how to feed your sourdough starter
How to feed your sourdough starter to keep it happy, healthy and mold-free. Repeat this process every time you feed your starter, whether you’re feeding it daily, weekly, or monthly. If you’re planning on using it to make bread, feed it a few days in a row to make sure it’s nice and strong. Use the discard to make scallion pancakes.
Ingredients
- 4 oz 100% hydration sourdough starter (113 grams)
- 4 oz filtered water (113 grams) (equal to or more than the amount of starter, AND equal to the amount of flour)
- 4 oz flour (113 grams) (equal to or more than the amount of starter, AND equal to the amount of flour)
Instructions
- Use a kitchen scale to transfer 4 oz (113g) unfed 100% hydration sourdough starter into a bowl.
- Add 4 oz (113g) filtered or purified water to the starter and mix to combine. The starter will not dissolve entirely, it’s okay if some lumps remain.
- Add 4 oz (113g) flour to the starter/water mixture and use a bowl scraper or spatula to combine. Try to break up any large clumps of flour, but again, it’s okay if some smaller lumps remain. You shouldn’t see any obvious dry spots.
- Cover the bowl with saran wrap or a clean dish towel and let sit at room temp until bubbles form. Depending on how cold your water and starter were at the start, it may take anywhere from 1 to 4 hours for this to happen.
- Meanwhile, clean out the container you usually keep your starter in. Make sure it is dry with no remaining soap residue. Use that discard starter to make scallion pancakes or something. Have fun with it.NOTE: If you’re keeping your unfed starter as a backup, wait to do this until you’re sure the fed starter is bubbly.
- Transfer the newly fed, happily bubbling starter to the clean crock. If not using immediately, refrigerate. If you do plan to use it immediately, leave it out at room temp 6-8 hours (or even overnight) until very, very bubbly.
RECIPE NOTES
- If you haven’t fed your starter for a few weeks, you might see only a few bubbles at first feeding. Feed it two or three days in a row before you plan to use it and you’ll get the happily bubbled starter of your dreams.
- The 4 oz (113g) measurements in this recipe are just one of many, many ways to feed your starter. You can feed 1 oz of starter with 4 oz flour and 4 oz water. You can feed 1 oz of starter with 1 oz flour and 1 oz water. As long as the amounts of flour and water by weight are equal to or greater than the amount of starter, you’re good!