TABLE OF CONTENTS

STARTER MAINTENANCE

1.  WHAT DO I FEED MY STARTER?
     1.1  STORAGE CONTAINERS
     1.2 WATER
     1.3  FLOUR
     1.4  WHAT TO NOT FEED IT

2.  WHEN SHOULD I FEED MY STARTER, AND HOW MUCH?
     2.1  FEEDING SCHEDULE
     2.2  HOW MUCH?
     2.3  THE INOCULATION METHOD
     2.4  THE "3:4 RATIO" METHOD
     2.5  FEEDING CYCLE
     2.5  CYCLE OF STARTER ACTIVITY

3.  HOOCH:  WHAT’S THIS LIQUID ON TOP?

4.  PREPARING YOUR STARTER FOR BAKING
     4.1 ACTIVATE YOUR STARTER
     4.2  USE THE ACTIVATED STARTER FOR BAKING (MIX INTO SPONGE OR DOUGH)

5.  SOURDOUGH BREAD BAKING TIPS
     5.1  OH, THAT SOURDOUGH FLAVOR!
     5.2  OVERVIEW OF SOURDOUGH BAKING METHODS

6.  HOW DO I ACTIVATE THE DRIED CULTURE I JUST RECEIVED?

7.  LONG TERM STORAGE AND BACK-UP

8.  SOURDOUGH DOCTORING
 

These notes apply to refrigerator storage starters, those that live in the refrigerator most of the time (also called a "mother" starter). Starters are pretty hardy and there are many, many methods of maintaining them. These methods have worked for me and many others to maintain strong, healthy, active starters that are capable of rising bread nicely and imparting good flavor. They are neither gospel nor the last word in starter maintenance, for as you travel down the sourdough road you will come across many other methods that work. Find one that works for you and use it regularly to maintain your starter in a strong, healthy and active state. As you get to know your starter, you will learn what it needs to be healthy. Starters have their own characteristics and temperments and need a little of your time and attention, somewhat like a pet. A starter is,
after all, a living thing.

 When you first get your starter (either in dried form or batter), feed it only flour and water. That's all it needs and other items may  contribute to contamination.
 
 

Use a glass, ceramic or plastic container. A glass canning jar makes a good refrigerator container. Do not use metal for storage as it can interact with the acidity of the sourdough and cause deterioration of the metal which could contaminate the starter. If you use a plastic container be sure that all food and grease residue has been removed.

 The container should be loosely covered to protect the starter and yet to allow the gasses released by the yeast to escape. Storage containers should be cleaned periodically and kept free of dried, old starter (habitat for mold). Be sure to rinse thoroughly with warm or hot water to remove all soap residue.
 
 

 When maintaining a starter, use pure spring water. Municipal water that has been treated may contain chlorine and/or other chemicals which may contribute to devitalizing your starter.

 I start out new starters in either dried or batter-like states with organic unbleached white flour. Once a starter has become strong and healthy I feed all-purpose flour because the yeast do not need the extra protein of a higher-protein bread flour (it is the starch they digest, not the protein), and the bleaching does not affect their nutrition. Also because this type of flour is the least expensive and sometimes I go through a lot of it. Use your own discretion in choosing bleached or unbleached flour, bread flour or all-purpose, organic or not.

Starters can also be fed whole wheat, rye, spelt or other grains, depending on what type of starter you wish to maintain.
 
 

Some people suggest alternative ingredients. I strongly recommend that you do not add any ingredients other than water and flour as anything that you put into your starter may make it more prone to contamination. Below are some ingredients people sometimes use and why I suggest that you not use them.

Salt – Salt inhibits yeast. Never add salt to your starter. Add salt to your dough when you mix it, never to your starter or to your sponge.

Milk (or other dairy products such as yogurt) – Dairy products may contain residue of antibiotics given to the cows which may be detrimental to your starter. Additionally, you may cultivate microorganisms which thrive on the sugars derived from milk (lactose), rather than those derived from flour, which will not contribute as much to your bread. Additionally, dairy products in a starter may go rancid.  Some milk-based starters such as Friendship starters should be fed with milk.

