Home » Kitchen Tips » A Lazy Girl’s Guide to Sourdough
Nov 5, 2020111
Sourdough doesn’t have to be intimidating or require scientific calculations! I’m sharing all my tips on the lazy girls’ guide to sourdough. Easy, doable, fun and delicious!
Ok, let’s talk sourdough.
It’s all the craze this year thanks to yeast shortages and quarantine baking, but it’s been on the rise (haha, get it? ok, sorry) for a lot of years, and in general, it’s been around for pretty much forever.
I’ve kept a sourdough starter off and on for about ten years now. I’m certainly NOT a sourdough expert, but I have figured out how to make sourdough easy and fun.
Contrary to popular belief and what a lot of sourdough experts will tell you, keeping a sourdough starter and baking with it doesn’t have to be intimidating, scientific, or intense.
Today I’m sharing my lazy girl’s guide to sourdough. If you’ve ever wanted to try keeping a sourdough starter, I’m here to help you realize you can do it (and it’s actually simple and stress-free!).
How to Get a Sourdough Starter
The most important component of sourdough is, of course, the starter.
You can get your hands on sourdough starter by asking around. You’d be surprised at how many people have sourdough starter languishing in their refrigerator. I got mine from a friend at church who has kept hers for years. So it’s strong and basically hard to kill.
I’ve heard you can also buy a sourdough starter online. I have no idea how good the dehydrated options are, so be sure to read reviews or do some research.
You can also make your own sourdough starter. I did this years ago when I was living in the middle of northern Minnesota nowhere. Although the starter lacked the flavor and strength of the one I have now (that’s older and been maintained longer), it’s definitely doable. Once you mix it up, it can be ready to use in about 5-8 days.
Here are some great resources for making your own sourdough starter:
- Simple Sourdough Starter
- King Arthur Flour Sourdough Starter Tutorial (King Arthur Baking has taught me almost everything I know about sourdough)
- 7 Easy Steps to Making Your Own Sourdough Starter (this article is slightly intense but if you like the science behind it, it’s informative)
How to Maintain a Sourdough Starter
You’ll finda lot of information out on the webbies about how to do this. It can get overwhelming, and there are a lot of differing opinions about how much attention you need to show your sourdough starter and how often it needs to be fed.
There is hearsay that some sourdough starters even have names. Birth dates. And permanent living quarters.
Lucky little starters.
The lazy girl’s way to maintain a sourdough starter is to keep it in the refrigerator, sometimes forget about it, and feed it occasionally.
This is my general method:
- Pull my sourdough starter out of the refrigerator
- Scoop out the amount of sourdough I want to use in a recipe
- Feed the remaining sourdough starter
- Let it sit at room temp until it bubbles and doubles
- Pop it back in the refrigerator
Sometimes I use the starter and feed it 3X a week. Sometimes I don’t use it or feed it for over a month.
If you pull your starter out of the fridge and it has gray-tined liquid on top, don’t panic. That’s just a byproduct of the fermentation. You can pour it off or stir it back in. (However, if the liquid has an orange or pink tinge, toss the whole thing – that indicates it’s gone bad.)
If your starter has been left in the fridge for a long time but doesn’t have any signs that it’s gone bad, it’ll work just fine, but you may need to feed it several times over the course of a couple of days to get it back to full strength.
If you plan to bake with your starter every single day, keep it on the counter at room temperature and feed it every 12 hours. You’ll need to discard or use part of the starter before you feed it unless you want to end up with a bathtub sized batch of sourdough starter.
I’m not going to go into the intense how-to’s of daily sourdough maintenance, but here are some helpful links if you want to learn more about it:
- King Arthur Flour’s Guide to Maintaining a Sourdough Starter (again, an invaluable resource to me as I’ve learned over the years)
- Little Spoon Farm (she talks about ditching the typical 1:1:1 ratio and why the 1:4:4 method works for her)
- The Perfect Loaf’s Sourdough Maintenance Schedule (again, intense but informative)
How to Feed a Sourdough Starter
I use the 1:1:1 method for feeding my starter.
I always keep my sourdough starter in the same container and use my kitchen scale to quickly and easily figure out how much flour and water I need to add.
It’sway easier to do it this way than scoop it out into another bowl, figure out quantities, and wash a bunch of dishes.
I already know my container weighs 325 grams. (I keep that info on a post-it note inside my kitchen cupboard along with other helpful info like how many caramels can be wrapped from a triple batch and how many slices of watermelon can you get from one average sized watermelon and the perfect essential oil blend for stinky teenager feet; my kitchen cupboard notes are a wealth of info.)
