Dough Dough Guides
A sourdough starter is a living culture of wild yeast and friendly bacteria. Feed it and it will reward you with bread for years. Here's everything you need to keep yours healthy — whether you bake every day or once a month.
What your starter actually is
Your starter is just flour and water colonised by wild yeast (which makes it rise) and lactic-acid bacteria (which make it tangy). "Feeding" means giving that culture fresh flour and water to eat. A well-fed starter roughly doubles in size after feeding, smells pleasantly sour and yeasty, and is full of bubbles at its peak.
The basic feed
A feed is simply equal parts (by weight) starter, flour and water — a 1:1:1 ratio. A reliable everyday feed:
- Keep 50g of your existing starter (discard the rest, or save it for discard recipes).
- Add 50g flour (strong white or a white/wholemeal blend).
- Add 50g lukewarm water.
- Stir well, scrape down the sides, and loosely cover (never airtight).
For a stronger, slower starter — or to feed less often — use a larger ratio like 1:5:5 (10g starter, 50g flour, 50g water). More food = longer to peak = longer between feeds.
When to feed
Feed when your starter is hungry, not on a rigid clock. Watch the starter, not the time.
| If you bake… | Keep it… | Feed… |
|---|---|---|
| Most days | At room temperature | Once or twice a day |
| Weekly or less | In the fridge | Once a week |
Room-temperature (active baking)
Feed once or twice a day. Use it when it's at its peak — domed, bubbly, roughly doubled, about 4–8 hours after feeding depending on warmth.
Fridge (occasional baking)
- Feed the starter, leave it out for an hour, then refrigerate.
- Once a week, take it out, discard down to ~50g, feed it, and either bake with it or return it to the fridge after an hour.
- Baking? Take it out 1–2 days ahead and give it 2–3 feeds at room temperature to wake it fully.
Reading your starter
- Grey liquid on top ("hooch"): harmless — it just means the starter is hungry. Stir it in or pour it off, then feed.
- Smells sharp/acetone-like: over-hungry. Feed more often or with a bigger ratio.
- Smells sweet, barely rises: under-fed or too cold — feed more and keep it warmer (24–26°C is ideal).
- Pink/orange streaks or fuzzy mould: this is the only real danger sign — discard and start fresh.
Reviving a neglected starter
Forgotten it for weeks? It's almost certainly fine. Discard down to a tablespoon, feed 1:1:1, and repeat once or twice a day. Within 2–3 days it should be bubbling and doubling again.
Don't waste the discard
The starter you remove before feeding ("discard") isn't rubbish — turn it into pancakes, crackers and more. See our recipes for zero-waste ideas.
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