My baking focus has lately been predominantly on my sourdough starter maintenance and maximizing fermentation. And recently, I’ve made some of the best bread I can remember (I took all the bread pictures in this post with this starter). So this post is somewhat a continuation of my Managing Starter Fermentation, but in this post, I’ll focus more on the signs for spotting when a sourdough starter is ready for refreshment (ripe) and how to perform that refreshment.
Be sure to check out my post on what flour, water, and carryover ratios I’m currently using to feed my starter in my How Do I Feed My Sourdough Starter post.
There are many methods to keeping your starter healthy and in proper working order, likely as many methods as bakers. Each baker has a process for maintaining their starter according to what works for them and the bread they seek. Each starter is unique, after all: a distinctive blend of wild yeast and beneficial bacteria that has evolved in the temperature it’s kept at, the flour used for refreshments, and the time between those refreshments. I wanted to preface this article because the following is what works for me here in my kitchen and will most likely work for you as well, but I guarantee you’ll find yourself modifying my method to suit your environment. That’s to be expected. An essential requirement for a baker is flexibility and adapting techniques and inputs so everything performs optimally in your kitchen. In the end, your sourdough starter maintenance routine might be similar to mine, or it might be quite different.
I can remember back to when I first dabbled with creating my sourdough starter. I read all the books I could get a hold of; I searched online, anywhere I could find information. Once I got things up and running (using the process described in my seven steps to creating a sourdough starter entry), I followed refreshment schedules outlined in various books, and things seemed to work pretty well. But my bread didn’t improve until I modified things to suit my environment, schedule, and unique starter. As I refreshed my starter each day (feeding sourdough starter), I began to take note of things, how it looked when I neglected to refresh it for too long, how it looked after a few hours with new food, and how the smell of the starter changed throughout the day.
My goal for this entry is to convey the signs I look (and smell) for during the single-day microevolution of my sourdough starter. First, what does it seem and smell like right as I refresh it (at the start)? Then, what should it look like when I decide to refresh it again or use it for making bread? And finally, what does it look like if it’s gone too far and starts to become overly acidic? I receive frequent emails on this topic, and I hope this entry will be a visual guide to those wondering how I care for my starter.
With this post, I’m hoping to help you answer the following questions:
- What is feeding (I usually call it refreshing) a sourdough starter?
- How soon after feeding (refreshing) a sourdough starter can I use it?
- What does feeding my sourdough starter once (or twice) a day look like?
A quick note for those out there who follow my writing very carefully: you’ll notice this entire entry is about a liquid starter/levain and not about a “stiff” variety I had been baking with for almost a year. I recently shifted things back to using a liquid starter after a long while with a stiff variant, and I have to say I prefer how my bread is turning out with my change. If you use a stiff starter, some of this entry will be relevant to you, but the visual cues will be different as the consistency of your starter will be different. If you haven’t used a liquid starter/levain, I suggest you experiment with this and try it out, you might be surprised at the difference, and you might prefer it. I’m not suggesting one is better than the other, but rather a personal preference whereby I like the taste and performance of this liquid levain for the bread I’m currently baking.
If you’re curious and looking to dig more into preferments, see my guide to the differences between a sourdough starter and a levain.
Sourdough Starter Background
The key to coaxing out maximal fermentation with your starter is to be observant. Watch how it evolves throughout the day and note how long it takes to reach full ripeness: a strong sour aroma, a breakdown of the mixture, significant bubbles on top and at the sides. If it’s doing this too fast (for example, you refresh at 8 a.m., and it ripens at 2 p.m. when you’re at work), you can reduce the water temperature, change the ambient temperature, or reduce the amount of mature starter you carry over at each refreshment (this is what I do). You want to try to refresh your starter right when it’s at its peak ripeness or shortly thereafter.
The key to coaxing out maximal fermentation with your starter is to be observant.
Once you have a healthy starter showing the same signs of fermentation every day, you will be able to adopt a consistent sourdough starter maintenance schedule. I work this into my daily routine: I refresh my starter when I eat breakfast in the morning, and then I refresh again in the evening as I’m cleaning up the kitchen getting ready for bed. It only takes a few minutes (see my tips later on tools to make things easier).
