My sourdough starter has never liked the refrigerator.
But often, I have no choice. Chilling a starter is the best way to slow down its need for feedings. So when I travel or can’t bake for a while, I put my starter in the fridge. As a result, it’s always sluggish to ferment strongly when I pull it out and resume regular feeding. I’d even say it gets cranky—and for a good reason, the cold temperatures of a home fridge (39°F/4°C) inhibit the fermentation activity of the bacteria and wild yeasts that make up a sourdough starter.
In this guide, I show you how I use the Sourdough Home to feed my starter less often (even just once every 5 days!). Be sure to read on to the end for a sample schedule to keep your starter in the Sourdough Home and bake once a week.
After its cold slumber, I must give my starter at least a day, but usually several, of room temperature (or warmer) feedings to stimulate its usual fermentation power. If I try to use it earlier, it will only reluctantly ferment and leaven dough. The entire baking process requires more time, and usually, the resulting bread tastes flat with reduced flavor complexity.
But now that’s all changed with the Sourdough Home.
Why Can’t I Use My Sourdough Starter Straight From the Home Refrigerator?
The very cold temperature of a home refrigerator essentially puts the yeasts and bacteria in a sourdough starter into a form of hibernation. While their metabolic processes don’t stop entirely, their activity levels drop, hindering their ability to leaven and produce flavor.
Yeast prefers warm, moist environments to thrive and multiply. Thus, a cold sourdough starter will have less yeast activity than a starter at room temperature. Similarly, the bacteria, which contribute to the distinctive sour flavor of sourdough, are also less active in colder temperatures. Therefore, a cold starter can impact your sourdough bread’s texture and taste.
The Sourdough Home, on the other hand, can be set to a temperature that’s cool, not cold. With the ability to keep your starter cooler, but not as cold as a typical home fridge at 39°F (4°C), you can ensure it’s maintaining high yeast and bacterial activity but not so warm it requires feedings once or twice a day.
What is the Sourdough Home?
In my previous introduction to the Sourdough Home, I discussed how the device can be programmed to hold your sourdough starter at any temperature between 41 to 122°F (5 to 50°C). Because it both heats and cools, you can use it in warm temperatures to keep your starter cool for reduced feedings; and when the kitchen is cold, it can keep your starter fermenting vigorously and on almost any schedule.
And that’s the key: The Sourdough Home lets you keep a starter on your schedule, not the other way around.
Remember, sourdough is a living, breathing mix of organisms. Its care requires a delicate balance of the right temperature, feeding schedule, and good flour to ensure the best baking results.
The Sourdough Home lets you keep a starter on your schedule, not the other way around.
While the Sourdough Home itself is new, the idea of keeping your starter warmer or cooler to adjust its schedule is not. Bakers have instinctively found cool spots to slow fermentation or warm spots to speed things up for generations. What is novel, though, is just how easily this device aids that intuition.
How do I use the Sourdough Home?
Generally, I use the Sourdough Home in two ways when making bread:
- To adjust my starter’s temperature each day so that when I’m ready to bake, my starter is too
- To cool—but not chill—my starter so I can feed it fewer times each week
Let’s look at each.
Keep Your Starter Warm and Vigorous
The first way I use the Sourdough Home is the most obvious: I set it to 78°F (26°C) and keep my starter inside all day, every day. This warm temperature ensures it’s fermenting vigorously and is ready for me to use for making a levain at two points during the day (morning and evening).
The thing some might miss with this is that, yes, in the winter, the device warms your starter to hold peak fermentation activity, but in the summer, it cools to ensure your starter doesn’t get too hot over 78°F (26°C). It’s essentially an incubator that keeps fermentation activity where it needs to be.
Feed Your Starter Less By Keeping it Cool
The second way I use the Sourdough Home is to pause my baking during the week. Keeping a starter cool, but not cold, is a powerful way to slow fermentation activity without putting it in a state of hibernation. Playing with cool temperatures between 45-55°F (7-13°C) can make it possible to stretch out the time between starter feedings—but still keep it in a state of readiness.
In other words, the starter remains warm enough to properly ferment the dough for a tall rise and flavorful bread.
Let’s look at several of the temperatures and schedules I’ve successfully tested—but first, a question I know I will receive…
Wait, Can I Use My Sourdough Starter Straight From the Sourdough Home?
My preference when baking sourdough bread is almost always to make a levain, a preferment that sets the stage for consistent baking. When baking after using the Sourdough Home, I still make a levain, regardless of the temperature the device sets or how long my starter has been inside.