- So I pop the container on the kitchen scale with whatever sourdough is left after I scooped some out to use, and I check the weight.
- If it weighs 865 grams, I know I have 540 grams of sourdough starter in there (865 grams minus the 325 grams that the container weighs).
- I tare out the scale to zero and add 540 grams of unbleached all-purpose flour.
- I tare the scale out to zero again and add 540 grams of room temperature water.
I mix it all up. The consistency should be thick but pourable (not runny and thin and not so thick that it’s becoming a dough).
And then I cover and let it sit at room temperature until it is doubled and bubbling, about 4-8 hours depending on the temperature of my kitchen.
At this point, I use it in a recipe that calls for fed sourdough starter OR I pop it straight back into the fridge to live it’s best laid back life until I decide to use it again.
*This is the 4-quart container I have and use* {aff. link}
How to Bake with a Sourdough Starter
Sourdough recipes will usually indicate whether the sourdough starter called for in the recipe needs to be fed or whether it can be discard.
Fed sourdough starter is sourdough starter that has recently been fed with flour and water; it is bubbly, active and has doubled in size.
Discard sourdough starter is sourdough starter straight from the fridge or counter that hasn’t been fed in a while. It’s sluggish and a little sleepy.
Again, there are a million and a half resources and recipes on the internet for how to bake with sourdough.
But this is the lazy girl’s way to use my sourdough starter:
- I almost always use recipes that call for sourdough discard. It doesn’t require any planning on my part, and the sourdough recipes are incredibly delicious.
- I use my sourdough starter in tons of recipes on my site that aren’t specifically sourdough recipes – it adds flavor and the most amazing texture to breads.
My Favorite Sourdough Discard Recipes
These are the four recipes I make 99% of the time:
- Sourdough waffles or pancakes (this recipe requires an overnight rest, but it’s so worth it – I make these waffles once a week at least)
- Sourdough pizza crust (incredible flavor, incredible texture)
- Sourdough chocolate cake (literally one of the best chocolate cakes on the whole planet earth and one of the main reasons I continue to keep a starter)
- Rustic sourdough bread or basic sourdough bread (these recipes still call for a bit of yeast, but it is perfect for beginning sourdough bread bakers, and the bread is phenomenal and foolproof)
Clearly I have a soft spot in my heart for King Arthur Flour sourdough recipes. They’re amazing.
Little Spoon Farm has a ton of sourdough discard recipes as well. The sourdough biscuits are really good.
If you want to make sourdough bread without yeast, here are three great resources:
- Bless This Mess (Melissa’s) Sourdough Bread Recipe (super popular recipe!)
- King Arthur Flour’s No-Knead Sourdough Bread
- The Clever Carrot’s Beginner Recipe
How to Use Sourdough Starter in Regular Recipes
This is probably the easiest and laziest way I use my sourdough starter recipe.
I often pull it out of the refrigerator and scoop a big dollop into a bread recipe I’m already making (that doesn’t call for sourdough starter).
This is not an exact science, but my general rule of thumb is for every cup of sourdough starter, decrease the liquid by 1/2 cup and the flour by 1/2 cup.
Remember to add remaining flour by look and feel until a soft, supple, stretchy dough is formed that clears the sides of the bowl. Don’t worry about the exact flour amounts in a recipe; those can vary based on where you live, how you measure flour, etc.
Here are a few recipes I’ve had great success tossing sourdough starter into:
- Soft Pretzel Rolls
- Pretzel Bites
- Homemade French Bread
- 1-Hour Breadsticks
- Bread Bowls
I often also scoop some sourdough starter into this white sandwich bread and this small batch whole wheat bread.
Why use sourdough starter in regular recipes?
Well, for one, it adds really great flavor. And also, sourdough starter produces really soft, stretchy bread dough and deliciously tender baked bread.
Mostly, it’s a great way to use sourdough starter regularly – which in turn means your sourdough starter gets fed regularly.And if you haven’t heard, sourdough is kind of good for your gut.
Lessons Learned from Sourdough
Mostly, what I’ve learned from tinkering around with sourdough starter over the years is that it’s really, really hard to mess it up.
Also, I feel like a rockstar when I feed my sourdough starter, let alone use it in a phenomenal bread recipe!
It’s really handy to keep around for those times when you don’t have yeast.
I love that it’s a way to challenge myself in the kitchen without spending a lot of money and time since I often use it in recipes I’m already making.