Your starter will go through the following phases each day, but the times will most likely be different. For example, if fermentation is slow (due to temperatures or percentage of starter carryover, for example), then the signs I point out below might be at greater intervals, and conversely, if fermentation is fast, then the ranges will be tighter. As I mentioned initially, if you’ve not yet started your sourdough starter or received a portion from a friend, I have an intro article to creating a starter that will get you going in a few days.
Let’s look at a day in the life of my starter.
Sourdough Starter Maintenance Timeline
Before we dive into the timeline, I want to point out that below I refer to two things: my starter, which is what you’re here for in the first place, and also a levain. I talk about both almost interchangeably because mostly, they are the same thing. Your starter (mother, chef, etc.) refers to your yeast/bacteria culture you continue to refresh and care for indefinitely. In contrast, your levain is a splinter, or off-shoot, of your starter that you refresh and build only to be used in a bread recipe eventually.
For the timeline below, I used 30% whole grain dark rye flour and 70% medium-protein bread flour (similar to all-purpose, but geared toward bread baking). The percentage of flour types is really up to you; I used a little rye flour to help increase fermentation and acetic acid production, but you can use any ratio of flour you’d like (e.g., 100% whole wheat, 100% white, a mix of both, etc.). Just take note of how each flour type aids or slows fermentation.
10:00 a.m. – Sourdough starter maintenance beginning
The first step is to take your mature sourdough starter, discard some part of it, refresh it with fresh flour and water, and cover (I only loosely cover with a glass lid that does not seal tight). My kitchen is currently around 75°F (23°C), and my mixture is 70g white flour, 30g rye flour, 20g mature starter, and 100g room temperature water.
You can get a sense of how “stiff” my starter is after mixing. You want to make sure you mix everything thoroughly so it’s completely smooth with no visible clumps of dry flour.
I’ve placed the green rubber band at the beginning level of my starter so we have a good sense of how far it will rise throughout the day.
12:00 p.m.
After only a couple of hours, you can see only slight activity visible in my starter. The smell at this point would be very, very sweet, and practically the aroma of flour and water. So sit tight; things are about to get more interesting.
2:00 p.m.
As seen below, four hours after refreshment, we have a significant expansion, a tad over 100%. In the image at right, you can see that the top is domed with a few bubbles peeking through. The mass of dough is trapping quite a bit of the gas produced through fermentation. I like to use a glass container, particularly these Weck jars, not only because it allows me to see firsthand how fermentation is progressing but also because the flared top makes sticking your hand and spatula inside very easy. I not only use these tall jars for my day-to-day starter and refreshments, but I also use them to build my levain before baking.
You’ll notice there’s quite a bit of activity already. Of course, after this initial explosive growth, things will slow down, but upward growth will continue for many hours.
3:00 p.m.
At this point, there’s only slightly more expansion than the last check-in. But, you can see many more bubbles on top and at the sides, showing signs of the momentous fermentation taking place. All of these are good signs.
When you build your levain in preparation for baking, you may not always be able to see through the side of the container; the top-down view is sometimes all you have to judge your starter’s readiness. For example, bubbles and holes on top are a good sign, but my starter is not ready to be fed or used now. If this were a levain and not my starter, and I was attempting to use this at a “young” stage, this is most likely where I would use it for mixing my bread.
Another key indicator here is the aroma: how does it smell? Is it still sweet, sourer, or very acidic and vinegar-like? At this point, mine still has a sweet aroma to it, with a very subtle backdrop of sourness starting to creep in.
5:00 p.m.
By this time, we have significantly more bubbles at the sides and the top; overall fermentation activity is much higher. If I were to describe the aroma of the starter at this point, it would still smell quite sweet at it was at 3:00 p.m., but now the sourness is starting to escalate and build.
Given the look and aroma, I can expect my starter to rapidly come to ripeness very soon.
7:00 p.m.
