All Things Sourdough
Sourdough Starter Maintenance
Ingredients
Active Feeding (before baking)
- 100gsourdough starter
- 100gflour
- 100gfiltered water
Maintenance Feeding (between bakes)
- 15gsourdough starter
- 15gflour
- 15gfiltered water
Steps
- 01
Before baking, give the starter a full feed — 100g starter, 100g flour, and 100g filtered water — and let it become active.
- 02
Between bakes, feed it a smaller amount using the same ratio — 15g starter, 15g flour, and 15g filtered water — just to keep it alive.
Notes
Keeping a sourdough starter alive really comes down to one rule: feed it in a 1:1:1 ratio, equal parts starter, flour, and water by weight. How much you feed just depends on what you're using it for.
When I'm planning to bake, I give my starter a full feed — 100g starter, 100g flour, and 100g filtered water. That larger feed builds up enough active, bubbly starter for a loaf.
During quieter stretches between bakes, I don't need nearly that much on hand, so I scale the same ratio down to 15g starter, 15g flour, and 15g filtered water — just enough to keep the culture alive and happy without wasting flour.
Tip: to test whether your starter is active and ready to use, drop a spoonful into a glass of water. If it floats, it's ready to bake with.
Shop This
Source: ashkipp's own recipe