Thursday, May 5, 2011

Caring for your Sourdough Starter

Whether you purchase a sourdough starter, get a starter from a friend, or capture your own, you'll need to know how to take care of it.

When I first started using sourdough, I was frustrated at the care it took. Not that it was difficult but a sourdough starter is not just an ingredient that could be placed on the pantry shelf until needed.

It actually helped me to think of my sourdough starter as a pet. Like a dog or cat, sourdough needs food, water, a safe environment, and oxygen. It even benefits from exercise. But I'm not a dog or cat lover, so I'd rather compare my sourdough to my chickens, who with very little care will  continually bless me with great food and never climb onto the couch with muddy paws. Some bakers actually name their sourdough starter, but I haven't went that far. Yet!

Let's go over the basic needs of a sourdough starter.


  • Food - Sourdough is fed with flour. I use freshly ground Prairie Gold wheat flour but you may use white or rye flour if your prefer. 
  • Water - I use my tap water which is from a well. I understand that heavily chlorinated water may kill a starter and should be set out for 24 hours before using in a starter. Bottled water is great but not distilled water which  doesn't contain needed minerals.
  • Environment - I keep my starter in a glass quart measuring cup. I like that I can easily see how much starter I have. Any plastic or glass container is fine. Avoid metal. 
  • Oxygen - When feeding my starter, I stir it vigorously to incorporate some air. I cover my bowl loosely with a piece of plastic wrap to allow room to expand but also keep out flying creatures and dust.
  • Exercise - A starter that is fed and used regularly will be more healthy and active than a starter that is abandoned in the fridge for long periods of time. In the summer, I rarely bake bread but by making waffles and pizza crust weekly, my starter stayed quite robust. But it is possible to forget a starter in the fridge for several weeks (possibly even months) and bring it back to life.
Now for the details of feeding - 

How often to feed? 

If my sourdough starter is at room temperature, I feed it every day. I find that evening works best for me because I'm cleaning up the kitchen, preparing for the next day, and often clearer in the head than at any other time of day. But morning, noon, or night is fine. 

If I am trying to build up my starter quickly, I'll feed it morning and night or every twelve hours. I've had times of real emergency that I've  fed it three times a day or every eight hours.

If the starter is refrigerated, it should still be fed every week. But I have sometimes forgotten it for longer than a week and it has survived.

You want your starter to be active, healthy and bubbling when you go to bake, so the night before a baking day, is a great time to feed your starter, whether it has been at room temperature, or is coming from the fridge. If you have struggled to make good bread, try feeding your starter two or three times before baking.


How much to feed?

When I started using sourdough, I always fed the starter the same amount, no matter how much starter was in the bowl. When someone pointed out to me it was like feeding a tiny poodle and a huge St. Bernard the same amount of food, I began adjusting my food for the amount of starter. 

My method of feeding is simple, uncomplicated, and has worked well for me. Whatever amount of starter I have, I add the same amount of flour and 2/3 the amount of water. 

For example, if I have one cup of starter left, I dump in one cup of flour. Then I take my cup measure and fill it 2/3 full of water and add it to the bowl. Give a quick stir until all the flour is thoroughly mixed in and I'm done.   

Whether I had a quarter cup of starter, or four cups, the method is still the same. Add the same amount of flour as starter, and 2/3 the amount of water. Another way to say it would be add three parts flour to two parts water.

I don't want to overwhelm a beginner but if you read sourdough recipes you'll find reference to sourdough starters at a certain hydration  - 100% or 166% are two common hydrations often found in recipes. I was confused at what this meant for a long time.

The hydration of the starter is a way of describing how moist your starter is. Hydration levels compare the weight of the flour to the weight of the water. (Note, this isn't volume but weight.) I don't bother weighing my ingredients every time I feed my starter but since water is heavier then flour, feeding a starter with three parts flour to two parts water results in a starter at 100% hydration. I've experimented with both higher and lower hydration starters but 100% hydration starter does best for me, especially when using whole wheat flour.

Why refrigerate?

Feeding your starter every day will result in twice as much starter as the day before. If you are not baking for several days, you'll soon have an abundance of starter. If you are aware of the law of doubling, you know that  after a week of doubling, you'll have an unreasonable amount of starter. It won't take long before you'll have a bathtub full of starter. And the next day, you'll have two bathtubs full of starter! Don't let it get out of hand! 

Depending on how much you like to bake, your family size or how much time you have, you'll soon figure out how much starter you'll like to keep on hand. Unless I'm baking for gifts or a large gathering, I don't want more then two to four cups of starter. Once my bowl contains this amount of starter, and if I'm not planning to bake the next day, I place the bowl in the fridge. There the starter will go dormant and stop growing. 

Depending on how wet your starter is and how long it is in the fridge, you may find a layer of dirty looking water on top of your starter. This is called the "hooch". This is normal. I pour it off and feed the starter with slightly more water the next feeding. Mold or strange colors on your starter is not normal - but I've never had this problem or expect you to with proper feeding of your starter. 