You’ll notice here at 7:00 p.m. any dome that was once at the top of the starter is now gone, replaced by a reasonably flat surface. The flattening of the top usually indicates upward growth has significantly slowed, and upward movement won’t be as prominent—more holes on top and more fermentation visible at the sides. We’ll continue to let it ferment.
8:00 p.m. – Ripe, time to make a levain
As seen below, we still see some rise since 7:00 p.m., but not much. The top shows signs of more holes and bubbles, and the aroma is what I would describe as “ripe” and ready for use. If I were to pull back a little bit of the top, I would smell a slightly sour, vinegary smell with hints of sweetness still present.
At this point, I’d use some of the sourdough starter to make a fresh levain or use this starter directly in making bread. After making the levain, I would also refresh the starter by discarding and adding fresh flour and water.
While I find the “float test” to be misleading because it can sometimes give you false positives for when a starter or levain is ready to use, the float test would surely pass at this point.
10:00 p.m. – Just past ripe
In the photo below, you can see the culture is beginning to show signs of ripeness. There are streaks at the top that indicate where the top of the starter once was, and in the top-down view, you can see the center is starting to collapse.
The fact that it’s starting to collapse is not the single most crucial factor in judging readiness. Instead, it’s the cumulative signs that are most important.
The fact that it’s starting to collapse is not the single most important factor in judging starter and levain readiness. Instead, the cumulative signs matter: a general breakdown of the mixture, a stronger sour aroma, and significant gas production.
Again, if this were a levain I built in the morning to mix into bread, I would still feel comfortable using this to mix my dough. I’ve used my starter/levain at this point to make excellent bread. I’ve touched on the topic of a “young” levain in the past, but recently I’ve been using mine when it’s more fully fermented to achieve more flavor.
This time is also when you would want to refresh (feed) your starter. If you are using the correct mixture of inputs—water at a specific temperature, percentage of mature starter, and flour mixture—this time will coincide with when you want to feed it. For me, 10 p.m. is perfect as I start cleaning the kitchen in prep for bed (our little ones at home dictate my sleep/wake schedule, and thus my starter must conform).
If your starter has arrived at this point before you want it to, you can use a smaller percentage of ripe starter carryover or use colder water. If your starter is a bit sluggish and isn’t quite at this level, use a bit more ripe starter at the next feeding or use 2° to 8° warmer water.
Being observant helps us help our starter to maximize fermentation activity. So, as you continue to care for your starter, take a moment before you rush through refreshments to observe the look and aroma of your starter—plan to adjust things either at the current refreshment or the next based on this observation.
11:00 p.m.
My starter continued to fall at this point, with longer streaks on the side, and the center has noticeably caved. I will normally have refreshed it by this point, but I continued to let this ferment until the morning so we can observe how it looks when it’s gone farther than I’d usually allow.
6:00 a.m. (next day)
What a drop overnight! The sides are entirely streaked with how far the starter has fallen, and the top was covered in small little bubbles. My starter has gone way too far at this point and needs a refreshment.
7:00 a.m.
Even more collapse and more small bubbles. At this point, the aroma was very acidic, vinegary, and quite strong.
8:00 a.m.
My final timeline entry shows just how far my starter has fallen after almost 24 hours. The acidity will continue to rise, and if left for even longer, a clear liquid will form on the top (commonly referred to as “hooch”) that will be alcoholic and bitter tasting. Your starter might also look this way if you’ve left it for a long period in the fridge in “hibernation,” as I like to call it. When reviving a starter in this condition, I will pour off the clear liquid, mix the remaining, and refresh as usual.
There have been times when my kitchen heated up unexpectedly, or I couldn’t get home before this had happened, and I mixed up my starter per usual, and it was just fine, but I try to avoid this scenario as much as possible.
Don’t panic if you forget to refresh your starter for a day or two! It will be just fine with a few timely refreshments and some attention.
