Typically, sourdough starter is fed daily if you’re keeping it on the counter but that’s not always the case. Temperature, environmental factors and how often you bake will determine how often you should be feeding it. Pay attention to the way your starter smells and its activity to help you maintain a feeding schedule. You can always place your starter in the fridge and feed it every 7- 10 day if you don’t want to maintain it on the counter with daily feedings.

In general, your starter isn’t dead unless it’s growing mold. Just because your starter isn’t growing or active doesn’t mean your starter is dead. It could simply be dormant and need a liLle help. If you think your starter is dead or has become sluggish, reach out to us and let’s troubleshoot together.

A vinegar-like smell in your starter is usually a sign that it’s hungry and in need of feeding. When the yeast and bacteria in the starter consume all of the available food, they start producing acids, which give off that sour scent. It’s a sign that the fermentation process is happening and simply feeding your starter should help alleviate the smell.

You can feed your starter any flour you choose. We like to use organic bread flour; however, you are able to use any flour you like. We do recommend that you avoid using bleached flour as it has less wild yeast and self-rising flour because it has a higher pH level. 

You can keep your starter in a container with a loose fitting lid on the counter and feed every day. If you plan to bake frequently, this method works well. If feeding once a day is too time consuming or you don’t plan to bake frequently, you can keep your container with a tight seal in the fridge and take out to feed every 7-10 days. 

Discarding half of your starter is a way to maintain its health and balance. Think of your sourdough starter as a living ecosystem of yeast and bacteria. By removing half of the starter, you ensure that the remaining yeast and bacteria have enough food to thrive on. It also helps control the volume of starter you have and prevents it from growing too large to manage. If you don’t want to throw your discard away, you can store it in a separate container in the fridge and use it for discard recipes. Check out some of our favorite discard recipes here.

The lid on your starter should be loosely closed to allow gases, like carbon dioxide that are produced during the fermentation process, to escape. If the lid is too tight, pressure can build, potentially causing your container to burst or the lid to pop off. I prefer to use a two-piece canning jar lid, with the flat lid in place but without tightening the ring. Another option is using plastic wrap with a rubber band or hair tie around the rim.

Fermentation and feed have some effect on the sourness of the bread. However, the temperature of the fermentation has the greatest effect on the sourness of the culture. A long, cool fermentation is more likely to result in sourer bread than a short, warm fermentation. 

To make your sourdough bread taste more sour, you can adjust a few factors in your baking process. First, a longer fermentation time. I recommend anywhere from 16-24 hours for a more tangy flavor. Second, you can ferment your dough at a slightly lower temperature. You can try proofing your dough in the refrigerator overnight or fermenting it in a cooler environment. Third, you can increase the hydration in your sourdough recipe. A higher hydraCon typically