Sourdough Starter Feeding Schedule Explained
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Feeding a sourdough starter simply means adding fresh flour and water so the yeast and bacteria have something to eat. How often you need to do this depends almost entirely on temperature and how frequently you bake. A starter kept warm on the counter burns through its food quickly and needs feeding once or even twice a day, while a starter stored cold in the fridge slows down dramatically and can go a week or more between feedings.
The backbone of any feeding is the ratio, usually written as starter to flour to water. A common maintenance ratio is 1:1:1, meaning equal weights of existing starter, fresh flour, and water. For example, 50 grams of starter fed with 50 grams of flour and 50 grams of water. This ratio rises and peaks fairly quickly, often within four to six hours in a warm kitchen, which makes it convenient when you plan to bake the same day.
If you want to stretch the time between feedings, use a higher ratio such as 1:5:5 or even 1:10:10. With more fresh flour relative to the existing culture, the microbes take much longer to consume everything, so the starter peaks later and stays usable for a wider window. Bakers often use these larger ratios before bed or before work so the starter is ripe and ready many hours later without over-fermenting and collapsing.
Temperature is the lever most beginners overlook. A starter at 26 degrees Celsius might peak in four hours, while the same starter at 18 degrees could take eight or more. If your kitchen is cold, expect slower rises and feed less often; if it is hot, watch for faster peaks and possible over-fermentation, which shows up as a sour, alcoholic smell and a collapsed, watery surface. Adjust the ratio or feeding frequency to match your conditions rather than following a rigid clock.
For fridge storage, feed the starter, let it begin rising at room temperature for an hour or two, then cover it and refrigerate. In the cold it will slowly ferment and can rest comfortably for five to ten days. When you want to bake again, take it out, give it one or two feedings at room temperature over a day or so until it is bubbly and doubling reliably, and it will wake right back up. A thin layer of grey liquid on top, called hooch, just means it is hungry; stir it in or pour it off and feed as usual.
The key mindset is that there is no single correct schedule, only the schedule that fits your baking rhythm. Daily bakers keep a small starter on the counter and feed once or twice a day. Occasional bakers keep theirs in the fridge and feed weekly. As long as you keep the ratios sensible and pay attention to how your starter looks and smells, it will forgive small variations and stay healthy for years.