If you’ve been on the fence about sourdough, have wanted to dive back in after a hiatus, or need to pull that starter out of retirement from the depths of the fridge, hopefully this post will be a good starting place to work with sourdough without any stress!
Disclaimer: I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for me to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Disclaimer: I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for me to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Breads Kitchen Tips Recipes Sourdough Yeast Breads
posted on November 5, 2020 (last updated January 11, 2024)
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111 comments on “A Lazy Girl’s Guide to Sourdough”
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Mo — Reply
I feel like you could perfect the sourdough cookie! I made these but kept wishing you had a sourdough recipe on your site!
https://amberskitchencooks.com/browned-butter-sourdough-chocolate-chip-cookies/ -
Robin — Reply
Hi Mel, thanks for all your thoughts in the post. Referring to your rule of adding 1 c. starter and decreasing water and flour each by 1/2 c. for adding starter to a recipe…… If I want to add starter to a recipe that that doesn’t have any liquid (ex. pumpkin bread) how would I do that? Only reduce the flour? reduce more flour? I don’t think I’d like to reduce the oil or butter, the bread probably needs that. Thanks!
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Mel — Reply
Hi Robin, I’ve added 1/2 cup starter to quick breads without making any modifications. Any more starter than that and you may want to decrease flour a bit!
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Peggy Drzayich — Reply
Thanks for another great post, Mel. I follow several food bloggers but you are my absolute favorite and my go to when I really want something to turn out! I also know and love your Aunt Marilyn-win, win.
Anyway-thought you should know that I tried to open your link for the 4 quart container and it wouldn’t work. Got a message -“Sorry, we couldn’t find that page”-
Mel — Reply
Thank you, Peggy! I’ll update the link!
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JaNise — Reply
Hi Mel. I LOVE your recipes. I have maybe a weird question. I love the idea of using that container you use for the sourdough starter, BUT, what do you cover it with? I’ve tried sourdough a few times and get overwhelmed and LOVE this lazy guide and am hoping third times a charm!
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Mel — Reply
The container shown in the post comes with a lid!
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Lesley — Reply
Thank you for this! I have started my own starter a couple times in the past and gave up. Finally got some start from a friend and now I’m baking with it like a (lazy girl) domestic goddess! Haha!
Question: when you use in regular recipes, do you also add the instant yeast as well or omit?-
Mel — Reply
A lot depends on the recipe, but usually if I’m just testing it out for the first time, I still use at least half of the yeast. Using all sourdough starter requires (usually) much longer rising/rest times among other changes.
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Ellie — Reply
King Arthur website sells fresh sourdough starter.
1 x Classic Fresh Sourdough Starter
$9.95https://shop.kingarthurbaking.com/ingredients/starters-leaveners
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Haily Roberts — Reply
Ok, Mel I just received a starter from a friend. It’s just a little bit, maybe 1/4 cup. Can I feed it, refrigerate it, then feed it again just to grow it so I can start using it, or do I have to take some out in order to feed it again?
Thanks for all of your awesome info!-
Mel — Reply
You don’t need to take any out! You can keep feeding it, letting it rest for 12-24 hours, and then feeding it again until it gets to the amount you’d like to keep going.
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Haily Roberts — Reply
Awesome, thank you!
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Haily Roberts — Reply
Ok, one more question, what makes the difference between fed starter and discard? In other words, how long does my fed starter need to sit in the fridge before it becomes “discard”?
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Mel — Reply
Good question, Haily. A starter is considered fed after water/flour has been added and the starter has rested at room temperature until it is bubbly and doubled in size. Once it reaches that point, it’s considered a fed starter. It’ll start deflating after it reaches it’s peak. At that point (and beyond until it is fed again), it is considered discard.
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Dawsey — Reply
This post has been so helpful for me, thank you! I do have one question, do you stir the ripe fed sour dough starter before using it in a recipe?
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Mel — Reply
Yes, no, I don’t stir it if it’s been fed and is bubbly. I only stir it if I’m taking it out of the fridge and stirring it before using (or using cold, unfed sourdough starter in a recipe).
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Dawsey Robins — Reply
Thank you, Mel!
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Wendy — Reply
I’m sorry if this has already been asked, but when you add a cup of sourdough discard to a regular bread recipe, do you make any adjustment to the yeast amount?
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Mel — Reply
When I started out doing that, I didn’t adjust the yeast because I was worried, but now I’ll cut it back a little – sometimes in half.
