hours, discard all but half a cup of it, and feed it again. It seems like a lot of waste, but I promise it's just for the first few days or so, until it is doubling in size and filled with bubbles.

Once your starter has been fed for a few days and seems like it is doubling in size and full of bubbles several hours after feeding, you're ready to use it in a recipe that calls for active starter!

What you'll need:

• A jar (I use these wide mouth Mason jars and white lids)

• A thin stir stick, or any stirring spoon is fine!

• 1 part starter, 1 part unbleached flour, 1 part warm water (I used 120g of each in this example)

• OPTIONAL: A kitchen scale (I use this Amazon Basics kitchen scale!)

(As an Amazon Affiliate, I receive a small commission when you use my links in my posts.)

(Psst! You definitely DON'T have to use a kitchen scale to feed your starter. Click here to jump to instructions for a different way to measure.)

If you're using a scale:

Zero out your scale with your jar (or container of choice), and then add your unfed starter. Unfed starter is runny and not active, so it needs to be fed to gain strength to rise bread. Sometimes I use a bigger container like a mixing bowl if I know that I will need more starter for a larger recipe, or I want to bake multiple sourdough recipes. The bulk of what I make for my family usually just uses a quart jar.

Zero out your scale again, and add flour.

Zero out your scale one last time, and add the water. Give it a good stir so all the flour is mixed in.

If you're not using a kitchen scale, the measurements (of 120g weights) would be about: 120g = 1/2 cup starter, unfed

120g = 1/2 cup flour

120g = 1/3 cup water

You never want to add less flour or water than you have starter. It's like a hungry teenager, it needs to EAT!

Stir until thoroughly combined. You're looking for a thick pancake batter consistency, so add a bit more flour or a bit more water until it looks like this.

Mark where the top of your starter is either with a rubber band or a dry erase marker. Cover with a lid or plastic wrap and set it in a warm spot in your house, or in your oven (turned off) with the light on.

Your starter is ready to bake with when it has doubled in size and is full of bubbles! (If it isn't here yet, discard half and feed it again - it may just need more time!)

Mine usually takes about 4 hours to reach this point, but it can take anywhere from 4-6 hours. The more flour and water you feed it, the longer it will take to rise. As your starter acclimates to your environment and is fed consistently, it will take no time at all to grow! I pulled mine out of the fridge and brought it to room temp before feeding, so it was a bit dormant before I fed it. It perked right back up, but usually has much larger air bubbles.

If you're not ready to bake with it yet, you can let it deflate and become discard (use that discard in pancakes, waffles, or to make tortillas or crackers!) Regardless, bring the starter down to 1/2 cup, give it a good feed, and stick it in the fridge for up to a week until you're ready to bake the next time. To maintain the strength of your starter, you'll want to feed it about once a week if kept in the fridge, and every 24 hours if kept on the counter. Just remember if you're not using it and it deflates, you need to discard, or take some of it out, before you feed it again so you don't end up with a weak starter, or too much starter! And don't waste that discard. Add it into any of your family's favorite recipes!

If your starter appears to have a liquid on top, you can simply drain that off and feed it again. That liquid is called a "hooch" (I know, weird name) and it just means it's very hungry. I usually stir the liquid in if it's clear and doesn't smell bad. If it's gray or black and smells like nail polish remover, drain it off and throw away half of the starter, put the rest in a new jar, and feed it a few times to regain some strength before using it in a recipe again.

*IF YOUR STARTER GETS MOLDY, you should throw it out. This doesn't usually happen unless it has been severely neglected in the fridge for months, or on the counter for awhile without being fed. Everywhere I've researched on this says do NOT try to revive a moldy starter.*

A few things I've learned on my sourdough journey:

1. You can do things differently. You don't have to do exactly as another person does. As long as it works for you and you have a happy, thriving starter, you're doing great! That's how we learn!

2. If your starter doesn't rise, you probably didn't feed it enough, or the ratio is off. You'll want to make sure that the ratio is the same for flour and water. Also, make sure you get that thick pancake batter consistency, and its environment is at least 70 degrees.

3. DON'T BE AFRAID of messing up, because that's part of it. I promise! :) It helps to know what happens when you forget something, or you do something a different way, or the environment changed with temperatures, etc.

4. Have fun with it! Above all else, don't be afraid to experiment. If you have kids, involve them in the learning process!

If you have questions about anything in this post, feel free to comment that below. Happy baking! :)