How to Feed and Maintain a Sourdough Starter

Amy Coyne

5 from 6 votes

Updated Mar 23, 2026

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You’ve got your sourdough starter—now what? Whether you made a starter from scratch (I’ve got an easy guide for that!), rehydrated a dehydrated starter, or purchased one ready to go, you’re officially in the world of sourdough baking. Now it’s time to learn how to feed your sourdough starter, maintain it, and keep your starter healthy for all your future sourdough bakes.

This guide will walk you through the simple science of the fermentation cycle and how to care for your starter—whether you’re baking every day or just once a week. From feeding schedules to fridge storage, you’ll find everything you need to confidently maintain a strong, active starter and start making delicious sourdough bread.

A jar of sourdough starter with light bubbles on the surfaces sits on a tea towel on a kitchen counter.

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Table of Contents

What Is a Sourdough Starter?

A sourdough starter is a living culture of wild yeast and beneficial bacteria. Put simply, these natural organisms work together to ferment dough. During this fermentation process, a sourdough starter not only helps bread rise without the need for commercial yeast but also enhances flavor, improves digestibility, and helps keep baked goods fresher for longer. It’s a pretty incredible culture to bake with! –> WHAT EXACTLY IS SOURDOUGH? MORE INFORMATION HERE

Understanding the Sourdough Fermentation Cycle

Once you have your sourdough starter, maintaining it comes down to a simple cycle of feeding, rising, and falling. This process keeps the wild yeast and bacteria healthy and active.

How the Sourdough Cycle Works

A diagram shows the sourdough fermentation cycle, showing how the starter rises to a peak at 3 hours and then declines by 6 hours based on a 1:1:1 feeding ratio.
This shows the natural cycle your starter goes through after feeding—rising, peaking, and falling.
  1. Feed your starter: Take a small amount of mature/ripe (or mildly overripe) starter and mix it with fresh flour and water.
  2. Mark the jar: Use a rubber band or piece of tape to mark the starter’s level in the jar—this helps you watch it rise and fall.
  3. Fermentation begins: The starter will rise as the yeast and bacteria consume the fresh flour and produce gas. It will fall once they run out of food.
  4. Discard and refresh: When the starter peaks or slightly over-ripens, you take a portion of the fermented starter out to feed again and discard the rest. This starts a new fermentation cycle.

Ingredients Needed to Feed a Sourdough Starter

  • Sourdough Starter: This is your base culture—whether you made one from scratch using my easy guide, got one from a friend, or purchased it, this is what you’ll be feeding and maintaining.
  • Flour: I typically use all-purpose or bread flour as my main flour. If my starter seems sluggish, I’ll mix in a little whole wheat or rye flour—both contain more nutrients and can give your starter a natural boost.
  • Water: Most water works just fine, especially for an established starter. I use tap water with great results. Just make sure it’s free of chlorine or chloramine—if your tap water is heavily treated, you may want to let it sit out overnight or use filtered water.
A jar of sourdough starter sits on a kitchen scale with a container of water and a pitcher of water sitting nearby.

Tools Needed to Feed a Sourdough Starter

To feed a sourdough starter, you just need a couple of tools:

  • Clear Jar with a lid: A transparent jar lets you easily see bubbles and how much your starter has grown. Use a lid that isn’t airtight—this allows gases to escape without letting your starter dry out. A mason jar or a jar made specifically for sourdough works great.
  • Kitchen Scale: I highly recommend using a digital kitchen scale for feeding your starter. Weight measurements are far more accurate than volume, especially with sourdough’s high hydration levels. This helps ensure consistency and sets you up for success.
  • Spatula or scraper: Use a spatula or scraper to mix your starter thoroughly and scrape down the sides of the jar. This keeps things tidy and makes it easier to monitor rise and bubbles.
  • Rubber Band or Dry Erase Marker: Mark the starter’s level right after feeding to easily track how much it has risen. This is the best way to tell when your starter has doubled or peaked and is ready to use.