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Wendy — Reply
Thank you! I just made your English muffin recipe and bagels with starter discard and they both turned out amazing!
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Abigail Obenchain — Reply
Thank you so much. Our son is a sourdough guru who makes magazine-spread-beautiful loaves of sourdough bread. He gave me some of his starter, but he is an engineer and I am very intimidated trying to emulate his masterful approach to sourdough. Your system is much more along my skills and abilities LOL.
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Emi — Reply
Do you recommend putting any starter in cinnamon rolls? Would that improve the texture/flavor or sour the bread? Do you have a kitchen scale that you recommend?
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Mel — Reply
I think sourdough starter would work great in cinnamon rolls. Maybe a cup to start? I use the “smart weigh” scale – unfortunately it isn’t available on amazon any longer but there are a lot of other highly rated kitchen scales if you do a quick search.
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Amy — Reply
I love the tip about adding it into everything. I started adding it to my whole wheat bread and love the texture I gives it. I also add it to my waffle batter. Great idea!
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LizF — Reply
Your recipes look amazing!!! Can’t wait to try them!!
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Kathy — Reply
In addition to making a sourdough starter this year, I also finally succumbed to my desire to purchase a wheat grinder. Apparently I was not the only one since I had to wait 4 months to get it! But I am so happy I got it, and am very appreciative of all the information you shared which helped me make my decision. I am now using all fresh-ground flour, including to feed my sourdough starter and the loaves I am baking. My starter is not as active using the fresh-ground flour and my loaves are not as light colored and soft-textured as yours look in the photos. I am using soft wheat berries; is that what you’re using too?
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Mel — Reply
Hi Kathy – that’s amazing! So happy you’ve ventured into the world of wheat grinding. It’s so fun! I use unbleached all-purpose to feed my starter but I use whole wheat when actually making sourdough bread/rolls. Does that make sense?
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Kathy — Reply
Yes, thank you so much Mel. I was under the impression that you never used store-bought flour anymore, so was trying to follow the same. I was going on the assumption that the soft white and hard white wheat berries I have will cover all my basic flour needs, but it sounds like I may still need to keep some AP flour on hand too. I so appreciate all your efforts sharing so much wonderful information on your site; it’s my go-to for recipes! Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family!
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Jeri Lynn — Reply
Thank you for a guide that makes sourdough seem less intimidating. I’ve been a bread baker for a good long time but haven’t played with sourdough at all. (I was sooooo glad I already had a good stash of yeast when all the shortages hit!) When quarantine started, I read about sourdough but felt utterly overwhelmed about remembering to feed twice a day. The discard recipes sound tasty, but I didn’t know if they were worth maintaining a starter. When I read your lazy girl’s guide, though, suddenly a starter seemed more doable.
In a fun turn of events, a friend of mine just gave me part of her 130 year old starter when she heard I was thinking about playing with sourdough. Now to try this all out and see how it goes. 😀
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Lindsey — Reply
How do I know how much starter to dollop into your regular/non sourdough recipes?
I obtained a starter and the first recipe I tried was a success! Thanks for giving me the push I needed to do this- I’ve been wanting to for years! You are my favorite.
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Mel — Reply
I don’t really measure, but usually for a standard roll or bread recipe, I’ll add a cup or so of sourdough starter and then adjust the flour and water as needed (for every cup of sourdough starter, I decrease the flour and water in the recipe each by 1/2 cup).
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Sarah — Reply
We love sourdough waffles. I’m curious if anyone has made these sourdough waffles with your apple topping and cinnamon syrup??
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Kami — Reply
Thank you for making everything so DO-able!
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Angela Hunter — Reply
Have you ever used whole wheat flour with the sourdough? does the recipes change?
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Mel — Reply
I don’t use whole wheat flour to feed my starter, but I have used it in recipes calling for whole wheat. I haven’t changed anything about the recipe (other than decreasing the flour/water based on the amount of sourdough starter I’m using)
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Andrea — Reply
Awesome post! I can honestly attribute King Arthur Flour and your website to my honing my breadmaking skills. Perfect complimentary duo! I’ve been wanting to start another sourdough starter. I also kept it mostly in the fridge.
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Mel — Reply
The first cookbook I bought nearly 20 years ago after getting married was a King Arthur Flour baking book and I attribute it to the reason I ever started a blog in the first place!
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Kirstin — Reply
Okay, well, now I’m on the hunt for a started because you’ve inspired me. I was worried it was too much work but you make it sound totally manageable…and worth it!
