Flavour & Fire
The Sourdough Journal
Feeding Your Starter
Feeding is simple at its core: you keep part of your starter and give it fresh flour and water. Before long, though, you will come across ratios such as 1:1:1, 1:2:2 and 1:4:4 — and naturally, you may wonder which one you are actually supposed to use.
The good news is that there is no magic ratio. The ratio mainly determines how much fresh food your starter receives and, as a result, how quickly it moves through its feeding cycle. Feeding becomes less of a fixed ritual and more a way of adjusting your starter to what you want it to do that day.
Why does a starter need feeding?
A starter lives on the nutrients available in flour. As the microorganisms use those nutrients, the composition of the starter changes and it becomes increasingly acidic. Without fresh food, its activity will eventually slow down.
By keeping part of your starter and adding fresh flour and water, you give the culture a new supply of food while keeping the overall amount manageable. If you simply kept adding to it, your jar would soon become a small sourdough reservoir requiring a kitchen cupboard of its own.
Refreshing your starter also creates a new balance between the existing culture and the fresh food. And that is where feeding ratios come in.
Understanding the ratios
The numbers in a ratio such as 1:2:2 refer to starter : flour : water. They are measured by weight, not volume. The ratio you choose mainly affects how much fresh food the existing culture receives and how long it takes your starter to reach its peak.
1:1:1 — for example, 25 g starter + 25 g flour + 25 g water. You begin with a relatively large amount of existing starter and a smaller amount of fresh food. This means it will often become active quickly and reach its peak sooner, depending on the temperature and the condition of your starter.
1:2:2 — for example, 25 g starter + 50 g flour + 50 g water. This is a useful, versatile ratio for everyday maintenance. Your starter receives more fresh food than with 1:1:1, so it will generally take a little longer to reach its peak.
1:4:4 — for example, 25 g starter + 100 g flour + 100 g water. Here, the existing culture receives considerably more fresh food, so it will generally take longer to move through its feeding cycle. This can be useful when you want to feed your starter well ahead of time.
The ratio is therefore not a rule you have to follow religiously. Think of it more as a dial. If you want your starter to become active relatively quickly, use more existing starter in relation to the fresh food. If you want it to take longer to move through its cycle, give it proportionally more fresh food.
How thick should your starter be?
The ratio, however, does not tell the whole story. Pay attention to the consistency of your starter too.
A freshly fed starter does not need to be thin like batter. A good, sturdy starter should be thick enough to hold its shape for a moment, while still being easy to stir. When you lift the spoon, it should fall back into the jar slowly and heavily rather than running off like a liquid.
There is no exact scientific measurement for this, and you do not need to calculate a particular ratio simply to achieve it. Different flours absorb different amounts of water, so the same 1:2:2 feeding can produce a noticeably different consistency. Wholemeal and rye flour, for example, behave differently from white wheat flour when it comes to holding moisture.
A slightly thicker starter can also hold on to gas more effectively, making its rise easier to see in the jar. That makes the elastic band around your jar useful once again: you can follow the increase in volume more clearly and see when your starter reaches its peak.
Think of 1:1:1, 1:2:2 and 1:4:4 as starting points rather than fixed rules. As you become more familiar with your starter, the ratio becomes only part of the picture. How it looks, feels and behaves matters just as much.
Mother starter and baking starter
It helps to distinguish between your mother starter and your baking starter. Your mother starter is the small amount of culture that you maintain regularly. It is your foundation — the jar that lives in your kitchen.
Your baking starter is built specifically for a recipe. You take a small amount from your mother starter and feed it enough flour and water to create exactly the amount you need for your dough.
There is a practical advantage to working this way: you do not need to maintain a large amount of starter all the time. Your mother starter can remain small, while each baking project gets its own fresh build. Less excess starter also means less flour going to waste.
How often should you feed it?
How often you feed your starter depends largely on where it lives and how active it is there.
At room temperature, an established starter that you use regularly will often need feeding every day. In a warm kitchen, a low ratio such as 1:1:1 can move through its food more quickly and may require an additional feeding. In a cooler room, the same starter may take considerably longer to complete its cycle.
In the refrigerator, fermentation slows down significantly. An established starter can generally go for around a week without feeding, sometimes longer. When you want to use it again, give it one or more feedings at room temperature to bring it back to full activity. For that process, see Storing Your Starter.
The clock is a guideline
It is tempting to create a fixed routine — feed every morning at eight, then again every evening. If that works for you, there is absolutely nothing wrong with it. But your starter has no idea what time it is.
The same 1:2:2 feeding can reach its peak much faster in a warm summer kitchen than in a cold winter one. The flour, the amount of starter you use and the activity of your culture all make a difference too.
Use feeding times as a guide and learn the rhythm of your own starter instead. Bubbles, volume, aroma and the moment when it begins to fall again all tell you where it is in its cycle. Learning to read your starter is ultimately more useful than memorising a schedule.
A few small habits
Keep your jar clean. Scrape down the sides after feeding, and switch to a clean jar when dried starter begins to build up around the rim. This makes your culture easier to observe and helps prevent old residue from becoming a place where unwanted growth can develop.
Mix your feeding thoroughly. The flour and water should be evenly distributed throughout the existing starter, without dry pockets or poorly mixed areas. You can then smooth the surface and mark the level.
And do not be afraid to adjust your method. A different flour, a different temperature or a different ratio can all make your starter behave differently. That does not mean something is wrong. First observe what has changed, then give your starter a few feedings to settle into its new conditions.
In time, you learn more than simply how much flour and water to add. You learn when your starter is ready for what you want to do with it. Sometimes you want it at its peak quickly. Sometimes you give it more food and a little more time. And sometimes the jar tells you everything you need to know: it is active, sturdy, full of small bubbles and ready for the next stage — your dough.
Feed it, wait, and trust the rhythm more than the clock.