Sugar – Some people think adding sugar helps give the yeast a boost. Sourdough yeasts receive all the nutrition they need from flour and do not need an extra sugar boost. Sugar in your starter will not sweeten your dough, if you want sweeter dough add sugar when you mix the dough.

Potatoes, potato water, or potato flakes – These may contribute to contamination of your starter and you may cultivate microorganisms which thrive on potato starch rather than flour. If you want the added benefits of potatoes in your bread, add it when you mix your dough.

Vinegar - Some suggest that this will make the starter more sour. I have not tried it, I do not know, but would not like to contaminate my starter with vinegar-producing organisms.

Baking soda – Baking soda neutralizes the acidity of your starter and removes its flavor and sourness.
 
 

Maintaining your starter so that it remains strong and healthy is the Number One Key to success in making sourdough bread.  A starter needs to be fully activated and at the peak of its growth capacity in order to multiply enough yeast to rise your bread well and enough lactobacilli to flavor it well.  A starter cannot rise bread any higher than it can rise itself.
 
 

Commercial sourdough bakeries feed their starters 3 times a day.  For home bakers most books recommend weekly feeding. A good healthy starter may not need to be fed that often; nevertheless a regularly scheduled feeding is a good practice to help maintain a strong, healthy active starter. As you get to know your starter, you will learn what it needs.
 
 

To keep your starter strong and healthy, especially if you use your starter only once a week or so, keep only a small amount in the refrigerator, say 5 - 10 oz max.  Here is why:

Accumulating large quantites of starter is the major cause of declining starters and frustration with sourdough baking than any other cause.  It results in insufficient nutrients required to support the beastie population.

Say you have a quart of starter in your refrigerator and you take it out to feed it.  Since there was, say, 3 cups of flour in that quart of starter, your beastie population grew and grew until it used up all the nutrition in that flour and are now in a state of suspended animation waiting for more food.

Say you now feed it a cup of flour and a cup of water. With a beastie population based on 3 cups of flour, each beastie does not get very much to eat from the one cup of flour you just gave them so some of their numbers die off . Additionally you now have about 5 cups of starter, which is probably way more than you will ever need (remember, the their are no beastie nutrients left in the old flour). Because all of the beasties do not get much nutrition in a large slurry, they begin to die off causing your starter to become unhealthy, more prone to contamination (mold, etc.), and it declines in leavening and flavoring ability..
 

I know, I know, I know... you just HATE to throw any starter away!  You care about your starter and you hate to see any of it go to waste.  Not to mention the wasted flour that you paid for...  Thas is the point in maintaining only a small amount.  You can use your "discard" amount to build a sponge to bake from and you will not have as much to give away or throw away.
 
 

This is a method of feeding. It involves taking a small amount of starter and using it as an "inoculation" of a larger amount of flour and water to refresh (re-feed) your refrigerator starter or create a sponge.

Say you wish to maintain your refrigerator (or ‘mother") starter at a level of 7 oz. When you feed, discard all but 1 oz of your starter. To that 1 oz, add 6 oz combined water and flour and stir well. (Optional, add the water first and use a whisk or an egg beater to oxygenate very well, then add the flour). Use the proportions of flour and water that you want to achieve the consistency of starter that you prefer. Now you are back to your 7 oz. of starter. (I use 50/50 water/flour by weight because I like a fairly thick batter and I always know how much of my starter is flour and how much is water, which can be important when working with proportional recipes such as baker’s formulas).

This method helps to maintain a vigorous starter by giving your beasties maximum nutrition. What you are looking for with this method is an "inoculation" of between 5% - 30% old starter to new flour and water combination. An inoculation of 1 oz starter (which was originally a 1:1 flour/water combination) to 6 oz of 1:1 flour and water results in an inoculation of ~15%. I prefer to maintain a thick batter rather than a thin one for refrigerator starters because a thicker batter contains more flour and thus more nutrition for the microbes during their refrigerator storage. Experiment with varying ratios of flour to water and choose the one that you prefer.

