Thank you, your site has been very informative for me. You state you had good results from a starter that had been in the fridge a week. Weekly Sourdough Starter Maintenance. It will smell acidic, … You are quite welcome. But there are plenty of folks who keep a wet starter that is more water than flour and some people keep a stiff starter that is more flour than water. For selling, consistency is key. Using the small starter method there is only 2 oz of discard each time you’re ready to bake. While growing the starter I use a loose fitting lid. I also keep a small starter which is maintained at 3 oz and fed 2x before using. Since my recipes are all written for a 100% starter you would need to adjust the ingredients to accommodate your starter. and is always fed with equal weights of starter-flour-water. Facebook Instagram Pinterest Twitter YouTube LinkedIn. A healthy, mature starter should be bubbly and double in 8 hours. Question : can I claim my sour dough starter as a dependent on my taxes? This is the best technique I have found for keeping a healthy, active starter that is always ready to be used! Read through this post about maintaining a small starter to see how it’s done. But since it’s already active I would go ahead and get baking. Discard 8oz bc it’s likely gone dormant (correct?) Many thanks. Or is there a more favored method? In your feeding instructions next to the 4oz measurements it is 112g for starter and flour, however the water reads 120ml. If the starter has the texture of a very thick pancake batter it’s probably a 100% hydration starter. You feed it just enough to make your levain, use that levain in your bread, then leave the scrapings in the jar to inoculate the next loaf. I am confused. How much flour and water do I use and also can I keep it on my kitchen counter as I intend to bake on week ends. I need some help. . If you appreciate this detailed information, I’d really appreciate a 5-star review. How long does it take until it develops that more liquid texture? But definitely there shouldn’t be any pink or orange at all. Is this OK. Will the starter go bad or get really strong if I don’t discard any? Would it be possible to take the leftover active 4oz (after removing the 8oz for baking), and put that 4oz directly into the fridge. If you’re discarding a portion of the starter but you want to use it the next day in baking, can you save the discard In the fridge for use? Since I don’t bake every day, I keep my starters (yes, I have 3) in the refrigerator. The warm water will jump-start the cold starter. If your starter has been in the refrigerator for a week or two and hasn’t been fed then you will remove and discard (or use in a discard recipe) 8 oz of starter. Set that aside as your base starter. Your starter needs to be fed about 1x per week if refrigerated, and every day if left at room temperature. If the liquid is clear or even a darkish gray that just the “hooch” and it ok. Sourdough is not a straightforward business so it’s sometimes hard to give a concrete answer. My starter has a very sweet smell. Right? For folks who bake less often and store the starter in the fridge between baking sessions the starter will go dormant in the refrigerator. I am using one cup water to one cup of flour when feeding it of which the recipe called for. I made the sourdough bloodies ( they’re in the oven). Sourdough baking is as much art as science. All my recipes use 8 oz of either starter or discard. After you’ve removed the portion of starter for baking, feed the starter again and leave it at room temperature for 3-4 hours before putting it back in the refrigerator. Eileen, your site is great. But, it's also a source for a never-ending accumulation of starter discard. Remove all but 4 ounces (1/2 cup) starter; see "tips," at left, for ideas on what to do with it. Discard (or use) the remaining 8 oz of starter. You mix together flour and water and then let it rest at room temperature. To store your starter at room temperature: Stir the starter well and discard all but 4 ounces (1/2 cup). How do you know if your starter is out of balance? For me, I only use grams so I need to do some conversion sometimes. If you’re just a little bit off every time you feed, eventually, your starter could be thrown out of balance. Same if you see any type of mold at all. I don’t really measure when I feed the started I add about 3/4 cup of flour and then enough water to make it like a pretty thick pancaker batter. I “stumbled” on your soft crust sourdough sandwich recipe and it is WONDERFULLY delicious and a godsend to me. It’s tripled in size and very happy . Then it goes in the fridge until next time I plan to bake. Add the flour and lukewarm water to the remaining starter. Or should I be leaving it alone until it’s about 12 hours after the last feeding time as not to over-feed it? 8g of water and 10g of flour. Does the starter have to be stored with a lid on or just a loose cover. Copyright © After day five, you’ll begin discarding some of the starter and continuing to feed it, during that time the bacteria and yeast in the starter will become stronger and more robust. That is the stuff you throw away when you need to feed your starter. I had this EXACT question with the starter instructions i’m following! 100% hydration refer to how the starter is fed. Once stirred together, this mixture becomes my levain or, preferment. This generally takes 4-5 hours but the time can vary based on dough temperature and room temperature. How do I get that recipe? The texture will depend on how you feed. Again, you might need 2 feedings to completely revive the starter since it’s been quite dormant. So I got a starter from a friend and I baked with it and then fed it…. Right off the bat I’m going to say that there are a million ways to feed, maintain and use a sourdough starter. Feed the remaining to bring back to 12 oz. But I have found that giving the starter 2 feedings before making the dough results in a more active dough. The recipe calls for 100% hydration starter. If you haven’t made your starter yet, visit this post to see how to make a sourdough starter from scratch. hooray. I use a plastic deli container and put the lid loosely on top. have I screwed it up and can I fix it? In fact, I just tried to activate and after 8 hours, it failed the float test. Don’t poor off the “hooch” (liquid) that forms on top of an unfed starter. By morning is should be nice and active. Brand new to sourdough starters and your blog is serving as my life line. As long as it’s actively rising every day and smells nice and