Now you may just need to start a part of your website that is like a ride-sharing app, but for people willing to sell/unload their epic sourdough starts! Haha
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Rebecca — Reply
Love this post! Sourdough was my quarantine craft project. LOL. It was such a homey comfort to make a new treat and bread every Friday to enjoy over the weekend. I could pull out my starter on Thursday night, and it was ready for using in the morning. Then I could put It back when finished baking. At first I left It on the counter. It did grow a lot, but I am feeding 8 people three times a day so it was fine to learn on. Once I got the hang of it, I was able to use the fridge and feed it once a week. It never ceases to amaze me how something as simple as baking can provide a comforting routine in the middle of crazy.
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Mel — Reply
Your last sentence sums up so much of how I feel! So true, Rebecca! Sounds like you learned a lot about sourdough this year!
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Dani — Reply
Hi! This is very helpful. Do you have any roll recipes that you have added sourdough too with success? Thanks so much!
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Mel — Reply
This one works great https://www.melskitchencafe.com/french-bread-rolls/
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Lisa — Reply
Hold the phone! You’ve got info on the perfect essential oil blend for stinky teenager feet?! That sounds life-changing — pretty sure I need to know more!
Also I’ve been chickening out on trying sourdough starter for so long, but you make it sound like I should get brave and dive in. Thanks for all your directions and insight here.
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Mel — Reply
I use eucalyptus, peppermint and lemon. It doesn’t take away 100% of the smell, but it definitely helps!
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Brandie — Reply
Thank you! This is the comment I was hoping to find
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Terry — Reply
I haven’t had luck with my sourdough starter. I love King Arthur Flour, use it exclusively and use a lot of their recipes. The pizza dough came out okay, although it had absolutely no sourdough taste. I’ve made a lot better chocolate cakes, I won’t make their sourdough cake again. I made their sourdough sandwich biscuits. Twice. Twice they were a fail. I measure my ingredients, followed the recipe exactly. They didn’t rise, they spread like cookies. I made sourdough hamburger buns. Following the recipe, adding yeast because I didn’t have all the time the recipe stated it required. I had batter consistency, not dough. I had tried another time, adding more flour. Epic fail. The next time I lowered the water because it’s humid in our home. Otherwise, following the directions and adding the yeast. Except it was batter. I don’t know. I left it to rise, doing the stretches, however, it required the time to rise given, without adding extra yeast. I have eyes, I can see what it’s doing and not doing. I don’t believe you leave them to rise on the counter if you’re refrigerating them, so I covered them and placed them in the fridge. After 24 hours I retrieved them, only to discover they were flatter than pancakes. They needed 2 hours on the counter to rise, per the recipe, which I did. They never rose. Before I placed them in the fridge, they had risen beautifully. So maybe the recipe did state to let them rise before refrigerating. I left a review. It’s really annoying when someone from KA replies, only to tell you what you did wrong. There’s no way for me to reply back. I was told I overproofed. If that’s the case, they need different directions for their recipe. Regular yeast bread comes out beautifully for me, I’ve never had an issue. I bake yeast buns weekly, which always come out perfectly. I have sourdough starter in the fridge, however, their replies have left me not wanting to try anything else. Their people are discouraging instead of encouraging.
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Mel — Reply
I’m sorry you’ve experienced such frustration with sourdough recipes and the King Arthur Flour comment replies, Terry! It is discouraging to spend so much time making breads and more time-involved recipes and not have them turn out how you think they should. I’m sorry!
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Lynne K — Reply
As per the quarantine handbook, I took on sourdough starter this year, and I was super stoked to see this post all about it. I’ll be scooping starter into all the things from here on out. Muffins? Scoop. Waffles? Scoop! French bread rolls? Double scoop!
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Mel — Reply
Ha. “quarantine handbook” – I love that
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Shaynee — Reply
I loooooove you (even more which I didn’t think was possible) for creating this post! Thank you!!!
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Mel — Reply
Haha, thanks, Shaynee! 🙂
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Margaret — Reply
Warning: This may be anathema to purists. I’ve had sourdough starter for a couple of years. I try to feed it once a week, but sometimes I forget and sometimes I am just lazy. So I stir in a tablespoon or so of sugar, and that keeps it happy and healthy and usable. It may change the flavor of the sourdough, but as I understand it, that will happen over time anyway, and I’m not a purist 🙂
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Mel — Reply
I love comments like this. Most of us don’t have time to be a purist about anything, let alone sourdough, and I like knowing the reality of how people make it work. Thanks, Margaret!