Another advantage of this method is that it brings the starter back up to a pH conducive to optimum yeast and lactobacilli growth.
 
 

Another method of feeding which works well is the "3:4 Ratio" method. This implies that you feed water and flour in a ratio of 3 to 4. Whether it is 3 parts water to 4 parts flour or 3 parts flour to 4 parts water depends on whether you are using volume or weight measures of your ingredients. Interestingly enough, they are opposites of each other. This method results in a more liquid batter which will behave somewhat differently from a mix with a 1:1 ratio of flour to water. It is thinner, it will tend to foam more on the top and you may not see as much of an increase in volume as you would with a 1:1 ratio mix.

For volume measures, use 3 parts water to 4 parts flour, for example 3/4 cup water to 1 cup flour (here your "part" equals 1/4 cup).

For weight measures, use 3 parts flour to 4 parts water, for example 3 oz flour to 4 oz water (here your "part" is 1 oz).
 
 

A feeding cycle begins when you take your starter either out of the refrigerator or off the counter to feed it. Feed your starter using the method of your choice. Let your starter sit out in the counter at room temperature or in a warm place (up to about 86 degrees). If your starter is strong and healthy, it should fully activate with 8 – 12 hours of being fed (or less, some starters fully activate in as little as 2 - 3 hours).

A "fully activated starter", within 8 – 12 hours (or less) of being fed, sitting out at room temperature, should have at least doubled in size (volume) and be filled with both large and small bubbles which are well-integrated throughout the starter (not just on top), and it may have a layer of foam or froth on the very top. A more liquid starter will have more foam or froth on top than a thicker starter, and it may not increase in volume as much.  This stage is referred to as "peak" or "fully activated".
 
 

If you watch your starter after feeding, you will notice the following cycle of activity:

1)  For some period of time (perhaps up to several hours) you will see no visible activity.

2)  For a period of time, beginning with just a few small bubbles on the surface of the stater, you will notice increasing activity with the starter eventually rising and much bubbling.  Depending on the starter, this may go on for several hours.

3)  Eventually the starter will "plateau" and it will remain at that level for a period of time, up to several hours (depending on the speed of the starter). This plateau is referred to as the starter's "peak".

4)  Then it will fall slightly, a stage referred to as "drop".

5)  Eventually it will collapse into a thin batter with no visible activity. At this point it is ready to be fed again.

It is a good idea to get to know your starter and its cycles.  One day when you have the time available, mark your starter's progress as it goes through its cycle.  Put some freshly-fed starter into a clear container with straight sides (like a glass canning jar).  Tape a strip of paper vertically on the container or mark the container with a marker.  Over a 12 hour period, check the starter each hour and mark its level.  Keep notes as to what you observe and track the temperature.

This exercise will leave you well acquainted with your cycle and the timing it takes to move through each phase.  You will learn what it looks like at each phase and will be able to easily identify your starter's peak.  Knowing your starter's cycle will help you know when to use your starter and in planning the various stages of your bread making procedures.

Then do the exercise again at higher or lower temperatures and see what a difference the variances in temperature make to the timing of the stages of the cycle.
 
 

As starters sit in the refrigerator, a liquid layer forms on top, generally called hooch. When you next feed your starter, stir this liquid back into your starter. Some people say that this is the "sour" and if you pour it off you will have a more mild-flavored bread. I have not found this to be true (try your own experiment - make bread from the same starter, one loaf without the hooch stirred back in and one loaf with it stirred back and see which you prefer). For what its worth, my theory is that if you pour it off you change your water-to-flour ratio which affects your recipe,  the alcohol will evaporate, it's a natural part of your starter, stir it back in.

Hooch normally begins to form at the point at which the microorganisms have depleted their available food source. If sitting out on the counter, this will usually be within 24 – 48 hours. If in the refrigerator, it depends on the health of the starter and the quantity of food (flour) provided.
 