Considering that every starter is a bit different, it may be possible to use it straight from the Sourdough Home and directly mix it into a dough. Because the 2 and 3-day schedules are warmer, it will be more likely to succeed. However, the longer a starter goes without feedings—even at a cooler temperature—the more I would be inclined to make a levain to start your bake on the right foot.
Now, let’s look at a few schedules I’ve been testing.
My Go-To Sourdough Home Temperatures and Feeding Schedules
With the reduced sourdough starter feeding schedules below, I maintained my starter with the same ratios as I usually would: 20% ripe starter carryover, 100% flour, and 100% water (abbreviated with .2 / 1 / 1). For the flour, I use 20% whole-grain rye and 80% medium-protein white (or all-purpose flour).
For example, my feeding is usually 20g ripe starter carryover, 20g whole grain rye, 80g white flour, and 100g water (at room temperature).
Because all of these schedules start with the same sourdough starter and ratios, you can simply change the temperature of the Sourdough Home to determine how long it’s going to rest in there unattended.
| Sourdough Home Temperature | Time Between Feedings (Refreshments) |
|---|---|
| 55°F (13°C) | 2 days |
| 50°F (10°C) | 3 days |
| 45°F (7°C) | 5 days |
In testing the schedules below, I used my Beginner’s Sourdough Bread recipe, including making the levain from my starter directly from the Sourdough Home kept at the specified temperature and feeding duration.
Schedule One: How to Feed Your Starter Every Two Days
This is the shortest of the durations. I keep my sourdough starter in the Sourdough Home at 55°F (13°C), then on Day 3 in the morning, use it to make a levain for mixing a dough that day. At the same time, I feed my starter and put it back in the Home for another couple of days and repeat the cycle. This temperature is cool, but not so cold that it drastically impacts my starter. It’s like stepping off the soccer field for a short water break, then running back on, ready to play.
I usually feed my starter twice a day, but with my starter at this temperature, I was able to skip three feedings (with no action at all on Day 2!). While this may not seem like a lot of savings, it allows me to forget about my starter for a short while and get back to baking when I can.
| Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Morning | Starter: Feed (.2 ripe starter/ 1 flour / 1 water) | Starter: No action | – Make levain to mix that day – Starter: Feed and place it back in the Sourdough Home |
| Evening | Starter: No action | Starter: No action | Starter: No action |
Coming out of the Sourdough Home on Day 3, my sourdough starter looked exactly like it would have looked on any given day. After making a levain from this two-day stored starter and baking with it, I produced the following loaf:
The results were essentially the same as if I had fed my starter twice a day and kept it warm at room temperature. The crust was thin and crunchy, and the interior was light and airy—a delicious loaf of sourdough bread.
Schedule Two: How to Feed Your Starter Every Three Days
To reduce starter feedings even further, drop the temperature down to 50°F (10°C). As in the schedule above, feed it as normal in the morning on Day 1, set the Sourdough Home temperature, and forget about it until the morning of Day 4.
| Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Morning | – Starter: Feed (.2 ripe starter/ 1 flour / 1 water) | Starter: No action | Starter: No action | – Make levain to mix that day – Starter: Feed and place it back in the Sourdough Home |
| Evening | Starter: No action | Starter: No action | Starter: No action | Starter: No action |
Here’s how my starter looked coming out of the Sourdough Home on Day 4. You can see the starter has risen in the jar, is bubbly on the sides and top, and looks, well, like a normal ripe sourdough starter. This is good!
The results were fantastic. The levain mixed from the starter right from the Sourdough Home fermented as normal, as did the resulting dough mixed with the levain.
Schedule Three: How to Feed Your Starter Every Five Days
Taking things even further, when the Sourdough Home is set to 45°F (7°C), you can really stretch out the time between feedings. Still, even at a cool temperature, five days is a long time to go without refreshing a sourdough starter, and I see it as the most stressful of all the schedules. It’s more stressful because it’s been so cold for so long, and in need of new food (flour) for metabolic activity. It’s like being on a fast, we can do it for a while, but eventually, we need food for energy.
However, because the temperature of the starter is cool but not super-cold, it will still function to make great sourdough bread.
