Reading time: 5 minutes
A sourdough starter is the easiest pet you’ll ever own. It doesn’t need walks, vet bills, or attention beyond about 5 minutes a week. But that 5 minutes is non-negotiable — neglect it, and you’ll come home to a jar of nail-polish-smelling sadness.
Here’s exactly how to feed and maintain your starter, depending on how often you bake.
Schedule 1: The Daily Baker
You’re baking 3+ loaves a week. Your starter lives on the counter at room temperature.
Daily routine (5 minutes)
- Discard all but ~30g of starter
- Add 60g flour + 60g water
- Stir well, cover loosely, leave at room temp
- It will peak in 4–8 hours, ready to bake with
Yes, it feels wasteful to discard so much daily. Use the discard for pancakes, waffles, crackers, or pizza dough — it’s still delicious, just not strong enough to leaven a loaf on its own.
Schedule 2: The Weekend Baker
You bake 1–2 loaves per week. Your starter lives in the fridge between bakes.
Weekly routine (5 minutes)
- Take starter out of fridge once per week
- Discard all but ~30g
- Feed 60g flour + 60g water
- Leave on counter 6–8 hours until peaked
- Use what you need for your bake, return the rest to the fridge
This is what most home bakers do. The cold slows fermentation dramatically — your starter can stay healthy in the fridge for 1–2 weeks between feeds without complaining.
Schedule 3: The Monthly Baker
You bake once a month or less. Your starter lives in the fridge with infrequent feeds.
Monthly routine (5 minutes)
- Pull from fridge once a month even if you’re not baking
- Discard all but ~20g
- Feed 50g flour + 50g water
- Let sit at room temp 4–6 hours, then return to fridge
The week before you want to bake, do two daily feeds at room temperature to wake it up fully — sleepy starters make sleepy loaves.
Going on Vacation? Here’s What to Do
1–2 weeks: Feed before you leave, store in fridge. It will be fine.
2–4 weeks: Feed before you leave. Hold thumb. It might survive — bring it back with two consecutive feeds when home.
1–6 months: Pour starter onto parchment, dry at room temp until cracker-like, crush into flakes, store in airtight jar. Rehydrate with equal-weight water when ready to use.
6+ months: Just buy a fresh Heritage Starter — it’s $39, and easier than gambling on dried flakes.
How to Tell Your Starter Is Healthy
- Smell: Sweet, yeasty, slightly tangy — like beer and yogurt. Healthy.
- Color: Cream to slightly off-white. Healthy.
- Texture: Bubbly, doubles after feeding. Healthy.
- Float test: Spoonful floats in water at peak. Healthy.
How to Tell Something Is Wrong
- Smell of nail polish remover (acetone): Hungry. Feed more often.
- Pink, orange, or fuzzy spots: Mold contamination. Throw it out, start fresh.
- Layer of dark liquid (hooch): Hungry but salvageable. Pour off the hooch, feed.
- No bubbles at all after feed: Cold or dormant. Move to a warmer spot, feed twice daily for 2 days.
What If You Mess Up?
Most “dying” starters can be revived with the right feeding schedule. Our Starter Revival Kit includes a 14-day rescue protocol plus direct email access to our starter rescue line.
And if your starter is truly gone — it happens — you can replace it for $39. The Heritage Starter is worth far more than that, but we keep the price accessible because we’ve all killed a starter at some point.
Welcome to a lifetime of bread.