yeasty it should be good to use. If your starter was fed a day or two before, it’s possible to use the starter straight from the refrigerator. Hi! After using 8 oz of starter in the recipe, I’m left with 4 oz of starter, exactly the right amount for feeding. Well, it might double and then begin to collapse without you noticing. This method for maintaining sourdough starter is just one of many you might choose to follow. Hi Cheryl, If you see pink or orange streaks in the starter you should discard it and start over. It doesn't exactly match the process in our, Feeding and Maintaining Your Sourdough Starter. So instead of letting the dough rise overnight in the refrigerator, you can leave it for 2 days. In the warm months, your starter will show signs of life on day four, sometimes even by day three. By out of balance I mean that it’s not made up of equal weights of water-flour (100% hydration). I made your overnight cinnamon buns and was so thrilled when they rose and filled the pan without added commercial yeast. Remove 1 cup starter to bake with when it's expanded and bubbly, then feed the remaining starter immediately; revert to your normal 12-hour schedule for subsequent feedings. Ended up throwing mine out. To store your starter at room temperature: Stir the starter well and discard all but 4 ounces (1/2 cup). If you have enough starter to meet the requirements of your recipe, it’s time to bake! But I’m a bit confused on how to carry on feeding my yeast from now on. Feed your starter more frequently. If you bake a lot of sourdough treats, you may want to keep it on your counter, at room temperature. Please leave a comment on the blog or share a photo on Instagram, Filed Under: Baking How-Tos, Baking School, Breads, Sourdough Recipes. Thanks. I make 6 loaves of bread twice a week. I would love to get that recipe from you and give it a try, especially if it is as delicious as the white sandwich loaf! Ask me if you need more clarification. After about 2 hours, refrigerate. 2021 Was told to feed once a week. I have found that if I refrigerate my starter and then take it out within a day or two it is still good to use without feeding. I've maintained the same sourdough starter for years, refreshing it with 20g mature starter, 100g flour (usually a mix of 50% white flour and 50% whole rye or 50% freshly milled whole wheat), and 100g water1 twice a day, every day. I use 3 cups of starter for a batch of 6 loaves. The way I manage my starter is to use, feed, use, feed, sleep, repeat. Give it a float test to make sure it’s active. You want the right balance of bacteria and yeast before baking with it. Find what you need in our sourdough baking guide. There is actually a well regarded sourdough baker on YouTube that keeps his starter at room temperature and ONLY feeds it before a bake. If you want to do a double bake in one day you could remove the 4 oz and feed. I keep it refrigerated between baking sessions since I don’t bake every day. Do I continue to feed? Baking Parchment Paper - Set of 100 Half-Sheets. Track how long it takes to get active. I have been reading and learning about sourdough baking for three months and this is the first time I have seen the proper ratio of starter to flour to water for the feeding of the starter. I think I followed things right but after a few days in the fridge it is pretty solid looking. In the bowl of a stand mixer, stir together the starter, water, honey and salt with a spatula.Add the bread flour and use your hands to bring the ingredients together as best as possible. Good morning, people who know everything are not always good teachers. The dough may take a little longer to ferment since the temperature of the dough will be colder. If you feed yours once a day, consider adding a second feeding. It will get a chance to grow and rise before being added to a larger combination of ingredients for bread. If I use equal parts of starter, flour, water, and have to discard what’s left, how will I ever have enough to bake a loaf of bread? Absolutely love reading your tips and I will surely try your recipes too. No problem, use the amount of starter called for in the recipe. If not, continue feeding until the starter is bubbly and active. Place about a teaspoon of the starter into a cup of warm water. If you do, why not just refrigerate the entire starter then take it out the next day and use what you need and feed the starter then? Add the water and flour. The starter gets combined with 65 grams of organic all-purpose flour and 65 grams of distilled water. That way the starter doesn’t get out of balance. Sourdough bread can only be baked once the sourdough starter has become strong enough. To test this, place a piece of tape to mark your starter’s volume and then check back four hours after feeding it. If you continually feed the starter without discarding, you’ll end up drowning in starter. I have seen 4oz in some of your comments so I have a couple of questions, 1) Can I use a glass bowl to make my started in or should I be using a glass jar.? Is a kilner jar not suitable? this post about maintaining a small starter. Do you feed 1:1:1 by weight or by volume? Plastic wrap or foil is fine. The dough will be very stiff. It’s 4oz in starter and I add in 4oz of flour and 4oz of water. Once the starter is established I keep it in a plastic deli container with the lid fitted tightly. That’s great. Will It Float? I usually use it right out of the refrigerator without feeding it. This is great info. This is the method described here in this post. It’s quite common to keep a sourdough starter at 100% hydration, which means using equal amounts of flour and water to feed it. each time and discard and then add that or add to the starter without discarding what I have in container? “Discard” recipes like the blondies give you the opportunity to use up that stuff rather than throw it away. For instance, if your recipe calls for 1 cup (about 8 ounces) starter, add 4 ounces each water and flour. Mix until smooth, and cover. So if you use volume measure you will have a looser starter. Have you been feeding with equal weights of starter-water-flour? I want to make sure I understand this discard correctly because I was given a small amount and am trying to work up to storing a larger starter (LOVE your small starter page btw). For the final feeding prior to baking, add enough flour and water to use in your recipe, with a little left over to feed and maintain the starter for the next time you bake. You’ll have a total of 18oz. 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