How to Feed and Store a Sourdough Starter

Feeding means removing some of the existing starter and mixing it with fresh flour and water. A common ratio is 1:1:1: 50 grams of starter, 50 grams of flour, and 50 grams of water. The remaining starter can be discarded or collected in a separate container and used in recipes that do not need to rise, such as pancakes, gözleme, or crackers. Discarding some may seem wasteful, but it is necessary: acid builds up in an unfed starter over a few days and can slow its activity enough that dough will not rise. The jar matters too: choose a wide-mouth glass container, and do not tighten the lid so gas can escape.

A starter kept at room temperature should be fed twice a day at 22-25°C / 72-77°F; once a day is enough in a cooler kitchen. You cannot tell whether the starter is ready by the time alone; judge by its volume: after feeding, it should grow to roughly twice its starting volume and reach its peak before it is ready for bread. A rubber band or piece of tape on the outside of the jar makes the rise easy to track. A starter that has passed its peak and begun to fall can still be used, but the bread will taste more sour. Water temperature also changes the schedule: a starter fed with warm water reaches its peak noticeably sooner than one fed with cold water.

If you bake bread once a week, the refrigerator is the right place for the starter. Feed it, leave it at room temperature for two to three hours to see that it has become active, then refrigerate it in a jar with the lid loosely closed. Activity slows considerably in the cold, so feeding once a week is enough. A dark, sharp-smelling layer of liquid can build up on a starter that has gone a long time without feeding; this is a sign that it is hungry. Pour off the liquid and feed the starter two or three times in a row to bring it back to its usual activity.

Take a dormant starter out of the refrigerator 1 or 2 days before baking, and feed it two or three times at intervals of six to eight hours; if it rises faster and higher with each feeding, it has woken up. Smell is another indicator: a healthy starter smells tangy and mildly fruity. If you see a pink, orange, or fuzzy mold spot in the jar, do not try to save the starter; discard all of it and wash the jar thoroughly. A darkened starter with no mold is simply hungry.