Preparing Your Starter for Baking (2024)

FAQs

How do I prepare my starter for baking? ›

If using measuring cups, combine 1 part starter, 1 part water, and a little less than 2 parts flour. For instance, ¼ cup starter, ¼ cup water, slightly less than ½ cup flour. Mix vigorously. Cover the container and let starter sit for 8-12 hours.

Take your starter from the fridge and let it come up to room temperature. Feed it with 30g of strong white flour + 30g of water, stir it well, and allow it to become fully active and ready to use, this can take 2-6 hours depending on the room temperature.

It's not a good idea to use a sourdough starter right after feeding. Ideally you should wait at least 2-4 hours.

*Do not try baking with your starter right after feeding it. Allow time for it to grow and feast on the flour before using it. Starters are usually ready to bake with around 4-12 hours after a feeding depending on the amount you feed your starter. The larger the feeding, the more time it needs to ferment.

But all purpose, bread flour, whole wheat flour or rye flour are all suitable for feeding a regular sourdough starter successfully. Many people like to feed their sourdough starter a cheaper flour, particularly when in the establishment phase and going through quite a bit of it.

With each sourdough starter feeding, you'll be discarding some to avoid it from becoming overly acidic. Most will compost or trash this discard, but you can save it and use it in other recipes!

The dough is in the fridge to firm up as well as develop flavour. If you leave it at room temp for a few hours, it will soften & spread when you turn it out and lose all that firmness creates in the fridge. Bake it direct from the fridge for best success.

If you're an experienced baker and are familiar with working with a cold sourdough starter that has been kept in the refrigerator for a long time and you've had success, then it's totally OK to use your starter straight from the refrigerator.

Yes, absolutely. Room temperature can mean a wide range and is different for each room, but as long as the temperature is around 68 to 76°F (20 to 24°C), you'll get rise in your sourdough bread dough. The cooler the temperature, the longer it will take for your dough to rise.

You would then remove it from the fridge for feeding ahead of preparing the dough. Can I leave my starter out overnight after feeding it? Yes, if you have just fed it. Since the night is rather long, feed it in a 1:4:4 ratio so that's not over fermented by the morning.

What should sourdough starter look like before baking? ›

Generally, when a starter is ripe, it has risen, is bubbly on top, has a sour aroma, and has a looser consistency. Typical signs your starter is ripe and ready to be used: Some rise. Bubbles on top and at the sides.

It is important that you stir the sourdough starter every day in the morning and in the evening. Feed the starter. Add 60 g flour and 60 g lukewarm water, stir well to combine, and let sit out for 24 hours.

Storing your sourdough starter

A starter stored in the fridge will only require feeding once a week to maintain it. If you use your sourdough starter every day, keep it at room temperature. Follow the feeding instructions above and then leave it at room temperature.

If you're an experienced baker and are familiar with working with a cold sourdough starter that has been kept in the refrigerator for a long time and you've had success, then it's totally OK to use your starter straight from the refrigerator. You can utilize a cold starter in any sourdough discard recipe.

To prepare your starter you should feed it it's exact amount, ie a 1:1 ratio, 3 times the day before baking. So for example, take 1/4 cup starter, feed it 1/4 cup flour and slightly less than 1/4 cup water (or it gets too soupy) in the early morning. Feed it 1/2 cup at lunch, then before bed, feed it 1 cup.

If you want to use the light in your oven to keep your sourdough starter or your dough warm, temp the inside space after 30 minutes or an hour of the light being on. You may not have this problem, but if your oven does end up getting too hot the heat can kill your starter, which would be a huge bummer!

The best flour blend for creating a new sourdough starter is 50% whole-meal flour (whole wheat or whole rye) and 50% bread flour or all-purpose flour. I recommend a 50/50 mix of whole wheat flour and bread flour.