When getting your starter out of the fridge, it will be slower and less active but should quickly perk up and behave normally. I have used a starter straight out of the fridge but not always with the best results. Ideally, a starter should be taken out and fed the night before using it in baking.

Review

In a nutshell, every day when at room temperature, or every week when refrigerated, feed your starter with the same amount of flour as starter and 2/3 amount of water. After briskly stirring, cover the bowl loosely. A healthy starter will begin bubbling immediately and sometime in the next 2-8 hours, the starter will be full of bubbles and expand to double it's size. 

Then you know it is time to bake some bread. We'll start that next!

Any questions?

37 comments :

  1. This has been really interesting! I had never thought about the amount the starter is fed depending on it's quantity. I liked the poodle vs. St. Bernard analogy. I'm taking this month off from gluten as a health experiment, but I think that if I should re-introduce grains I'm going to give sourdough another shot.

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  2. Like any good friendship, starter needs love, care and attention!

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  3. Still getting unpacked and resettled so I don't have time to read, but I'm copying these posts out to study later. Certainly appreciate your time and effort sharing what you learn. We hope to enjoy it just a little later!! Liz

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  4. so interesting! Good tip about the chlorinated water -we have city water, so I think I will be careful to use chlorine-free water from now on.

    I stir the hooch back into my starter. . .is that bad?

    My starter lives in the fridge all the time - but when I'm ready to bake, I make a sponge in the evening and by next morning, it is bubbly and smells good. So I put some of the sponge back in the starter to feed it and then proceed to bake.

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  5. Best guidance I have ever had. Thks great job.

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  6. I'm about to make my very first starter after thinking about it for a couple of weeks. This is absolutely the clearest and most logical set of "guidelines" that I have read after spending at least two hours trying to find good, uncomplicated instructions!
    So, thank you! :-)

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  7. Help? I covered my starter with plastic wrap and now it is lifeless. When I covered it with a towel it was bubbly but it got a thick kind of dryish crust on top. What should I do?

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    Replies
    1. Did you try feeding your starter? You can often bring to life a starter that appears dead.

      I have found plastic wrap better for covering a starter because it helps keep it from drying out. But I only cover it loosely so that it can still get air.

      Hope you can revive it!
      Gina

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  8. Thanks I will try that. I added milk kefir instead of water with my last feeding and it seems to be revived. Now to try one of your bread recipes :)

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  9. Can you make the starter with Prairie Gold flour? I understand that you can feed it with PG, but my daughter cannot eat anything with "white" flour and I so want her to have some of this delicious sourdough bread. I just don't want to waste the PG flour if the starter won't work with it.
    Thank you,
    Jeanne

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    Replies
    1. Yes, you can make a starter with Prairie Gold flour. Some sourdough experts say that whole wheat flour is better than white flour for a starter since it contains more enzymes to promote growth.
      Gina

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    2. Yay! Thank you! I will start it tonight.

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  10. Everything that I have read says you have to feed your starter twice a day if not refridgerated. I hate that, I never remember to do it in the morning when I am rushing around trying to get out of the house for work. Have you had continued success with feeding it only once a day?

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    Replies
    1. I know what you mean. It was hard for me to remember twice a day too. And once seems to work for me.
      Gina

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  11. I'm inspired ��. Day1 tomorrow...

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  12. Hello

    i had some starter in the freezer because i wasnt going to use it for awhile and the reinhart book says to do so. well, now i am trying to refresh it, but ive fed it twice and have had it out all day in my warm kitchen and no bubbles. you mention it could be revived. could you please help me? what should i do next? should i half and feed it again?

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    Replies
    1. Gillian-
      I have never frozen starter, but I have read that you can. I would just give it more time. I'd wait at least a day before you half it and feed it. It may just take some extra time for it to come out of dormancy.

      Happy Baking,
      Gina

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  13. How often should I wash the container my starter is in? It looks icky but the starter is happy!

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    1. My container can get very crusty! It all depends how often you use your starter. I at least like to clean it out every few weeks. Oftener if it bugs me!
      Gina

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  14. Hi Gina,

    Thank you for providing so much helpful information in your blog. I think my starter is ready for baking and so hope to get the kind of results you have, but I do have one question. When the starter has been refrigerated and you add to it for baking the next day, do you then take it out of the refrigerator temporarily or leave it refrigerated?

    Thanks again,

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    Replies
    1. After feeding your starter you want to sit it out at room temperature so that it will grow and be nice and bubbly when you bake with it. Only refrigerate your starter when you will not be baking for a while and want the starter to go dormant.

