Feeding Sourdough Starter: Ultimate Guide

Feeding a sourdough starter is one of the most important parts of making great sourdough bread. It keeps the starter healthy, strong, active, and ready for baking.

Now, stick with me, and I will teach you how to take good care of your starter. In this guide, I will show you how to feed your starter to make sure it has the optimal balance of wild yeast and lactic acid bacteria.

Once your starter is active and established, whether you made it yourself or rehydrated a dried one, you will begin a regular feeding routine. Don't forget to print my sourdough starter feeding log to keep track of its progress.

And if you don't have a starter yet, start with my Beginner Sourdough Starter Recipe.

What is an active sourdough starter?

An active sourdough starter is an established colony of wild yeast and lactic acid bacteria. These microorganisms are responsible for making sourdough bread rise and give it a tangy, unique flavor.

The wild yeast in the starter eats the natural sugars in the flour and produces carbon dioxide, which is responsible for the fermentation process.

If you are starting from scratch, it may take approximately three to four months for the starter to mature. While you can begin baking earlier, the quality of your bread might vary. A healthy sourdough starter should double or even triple in volume before the next feeding.

Feeding sourdough starter: what it means

Feeding a sourdough starter means providing it with fresh flour and water to keep the wild yeast and bacteria alive and active.

This process also involves removing a portion of the starter before adding flour and water, a process known as discarding. Regular feeding keeps your starter strong and ready to help your bread rise.

Ingredients and tools

• Sourdough starter
• Sourdough starter container with a lid
• Kitchen scale: This is my favorite gram scale for feeding my starter.
• Flour: Use unbleached bread or all-purpose flour. Organic flour is a great choice. I use King Arthur Organic Bread Flour.
• Water: Use filtered, spring, or non-chlorinated water at room temperature. Avoid tap water with chlorine. To dechlorinate your water, leave it in an open container on the counter overnight.
• Jar spatula: This is my favorite jar spatula that fits perfectly in a 6-oz. sourdough jar.

How to feed sourdough starter step-by-step

Feeding your sourdough starter includes three basic steps:

1. Discard: Remove a portion of your starter.
2. Feed: Add fresh flour and water to nourish your starter.
3. Let it rise: Look for bubbling, rising, and a pleasant aroma.

Step-by-step starter feeding routine

• Prepare your jar: Start with a clean, empty jar. Weigh the jar (in grams) using a kitchen scale and write the weight of the empty jar in your sourdough log or on the bottom of the jar.

• Transfer the starter: Stir your existing sourdough starter with a jar spatula. Then, transfer 5g of starter into the clean jar. Record the weight of the jar with 5g of starter (base weight) and highlight it in your log.

• Feed the starter: Add 25g of water and stir well. Then, add 25g of flour and stir until the mixture is thoroughly combined. Cover the jar loosely and place it in a warm location, at a temperature of 75-79°F (24-26°C). Remember to mark the starter's level with a rubber band to track its rise.

• Let it rise: Check the starter periodically for signs of activity, such as bubbles and increased volume, usually visible within a few hours. Record the time it takes to reach its peak in a starter log.

Daily feeding routine (after 24 hours)

A sourdough starter kept at room temperature typically needs feeding once daily. Use at least a 1:5:5 ratio: one part starter, five parts flour, and five parts water.

Here is your daily feeding routine:

• Discard: Place the jar on the scale. Discard a portion of the starter until it returns to the base weight.
• Feed: Add 25g of water and 25g of flour. Mix well.
• Let it rise: Look for signs of bubbling, growth, and a pleasant aroma.
• Repeat daily, maintaining a 1:5:5 feeding ratio.

Optional variations

• Twice-daily feeding: If you prefer to feed your starter twice daily (morning and evening), consider using a 1:3:3 ratio (one part starter, three parts flour, and three parts water) instead.
• Low-maintenance storage: If baking only once a week, consider storing your starter in the fridge and feeding it once a week.

Top tip: You don't need to change jars with every feeding, but cleaning your jar every 1-2 weeks helps keep unwanted bacteria from affecting your starter.

How often should you feed sourdough starter?

Select a feeding schedule that naturally fits into your daily routine. If you have work or other commitments, consider feeding your starter once a day, either in the morning or in the evening. Try to stick to the same time each day to build consistency and avoid stressing your starter.

If you want to bake show-stopping sourdough loaves, grow your skills to sell bread, or simply achieve perfect results, consider feeding your starter twice a day, once in the morning and again in the evening.

As a Cottage baker, I feed my starter twice daily. This provides it with sufficient food and maintains it in optimal conditions, allowing it to stay strong and active.

I also use the Brod & Taylor Sourdough Home to maintain a steady temperature of 75°F (24°C). This helps me avoid the ups and downs of seasonal temperature changes and eliminates the need to adjust my feeding ratio constantly.

If you don't bake often, store your starter in the fridge. This way, you only need to feed it once a week to keep it healthy and ready when you need it.

How much should you feed your starter?

