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Learn how to feed a sourdough starter and maintain it so your starter is ready to use in your favorite sourdough baking recipes.

fed and active sourdough starter in crock.

A sourdough starter is a living thing and needs to be fed and maintained frequently. I know a lot of people are hesitant to get into sourdough baking because they feel it’s a lot of work and upkeep — but’s actually easy.

Once your starter is mature, it’s very simple to maintain and keep happy and healthy, so to speak. We keep ours in the fridge and take her out to feed the day before baking sourdough bread and sandwich bread. She hasn’t disappointed us yet!

Ingredients

Complete amounts are in the printable recipe card below.

Sourdough starer
Flour — Use all purpose flour for feeding — not bread flour.
Water — We use room temperature filtered water.

Recommended Tools

Kitchen scale — Even though we use cups to make sourdough bread and sandwich bread, we use a digital kitchen scale for feeding. You want to be as precise as possible when feeding a starter, while bread recipes are a little more forgiving.
Clear crock or jar — I purchased a clear glass crock from King Arthur — the same place I purchased my starter. It has measurements on the side, which is very helpful when feeding. You can use any glass jar, though.

How to Feed Sourdough Starter

First, you’ll scoop out a portion of the starter, and discard the rest into a separate container. You can use this for sourdough discard recipes later! Pour the amount you scooped out back into the crock, add water, and stir. Add the flour, and stir together. Then, cover the crock, and put aside to rise. That’s all there is to it. In a few hours, you’ll be ready to bake.

Feeding Schedule

How often you feed your starter depends upon how often you bake. We typically bake bread once or twice a week, so we store our starter in the refrigerator, and feed her once or twice a week.

If you are baking daily, you can store the starter on the counter and feed it before you baking. It’s really a personal preference.

Ratio

We use a 1:1:1 ratio, meaning 1 part starter, 1 part water and 1 part flour. If you feel your starter isn’t working, you can change this, but this ratio works for us.

Recipe Tips

Let the starter sit at room temperature about an hour before feeding for best results.

Mix the starter and water until the starter is fully dissolved before adding flour.

Use a kitchen scale for accuracy.

We usually clean the jar every 3-4 weeks.

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