What’s great about this schedule is you can essentially bake only on the weekends, leaving your starter in the Sourdough Home the rest of the time (read on for a sample schedule for this). Like with the other two schedules, the key is you don’t have to do any feedings to ramp up your starter—just use it to make a levain immediately.
| Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 | Day 6 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Morning | Starter: Feed (.2 ripe starter/ 1 flour / 1 water) | Starter: No action | Starter: No action | Starter: No action | Starter: No action | – Make levain to mix that day – Starter: Feed and place it back in the Sourdough Home |
| Evening | Starter: No action | Starter: No action | Starter: No action | Starter: No action | Starter: No action | Starter: No action |
Here’s how my starter looked coming out of the Sourdough Home on Day 6. After placing my starter inside, it continued to ferment and rise even in the cold temperature, and near the end of Day 5 and on Day 6, it just sort of stopped and hung out there at the peak height. There were plenty of bubbles on top and at the sides, it was well-aerated, and it may have even fallen just a bit (which is okay). The aroma was mild, but there were hints of acetone, which is an indicator that it’s getting close to needing a feeding.
I found that when I made a levain from this colder starter, it took my levain 30 minutes longer than usual to ripen. Be sure you adjust the levain mixing water (by warming it) to compensate or give it a little more time before mixing the levain into the dough. As always, you want your levain to have risen in the jar, be bubbly on the sides and top, and have a sour aroma with a loose consistency.
Still, the results were really great. The dough fermented well and the final loaves sprung up with a beautiful crust and great flavor. For having such a simple starter feeding schedule, I’m more than happy with baking this way from time to time.
An Example Schedule to Bake Once a Week
Let’s say you want fresh bread for Sunday dinner, but you want to minimize sourdough starter feedings (and attention!) during the week. This is the schedule and settings for the Sourdough Home I would use to make it happen.
When transitioning to this schedule, the best way to begin is feed your starter and put it into the Sourdough Home at 45°F (7°C) the day you want to bake in the future.
For example, if you want to prepare dough for baking on Saturdays as shown in the chart below, make a levain and mix your dough as usual, then place it into the Sourdough Home at 45°F (7°C). Then, follow the actions listed in the chart to maintain it and make a levain every Saturday.
| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Morning | – Starter: No action (starter is in the Sourdough Home from last Saturday at 45°F/7°C). | Starter: No action | Starter: No action | Starter: feed and put in SDH at 55°F (13°C) | Starter: No action | – Make levain – Starter: feed and put in SDH at 45°F (7°C) | Bake loaves (in morning, afternoon, or evening) |
| Evening | Starter: No action | Starter: No action | Starter: No action | Starter: No action | Starter: No action | – Mix dough, retard overnight – Starter: No action | Starter: No action |
Sourdough Home FAQs
What size Weck jar fits in the Sourdough Home?
I use a ¾ liter Weck jar, but the 1-liter tulip jar will also fit.
Do I need to keep my starter jar covered in the Sourdough Home?
While unnecessary, I do still cover my sourdough starter when it’s in the Sourdough Home. The unit is mostly sealed, which helps keep the humidity at the right level, but placing the cover on my jar is a habit for me, and extra insurance just so no outside debris falls inside.
What if I need to keep my starter at a temperature below 41°F (5°C)?
The Sourdough Home doesn’t cool down this far. If you need a temperature below this, use your home refrigerator!
What’s Next?
The Sourdough Home is such an effective tool for the home baker because it allows you to adjust your starter-feeding schedule to fit around your schedule. This means you can bake only on the weekends, a couple of times a week, or every day—it’s up to you.
Since I bake just about every day, I’ll continue to maintain my starter with two-a-day feedings, but for those days when I know I’m not going to bake, I now have the option to put it on pause for two, three, or even five days, without resorting to using the super-cold home fridge. This means less downtime when I want to get back to baking again.
That’s refreshing.
Want to learn how to store your sourdough starter for a long time (like a month)? Check out my guide to storing a starter for even longer.
63 Comments
Hi, I just received my SD home and am excited to use it. This was a great article. I do have one question, once you make your levain do you let it ferment on your counter or do you place it back into the home?
I like to make my levain the night before I mix my dough. Can I just adjust the temp and then once my levain is ripe use my leftover and feed and place back in home at 45 degrees? Thank you.
Once I make my levain, I put it in the home so it’s ready when I want it to be. Once I use the levain, then I put my ongoing starter back into the SDH.
Thank you for your answer. I’m loving the SDH already. Let my starter rise yesterday at 75 degrees then lowered to 45 degrees until I’m ready to make my levain.
My SDH arrived this morning! Now – if the Weck jars would hurry up and get here 😉
You’re gonna love both, Johnny!
I am considering the SDH. I am tired of so so bread and temperature fluctuation.
I would bake once a week on Saturdays.
