Learn how to feed, maintain and save a backup of your sourdough starter the simple way. This tutorial is designed for beginners and home bakers that wish to bake sourdough recipes and sourdough discard recipes with easy to follow directions.
There are MANY ways to feed and maintain a sourdough starter, and with so many tutorials online, the whole process can be a bit confusing.
In this tutorial, we break down how to feed and maintain your sourdough starter in a very easy and simplified way. Let's get started!
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How to feed sourdough starter
A sourdough starter is like a pet, it has to be fed and cared for on a regular basis. The good news is that it's not as complicated as you may imagine. There are really only a few reasons you might need to feed your starter. These include, but are not limited to:
- You bake daily and always need active sourdough starter on hand.
- You need active sourdough starter called for in a recipe.
- Your starter has been in the fridge for a while and needs to be refreshed.
How to feed sourdough starter daily
If you bake daily, feed your starter with equal amounts of flour and water and store it at room temperature. The amount of flour and water you feed the starter will depend on the amount of starter that is needed for the recipe you are following.
How to feed sourdough starter for a specific recipe
The portion of sourdough starter added to the dough is often referred to as active starter or levain. Simply feed the starter using the amounts called for in the recipe you are using.
Example: Our beginners sourdough bread recipe calls for ½ cup (50 g) of active starter. In order to build ½ cup of active starter, you will combine 1 tablespoon of your existing starter, with ½ cup of flour and ¼ cup of water in a clean jar. Stir, cover loosely and let rise at room temperature until it doubles in size.
How to feed sourdough starter if you don't bake often
Sourdough starter can be stored in the fridge, unfed, for over a week and up to a few months without it going bad. As long as the starter remains cold, the fermentation of wild yeast will slow down and basically keep them "asleep" until they are brought back into a warm environment.
Don't be alarmed to find a dark liquid floating on the surface of the starter if you haven't fed it for a while. This is referred to as hooch, an indication that the starter is hungry and is perfectly normal. You can pour this liquid off or stir it back into the starter before feeding your starter. Incorporating the hooch back into the starter will produce a more sour starter.
To refresh your starter after it has been in the fridge for a while: Discard all but 25 grams and add 100 grams of filtered water and 100 grams of flour. Mix vigorously with a spatula, cover lightly and set on counter for a few hours to allow the yeast to multiply. Place the jar back into the fridge until the next time it needs to be refreshed or you wish to bake sourdough.
Collect the discarded sourdough in a separate container and store in the fridge. Use it to make sourdough discard recipes like sourdough waffles, sourdough banana bread and sourdough cinnamon rolls.
The best flour and water to use
Any wheat flour can be used to maintain your starter. Two common and economical varieties are all-purpose flour and whole wheat flour.
Spelt, rye and einkorn varieties are also good choices for maintaining your starter. You can use a mix of flours in a sourdough starter. I feed my starter with a mixture of 75% all-purpose and 25% whole wheat flour.
A sourdough starter can be used to make bread recipes that call for flour that is different than the one you maintain it with.
For example, if you use 100% all-purpose flour to maintain your starter and you want to try a recipe that calls for whole wheat flour and bread flour, your existing starter will work fine. There is no need to feed the starter with the same flour as the recipe calls for.
Bottled water or tap water can be used. Tap water usually contains a small amount of chlorine, which could possibly affect your starter in a negative way. If you are concerned, remove the chlorine from tap water by evaporation. Fill a bottle with tap water and let it sit uncovered for 24 hours.
How to maintain
Store your sourdough starter in a glass container that is loosely covered. Wide-mouth canning jars with a canning lid set on top or Weck jars are our favorite containers to use for sourdough starter. You can use a piece of fabric or a coffee filter secured with a rubber band to cover the jar.
If you bake every day or several times a week, keep your starter at room temperature, and feed it daily. If you don't bake very often, store your sourdough starter in the fridge between bakes.
Example of how I maintain and feed my starter
I store my sourdough starter in the refrigerator, in a large covered container. When I want to bake sourdough, I take a small amount from the container and transfer it to a clean jar. The amount I take will depend on the recipe I am making.
