Managing Your Sourdough Starter
Before you watch this video on sourdough starter maintenance, please know that it really isn’t a big deal to keep your sourdough culture alive and healthy. A good starter is naturally very hearty and robust. If I were as strong as my starter is, I’d be competing in Iron Man competitions. At a minimum, all you have to do is throw some flour and water in once in a while to keep it alive during periods when you’re baking infrequently. To keep it near optimum health, feed it once a week or so and keep it refrigerated.
If you’re baking regularly, say weekly or bi-weekly, it’s easy enough just to feed it after using the amount called for in your recipe before returning it to your refrigerator. If you really want to be sure your starter is in optimum shape, feed it once or twice the day before baking or the two days prior to baking day. In addition, here are a few points that are worth noting…
- When you feed your starter, feed it with approximately equal weights of flour and water. That equates to about 2/3 to 3/4 cup of water for every cup of flour.
- As a general rule of thumb, the amount you feed your sourdough starter depends on how much of it you have to start with. When practical, you want to approximately double the amount of starter you have each time you feed it. However, if you already have a couple cups of starter on hand and typically only use a cup of starter in your recipe, it doesn’t make sense to have to double the existing two cups of starter. In this case just dispose of a cup or more of the starter and then double what remains.
- If it’s been a long time since you’ve fed your starter and you don’t plan on baking for a while, don’t feel like you have to go through a big rigamarole to keep it happy, just stir in a 1/2 cup of flour and about the same amount of water and forget about it. That will at least buy you a few more weeks before you have to worry about it again.
- If you really don’t think you’re going to use your starter at all for a very long time, (some people don’t bake during the summer months, for example), you could dry some starter and freeze it. It will store this way indefinitely. Then revive it in the fall. See the videos on drying starter and reviving dried starter.
- If you need a whole wheat or rye starter, it’s easy to convert your white flour starter by just a few successive feedings with the flour you want. You may have to adjust the water as some flours are thirstier than others.
I’m really belaboring this subject. Once you’ve played around with sourdough starters for a while and baked some with it, you’ll know all you need to know and develop a sense for what works best. If your bread is not rising as much as you think it should (you’re not getting the desired oven spring) then try what I said about feeding your starter a couple of times in the 12-24 hours before starting your recipe.
As with anything on this web site, if you have any questions or comments about anything please ask in the space below.
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My starter stayed in the fridge (in the coldest part) for almost a year with no feeding…I opened it up, stirred, fed it and it is just bubbling away…Eric is right, it is very hardy stuff. The bread turned out beautifully.
Roni,
Eric’s comment about overfeeding the starter w/ sugar items (high sucrose) is right and explains why my starter has been overflowing on the days I feed it w/ honey or malt. I personally like the taste of these things and the aroma of the starter, although sour, is still plesant and imparts a ncie aroma to the bread—at least it’s nice to my sensibilities. The last loaf was my best ever, I think, as far as taste and texture and crust and crumb. But, there were so many other things I played with in making this loaf like coating the dough with crisco to keep it from drying out while letting it rise for several hours on its third rising after thawing it from the freezer and from the fridge then stretching the dough and actually thinking I wa probably overkneading which wasn’t the case. Also, I also put some olive oil in my clay baking pot and put in sesame seeds which was an idea I got from one of Eric’s great videos, then not being content with that, I generously sprinkled some McCormicks Italian Seasoning over the sesame seeds then put the just kneaded dough on top of the seeds and seasoning and pushed down lightly to force the seeds, etc to adhere to the loaf then turned it over to rise. The bottom of the clay pot, I did not soak, but I did the top for almost 30 minutes, and hours later when the loaf had risen a little more than double, i sprinkled the loaf w/ rock salt lightly. Almost forgot, while kneading this loaf, I took several garlic cloves and sliced them very thick, over an 1/8″, and kneaded those into the center of the bread. I discovered the combination of oil, butter and crisco on the loaf along with the steam from the porous soaked clay lid created this really wonderful textured and chewy crust that was lighter than the bottom and somewhat up the sides because the bottom was not soaked, but oiled w/ olive oil and seeds.
The toast I made with it was really good and tasted like a NY “everythng” bagel, especially with the chewy texture which became crunchy with the toasting.
I guess what I like doing is taking a recipe, whether its starter or a loaf, and using the inital directions as a point of departure….most times I find the end result to be really a treat, but always the journey getting there is the best experience of all.