How would my schedule look like if I were to bake on a Saturday morning? I would like to make the levain before work and mix bread when I get home.
That levain would sit in SDH for approx. 9 – 12 Hours before mixing. Also my starter would need to slow down until I could feed it again and change places with the levain. I had thought of microwave with two ice packs. I experimented previously and found it to be approx 55* in microwave. Further experiments with that is pending.
What are your thoughts?
That should work, but definitely check out my in-depth guide to how I use the SDH:
https://www.theperfectloaf.com/sourdough-starter-the-sourdough-home/
Great information as usual! Do you ever adjust the temperature up or down as you get closer to baking, considering the longer schedules of 3-5 days between bakes?
Yes, I adjust the temp often depending on what I need. For instance, I can bump the temp up a few degrees to slow things down if I know I'm not going to get to my starter (or levain!) for a while.
Hi Maurizio, if I wanted to cut back from twice-a-day feedings to just one feeding per day, do you have any recommendations for that? A slightly lower temperature, or perhaps smaller carryover percentage? I currently maintain a pretty small starter: 5g carryover, 25g water (80F), 25g flour (30% rye, 70% ap) kept in the SDH at 78F. Thanks so much for any tips! I'm slowly working my way through the cookbook (and all of the pizza recipes on the website)!
I would first start by keeping the temp the same, but reduce the carryover. Then, reduce the temp slowly in 1-degree increments until it ripens just right. Means a lot to hear you got my book, I hope you're loving it. Sorry for the delay!
Hi. I’m interested in getting the SDH for my once a week baking but confused on how to use it. I’m curious how 41 degrees makes such a difference from my fridge which is 38 degrees. Also, I’m not clear on what you mean by leaving the levain on the counter and the starter in the SDH. When am I making the levain from my week-old starter, how and where am I letting that levain come to peak, and why isn’t it coming to peak in the SDH at a higher temp?
At lower temps like that, every degree makes a difference. Plus, the SDH is a small cabinet which gets to temp really quickly, compared to a larger fridge. You can definitely put the levain in the SDH at a warmer temp to ripen, in fact, I do this, too!
Hi Maurizio – I've been following you for years and having a great time. My grandkids are going to visit in the near future (they live far away 🥲). I want to introduce them to the joys of baking sourdough. They will still be toddlers for a while, but I'm trying to think of activities to draw them in. I think it will be fascinating for them, but want to engage them in fun ways. I picture sending them home with their own little loaves. I even bought little bread pans. Any thoughts? What activities can I engage those little minds with? – Thanks! Eric
Hey Eric! Great Q. I have a 7 and 9 yo and I am constantly trying to get them engaged in the kitchen, especially with bread. What they love doing is rolling out dough with a rolling pin and then cutting it into interesting shapes. I let them do this with scrap pieces of dough (that's very dusted with flour). Then, I let them shape small rolls and buns with my bench scraper. Finally, one thing they've also loved recently is making "baguettes." They love rolling out the dough into long sticks.
Oh yeah, one more thing! The grissini recipe from my cookbook , which are basically long, spindly breadsticks, is really really fun for kids!
Hope this helps and you guys have a blast.
Thanks so much! It’s a few years away, but now I can start planning. ♥️
Hi Maurizio, one question when you feed the starter do you put the jar then in the SDH or do you leave it on the counter for 10h at room temperature and then in the SDH. I got mine yesterday and want to start right. I want to use the Once a week baking schedule… feeding Thursday and Saturday. Saturday it stays on the counter while the levain is in the SDH. But what on Thursday? After mixing direct in the SDH or on the counter as well. Thanks in advance
Once I feed it, I put the jar in the SDH right after!
I bought one of these a few weeks ago, and I must admit that I was skeptical. In addition to using the SH, I kept a separate starter going, feeding it twice daily as I had done in the past in case the SH “killed” my starter.
Well, I can report that the SH works as advertised, and that Maruzio’s schedule made it easy! Even after a week, the starter in the SH has produced wonderful loaves, and it is so darn nice not to have to rely on twice-a-day feedings as I generally one bake once a week.
This tool is well worth the money, and I am very glad to have made the purchase! Highly recommended to anyone who is not baking bread on a daily basis. Heck, even if I were baking daily, I would still use it as I no longer have to worry about temp changes. This along with the BT Bread Proofer are two of the best investments I have made since I started baking about 4 years ago.
I'm so glad you found it helpful. It's changed the game for me over here. It's so much easier to keep things precisely where I want them.
Is there a printable version of the schedules?