      Happy Baking,
      Gina

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  15. Hi! Thank you so much for the very useful information! Badly needed it. :)

    Bonita

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  16. Hi! I have a starter that has been going for about a month and a half. It used to smell more sour and now it smells more yeasty. It's I'm the fridge but I do feed it every Sunday . I would like to bake bread with tomorrow, but I am not sure if it is active. I have about 2 cups of starter. Any suggestion would be appreciated

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    Replies
    1. You will know that your starter is ready to use if you feed your starter and allow it to sit at room temperature and it doubles in size and is bubbly in several hours. If it does not look bubbly and does not double in size, then keep it at room temperature and feed it every day for several more days. It should get active.

      Happy Baking,
      Gina

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  17. I have had my starter going for at least two weeks. I feed it twice a day because it is gluten free and I read that GF needs feed twice a day. I have had great success with pancakes & pizza crust. The starter is bubbly but it has never expanded in size. I assume you mean expanded like as yeast bread would expand in the proofing or 'rise time'? I plan to try your Crusty Rolls tomorrow. Do u think I'm doing something wrong with my starter?

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    Replies
    1. When it gets bubbly, does it rise in the bowl at all? It won't rise like yeast bread, but the air bubbles will make it expand in size.

      Hope your baking goes well! But if not, keep trying. I had many many failures before finally finding sourdough bread success.
      Gina

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    2. I made a batch of your crusty rolls yesterday and they turned out, and looked, more like breakfast biskets. Last night I tried using a probiotic drink instead of water in my starter. It did bubble more and expanded by one cup (hadn't noticed it do that before), so I made rolls again. They were heavy and didn't really rise much, but they were tasty. I REALLY want to get this right before thanksgiving when all the family comes. I'll keep trying, today was more encouraging. Your cracker recipe is fabulous! I made them with Teff flour.

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  18. I had no idea what I was getting myself into when I decided to try baking sourdough bread. Thank you so much for your very clear instructions on this subject. I baked a hard lump of sourdough yesterday and thought about giving up, but you have encouraged me to continue!

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    Replies
    1. Rhonda-
      Welcome to the adventure of sourdough. My first attempts at sourdough baking were unedible. But it is worth it to keep trying!
      Gina

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  19. Hi. I am using the Wild Yeast Sourdough Starter recipe from the Fresh Loaf that starts with WW flour and pineapple juice. As suggested, I had to add apple cider vinegar to wake up the yeast. The starter is now bubbly on most days. My question: At what point do I quit adding the vinegar when feeding the starter?

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    Replies
    1. I think that as soon as your starter starts to bubble you can feed it with only water and flour.
      Gina

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  20. Good Morning Gina,

    Thank you for sharing with us!

    I have a question about feeding. I leave my starter on the counter and feed it each morning. I bake your whole wheat recipe once or twice each week...depending on who is coming for dinner :)
    Should I throw out a portion of the starter each day before feeding it? Or is it safe to feed it a smaller amount each day without throwing it away and then build it up the day before baking?

    Thank you again for sharing!

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    Replies
    1. Your starter will be healthier and happier if you double it at every feeding. So if you don't want that much starter you have two options, discard some of the starter before feeding it so you have less to feed. Or place it in the fridge so that it goes dormant and doesn't need fed as often. Just remember to get it out and feed it the day before you want to bake.
      Happy Baking,
      Gina

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  21. I feed my starter the same amount of water as starter and almost twice the amount of flour. I have found that when baking I need to use less flour than what the recipe calls for other wise the dough is to thick and hard to get all the flour mixed in. Does it have to do with how I am feeding it? Different places I've looked at online either do equal amounts of starter, water and flour or more often the way I feed mine. Yours is the first one I've seen to do less water more flour. I've never looked into the idea of weighing. Started doing sourdough baking a little while ago and feel like I'm starting to learn some things.

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    Replies
    1. There are various methods of feeding your starter. I just shared the method I use which is equal parts flour, water, and starter by WEIGHT. This is a common method of bakers and I find this works well for my 100% whole wheat sourdough. But I know others who make terrific bread with different methods. A thicker starter (more flour) can sometimes be more "sour" flavored - if that is your goal. Experiment until you find what works for you.

      My starter is about the texture of pancake batter. If yours is thicker you will need to add less flour to your recipes.
      Happy Baking,
      gina

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  22. Hi! I'm a little confused about your amounts for feeding your starter. If you have 30 grams of starter and you feed it 30 grams of flour, are you feeding it 2/3 of 30 grams--or 20 grams of water??? Also do you never discard before you feed? I discard everytime I feed--or else I would have a ton of starter--and no flour left in my pantry. Final question...if I was making pancakes in the morning that required two cups of starter, and I only have 90 grams of starter--which is what I usually keep, would I just have to keep feeding my starter every 12 hours--without discarding--until I came up with the amount of starter that I needed for a particular recipe--but still saving enough to have something for my "Mother" starter?

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    Replies
    1. Yes. If I have 30 grams of starter, I would feed it with 30 grams of flour and 20 grams of water.

      I only discard starter if I have too much. If I am baking regularly, I don't need to discard. As you mentioned in your pancake question, you want to increase your starter so that you have enough for your recipe, plus enough for your mother starter.
      Gina

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