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Amanda — Reply
Thank you for this post Mel:) As always you are helpful and entertaining! I can’t find a link for your Amazon store…I am looking for a container to let the bread do a slow rise in the fridge…..And I know you have shown a container from amazon clear, and tall and square I think. Thanks for you help. I looked here and on IG for a link to your Amazon shop…I hate to bother you for it. And I can’t find on amazon where to search for someones shop?!
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Mel — Reply
Hey Amanda – it’s this one!
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Lisa — Reply
Hi, Mel! Thanks for this approach – you make the realm of sourdough an intimidation-free zone!
Stinky (named for my then 4-year-old granddaughter’s response to sniffing the jar for the first time) has now resided in my refrigerator for about 13 years…sometimes forgotten for months on end, I’m afraid. He’s pretty good about it – a quick stir and a few daily feedings and he’s bubbling away happily once more.
I keep a discard jar, too, but I generally keep about 180g total active starter because my regular recipe uses 50g per loaf. I find that when fed regularly, Stinky consistently makes killer bread when used straight from the refrigerator, as long as he has chowed down within about 7 days. I have read tons of articles and posts to the contrary, but this is my experience, and I’m glad, because I hardly baked with sourdough until I made this discovery.
Recently, Stinky spawned Stella when a dear friend took some of my starter to make her own, and also baked her first sourdough loaf this week. Both her daughters will be visiting during the holidays and plan to take a little of Stella with them to keep things going in their homes. One day I will pass some more of Stinky down to my grandchildren, too.
It’s a special thing to share our passion for baking and family in this way. It’s like a little bit of each of us goes into everything we bake, which makes sense because as we all know, the secret ingredient which makes all homemade food extra-delicious is love.-
Mel — Reply
I loved your comment so much, Lisa! Also, stinky and stella sound like pretty rad starters. 🙂 I love that stinky is so powerful, you can make bread straight out of the fridge and ultimately, it’s AMAZING when you find ways to make it work for YOU contrary to what everyone else says.
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Nancy — Reply
Thank you for this! I have long wanted to try baking sourdough bread. But I live in Dallas, and it gets crazy hot here in the summer. I don’t want to eat anything that has been at room temperature for days on end. I am glad to know that I can keep the starter in the refrigerator. I am also a fan of King Arthur Flour, so I will order their sourdough starter and give it a try.
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Mel — Reply
Good luck, Nancy!
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Marsha — Reply
This may sound like a crazy question, but what do you do with your starter when you have to go on an extended trip (3-4 weeks)? I have always wanted to do sourdough, but the looming occasional trips have always held me back. Any words of wisdom?
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Mel — Reply
I suppose I’m pretty boring (haha) since I haven’t had to leave that long! But I’ve heard from others that you can just try and leave it and see how it goes (if you keep it at the back of the fridge in a cold spot, it might be fine) OR ask someone to come over and feed it one time for you while you’re gone (or drop it off at their house before you go). Maybe someone else will have some good ideas, too!
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Jen — Reply
Marsha,
I have successfully left my starter in the fridge for 3 months with no feeds at all!
A few days before your trip, if you’re not already storing it there, put your starter in the fridge to chill it down. Feed it on the last day before you leave. When you feed it, use really cold water AND feed it extra flour* to thicken it to quite a stiff paste. A cold, thicker starter is much slower to ripen – this means it uses up the feed much more slowly and can therefore survive much longer.
(*extra flour = 1.5 to 2 times the normal amount you would use.)
When you get back, you may find some grey liquid floating on the top of the starter as Mel describes. I drain this off. Feed the starter with extra water** this time to get it back to its usual consistency… and that’s it!
(**extra water = add the additional water now, that matches the additional flour you used before your trip! I hope that makes sense?)
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Ruth — Reply
This is really helpful! Thank you. I really hate to ask someone to feed my starter in my absence.
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Heather O — Reply
I’ve left my starter in the back of the fridge for a few months at a time and it’s been fine. Just pour off the dark liquid on top, feed it a couple times and it’s good to go. I’ve also heard you can freeze it, but I haven’t actually tried that.
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Karyn Semple — Reply
I’ve never done it but I’ve heard you can also freeze your starter. You could try leaving part in the freezer and part in the fridge when you go on a long trip and see if they survive.
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Rebecca — Reply
When I know I won’t have time to take care of my starter, I put one or two cups of it in the freezer. So far so good on the results. It takes a little longer to “wake up” after being cold but comes around just fine with feeding.
