Sourdough Starter — Feeding Guide

Ingredients

Method

1. 1. Discard most of it Keep about 20g and discard the rest — or better, save it for crackers. This isn't waste for its own sake: without discarding, the starter grows huge and the yeast never gets enough fresh food relative to its population, so it goes weak and sour.
2. 2. Feed it Add flour and water at your chosen ratio and stir until there's no dry flour left. It will thicken up into a paste. Scrape down the sides of the jar so you can see the level clearly, and put the lid on loosely — it needs to breathe.
3. 3. Let it rise Leave it at room temperature and watch. It will gradually bubble, rise, and form a domed top. At its peak it's airy, strong and roughly doubled. How long that takes depends almost entirely on temperature — see the table below.
4. 4. Use it at its peak Once it's doubled, full of bubbles and smells mildly yeasty or slightly fruity, it's ready to bake with. Most recipes want about 100g per loaf, so keep 150–200g on hand when you're planning to bake — enough to use and enough left to keep going.
5. 5. Feed the leftovers and put it away Feed what's left and return it to the fridge until next time. That's the whole cycle.