General Sourdough Starter Maintenance Tips
See my sourdough starter frequently asked questions post for a long list of common issues, but here are a few tips that will prove helpful:
- Don’t let your starter collapse and sit for extended periods as excessive acidity will change the flavor of your resulting bread (sourer). If it’s a levain, not your starter, and it’s fermented much too fast for your schedule, you can always make an intermediate build (essentially discard and add new flour and water) and use the new build to mix
- Use your nose. Observe the aroma of your starter at each phase and get to know what a particular aroma indicates by drawing a connection between aroma and visual cues
- If your area has high chlorine levels in the water, use filtered (or distilled) water or let the water sit out on the counter overnight in a water bottle before using
- Stir your starter thoroughly until there are no clumps or dry bits of flour present
Above all, take a few seconds each time you refresh your starter to sit back and assess how things look, smell, and even taste (I don’t typically taste my starter, but many bakers do). Through constant observation and attention to small details, we can maximize fermentation in our sourdough starter maintenance routine.
Sourdough Starter Maintenance Tools
It’s funny how small tools make a huge impact when compounded over multiple times a day for every day of the year. I recently changed my stirring apparatus from an old Pyrex spatula to this newer Oxo spatula, and wow… So much wasted time cleaning that old multi-piece thing. This Oxo one is covered with silicone at the top with no seams or joints, it’s very sturdy (which helps act as a firm mixer), and you can also toss it into the dishwasher. Highly recommended.
Aside from the new spatula, I still use the same Weck jars, dark rye flour, and all-purpose flour. Head to my tools page if you’d like to see more of the tools I use for my sourdough starter maintenance.
Sourdough Starter Maintenance Wrap Up
There you have it, a day in the life of my starter and my sourdough starter maintenance routine. I hope this visual guide has helped convey the visual cues and aromas I look for at various points through the microevolution of my starter. The same signs shown above are also present when I build a levain when making bread.
Remember the methods we have to impact the fermentation rate: temperature of the water, inoculation percentage (amount of ripe starter left in the jar), flour selection (whole grain flours increase fermentation), and ambient temperature. If your starter is sluggish, increase these to speed things up or decrease them to slow things down. After a few days of experimentation, you’ll discover the right mix of each for your unique starter.
Now that your starter is on a regular maintenance schedule, don’t forget you can use the daily starter discard in many delicious things in the kitchen! Buon appetite!
For more sourdough starter guides, check out my sourdough starter guide roundup.
699 Comments
First, I so much enjoy your site and have learned so much! My question….I recently converted some of my starter to an einkorn starter. I usually bake once/week. Do you advise the same ratio for feeding before place in fridge as with other flours? Any difference in feedings after fridge storage?
Thanks, Joyce! Check out my guide to storing a starter where I talk about using the fridge and how to ramp it back up afterwards. The advice there will work well for you, even with an einkorn starter (which is the same, really)!
I’m on day 6 of making my sourdough starter. I was feeding it whole wheat flour. I just switched it to bread flour and I’m not getting any activity at all. Should I mix bread flour and whole wheat flour? Or should I just stick to feeding it bread flour until I see activity?
You could definitely add in some whole grains there! Won’t hurt.
My starter is made 50/50 white and whole wheat flour. .I would like to know what should be the temperature of my starter. In my kitchen the temperature is 26-28C. Can I do the temperature of starter lower, 22C to keep the balance?
Those temps should be fine, but if you find it ripening too fast you could try to cool it, use less whole grains, or drop the starter carryover percentage (how much starter you leave in the jar at each feeding/refreshment). For me, my kitchen is usually around 23C.
how do i make less starter? just change the 1:5:5?
Yes, to make less quantity just reduce the weights but keep the same ratios!
thank you!
How long can you keep a starter in the fridge?
I don’t like to keep it past 3 weeks without a feeding.
Great info here. Sorry if you have already answered this (lots of comments!). When you refresh the starter, you deviate from the general 1:1:1 ration with much higher amounts of water and flour. Can you explain?
Wondering the same.
I do this because I let my starter ferment for 12 hours before it needs a feeding again. The smaller the amount of starter with respect to fresh flour + water, the longer it can ferment before needing another feeding.
See reply below!
