How to make, feed, and maintain sourdough starter from scratch (2024)

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Written by Taylor Tobin

2021-09-21T16:09:11Z

How to make, feed, and maintain sourdough starter from scratch (1)

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  • To make a sourdough loaf, you need to begin with sourdough "starter" that contains wild yeast.
  • It takes about seven days to get sourdough starter to the point where you can use it to make bread.
  • If your starter looks dried out or otherwise unusual, you can perk it up with a quick feeding.

How to make, feed, and maintain sourdough starter from scratch (4)

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How to make, feed, and maintain sourdough starter from scratch (6)

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Sourdough bread is hearty, flavorful, and versatile. For the baker in charge, it also requires a significant amount of prep time and plenty of patience.

To get that classic sourdough tang and texture, you need to whip up a sourdough starter, or a mixture of flour and water designed to cultivate wild yeast for baking. Fortunately, the seasoned sourdough experts Kyrie Luke, recipe developer and healthy lifestyle blogger of Healthfully Rooted Home, and Sim Cass, dean of techniques of artisan bread baking at the Institute of Culinary Education, have some answers.

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Storing and maintaining your sourdough starter

Because a sourdough starter is a "living organism," it's never a totally "finished" product. It requires maintenance and proper storage to keep it usable. The good news? Once you have a maintenance routine down, you can keep your sourdough starter "alive" indefinitely.

"How often you maintain your sourdough starter depends on how often you [bake with] it," Luke says. "If you use it everyday or every couple of days, you'll just leave it on the counter and feed it daily. If you use your starter only about once or twice a week, you can leave it in the fridge between uses and feed it one or two times a week."

When you "feed" your starter, make sure that you also discard some of your starter before adding to it (since sourdough starters expand in size). Luke uses one cup of flour and one cup of water as her go-to feeding formula, and she'll discard up to half of her existing starter before new feedings, depending on the volume and the overall health and age of the starter.

Glass jars and other lidded glass containers work best for sourdough starter storage, and a transparent jar will allow you to see how your starter is faring at any given time. Because cool temperatures slow the growth process of the starter's yeast, it's advisable to keep your starter in the fridge if you aren't planning to use it in the near future.

If you miss a few feedings and your starter begins to look dry and deflated, Luke says you can easily reactivate it by "feeding it…a lot!" On the subject of reactivation, Cass tells us that, if you're starting off with a refrigerated starter that's gone dormant (i.e. the yeast has slowed down from lack of "feeding"), you might notice a yellowish liquid forming on top (known to sourdough makers as "hooch") or even some black sediment (which are yeast cells that have died). In this case, Cass says you should "leave it at room temperature overnight. On the next day, feed it with equal parts flour and cool water for two days. The starter should be bubbly and smell tasty and sweet."

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Sourdough starter tips and tricks

How to make, feed, and maintain sourdough starter from scratch (7)

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  • Don't panic if you see dark discharge or smell an alcoholic aroma. Luke insists that a bit of crustiness, a boozy fragrance, and even a dark liquid layer aren't anything to worry about. "You might notice a crust on the top – this just means that it needs to be stirred more frequently. Depending on the time of year and how warm you keep your house, you might need to stir your starter every 12 hours," Luke says. "Also, you could keep a damp tea towel over it, and that'll prevent the crust from forming." If you smell alcohol, Luke explains that just means the starter needs to be fed. And that scary-looking black water? According to Luke, "this is also normal. It just means that the starter is hungry."
  • Consider other uses for sourdough starter beyond a loaf of bread. If you find yourself with more starter than you need for bread, there are plenty of other ways to use this powerful stuff. "I would suggest using your starter for things you never thought of, like breading chicken, making muffins, and making pizza crust. The more you use and feed your starter, the healthier it'll be!" Luke says.
  • Don't overthink it. It's easy to assume that starters are a complicated project and that messing the whole thing up is a foregone conclusion. However, Cass says that there's no point in overthinking your starter-making."It's been done for years! Just make sure that you believe in the process," Cass says. Luke agrees that you should "go in with confidence." She also emphasizes the fact that "sourdough starters are super resilient. If you think it's dead, it's probably not. If something seems wrong, it's usually nothing that a few feedings can't fix."

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Insider's takeaway

Daunting though they may seem to a baking novice, sourdough starters are an easy albeit time-consuming project, and they can result in big rewards in the form of delicious bread and other culinary treasures. Take your time, have faith in your process, and remember that your "mistakes" are fixable.

Taylor Tobin

Taylor Tobin is a contributing writer for Insider and a freelance food and beverage journalist with bylines at Eater, Food & Wine, Austin Chronicle, Wine Enthusiast, and Southern Living, among others. She lives in Austin with her rescue dog Marty McFly, who keeps her company as she tests kitchen products at home, develops new recipes, and visits cafes, beer gardens, and restaurants throughout the city. Follow her on Instagram at @tee_tobes.