 

There are many ways of baking with a sourdough starter. Below is some information on getting your starter ready to bake with.  First check your recipe to see what your starter requirements are for it.
 
 

Prior to baking you need to convert some of your refrigerator starter (mother) to an ACTIVATED STARTER. When a recipe calls for, say, 1-1/2 cups of starter to make up into a sponge, it is referring to Activated Starter. It may take more than one feeding cycle to fully activate your starter, particularly if it has not been used for a while. Give your starter as many feeding cycles as it requires to fully activate it.

There are various methods of going from "mother" starter to sponge or dough. Some methods have you remove a cup of refrigerator mother starter, activate it for baking (making a cup more than you need), then return the extra 1 cup to the mother. Others activate the entire mother starter, use what they need, then return the mother to the refrigerator. (I like to fully activate the mother starter (give it as many feeding cycles as it needs to fully activate), then re-feed the mother and use some of the "discard" starter for my sponge or dough. Re-feed the mother as described above, let it sit out for an hour or so to get the yeast started, and then return the mother to the refrigerator).

If you haven’t used or fed your starter in a while (a week or more), take it out of the refrigerator the day before you intend to bake with it and give it a series of 3 feeding cycles (or as many feeding cycles as it takes to fully activate) prior to using. This will "wake up" the microbes so that they will be in top shape to quickly and fully activate your sponge and your dough to their maximum capacity. If your starter has been used recently and is fairly active already, give it one feeding cycle prior to using.

While activating the starter, let it sit out at room temperature or in a warm place up to about 86 degrees F. The container should be covered, but loosely so that the gasses released by the yeast can escape. A too-tight cover could result in an explosion.  Use a container that is large enough to allow your starter/sponge to double (or more) in volume.

If you need a larger quantity of starter for your sponge or your recipe, there are two methods to choose from.

Method 1, for the last feed cycle increase your amount of starter/water/flour (always working from a base of a 5% - 30% inoculation of starter) to obtain your desired quantity (plus some extra for the mother. For instance, if you maintain 7 oz but you need 12 oz for a sponge, on the last feed discard down to 2 oz of starter and add 12 oz of combined water and flour. This will give you 14 oz with the same ~15% inoculation.

Method 2, build up your quantity in stages, each time increasing the existing amount by  least doubling its quantity of water and flour and letting each stage fully activate before building the next stage.
 
 

Activate your starter using your method of preference. Use the activated starter to make a sponge or mix straight into dough, whichever method your recipe calls for or that you prefer. Some recipes call for you to make a sponge and let it sit 8 - 12 hours, then mix into dough, form into loaves and bake, skipping the first rise and punch-down. Others call for you to mix the activated starter into dough, some call for a first rise and punch-down, others have you form into loaves and do a slow, cool rise then bake. There are so many methods of making sourdough bread it can make your head swim. Experiment with different methods and find one that gives you the results you want.

Use good quality bread flour with a protein content of 11.5% - 14% to mix your sponge and dough.  Lower protein or all-purpose flour may break down from the acidity of the dough.
 
 

Sourdough baking is extremely variable, it is more art than science. But there is a lot of science to it also, and the basic axioms are these:

1) The higher percentage of starter in the final dough, the faster it will rise
.
2) The higher the temperature, the faster the rise.

There are at least two schools of thought as to how to maximize the flavor of your sourdough bread.  One school suggests that to maximize the flavor, use less starter in your dough and let it rise at a cool temperature (60 - 68 degrees F) for a long, long time.  The other school suggests using a high percentage of fully activated starter which has been activated at warm temperatures (85 degrees F) and rising the dough at warm temperatures.  Try both methods and choose the one that gives you the results that you like best.
 
 

A lot of recipes call for 1.5 - 2 cups of starter mixed into a sponge and left to sit overnight or up to 12 hours, then mixed into dough. This is a good basic method to begin with.

Some recipes call for as much as 4 cups of starter/sponge mixed into dough, this rises quickly (2 - 4 hours).