Hi Maurizio. Thank you for creating such a wealth of information on your site. I am starting my sourdough journey with an active starter I purchased from KA. My question at this point is a logistical one. How do I go about making sure I have only left 20g of the starter in the jar to refresh? I have a kitchen scale so I can tare it to add the correct weight of water and flour, but how do determine how much starter is in the jar? Do I have to start with a new jar each time I refresh and then tare the empty jar and add 20g of starter? Thank you!
Do you have another container? Weigh that, then subtract from the one with starter in it.
Helps please:
I’m on Day 7 of making a sourdough starter and I have not seen a lot of rising+falling action.
-Temp: It is a chilly January in the pacific northwest, but after several days decided that the microwave w/the door ajar–which keeps the light on, seems to be a cozy keeping spot for the Weck jar.
-Water: I’ve mostly used spring water, except for a few feedings where I spaced out & used tap water.
-Flour: Rye & AP
My question: Do I keep feeding per the day-by-day schedule and wait for some action…or scrap it and start over?
Many thanks,
Heather
Definitely stick with it, Heather! I’d go back to the day with 1x feedings and stay there until you see some activity come into your mixture. Keep it warm as you’re doing now in the micro and it should come around in a few days!
Thank you for replying 🙏🏼I stayed the course and have found that the microwave is the goldilocks zone for our drafty kitchen in January. I was rewarded with much activity and discovered a bit of an overflow this morning!
Hey, Josiah! Check out my post on how I feed my starter for a complete rundown on how I do all this.
Hi Maurizio,
Wonderful information, thank you! I am new to sourdough and am on my second starter… about a month in to my first one it developed mold, overnight. So weird. Now I am on day 9 of making my new starter. I have been feeding it twice a day for the last 3 days but have yet to see any real activity pick up. It bubbles on the top, no bubbles on the sides and it hasn’t risen yet. Is it possible it just needs more time and twice daily feedings until I see it start to grow during the day? I am using whole wheat flour, my house is around 72 degree all the time.. have I failed this starter too?! Looking back on my first starter I realize I never saw it grow between feedings either, it looked just like mine does now. I didn’t have much success in getting my bagels or English muffins to rise when using the first starter. Any tips?? Thanks so much!
If it’s 72F in the house this process will likely take longer! I wouldn’t say it’s failed, keep to the schedule. But, I would swap back to 1x feeding per day. Warm the water you use to feed as well, shoot for 80F.
Hello! I’m having trouble understanding the difference between the pictures at 7 pm vs. 8 pm. Can someone help?
Hey, Ronna! Something happened there, I’ll look into it—they are the same image! Sorry about the confusion there. The image shown should be the last image in the series.
Hi Maurizio! Big fan over here! Hope you get to see these so you can help me out with a few questions I have:
1. When can I refrigerate my sourdough starter? When it reaches its peak?
2. Can I make levain straight from a refrigerated mature sourdough starter? Or should I feed it first and let it ripe?
3. What should I do if my starter doubles but not floats? I’ve noticed it passes the float test when it is starting ti deflate.
4. If my starter doubles and almost reaches ripeness, but then deflates when I insert a spoon and stir, do I have to refresh it to make it double again? Or is this still a mature starter ready for levain?
Thank you very much.❤️❤️
Hey, Mariana!
1. Refrigerate it an hour or so after you give it a fresh feeding.
2. No, I like to refresh it at least twice before using it from the fridge.
3. It’s ok if it doesn’t float as long as you see strong signs of fermentation (bubbles, sour aroma, risen).
4. Nope, that’s just fine if it collapses. Just let it continue fermenting.
Check out my starter guide page (especially the FAQ), for more!
https://www.theperfectloaf.com/guides/sourdough-starter/
Thank you for answering! Another quick question: what could’ve gone wrong if my dough looks more lumpy than smooth after turning before bulk fermentation?
The recipe I followed is
750 gr water
200 g leaven
900 g AP flour
100 g whole wheat flour
20 gr salt.