For example, if I need 100 grams of active starter, I will use 15 g starter, 50 g flour and 50 g water. This will technically produce 115 g of active starter, but I 'd rather err on the side of caution and have enough for the recipe rather than too little. I let the starter sit at room temperature overnight so that it's ready to use, first thing in the morning.
Any remaining starter that is leftover, once the dough is mixed, gets transferred back into the container in the fridge. When I want to make a sourdough discard recipe, such as my favorite weekly sourdough pancakes or sourdough pizza crust, I take the amount needed from the container and add it straight to the dough. No feeding is necessary with sourdough discard recipes.
Once the sourdough starter starts to get low, I add equal amounts of flour and water to the container, let it rise for a few hours and then pop it back into the fridge to keep it going!
How to make a backup
It's wise to save a small amount of your starter as a backup. You could accidentally drop your jar or the starter could become contaminated by a fruit fly. (Fruit flies love sourdough starter!)
The last thing you want to do is start all over again!
How to dry sourdough starter
Spread 200 grams of sourdough discard into a thin layer on a silicone mat or a piece of parchment paper. Allow it air dry completely, about 3-4 days depending on the temperature and humidity of your kitchen. I place the sheet in a cold oven to keep it free from any debris that might be floating in the air. Place a sticky note on the oven so that you don't forget it's in there!
Once it's dry, break the starter into pieces and place them in a glass jar with a tight fitting lid. Store in a cool dry place for 6-12 months.
To revive the dried sourdough starter, add 50 grams to a clean jar with 100 grams of water and 100 grams of flour. Let sit for 24 hours and repeat daily until active and bubbly.
How to freeze sourdough starter
Pour the starter into an ice cube tray and place in freezer until frozen. Transfer the cubes into a freezer-safe container and keep frozen for up to 1 year.
To reactivate the frozen starter, place a cube into a jar and allow it to thaw. Once fully thawed, feed with 100g water and 100g flour. Feed daily until active and bubbly.
Recommended kitchen tools
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. For more recommended kitchen tools, check out my kitchen essentials page.
- BAKER’S KITCHEN SCALE (affiliate link) A kitchen scale is a must-have for baking sourdough bread.
- BALL JARS (affiliate link) Pint size, wide-mouth ball jars are the perfect size for 225 grams of starter.
- OXO SPATULA (affiliate link) This spatula is my favorite because it is very sturdy. I also like to use an offset spatula.
- SILPAT MAT (affiliate link) This is the silicone mat I use for drying out my starter. It can also be used to bake sourdough chocolate chip cookies.
How to Feed, Maintain and Backup Sourdough Starter
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Instructions
To feed sourdough starter daily
- If you bake daily, feed your starter with equal amounts of flour and water and store it at room temperature. The amount of flour and water you feed the starter will depend on the amount of starter that is needed for the recipe you are following.
To refresh sourdough starter that has been in the fridge for over a week
- Discard all but 25 grams and add 100 grams of filtered water and 100 grams of flour. Mix vigorously with a spatula, cover lightly and set on counter for a few hours to allow the yeast to multiply. Place the jar back into the fridge until the next time it needs to be refreshed or you wish to bake sourdough.
What type of flour to use
- Any wheat flour can be used to maintain your starter. Two common and economical varieties are all-purpose flour and whole wheat flour. Spelt, rye and einkorn varieties are also good choices for maintaining your starter. Your sourdough starter can be used to make bread recipes that call for flour that is different than the one you maintain it with.
How to Maintain
- Store your sourdough starter in a glass container that is loosely covered. If you bake every day or several times a week, keep your starter at room temperature, and feed it daily. If you don't bake very often, store your sourdough starter in the fridge between bakes.
What to do with discarded sourdough starter
- Collect the discarded sourdough in a separate container and store in the fridge. Use it to make sourdough discard recipes. Or use the discard to make a backup starter.
How to dry sourdough starter for a backup
- Spread 200 grams of sourdough discard into a thin layer on a silicone mat or a piece of parchment paper. Allow it air dry completely, about 3-4 days depending on the temperature and humidity of your kitchen. I place the sheet in a cold oven to keep it free from any debris that might be floating in the air. Place a sticky note on the oven so that you don't forget it's in there before turning in on to bake something.
- To revive the dried sourdough starter, add 50 grams to a clean jar with 100 grams of water and 100 grams of flour. Let sit for 24 hours and repeat daily until active and bubbly.