Bernie Piel
In regard to using sugar or other sweetner in the feeding and management of your sourdough starter. Other than perhaps giving a new starter a jump, and even that is really not necessary, there are consequenses in the continuance of the practice of using sugar or other sweetners long term. The flour has all the sugar the natural yeast in the starter needs to flourish. That’s why it’s called “feeding” the starter. Adding sugar to the starter causes the yeast to binge, but then it also gets starved once the sugar is gone. The result of the binge is the over flowing container. The sugar causes the population of yeast to grow uncontrollably to the point that it will take quite a bit of flour to feed it. You want a “sour” dough starter not just a “yeast” starter. You want to achieve a balance in your starter between lactobacillus bacteria (the sour) and natural yeast (the rise). That being said, if you like your starter, the rise of your bread and the taste, that’s what counts. Don’t let me go purist on you.
Wil
Bernie Piele Thank you for sharing the different additives to the Basic Starter….I will certainly be playing more and being more adventurous. The Guinness and Malt sounds like a winner.
Hi Jackie,
Sure, that’s fine.
I run into the sourdough Mt. Vesuvious effect too sometimes. So much fun cleaning up.
In this video your starters are much more liquid than the ones you use in other videos making bread. My starter was more like pancake batter too. I’ve been using 1/4 cup in your recipes with good results. Then this morning I decided that I wanted it to be thick like the one in your Sourdough Rye video. It was so active last night after feeding that it ran over the top of the jar. I used some and then fed the remainder a half cup of flour & no water. Was that okay?
Hi Catherine,
I would just double bag some in a zip lock type food storage bag. The plastic will flex enough to accommodate some expansion from the starter. It should easily tolerate the journey.
In a few weeks we will be flying to our annual ski trip and want to take our sourdough starter with us so we can have fresh baked bread and we can then share it with our friends so they can take the sourdough starter home with them. What is the best way to store and transport the sourdough for the flights?
Well, I’m happy to report that the starter I made using rye flour 2 C; H20 1 1/2 C; 2 tsp commercial yeast; and 3/4 cup Guinness has turned out quite well. 2 days later I added 1/2 cup of buttermilk and same amt of rye. 3 days later I added 1/2 cup of spelt and 1/2 C of H20 and a tsp of honey. I had to keep adding flour because the additional sucrose caused the yeast to become hyperactive and it overflowed my container while in the fridge. Other than the initial commercial yeast in the beginning, I’ve not added more yeast. This afternoon, I added more rye, H20 and malt barley, just 1 tsp of the malt barley. I forgot it on the counter while I went to a cooking class and it had bubbled up nicely–very foamy, but also very much out of its container, again. However, I finally noticed that the starter has this really great pleasant rustic smell to it that is almost heady. Tomorrow, it’s try making sourdough.
I’ll say one last thing. I read about 12 books today regarding sourdough starters–one of these was from 1942, several were of more recent vintage. But what I gleaned from them is that starter is nothing to fret over. If it doesn’t bubble, then give it some time. Feel free to experiment with beer, milk, grape skins or whatever you want. I’ve been lucky enough to mentally taste what I throw together and I know not to add some obvious things that could create a chemical or negative organic event that could be detrimental to the final product, but even one’s health. If you think about the people that came across this country to settle it–they didn’t have refrigerators, they didn’t have packages of Red Star or Fleischmann’s to help them along, nor did they have containers that would seal out every little microbe that they’d brush up against while heading west on horseback or a conestoga wagon. So, I don’t think we need to be so worrisome about our starters—I have a feeling if you keep it wet, keep it from freezing and drying out, feed it its pinch of flour or whatever flavorful foodstuff that might seem tasty and an occasion bit of sweet—these things will pretty much take care of themselves. My only drawback is that my starter seems to want a bigger jar and so I guess I’ll get one to make it happy. Thanks for listing some great books on the site. Br. Reinhard is my new best hero.
Hi,
I think I might be having problems with my starter. It doesn’t seem to be rising like your does when I feed it. I usually feed it and put it back in the fridge, but it never really rises. I’m using 100% whole wheat. Last night before I went to bed, I made the recipe on your website, “Sour Dough No-Knead Method”. This morning when I woke up (about 8 hours later) it hasn’t seemed to rise very much at all. I usually make bread with instant dry yeast and therefore know what risen bread should like it, but this hasn’t really bugged. Do I need to let me starter ‘rise’ out of the fridge before I use it? Or can I just take it out and add it to my recipe. Any suggestions as to why my starter is having issues? Should I start all over again? Thanks so much.
