When I am teaching Beginner’s Sourdough Bread Classes, most people in the class get confused when I bring up sourdough starter feeding ratios - when I first starting teaching classes, I didn’t even mention them because they brought on so much confusion instantly. But after teaching several classes and having some experience under my belt I have a better way of explaining them.
Here’s how:
When I think of my inactive sourdough starter, I like to compare it to a bunch of little hungry people, if you give them lots of food, they will take longer to eat through the food and they will be happy. If you give them less food it will take them less time to get through the food, then they will be hungry again.
In sourdough terms, if you feed your starter a higher ratio, your starter will take longer to ferment versus feeding it a lower ratio.
Here’s an example:
If you feed 25g unfed starter 25g flour and 25g water (1:1:1 ratio), it will ferment very quickly because it doesn’t have much food to consume, then it will start to deflate again.
If you feed 25g unfed starter 100g flour and 100g water (1:4:4 ratio), it will take longer to ferment because it has more food to get through.
How you can use this to your advantage:
I very rarely feed my starter a 1:1:1 ratio because if you do it too often, it creates a build up of lactic acid because it ferments so quickly and over time your starter will not be as healthy. I only use the 1:1:1 ratio when I am in a hurry and need my starter to ferment quickly. For example, if I have a last minute order of if I am going to a dinner party or something that evening and I want to bring bread.
You can use the higher ratio to your advantage when you know you don’t want it to peak for awhile. For example, if you feed it at night right before bed and you don’t plan to make dough until later the next morning. Also, you can use a higher ratio during the hot summer months because your starter will be fermenting quickly due to the warmer temperatures. And finally, I use a higher feeding ratio when I need to bulk up my starter for big bake days. An example is on Wednesday night I had 100g inactive starter in my fridge and I needed 1,200g for my dough day on Thursday.
I almost always feed my starter a high ratio right before bed and make my dough in the morning, or I feed it a medium ratio (like a 1:2:2) first thing in the morning and make my dough around lunch time.
Happy Friday Friends.
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