Other methods call for the use of only 1/2 cup of Activated Starter, mixed into dough and let rise 8 hours or so, punch down and form into loaves, let them rise until doubled and then bake.

Other methods have you build either a sponge or a firm dough (levain) through a three-phase refreshment process before mixing the final dough.

Some sourdough methods call for the use of refrigeration as a way of retarding the dough. They will have you mix the dough, let it sit out for 4 hours or so at room temperature then shape your dough, let it sit at room temperature for another 1 - 4 hours, then put into a plastic bag and refrigerated overnight. The next day the dough must warm up some and finish rising if it is not fully risen before baking.

Though there are a million methods and recipes (well, maybe not QUITE that many!), the basic ingredients for sourdough bread are starter, water, flour and salt, and the rest is pretty much free-form. Recipes are just guidelines and sourdough bread baking involves a lot of experimentation. Experiment, try many methods and find the one that works the best for you.

Here is a link to start your exploration of sourdough recipes.
 
 

Open your packet of dried starter carefully and dump the contents into a container (do not use metal). Measure 4 - 8 oz of warm (80 – 85 degree F) water. Add about half the water to the dried culture and stir it well. Stir it several times over the next 15 – 20 minutes while the culture is dissolving in the water. When the culture has dissolved (or nearly dissolved) add the remaining water and an equal weight (equal to the total amount of water) of flour. Stir well, cover and let it sit for 24 hours in a warm place (85 degrees F). Stir several times over a 12 or 24 hour period.

At the end of the 12 or 24 hour period, add 4 oz warm water, stir it in vigorously to oxygenate the mixture, then add 3 - 4 oz flour and stir well.  If it is too thick, add some additonal water.   Let it sit until you see signs of life (small bubbles on the surface), up to 24 hours. Stir it several times over the 24 hour period. Begin your feeding routine by discarding all but 2 oz of starter, then feed 4 oz of water, stir vigorously and add 3 -4 oz of flour. Repeat this cycle if you do not see signs of life. If after 5 days you see no signs of life, the starter is probably dead.

Once you see a few (or more) bubbles begin forming on the surface, put the starter on a 6 – 12 hour feeding schedule until the culture is fully activated (see definition of Fully Activated Starter, above). At this time the starter is ready to use or refrigerate. (Note: The more strong and stable your starter is before baking with it, the better your first loaf will be. To ensure a strong stable starter, leave it sitting out at room temp and feed once or twice a day for two weeks, then bake with it or refrigerate).
 
 

It is a good idea to keep a back-up of your favorite starter "just in case" something happens to your starter-batter (like it accidentally gets thrown out by someone doing you a favor by cleaning out your refrigerator, or you go on vacation and it gets neglected for a while, or some other fatality occurs). Or you may decide that you want to put a starter on hold for a while.

It is an easy process to dry some starter. Lay out a small piece of waxed paper on a cookie sheet. Water down a bit of fully activated starter (it does not take much) to a thin batter. Using a spatula, spread a very thin layer of starter over the waxed paper. Set the paper on top of the refrigerator or somewhere dry and safe and leave it overnight or until it is completely dry. When dry, the paper will curl and the dried starter will easily peel off. The dried starter can be crumbled or pulverized and stored in a plastic bag. It will keep best in your refrigerator. About 6 months later make sure to re-activate some starter to the fully activated state and then dry some more.

Another method is to make some starter into a thick noodle-like consistency, very smooth and dry like fresh pasta. It will keep in your refrigerator for several months in this form. For storage of several weeks up to several months, mix your starter into a thick dough-like consistency and store it in your refrigerator. The thicker the mix, the more nutrients available to the microbes so they will last longer.

Sometimes starter can survive being frozen. Put a small amount into an air-tight container, label it and stick it in the freezer. Every few months thaw it out and re-activated to the fully activated state, then re-freeze. Beware that not all strains of lactobacilli can survive freezing, so it is a good idea to freeze a small amount of starter as a test, then re-activate it and bake with it to see if your starter remained intact.