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Lilly — Reply
Ive been tinkering with my sourdough starter for a couple years now. Sadly it’s been shoved to the back corner of my fridge for weeks (months, one time!) with no feedings. It develops the black liquid (hooch) on top, but I dump it off, discard and refeed and it has always bubbled merrily along. As Mel said, it’s hard to mess up and I have found sourdough starter (and recipes) to be very forgiving!!
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Katrina — Reply
The timing of this post is amazing. I’ve made sourdough English muffins (KAF is so good, like you said), waffles. And today I’m venturing into actual bread. My sweet sister has been holding my hand all along… I guess I’ll actually start researching and learning for myself now… and make sourdough pretzel bites!
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Mel — Reply
I’m proud of you, Katrina!
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Beth — Reply
Have you had any luck with freezing or dehydrating your starter? I have a mother that I have been keeping for over 30 years and got it from someone who had kept it a while before that. However, I would love to send some to my brother in Alaska but fear it would not survive the trip in its present state. Your thoughts?
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Mel — Reply
Wow, 30 years! That’s amazing! I haven’t frozen or dehydrated it, but my sister-in-law does a lot with sourdough and she’s successfully dehydrated hers and keeps it in her food storage. Stephanie who commented below said she’s had good success freezing hers.
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Stephanie — Reply
I have also had success with freezing my sourdough starter. I just googled how to revive frozen starter, and it worked great.
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Mel — Reply
Fantastic!! I’m going to look into that, too!
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Stephanie — Reply
I just made sourdough bread for the first time last week and I am hooked! I was always super intimidated by sourdough, but if I had known it was this easy I would have tried it ages ago. I had no idea I could use starter in regular recipes, and I will definitely try it now. Thanks for this post!
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Mel — Reply
Thanks, Stephanie! Sourdough, I’m finding, is a pretty fun hobby! 🙂
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Sheri — Reply
Question: when you use the fed starter in a recipe and decrease the amount of liquid and flour accordingly, do you add the amount of yeast the recipe calls for or can you omit the yeast?
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Mel — Reply
Good question, Sheri – I’ll edit the post. If I’m using less than a cup of sourdough starter in regular bread recipes, I keep the yeast the same. If I’m using upwards of 2 cups, I cut the yeast in half.
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Connie — Reply
Mel, do you use the sourdough starter cold, or do you scoop it out and let it come to room temp before using in all of those different recipes?
Thank You!-
Mel — Reply
Hey Connie, I just use it cold straight from the fridge (for regular recipes or sourdough recipes specifically calling for discard)
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Donna — Reply
Thanks so much for this post, Mel! I started a sourdough starter during quarantine, but you’ve still managed to answer questions I’ve had for a while. And given me some inspiration for new recipes to try with it. Thanks for pointing out that I don’t have to worry so much about “screwing it up.”
As a side note, we figured out one of my daughters was gluten sensitive during quarantine, and she WAS able to eat the sourdough bread without any issues! It was wonderful!!-
Mel — Reply
That’s awesome about your daughter, Donna! Sourdough is pretty awesome stuff!
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Jessica — Reply
I just started keeping one this year, and love the keep-it-in-the-fridge-feed-occasionally method too. I have mainly been using it in specific sourdough recipes, but I’d love trying it out in other recipes that I have. When you say you add it to other bread recipes, do you replace the yeast with the sourdough start that you add? Or put less yeast if you put some sourdough in? Thanks for all the great tips and recipes. Can’t wait to try some new ones out!
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Mel — Reply
Oh, that’s a good point and one I forgot to mention. I’ll edit the post! If I’m using less than a cup of sourdough starter in regular bread recipes, I keep the yeast the same. If I’m using upwards of 2 cups, I cut the yeast in half.
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Rebecca — Reply
Hooray for imprecise sourdough, and yes! to all of the above. Sourdough usually sounds so intimidating when you read about it, but it’s surprisingly doable. As usual, Mel, you have a knack for making kitchen projects more approachable!
I am super haphazard with my starter, which I’ve had for over a year. I’ve kept starter off and on for years, but the biggest factor in my current successful run is having a jar of discard in the fridge that I bake with and can use to restart my room temp starter if I forget about it for too long (cough).