If by lumpy you mean bits of dry flour? If that’s the case be sure all of the flour is hydrated during mixing. If you mean lumpy in that it’s just not smoothed out, that’s ok early in bulk fermentation. By the end, it should be smoother and more elastic (stronger).
I’ve been trying to get a starter started. I’ve followed your basic instructions, but using an unbleached all purpose flour. I’m on day 6 now, and still have not seen any rising in my starter. It has bubbles on top, but nothing below the surface that’s visible through the glass container. I’ve been keeping it in the oven with the light on and the door slightly ajar, so the temperature is a consistent 26.5C. I keep the bottled water in the oven with it, so when I refresh the mix the water is at the same temp as the starter. How long should I keep going with this if it isn’t showing any signs of rising at all?
Hey, Ken! It should eventually take hold, but it might take a bit longer with just AP flour. If you have whole wheat or whole grain rye flour, add some to the feedings to help speed things along! Hopefully but now you’re good to go.
Good morning Maurizio!
Today I will spend time learning about my starter – feeding and watching.
You commented that in your case, 8pm was a perfect time to consider a Levain based upon peak activity.
What to do if your levain isn’t meant to be made until 9am the next day? (following your best sourdough recipe)
Would you refeed the starter and go to bed, and make the Levain in the morning?
Thanks
Hey there, Blaine! Yes, exactly what you said. I’d give it a feeding at night (and in such a way to ensure it’s ready after 12 hours) then use it in the morning when ripe to make a levain. The key is you want to make your levain from a starter that’s ripe, it should have fermented for some number of hours. Hope that helps!
Great writeup! Do you know anything about thiols? I’ve been baking for about a year with a fair bit of success, but then some months ago things changed and my last many breads have all been utter failures. The dough doesn’t rise much during bulk fermentation, gets a bit airy around the 2h mark and then half an hour later it’s overfemented and super sticky, proofing obviously just takes it from bad to worse.
It has been driving me nuts and after extended research it seems that thiols might be the cause of the problem. I’m now trying a rigorous 3 feeds a day schedule for the next week or so and hoping this will alleviate my issues. Curious to hear if others have had this happen to them.
Thanks! Not super familiar, just a few references here and there in my research. It almost sounds to me like maybe your flour has a super low falling number (high enzymatic activity), causing premature breakdown. Have you tried another flour?
My starter on day 10 starer smelling of vinegar, I think I left it in a too want area but I did not forget to feed it. Should I save it? Any tips on how to? Or best to start over (it was going perfectly…)
I’d keep with it!
Just discovered your site. Great info to have, thank you. Just to be sure, I’m trying to strengthen my starter i keep in the fridge and feed weekly. I added 25 rye, 75 bread flour and 100 water at 9 a.m. At 10 p.m. would I just add the same 25, 75 and 100 water (is this what refresh at 10 p.m. means)? Or do I discard down to 20 grams of starter and refresh or do I use different amounts of flour and water for the second feeding to the entire amount from 9 a.m. this morning?
When you refresh (or feed) you discard some amount and leave some of your ripe (mature) starter in the jar. Then add fresh flour and water to that mixture.
Thank you so much for this picture guide!! I’m new to starting sourdough and have a logistical question — how do you keep the sides of your jar so clean with discarding and mixing? I have been transferring to a new jar each time but that causes a lot of dishes and even still I’m finding the sides of the jar get so messy. Any tips?? Thanks!!
Hey, Sam! I clean the sides as well as I can with my OXO spatula, then I will sometimes take a paper towel and wipe down into the jar to clean up the sides close to 100%. Over time, though, it will get a little messy and that’s ok. I swap the jar for a clean one once it bothers me 🙂
Hi Maurizio,
I can’t tell you how helpful your website has been and how much time it’s saved me. It’s an incredible help. I’m hoping you can answer a question for me.
I have my starter very active. It looks a lot like your photo examples at the stated time markers (or earlier, hopefully that’s not a problem), but with one exception. I never see a dome on top no matter when I check it. It has an insane amount of bubbles on the sides and on top, but never a dome. I’m using the same Weck jars (huge thanks for that recommendation, by the way) so I would expect a dome at some point. Is the lack of dome the sign of a problem?