I don't have one, but I'll work on a downloadable worksheet!
Just want to add …this is the best ever!! It works perfectly and makes life so much easier. Also not all that wasted flour! Thank you!
You're very welcome, glad you're enjoying it!
On this page you write “For example, my feeding is usually 20g ripe starter carryover, 20g whole grain rye, 80g white flour, and 100g water (at room temperature).” But elsewhere you say 70% white flour and 30% rye. Could you clarify please. I’ve been using the latter successfully but now I’m wondering! Thank you!
These days, I'm almost always 80g white and 20g rye. Either will work just fine, though!
I have go to stop reading your posts; just ordered this toy!
🙂
When creating the starter to you measure the rye flour, all purpose flour, and water individually and when adding to your starter each day
Yes, I measure all the ingredients!
Thank you so much for this! I was struggling a bit with the SDH until I began using your bake once a week method, adjusted for my baking day. I’m now on my third batch (feed Friday, make levain, feed starter, make bread on Sunday and bake on Monday) using your 1:4:4 ratio with Rye and AP to feed. Thanks to your tips, I’ve gone from hit or miss with the SDH to very predictable results.
Amazing, so glad to hear that, Susan! The SDH really changed the game for me here. Happy baking 🙂
So I’ve had my SDH for two weeks. I’ve noticed I have to use the 1:4:4 ratio recommended because my old ratio of 1:6:6 doesn’t seem to thrive. I’ve also noticed my starter is on the decrease when I leave it the full time/temp recommended. And last, I’ve noticed from some of your responses that you don’t use the SDH when you are getting ready to bake? You do NOT leave it in the SDH and pull starter from there but bring it out onto the counter? For how long?
Marcy—if your starter isn’t really taking off in there, try leaving more at that temp. So maybe 2:4:4.
When making a dedicated levain, I usually store that in the SDH while my starter is on the counter. If using my starter directly in a dough, then yes, you can leave it in the SDH!
Hi. In you one a week example. In cool temperatures would be a good idea put to make the levain inside the SDH at 26°C on Saturday and meanwhile the starter in the fridge? And after the levain is ready put back the starter in SDH at 7°C ?
That’ll work! I usually leave my starter out on the counter during that time, though. either way.
I have a SDH as well and I’ve been using it for quite a few months now. I keep it at 41 degrees (the lowest it will go) and use my 100% fresh ground whole wheat starter straight from it, while still cold. All my bread is made with 100% fresh ground flour, and even when using starter that has been in the SDH for almost 2 weeks, the rise is amazing!!! My biggest problem – not letting it over proof! Those flat loaves still taste yummy, but they just don’t look as nice!!! I also never have any discard unless I make more starter because I want to.
Fantastic to hear all of this, Rebecca!
I just bought a Home and have my starter in there at 5C (to see how long it will take to rise to peak). Now reading this, and seeing your schedule for baking on the weekend, I am def going to follow this way. I am excited to have the starter be more active and not have to worry about ramping it up with multiple feeds before baking. Thanks for an awesome guide!
You’re welcome, Monika! Let me know how it’s going once you try out my schedules above.
Hi Maurizio!
Thanks for another great article 🙂. I have a question. In your book (TPL, which is the best sourdough book I’ve ever read) you make the levain the evening before baking. So I was just wondering how the baking shedule looks for making the levain the same morning as mixing the dough. Do you use other porportions or higher temperature to make the levain ready quicker? Another special thanks from Sweden for writing out celcius as well as farenheit
Appreciate that, Anders! Yes, check out my 3 and 5 hour levain options in the book (and many recipes here, too). When using those, I typically get up and make the levain, let it ripen, then use it later in the day.
You’re welcome about Celcius. I’ve just about switched over to this at this point, so many bakers work in C it’s hard not to 🙂
Hi Maurizio – I’ve been using your fantastic resources for a few years now; my go-to recipes are the Pane Perfetto and Fifty-Fifty Whole Wheat. My starter feed is your reduced amounts of 10g starter, 50g water, 50g all purpose flour. Can I use this formula for the 5 day schedule, 45 degree, straight from SDH to levain idea here? Is there enough food for my yeastie boys to make it work? Thanks for everything!
So glad to hear that, Eric! Yes, at that ratio and a cool temp, it should work fine. Be sure to adjust as necessary when you give it a try, it might need a little more flour + water to starter, it all depends on how your starter looks after those 5 days.