CAVEAT: None of these methods are guaranteed to preserve your starter intact. It is possible that some of your strains of yeast or lactobacilli will not survive long-term storage.
 
 

This is my rendering and summarization of the Sourdough Doctor FAQ. For more info, see the FAQ.
 
 

Whenever you "mess" with your starter, always keep some starter in reserve in the refrigerator in case what you end up with is worse, then you might still have some to recover from.

It's pretty hard to kill a sourdough. One way is by starving it, (i.e. leaving it in the refrigerator for months without feeding). The other, main way is by exposing it to too high of a temperature for a sufficiently long period of time to kill off all the yeast. This would be a temperature in the range of over 100 degrees F for some period of time (depends on the temperature and quantity of starter). So if you know you have not burnt up the starter or starved it, it can probably be revived.

Here are 2 methods you can use to try to recover an ailing starter. Before beginning either one, remove some starter to keep in reserve in the refrigerator and work with a small amount of starter. You will probably end up discarding the reserved starter but keep it for a few days "just in case."

Recovery Method 1:

Take 2 oz "sick" starter (leave the rest in the refrigerator, even if you think it's dead), add 4 oz of 85 degree water and 3 - 4 oz flour, mix well. Let sit at 85 degrees for 12 hours (this is the activation stage), then refrigerate for 12 hours (this is the rest stage). Take out, discard all but 2 oz, add 4 oz water and 3 - 4 oz flour, mix well. Let sit for 12 hours, then refrigerate for 12 hours. You may need to repeat this cycle several times in order to bring your starter back to an active, healthy stage.

At some point you should see some signs of life, small bubbling on top, etc. Repeat the cycle until you have a healthy, active starter - it will double in volume at some point during the activation stage, will be full of large and small bubbles both on top and throughout. At this point you have a healthy active starter, treat it as you would any healthy active starter and discard the 'sick' starter remaining in your refrigerator. If the starter seems sluggish, try either a thinner or thicker batter or work with a larger quantity.  If after 5 days you see no signs of life, Try Method 2.

Recovery Method 2:

Take 1 tablespoon "sick" starter, add 4 oz 75 degree water and 4 oz flour. Let sit for 24 hrs at 75 degrees (this is the activation stage), then refrigerate for 12 hours (this is the rest stage). Take out of the refrigerator, discard all but 1 tablespoon, add 4 oz 75 degree water and 4 oz flour. Let sit for 24 hours at 75 degrees, then refrigerate for 12 hours. Repeat for several days, if you don't see any signs of life (small bubbling on top, etc) after about a week, it's probably dead.

At some point you should see some signs of life, small bubbling on top, etc. Repeat the cycle until you have a healthy, active starter - it will double in volume at some point during the activation stage, will be full of large and small bubbles both on top and throughout. At this point you have a healthy active starter, treat it as you would any healthy active starter and discard the 'sick' starter remaining in your refrigerator.  If the starter seems sluggish, try either a thinner or thicker batter or work with a larger quantity.

These methods can be used when a starter is young to get it going, to stabilize a starter (i.e. if it separates too early or is not real healthy and active), to eliminate mold or contamination from a starter, or to revitalize a sluggish starter or one that has been in refrigerator storage for too long..

If your starter shows some signs of life but does not seem to be fully reviving after several days of this procedure, try a few more cycles using a "thinner" mix of water and flour (more water than flour, rather than equal amounts by weight), a "thicker" mix of water and flour, or try working with a larger quantity of mix. Another suggestion is to try a rounded bowl rather than a straight-sided container.

If it still seems sluggish, try re-inoculating the starter with a piece of apple skin or a few grapes.  Do this only as a last resort and beware that it might change the characteristics of your starter or contaminate it with unwanted organisms.

The Sourdough Doctor FAQ contains much more information and details of these procedures.
 

The FAQs and links to other sourdough information can be accessed through Darrell Greenwood’s Sourdough Page.