I keep my starter in a quart mason jar with a plastic screw top on the counter, and keep another quart jar of discard in the fridge. I typically feed mine 1:1:1, and maintain a small volume~ 1 c. at room temp. This small volume keeps it from overflowing (the struggle is real) and keeps the discard volume manageable. The cold discard jar doesn’t overflow, so it can get pretty full.
The thing I make most often with the discard is Mel’s English Muffin Bread. I still use almost all the yeast called for in the recipe. It’s so delicious with just a hint of sourdough tang. Best toast on the planet.
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Mel — Reply
I love these tips, Rebecca. Thank you for sharing!
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Thea — Reply
Can we go back to the notes in your cupboard? I need to know the essential oil mix for stinky teenager feet! Please?
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Mel — Reply
Haha. It’s really just a blend I drop into their shoes (I also make them rub it on their feet, but hello, teenagers #notcompliant). I use eucalyptus, peppermint and lemon. It doesn’t take away 100% of the smell, but it definitely helps!
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Sharon — Reply
I would love to see a column(s) on your kitchen cupboard notes if it’s not too personal.
I always have your fluffy buttery cornmeal dinner rolls in the form of loaves on hand and in the freezer.
Adding sourdough should work? But may not be able to stand the awesomeness of the combo. You’re my favorite go-to.-
Mel — Reply
I think those cornmeal dinner rolls would be amazing with sourdough! I should do a weekly post about The Notes in Mel’s Cupboards, but I think I’d lose a lot of readers. Ha.
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Ashlee — Reply
I’ve wanted to try sourdough, but it always felt too complicated, and like having another child. This I think I can do! Also you should listen to the book Sourdough by Robin Sloan. It really made me want to have sourdough when I listened earlier this year
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Mel — Reply
Thank you for the recommendation!
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Lauren — Reply
I’m a lazy sourdough baker too and I love it. It’s so fun to experiment with recipes. I love to add mix-ins is to my bread as well…10 grain cereal for something a little more healthy or cinnamon and raisins/chocolate chips for a little treat. My favorite by far is a cinnamon swirl raisin bread that tastes amazing toasted with peanut butter and bananas or as French toast for breakfast.
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Mel — Reply
That sounds fantastic, Lauren!
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JanaBananaGirl — Reply
Hooray for sourdough starters and for KAB recipes! I needed a kick in the pants to get back into the habit of feeding and maintaining George. He’s been languishing in the back of my fridge for far too long. I had never considered adding sourdough starter to regular recipes, either. I’ll definitely have to give that a try.
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Mel — Reply
I think I love George simply because his name is George. 😉
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Moriah — Reply
This is so great! Thank you!! Have you had good success using sour dough with whole wheat?? Like the waffle recipe you listed – do you use whole wheat in it? Thanks!
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Mel — Reply
Hey Moriah! Yes, it works great with whole wheat!
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Moriah — Reply
Thanks so much for the response. Just reporting back that my sourdough endeavors are going great and man, those waffles are delicious! Thank you!
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Mel — Reply
Love, love the report back, Moriah! Thank you!
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Karen — Reply
I feed my starter whole wheat and often use it with whole wheat flour, and it’s great! I do add vital wheat gluten if making a sandwich loaf with whole wheat and sourdough starter, though.
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Whitney — Reply
How do you get your whole wheat loaves to rise as much as white flour?
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Nicole Wood — Reply
You have your starter in a 4 quart container. What’s the smallest quantity/container that you would recommend.
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Mel — Reply
That’s a good question. For pretty moderate sourdough baking, I feed about 500 grams of sourdough starter. You can see from the pictures when that amount is fed, it grows to about the 3 quart mark. You could keep half that amount of sourdough starter (250 grams) and get by with a 2 quart container. A lot of people use quart mason jars and keep their sourdough starter in there. I found that wasn’t enough for me to use AND it overflowed a bunch so I moved to a bigger container.
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Karen — Reply
I use a 32 oz plastic deli/soup container without issue. I typically feed mine 1c flour and 3/4c water and it doesn’t explode out the top 🙂
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Linda — Reply
I just use a Mason Jar. It’s 7 inches tall. I put a rubber band around the jar at the tp of the starter so I can see when it’s doubled.
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Helen — Reply
P.S. Can’t wait to get my hoodie order ❤️
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Mel — Reply
Thank you so much, Helen!
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Helen — Reply
Great timing ! Bread was on my “to do’” list today and I have a starter in the back of the fridge that has been begging for my attention ! Thanks for the motivation and the reminder to use sourdough !!
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Mel — Reply
Your starter is going to be so happy to get some attention today, Helen! 🙂
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