Sourdough Starter Maintenance

A well-maintained sourdough starter is the heart of great sourdough bread. This guide covers how to store it with minimal waste, how to feed it before a bake, and how to revive it if you have neglected it for a while. Following these practices will keep your starter active and predictable so your calculator recipes turn out consistently.

1. Storage: Keep It Small and Cold

You do not need to keep a huge jar of starter on the counter. A small amount in the fridge is enough. After baking, keep only about 20 to 30 grams of starter in a small jar with a loose lid or a breathable cover. Store it in the refrigerator. This slows down fermentation so you do not have to feed it every day. A stiff starter (thicker, less watery) degrades more slowly than a liquid one, so many bakers prefer to maintain a stiff starter in the fridge. Feed it in a ratio like 1:3:5 (starter to water to flour) to keep it stiff and slow-degrading. You can feed once a week or even every two weeks if your fridge is cold and the starter is stiff.

2. Baking Prep: Build Enough for Your Recipe

Never use cold starter straight from the fridge in your dough. The night before you want to bake, take about 10 grams of starter from the fridge. Feed it with 50 grams water and 50 grams flour (a 1:5:5 ratio: 10g starter, 50g water, 50g flour). Let it sit at room temperature until it has doubled or is clearly at peak activity—usually 8 to 12 hours depending on temperature. Use this ripe starter in your recipe and put the small amount left over back in the fridge for next time. If your recipe calls for more starter than this build produces, scale up the feed (e.g. 20g starter, 100g water, 100g flour) so you have enough for the dough plus a bit to return to the fridge.

3. Revival: Bringing Back a Neglected Starter

If you have not fed your starter for a long time, it may look flat, dark, or separated. Do not throw it away. Take just 5 grams of starter from the bottom of the jar (where the most active culture often remains). Discard the rest. Feed that 5 grams with 25 grams water and 25 grams flour (1:5:5). Leave it at room temperature. It may take 24 hours or more to become visibly bubbly and active. Once it reliably doubles after feeding, you can use it for baking or return to your normal small cold storage. If the first feeding does not show much activity, repeat: keep 5 to 10 grams, discard the rest, feed 1:5:5 again, and wait. Patience usually brings a neglected starter back to life.

Feeding Ratios and the Calculator

Our bread calculator lets you choose leaven style (liquid, stiff, or sweet stiff for sourdough) and set inoculation and feed ratio. Use the feed ratio that matches how you maintain your starter: for example, if you keep a stiff 1:3:5 starter in the fridge and build 1:5:5 for baking, the calculator will scale your recipe accordingly. Consistent feeding and storage make the calculator’s rise-time estimates and ingredient weights more reliable.