How to freeze a backup of sourdough starter
- Pour the starter into an ice cube tray and place in freezer until frozen. Transfer the cubes into a freezer-safe container and keep frozen for up to 1 year.
- To reactivate the frozen starter, place a cube into a jar and allow it to thaw. Once fully thawed, feed with 100g water and 100g flour. Feed daily until active and bubbly.
This post was first published in May 2020 and revised in February 2021 to simplify the instructions, with updated information and photos.
Katelin says
Hi! How do I share a starter? I was gifted a refrigerated starter and would like to share it with a friend!
Also, I’m still kind of lost with what to do with the starter I was given. Please help!
Amy Duska says
Hi Katelin! It's so easy to share a sourdough starter. Simply put some in a jar and feed it with equal parts of flour and water.:)
Alessia says
Hello, thanks for the advice and recipes. I am a bit confused about your starter maintenance routine- am I right in thinking you keep the 'mother' starter in the fridge, and only take a small amount out when you want to bake with it- So for the country loaf, you would take out 15 grams of the mother, then feed that 50g of flour and 50 of water, wait 12 hours then mix the dough. The mother starter in the fridge: does it get re- fed each time you take the 15 g out, so 7g of flour and 7 of water? (same amount you have taken out) or do you not feed the mother until it gets very low?
My starter is in the fridge, I make the levain the day before I bake, and feed the mother the same as I have taken out. Is it wrong? I don't discard any of the mother-but now I wonder if I am doing it wrong!
Amy Duska says
Hi Alessia, you are correct. I take from the Mother a small portion when I want to bake. When she starts to get low I feed her to build her back up again. They way you are maintaining is fine. There are so many ways to maintain a starter, what matters is what works for you and that you ensure you never run out 🙂
Alessia says
Thank you! Another question if I may: my levain almost never doubles in size...it only rises about 30%, but it is bubbly and floats after about 15 hours, so I use it regardless and the bread rises ok ( not as much as yours though) but I wonder if you have any tips...I follow your recipe 15g starter and 50/50 water and flour, normally half white wheat and half wholegrain. What can I do to make it rise more?
Amy Duska says
Hi Alessia, sometimes it just takes a little time for your starter to mature. You may want to experiment with using more starter in the recipe than what it calls for. If you are making the beginners sourdough bread, try using 100 grams of starter instead of 50 grams and see if that helps!
Brian says
Thank you for this. I was about to start searching for some information about starter for sourdough, and then your email alert came in -- perfect timing. This is very helpful; thanks again!
Amy says
Hi. I bake about once a week and store my starter in the refrigerator. If I want to take it out and use it to bake, am I supposed to stir down/ throw out the liquid and then use it or am I supposed to discard all but 25 grams, add 100grams of flour and 100 grams of water and then use that or let it sit on the counter for a couple of days, feed it and then bake ? Does my question make sense?
Thank you in advance
Amy Duska says
Hi Amy! Yes, discard and feed the starter and let it sit on the counter until doubled. You can use it to bake with when it's doubled in size. When I bake once a week, I take the starter out of the fridge, add 25g starter, 100g water and 100g flour to a jar, and let sit at room temperature overnight. The next morning the starter is ready for me to mix the dough with. Any remaining starter that is leftover gets transferred to my discard container in the fridge so that I can use it to make pancakes, pizzas and other sourdough discard recipes with!
Kathy Walgren says
Took my starter out yesterday and fed it. It doubled in size and was bubbly, but before I was to mix the dough, it had deflated back nearly to the starting level. Should I feed again and wait or just go ahead and use it?
Amy Duska says
It's better to use it before it starts to fall back down.
Megan Hensler says
Hi, I am new to sourdough and I am very confused on the storing process. My starter has been ready for a few days. I didn’t think about putting it in the fridge until I was ready to bake so I continued to feed it until I was ready for baking bread. I didn’t want to throw away the discard when I fed it each day since the yeast is active and doing well. But I didn’t want to store discard in the fridge. So today, after I fed the mother on the counter, I fed the discard portion to make it a mother and then store it in the fridge. But I did this 6x to 6 new jars because I didn’t know how to feed all of the discard to keep it a mother. So now I have 6 jars of mother’s in the fridge, but they are all stored separately. Can they all be stored together in one jar? I also didn’t know if I fed it correctly before placing in the fridge. There is so much discard left that I wanted to save it and feed it properly before storing it asleep in the fridge. I also did not let it sit for a few hours after feeding it and before storing in the fridge. Does that mean I ruined the mother in the fridge since it’s asleep?