Let's make this clear: while the 1:1:1 feeding ratio is widely available on the internet, it is not sufficient to keep your starter strong and healthy, especially if you feed it only once or twice a day.

Feeding your starter at a 1:1:1 ratio means it is underfed. Over time, this weakens your culture, leading to sluggish fermentation and an overly acidic, less active starter.

Aim for at least a 1:5:5 ratio (one part starter, five parts flour, and five parts water) if you feed once daily at room temperature. This provides your starter with sufficient food to remain vigorous and thrive.

The following feeding ratios are suggestions and not obligatory, as each starter, the water temperature, the type of flour used, the room temperature, and the humidity differ. Since there are so many variables, use them as a guideline rather than a set rule.

Feeding Ratio	Feeding Frequency
1:1:1	Every 4 hours
1:2:2	Every 8 hours
1:3:3	Every 12 hours
1:4:4	Every 16 hours
1:5:5	Every 20 hours

During the summer, you may consider increasing the feeding ratio to 1:5:5 or higher once or twice daily to accommodate the warmer temperatures, but observe the starter's behavior.

Why sourdough starter rises and falls

A sourdough starter naturally goes through a cycle where it rises, reaches its highest point (peak), and falls. This process happens because of how the wild yeast and bacteria in the starter work.

When you feed the starter, you provide it with fresh flour and water, which supply the yeast and bacteria with sugar and starch to eat. As they eat, they produce carbon dioxide gas, which creates bubbles inside the starter.

These bubbles make the starter expand and rise inside the jar. The more bubbles that form, the higher the starter rises. However, once the yeast and bacteria have eaten all the food, the starter begins to decline, indicating it has passed its peak.

What is a hungry starter?

A hungry sourdough starter has run out of food, meaning the wild yeast and bacteria have consumed the available sugars in the flour. This is what happens when you feed your starter with a 1:1:1 ratio once or twice a day.

Before each feeding, check the so-called "snail trail" left by the starter on the sides of the jar. This mark is left behind as the starter rises and falls when it runs out of food.

If the starter completely collapses by its next feeding time, it is time to adjust its feeding schedule or ratio. For example, if you are feeding it a 1:2:2 ratio twice a day and it still collapses before the next feeding, try increasing the ratio to 1:3:3.

Watch for the starter to peak and then only slightly deflate, forming a flat top instead of collapsing. If this is the case, stick with that feeding ratio. If it has not yet peaked by the feeding time, decrease the ratio to 1:2.5:2.5 and observe.

Other signs of a hungry starter, when neglected for a prolonged period, include a strong, sour smell that may be unpleasant and the appearance of a thin liquid layer on top, known as hooch.

Sourdough starter maintenance tips

• Smell your starter before each feeding. A strong acidic odor indicates excessive acidity, which can help you troubleshoot and prevent baking mishaps.

• Use a kitchen scale to accurately measure the starter, flour, and water, as feeding ratios are based on weight, not volume. It is important to note that volume and weight differ; one cup of flour does not weigh the same as one cup of water.

• Always feed the starter with at least the same amount of flour and water (a 1:1:1 ratio) as is already in the jar after discarding, or even more. Never feed it less flour and water than in the jar. In short, avoid using a 1:0.5:0.5 ratio when feeding your starter!

• Feed your starter either at sourdough peak or anytime after. Avoid feeding it before it reaches its peak, as this dilutes and weakens the yeast colony.

• Avoid neglecting your starter for too long. Otherwise, the acid will build up, and you will continue to pass that acid into your next feed. Over time, it will result in a weak, acidic starter.

• When maintaining your established starter, set aside the discard for use in discard recipes, or use a no-discard method to maintain your starter.

• If you choose to dispose of the sourdough discard, avoid pouring it down the drain to prevent potential clogs over time. Use a spatula to discard the excess in the trash or compost bin instead.

• Before washing, wipe down the spatula and the empty jar with a paper towel.

• You can use a fresh jar daily or stick to the same one for daily feedings, as many bakers prefer continuity in the same jar.

• For optimal mixing, add water to the starter first, then add the flour. This allows the water to distribute evenly and hydrate the flour.

• After each feeding, make sure that you scrape down the sides of the jar with a jar spatula and wipe the rim clean with a paper towel.

• Make feeding your starter part of your daily routine, but if you miss a feeding occasionally, your starter will survive.

Feeding sourdough starter FAQs

Due to numerous questions about feeding and maintaining a sourdough starter, I wrote a dedicated post answering the 42 most common sourdough starter FAQs.

Here are a few more frequently asked questions and their answers worth knowing.

Let's talk sourdough

How often do you feed your sourdough starter? Have you tried different feeding schedules? I'd love to hear your experiences and tips in the comments below.

Ready to keep learning?

As you consistently feed your starter, you might wonder whether you need to discard a portion. Keep reading on

• Sourdough Starter Feeding Ratio
• 100% Hydration Sourdough Starter
• Do You Have To Discard When Feeding Your Starter?

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