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How to make, feed, and maintain sourdough starter from scratch (2024)

FAQs

How to make, feed, and maintain sourdough starter from scratch? ›

Common feeding ratios for sourdough starters include: 1:1:1 Ratio: This ratio means using equal parts of flour, water, and starter by weight. For example, if you have 100 grams of a starter, you would feed it with 100 grams of flour and 100 grams of water.

How do you feed and maintain a sourdough starter? ›

How To Feed Your Sourdough Starter (at a Glance)
  1. Remove and discard half of your sourdough starter.
  2. Feed what's left in the jar with equal parts flour and water by weight (1:1:1 feeding ratio).
  3. Let rise at room temperature (covered or airtight) ideally 75+ F, until bubbly, active and double in size (2-12 hrs.).
Jan 3, 2021

How often should a sourdough starter be fed to maintain an active culture? ›

Leaving it out on the counter, it will need to be fed equal parts water and flour every 12-24 hours. Warmer homes or frequent baking will require more frequent feeding (around every 12 hours), while colder homes every 24 hours. Storing your sourdough starter in the fridge will require feeding around once a week.

Do you have to discard sourdough starter every time you feed it? ›

Do I have to discard my sourdough starter? It would be best if you discarded some portion of your starter each time you feed it unless you want to continue to let it grow. Eventually, you need to discard the used “food” (flour and water) that's been used to sustain your starter during the last fermentation period.

What is the best ratio for maintaining sourdough starter? ›

Basically, if you want to build strength in your starter stick with a 1:1:1. If you want to maintain a mature starter, use a 1:2:2. ALWAYS WEIGH YOUR FEEDINGS. The most important part of sourdough is precision so buy a cheap kitchen scale.

What is the best flour for maintaining sourdough starter? ›

All-Purpose Flour: All-purpose flour, which is a blend of hard and soft wheat, is a popular choice for feeding sourdough starter. It provides a good balance of protein and starch, which promotes a healthy fermentation process.

Should I stir my sourdough starter between feedings? ›

It is important that you stir the sourdough starter every day in the morning and in the evening. Feed the starter. Add 60 g flour and 60 g lukewarm water, stir well to combine, and let sit out for 24 hours.

Do you cover sourdough starter after feeding? ›

Once you feed your starter, cover the vessel with a breathable lid, and leave it alone at room temperature. After 6 hours (more or less), repeat the process: discard most of it and feed it with 40 g each flour and water.

Why is my sourdough starter bubbling but not rising? ›

If your starter gets completely covered on top with bubbles but does not rise, it is healthy but may just be a wet mix. Try reducing the water in your next feeding and see if you have different results. Also, the type of flour you are using can impede the rise of your starter.

Can I leave my sourdough starter out overnight after feeding it? ›

Can I leave my starter out overnight after feeding it? Yes, if you have just fed it.

What happens if I dont feed my sourdough starter every day? ›

Don't worry — everything will be just fine. A sourdough starter is often likened to a pet, but unlike a puppy, if you forget to feed it when you're supposed to, nothing bad will happen. Because even though starters are technically alive, they're incredibly resilient.

Can I use sourdough starter without feeding it? ›

Let me tell you a secret that I've discovered from my own baking: So long as you're a pretty experienced sourdough baker, you don't have to always feed your sourdough starter and wait for it to double before using it in a recipe calling for ripe starter.

What is the healthiest flour for sourdough bread? ›

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.

How often should I clean my sourdough starter jar? ›

Have you ever wondered whether you have to clean your sourdough starter jar? The simple answer is you don't need to clean your sourdough jar. It's just not necessary to clean your jar all that regularly, unless it's super crusty or you can't get your starter out or fresh flour and water in.

What is the best schedule for sourdough starter? ›

There is no single best ratio, but I've found a ratio of 1:5:5 fed twice daily at 12-hour intervals to produce a sourdough starter that's strong and healthy. This ratio corresponds to 20% ripe starter carryover, 100% water, and 100% flour (a mix of whole grain rye and white flour) at each feeding.

How often do you change sourdough starter jars? ›

I keep my starter jar very clean by scraping down the sides and wiping the rim every time I feed it, so I transfer it to a clean jar once every few weeks. If you keep a very messy starter jar you may want to transfer it to a clean jar more frequently. The only thing that can really kill your starter is mold.

How do you keep sourdough starter alive? ›

We keep our whole wheat sourdough starter alive by feeding it whenever we use some of it to build up a leavener for making bread. We store the starter in a lidded glass jar in the fridge. We make bread once or twice a week and this method has been working for us since the starter was created in July 2017.

How long can a sourdough starter go without feeding? ›

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. When you want to use the starter again, remove it from the fridge for a few hours, then feed it every 12 hours for 36 hours before you make bread with it.

How often do you feed sourdough starter left on the counter? ›

Before using your starter, you may want to feed it every 6 to 12 hours for 24 to 48 hours to get it nice and active. From the counter I like to feed it every 12 hours for 24 hours and then 4 to 6 hours before use. This ensures the best rise and taste in my breads.

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