Happy November! I thought it would be fun to dedicate this month to the beloved sourdough starter - often the most difficult part of the sourdough process starting with how often to feed your sourdough starter and what to feed it.
How often you feed your sourdough starter is based on several factors including the temperature of your house, how often you bake and how quickly you want your starter to ferment. Let's dive in further...
Room temperature vs refrigerator:
If you keep your starter at room temperature, I recommend feeding it at least once a day (every 24 hours). If you live in a warm environment, I recommend twice daily (every 12 hours).
If you keep it in the refrigerator, I suggest feeding it once every 7-14 days.
How often you want to bake:
This is completely up to you, and could vary from week to week. So if you are actively baking, I recommend keeping your starter at room temperature and feeding it daily. If you are taking a break from baking, store it in the fridge and feed it weekly.
How fast you want your starter to ferment:
You can adjust your feeding ration to change how quickly your starter grows. For example, if you want your starter to be ready in the afternoon, you can feed it with a lower ratio in the morning (a 1:1:1 ratio would be best), this is because the yeast and bacteria won't have as much food to get through so it will peak faster.
What to feed your sourdough starter:
You will want to feed your sourdough starter with a combination of flour and filtered water in order to keep it active and healthy. The type of flour you use will impact the flavor so you will have to figure out which flavor you prefer - personally, I love feeding mine with Kirkland all-purpose flour or bread flour.
It's important to use filtered water when feeding your sourdough starter to avoid chlorine which can kill the starter or prevent it from developing.
In the next post, I will cover sourdough starter feeding ratios.
See you then! Xx - Mandy