Many thanks for all the posts!
So glad to hear my site has helped, Adrian! No, that’s not an issue, it all depends on the flour and the hydration—if it’s mixed up to a stiffer consistency and balled up after mixing, you might see more of a dome. As long as you’re seeing some rise, bubbles, and an aroma change to sour over time, you’re good.
Hey Maurizio,
Love the website man it’s great. I’ve been baking basically daily through lockdown with increasing success but recently my starter went proteolytic. Up until now its been a 100% white liquid levain but ive mixed it up a bit going 100% whole wheat and a 50/50 blend at times. It’s been on twice daily feedings kept at 26 degrees but had a couple of late feedings and now its just dissolving doughs whenever i try to use it. Currently got a 80/20 white/rye starter, a 50/50 white/rye and a 100% rye to see which one i can get back to health but tried baking again today and see dough looked great up until the final coil fold when it fell apart.
Any tips for getting the starter back to full health asap?
Hey, Jack! Sorry for the delay. That’s very strange. At that temp and flour combination I’d make sure to feed 2x a day to keep it from getting overly acidic. You could try dropping the temp just a tad, maybe 25C, and refresh 2x a day for a week to see if that helps.
Hello!
Keen to try your pizza dough recipe but still not clear on mature liquid starter as used in the recipe. Which of the above stages in your maintenance cycle would be labeled mature liquid starter?
Hey, Lorraine! Use your starter when it’s ripe: very bubbly, a sour aroma, loose consistency. This is after it’s fermented for a number of hours, for me it’s 12 (overnight or during the day).
Hi Maurizio!
I have followed your steps to create a starter, but am wondering if I can avoid discarding most of my starter at every feed. A friend of mine, who bakes brilliant sourdough, just feeds her starter 2tbsp flour and equal water a couple of days before she bakes, and just directly uses 75g of starter in baking.
I was wondering your thoughts on this? I hate wasting so much flour and starter each time I reduce my starter to 70g.
Thanks so much.
You can certainly take that approach! I prefer to make a levain when baking, but using your starter directly is always an option. Also, there are so many things you can make with sourdough starter discard! But yes, you can follow your friend’s lead and feed your starter in such a way as to minimize discard and use that discard directly in a bake (just replace any levain quantity I call for with starter).
Also, if you haven’t yet, have a look at my guide to maintaining a smaller starter to keep a really small one around with very minimal discard.
Hope that helps!
Hi Maurizio! I have a question – my starter (100% hydration) doesn’t rise or fall much, so for a while I thought it wasn’t active enough. However, when I make a levain with it, the levain bubbles and rises nicely, and the bread I bake with it also has a good rise.
I’m also wondering why my fermentation times (both for the levain and bulk fermentation) are about double the ones listed in your recipes. I suspect a large part of it is due to temperature, as I don’t have a proofing box (68 degrees during the day, going down to 65 at night), but I do try to aim for an FDT close to those listed. Do you think temperature alone would explain the longer fermentation times, or do you think there’s something else going on?
Temperature is so, so important. Yes, it sounds like to me that’s the cause here!
Hi Maurizio! What percentage of my starter should I discard when I am preparing to feed it again?
It really depends on your schedule and your process. I like to discard down to about 10-20g in the winter, and sometimes even lower when temperatures are high and my starter is ripening too fast. Right now it’s frigid here in my kitchen, so I’m leaving about 20g of starter in my jar, and to that I add 100g flour and 100g water.
Thank you for your help!
Thank you sir!
Hi! So I began your starter method last week and on last Friday morning I was on the second feed of day 5. Looked amazing and extremely bubbly. But then I didn’t feed until Saturday evening🙈🙈🙈 ive been feeding her twice a day since and she’s pretty flat. Do u suggest I start over? Or just be patient?
I wouldn’t start over! I’d say go back to refreshing it once a day, and use some rye flour if you still have some. Keep with that for a few days, once you see more activity come back, you can go up to 2x a day from there. Stick with it! Oh, keep it warm, too 🙂