Amy Duska says
Hi Megan! I know this whole process can be confusing at first. And believe me, when I first started years ago I had so many jars going too! 🙂 Just take all of the jars and combine the discard into one jar and place it in the fridge. When you are ready to bake, just take some from the jar and feed it in a separate jar. If you have any leftover after you bake, you can simply pour it into the discard jar. I hope this makes sense. Please check back in a week or two, I will be updating this post with clearer instructions! Please feel free to ask more questions 🙂
Lilly says
Hi I’m also really new at this just started today. I’m planning on when my starter is ready to bake only once a week. What do we do after using some of the starter for the bake. Do we feed it before we put it back in the fridge? And also another question when we feed the starter what’s the proportions of flour to water?
Amy Duska says
Hi Lily, after you use a portion of starter for your dough, you can simply place the jar back into the fridge without feeding. If your starter is gettin low in the jar you'll need to feed it to build it back up. Feed it equal weights of flour and water and place in the fridge. I usually use 100g water and 100g flour when I feed my starter.
Cecilia says
New to sourdough, I’m on day 7 of my starter. Yesterday I tried your discard pizza dough it was really delicious. It took a while about 20 plus hours for bulk fermentation, that was expected as my starter is not fully matured. It was exciting to see gas bubbles and air pockets in my dough. Thanks for your insight on starting and maintaining a sourdough starter. I plan on doing the discard method for a while I already have friends asking for a starter. Also plan to dry a starter. I really love that all the information is right at my fingertips. Looking forward to trying my first batch of sourdough bread and many other new recipes!! Thanks so much!!
Cindy Thomson says
I am re-dehydrating my stored sourdough starter. When you say give daily feedings until active and bubbly...how much am I feeding? I see a few small bubbles after 24 hours. How many days usually until it will be active again?
Amy Duska says
Hi Cindy, feed it daily like you normally would. I feed once a day with 25g starter 100g water and 100g flour. It will take about 3 days to get it going again!
Amy L says
I’ve been doing the no discard method for a while now, but i have been maintaining about a 1cup amount of the mother in the fridge, when I want to use it I take it out allow it to get to room temp then feed the whole thing the same amount of flour and about half the amount of water . Then from there I take what I need for my recipe. Then put it back in the fridge. It works well, it rises up and my bread turns out light and risen well, but is there anything wrong in doing it that way? After reading your tips I wonder why I have to transfer to a new jar?
Amy Duska says
Hi Amy! There is nothing wrong with your method at all! My guide is just for those starting out or anyone that needs help. The method I have for saving two containers is basically a little bit of a "guarantee" that you never use up all of the starter. When people are first starting out, this just helps them to always have some held back. 🙂
Stacy says
Hi! I am planning on trying your storing without a discard method. Question regarding feeding it the night before baking, 10g starter to 45g water and 45g flour does not quite follow the 1:4:4 method of feeding it. Is this still considered 100% hydration? Also, I would like to have 300 grams of active starter to bake with, so would I just triple all of those amounts - 30g starter, 135g water, and 135g flour? Thank you!
Amy Duska says
Hi Stacey, for the first question, yes it is considered 100% hydration because the ratio of flour and water being fed to the starter are equal weights. For your second question, yes, tripling those amounts will give you 300g of active starter. 🙂
Scott Stanley says
I LOVE your teaching style! Cooking/Baking became my CaronaHobby... I've had such a blast making things I never had taken the time to consider doing. I've read plenty and find your insight and how it's conveyed PERFECT!
Thanks a ton for the time invested! Can't wait to try all of these Sourdough recipes!
Best holiday wishes - Stay Safe & Healthy!
Amy Duska says
Thank you so much Scott!
Melanie says
When you ferment your sourdough for 7-12 hours (depending) at room temperature, do you just lightly cover the bowl or do you snap the lid on tightly?
Amy Duska says
I loosely cover my sourdough.