Feeding & Keeping Your Starter Alive

A sourdough starter is a living culture of wild yeasts and bacteria, kept alive by regular feeding. The yeast produces CO₂ (bubbles, rise) and the bacteria produce lactic and acetic acids (flavour, tang). You're farming something genuinely alive.

Discard all but 50 g of starter. Add 50 g flour and 50 g room-temperature water. Stir vigorously until smooth — you want to incorporate air. Cover loosely with the lid or a cloth and leave at room temperature.

At room temperature (18–22°C), feed every 24 hours. In a warm kitchen (24°C+), feed every 12 hours. In the fridge, once a week is enough — take it out, let it come to room temperature, feed it, and put it back once it's peaked.

A ready starter is domed at the top, doubled in size, and bubbly throughout. The float test: drop a spoonful into water — if it floats, the starter is active enough to leaven bread. If it sinks, feed it and try again in 4 hours.

Liquid on top (hooch) means your starter is hungry — it's not dead. Pour it off or stir it back in and feed. Pink or orange streaks mean contamination — discard everything and start fresh. A healthy starter smells sour and yeasty, like ripe yoghurt or beer.

Feed your starter with a slightly stiffer dough (equal parts flour and water by weight), put it in the fridge and leave it. A healthy starter survives 2–3 weeks without attention. When you're back, give it two consecutive feeds at room temperature and it will be active again within 24 hours.