Just wanted to report back that after the first try of levain straight out of the SDH, the results are fantastic! This changes my entire weekly schedule: no more day-before warm up, feeding, sitting overnight. This is a game changer. And again, the results are great. PS. One time I accidentally proofed my loaves for 2 days in the fridge. The results were so good: lots of rise, lots of taste, that that’s my SOP now. 😊
Rather than buy a new gadget – I already have a proofer- I’m going to use my wine fridge. It has 2 separated sections whose temperatures can be adjusted to those of the SDH. Voilà !
That’ll work, Joanne! I did this a few years ago and it worked pretty well, though the wine fridge I have was super inconsistent (which is why I helped design the SDH!). But yea, use what you got if it works!
Hi Maurizio,
I have been using my SDH since you for some time and have been looking forward to your deep dive “how to”.
One thing I have noticed is that the starter volume does not seem to increase as much as when fermenting at the normal higher temps. Is that what you have experienced also?
Thanks in advance for your time and help.
Bruce
Glad you’re liking it, Bruce! Yes, I’ve seen this as well. I do get good rise, but it’s not quite as high. I’m not entirely sure if it’s an effect on the yeast or it’s because the mixture is cooler, and thus less extensible. My feeling is it’s not yeast, though, given how nice my bread has been turning out.
Hi Maurizio,
Thanks for the quick reply. I haven’t yet tried making my levain straight from the SDH. Usually I feed my starter a couple of times. After reading your post I am looking forward to trying that approach and really harness the power of the SDH.
Thanks for posting this guide, I’ve just ordered one.
I have a question about the mix of flours in your starter. I’ve been maintaining two starters, one that uses only rye (for baking rye loaves), and one that uses only AP flour (for baking everything else). I notice that you use both rye and AP flour in your starter. Do you think that a “mixed” starter like yours could work well for both rye breads and wheat breads? I’d love to maintain just one starter rather than two!
I hope you love it, Emilian! Yes, I use this starter for all my bread, then I make a levain for a specific bread if it has particular needs (for instance, if making rye bread and you want it strictly 100% rye flour).
Great article! I have been using the SDH for several months now and it is a bread game-changer. It has allowed me to plan my schedule more effectively. Thanks for your schedule(s) here as it’s been a learning process for me but I highly recommend the SDH. I had an issue with my first one, and the company was so quick to offer me a new one which has operated efficiently.
Thank you, Judy! So glad the SDH has been working well for you. Sorry for the troubles with the first unit but yes, their customer service is fantastic. Happy baking!
Hey Maurizio, great article there 😉
You just gave me a great gift idea for my birthday that is coming soon hehe!
5 days shedule seems to be perfect for the weekend baker as I am.
By the way I bought your book and it’s really great. It’s the best book I had so far, really well explained and formated.
Cheers from Québec, Canada.
Thanks so much! You’ll love the SDH, it’s a fab little device and just makes things so much more consistent and easy. also happy to hear you’re enjoying my cookbook 🙂 Happy baking!
I have a question. Let’s say I have the temp set for 45° and refresh at day 5. I don’t plan to bake. Should the newly refreshed starter stay at a warmer temperature for a few hours until there is some activity before placing back into the Home? And when I do want to bake should the starter warm up a bit before building the levain? Thanks
No, you can refresh the starter and just put it right back into the Home if you’d like (for another 5 days). Or, you can keep it at room temp until, say, the evening, feed again, then put it in the Home for 5 days at 45F.
No, you can make the levain from the starter straight from the Home!
I want to say thank you very much for publishing this article. It has turned baking SD loaves around for me. I just activated my membership and look forward to having interesting discussions around SD.
Great article Maurizio! I have had the Sourdough Home for a few months and love it. I have been using it mainly when I needed a break from feeding my starter or headed out for a weekend getaway. I have not used it as a (79 degree) permanent home for my starter. Been using the B&T proofer, but the B&T doesn’t cool which can be problematic in the summer. So love the idea of setting the SDH at 78 and using it year round.
Question on using it in cool (slow down) mode. Is there any reason to worry that keeping your starter at a low (say 50 degree) temp (feeding it every three days or so) over the long term will weaken it?
Super glad it’s working well for you, Gary! I don’t think it’ll weaken it over the long run, but I haven’t done this for very extended periods yet to test. I would say if you did start to see any negative affects, feeding it for a few days at warmer temps should swing it back into it’s normal state.
Thank you so much for sharing. My starter is struggling using the guidelines published by Brod & Taylor.
Let me know how this works for you, Cheryl! Remember, it might need small adjustments depending on your starter.