Hi Eric,
Thanks so much for this on maintaining starter! I was excited about making my first successful starter with your first video. Then my oven broke–I needed a new baking element. I’ve done so much bread baking last year, that I wore out the element.
So I didn’t know what to do with the starter. Your video really breaks it down for a starter novice like me. Thanks so much! And, I can’t wait to get my dough whisk from you!!!
By the way, that dough docker we discussed isn’t only for crackers. It works great on pizza, so it doesn’t bubble up.
Be well, Judy Lederich
Hi Bernard,
You might get the results you’re looking for if you used durum flour instead of semolina flour. Semolina is made from durum wheat but a significantly courser grind. Too bad durum flour is much harder to come by. Check out this page: http://www.breadtopia.com/sicilian-no-knead-bread/
I’m fairly new at both bread baking and even more so with using sourdough starters. After reading several articles, none of which are here, mainly from some cooking texts of mine, I came to see how simple it was to make a starter. But, I also remembered many years ago reading that the type of starter strongly influenced the taste of the final product. I’m a tinker at heart, I make no apologies. So I made a starter using rye flour, a standard packet of dry yeast, a cup of water and a half cup of Guinness beer. (I have friends who would say that was a waste of good beer!) But, it did give a nice malty kind of odor that I think would have been a great addition to any bread—if you like malty flavor, I suppose. A few days later, after using it for some pancakes, i.e., adding a half cup to the pancake batter, I decided to add some buttermilk to the mix and a Tbs of honey. BTW, the pancakes were absolutely the best I ever ate. Seconded by a friend. Tonight I decided it was time to try to make a semolina based, sourdough Italian loaf. The bread was beautiful and tasted great, but I don’t think it was the true, airy Italian loaf that I’m used to–one that is easily compressed and many airbubbles throughout the bread. Also, one question, the recipe did not call for oil of any kind in the dough. Is this normal for Italian bread? Could the reason the dough didn’t have the nicy airy texture be because I used the semolina flour (mix was 50/50 bread flour and semolina)? Yes, I let the dough rise twice, doubled in bulk both times. The bread is very tasty, but the texture isn’t what I remember for Italian bread–any suggestions or recipes would be greatly appreciated.
Hi Eric!
I just wanted you to know that in search of sourdough recipes, I stumbled on a site where they told you to mix the alcohol “gunk” in? Yuck.
In my initial learning I practically memorized your site, “they” are wrong and you are right! I’ve seen several sites on this subject in recent months, your is one of the best yet for information. I’m so glad I found it.
Thanks again.
Linda
Hi Julie!
It feels so good to have things turn out the way you envision them doesn’t it? I’m finishing my catering license this next month so I’m spending a lot of time brushing up on things I’ve forgotten and things I never knew. I enjoy learning when it comes to food and preparation. My favorite hobby in the world! I’m going to be using some of the recipes from this site. I’m excited.
Have a great week!!!
Linda
Hi Kent,
For many years I fed my starter with flour and milk. That’s how I thought it was done. And it is if that’s how you do it.
For the past many years, I’ve just used water and flour. Besides being more convenient, it’s going to keep longer (require less frequent feeding). Dairy in bread will soften the dough some too, but probably won’t be real noticeable unless the recipe calls for a large amount of starter. My 2 cents and hopefully somewhat accurate.
Any thoughts about water versus milk based starters? Growing up, we always had a milk based starter on the farm. I just received your starter (thanks), but haven’t used it yet. I’m just curious.
Hi Linda,
It is the supreme starter now! I use the basic recipe for no-knead sourdough: 3 cups bread flour, 1/2 c ww flour, 1 1/2 tsp salt, 1/3 c starter and about 1 1/2-2 cups warmish water. Perfection. Have a great weekend!
Hi Paul,
Either way is perfectly fine. You might not need to go the full 18 hours either. I’m usually in the 12-14 range, but that’s just me.
Greetings from a sourdough rookie. I am ready to use my first starter. I’ve noticed that one quarter cup added to whatever flour used is all that is necessary. My question is, can the starter be added right out of the fridge to the recipe and proof the eighteen hour or so? or should it be at room temp.?
Thanks
Paul
Hey Julie!
I’m so happy it worked for you. It’s a frustrating feeling to put so much work into something like that to find it didn’t take. Was it the sourdough I posted you tried?
Have a great weekend and happy baking my friend!
Linda
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