Feeding Instructions for Liquid Starter

Congratulations on starting your wonderful journey into sourdough baking.

Your new sourdough starter will be hungry from its long journey. So be sure to feed her as soon as possible.

 

 

Note: Do not use distilled, reverse osmosis, ozonated or alkaline water. I prefer using Natural spring water. It can be found at almost any grocery store and is relatively inexpensive. 

Note: Do not use bleached or enriched flours. They contain chemicals that can slow down or kill off the wild yeast cultures. Any unbleached flour will work but I prefer using King Arthur unbleached all purpose or bread flour. 

Note: When using TBS and cups instead of grams you may have to adjust the consistency. You may have to add more flour or water to get it to the consistency and thickness of smooth peanut butter. You want it smooth without clumps or dry spots. The thickness is an important part :) 

Instructions:

1. Have a 16 oz glass jar with lid and a spoon standing by.
2. Carefully open the starter jar. It may not look like much but its more than enough to get you started. It may look a little deflated but it will liven up after it’s feeding.
3. First feeding- Pour 40 grams (about 3 TBS)
   of filtered Luke warm water ( barely warm to the touch) into the original starter container with starter. Screw the cap back on and shake it up until the water and starter have mixed together.
4. Pour the contents into it’s new home ( the 16oz glass jar)
5. Add 40 grams (about 3 TBS) of Luke warm filtered water into the new jar with starter.
6. Use the spoon to mix the starter and water until it’s almost all the way dissolved
7. Add 80 grams ( about 3/4 cup) of unbleached all purpose flour or, to speed things up, you can use 60 grams ( about 1/2 cup) of all purpose and 20 grams ( about 1/4 cup) of whole wheat. Either way will work
8. Stir all the contents together until you get a nice smooth paste.

It should be about the thickness and consistency of smooth peanut butter. You may have to add a little more flour or water to achieve this consistency :). 

9. Mark the starting level with either a rubber band or marker. This way you can see if it has doubled.

10. Cover and let sit at room temp. Don’t tighten the lid all the way If your using an airtight lid.

11. Wait for it to double or triple in size. It should take about 12-72 hours depending on the temperature. It may be a little sluggish from its travel. Patience is key.

• The starter might rise and fall while you’re away or sleeping, so be on the lookout for starter streak marks around the glass from where it raised and fell. 
• Move to the second feeding If your starter develops a clear liquid on top before it has a chance to fully double. The clear liquid is a byproduct of fermentation and is completely harmless. It means your starter is very hungry. 

1. Second feeding - Once it has doubled or tripled in size or a clear liquid starts to develop on top, then go ahead and discard all but 30 grams (about 3 TBS) of the starter.
2. Add 80 grams ( about 6 TBS) of Luke warm filtered water to the 30 grams starter and stir it until it’s almost dissolved.
3. Add 80 grams ( about 3/4 cup) of unbleached all purpose flour or, to speed things up, you can use 60 grams ( about 1/2 cup) of all purpose and 20 grams ( about 1/4 cup) of whole wheat. Either way will work.
4. Stir all the contents together until you get a nice smooth paste.

It should be about the thickness and consistency of smooth peanut butter. You may have to add a little more flour or water to achieve this consistency :).

5. Mark the starting level with either a rubber band or marker. This way you can see if it’s doubled.

6. Cover and let sit at room temp

7. Wait for it to double or triple in size. This time it should double within 6-12 hours depending on the temperature.

Now you can proceed to the maintenance schedule.

Discard all but 40 grams ( about 3 TBS) of the starter than add 100 grams ( about 3/4 cup) flour and 100 grams ( about 1/2 cup) water. Stir until it’s smooth and the consistency of peanut butter. Then wait for it to double or triple and repeat.

Only discard and re feed after it has at least doubled. Waiting for it to at least double is the most important part. You will be doing this once a day if you’re leaving it at room temperature.

I would give it a few more days of doing this until you bake. That way the starter is performing optimally.

After about a week of maintaining at room temp you can go ahead and move it to the fridge. But wait until it is discarded and fed and then doubled at room temperature before doing this. Once in the fridge you can feed it once a week. What I usually do is pull 40 grams ( about 3 TBS) from the starter in the fridge and place it into a new jar. I then add 100 grams ( about 3/4 cup) flour and 100 grams ( about 1/2 cup) water. Stir and let sit at room temp until doubled. Then place back into fridge. I clean the old jar and put it away until the following week. :)

If you are baking sourdough more than once a week I would recommend keeping it on the counter. If you bake only once a week or less than I recommend putting your starter in the fridge and feeding it once per week.