How to Feed a Sourdough Starter (Basic Method)

Four pictures show a jar with sourdough starter being fed with water and flour, sitting on a kitchen scale, and then being mixed together with a wooden instrument.

Here’s an example of how to feed a sourdough starter. The numbers can and will change based on how much starter you want and need for the recipes you are making. This is a simple 1:1:1 feeding that will show you the process:

  1. Take 50 grams of ripe or over-ripe sourdough starter. Place it in a jar (Image 1).
  2. Add 50 grams flour and 50 grams water (Image 2).
  3. Mix together until combined (Image 3).
  4. Scrape down the sides of the jar and mark with a rubber band or dry erase marker (Image 4). Cover with a loose-fitting lid or plastic wrap and set in a warm place to rise.

Over the next few hours, the sourdough starter will rise until just about doubled (or tripled) in size. At that point, it has become active with many active yeast in the starter and is ready to be used in a recipe.

Sourdough Discard Tips

One key part of maintaining a sourdough starter is discarding excess starter and feeding only a small portion to make a new batch. This leftover portion, called sourdough discard, can be thrown away or used in recipes made just for discard.

Sure, you could feed all of the inactive starter to make it active again, but that often leads to way too much starter. Instead, we “discard” the extra we’re not feeding this time around. It also has the benefit of not carrying over too much acid, which can lead to a sluggish starter.

But here’s the good news: many bakers (like me!) hate wasting that discard, so we put it to good use in all kinds of delicious discard recipes. Sourdough discard is a byproduct of starter maintenance that I absolutely love using in quick bakes like muffins, crackers, pancakes, waffles, and more.

Keeping A Smaller Starter – No Sourdough Discard Method: You might decide to keep a smaller starter, which helps reduce discard in the first place. The size doesn’t matter much—you can always build more starter using basic ratios. Try this – grab a small jar, add 1–2 grams of starter, 20 grams of flour, and 20 grams of water. Mix and let it rise. Store it in the fridge until you’re ready to mix up a larger batch of starter to bake with.

My Favorite Sourdough Discard Recipes

Feeding Frequency

The more you feed your sourdough starter, the more active and strong it becomes. For a healthy, reliable starter, I like to feed it again before it completely falls back down in the fermentation cycle.

  • Room Temperature: Feed daily, or even twice a day, depending on your baking schedule and how active you want your starter.
  • Refrigerated: Feed once a week to keep your starter alive and ready to revive when needed.

Consistency is key. Regular feedings with the same flour-to-water ratio help build a strong, predictable starter you can count on.

What happens if you miss a feeding? Don’t worry—missing a feeding isn’t the end of the world! Just feed your starter as soon as you remember. It might look sluggish or smell extra sour, but with a little care, it’ll bounce right back.

How to Keep Your Starter Strong

A healthy starter makes good bread. It’s one of the most important parts of a great sourdough loaf. A strong, active starter should rise and fall predictably after each feeding.

To keep your starter strong:

  • feed it consistently (at least once a week if stored in the fridge)
  • keep it in a warm environment (76–80ºF is the sweet spot)
  • use fresh flour and water
  • avoid letting it sit too long without feeding, especially if it becomes very overripe
  • adjust your feeding ratios as needed

If your starter seems sluggish, give it a few consistent room-temperature feedings to help build it back up to strong and active again.

Can you feed your starter too much? It’s very unlikely, but if your starter is kept warm and fed multiple times a day, it can become overly active. If this happens, try using cooler water and adjusting your feeding ratio so it takes longer to peak.

When is your Starter Ready to Use?

Your starter is ready when it has doubled in size, looks bubbly, and has just reached its peak before starting to fall back down.

A jar with sourdough starter is shown in four pictures, demonstrating different levels of the starter as it rises and falls over time.

For a full breakdown of each stage and exactly what to look for, read this guide: When Is Sourdough Starter Ready to Use

Signs to Look For When Sourdough Starter is Ready to Use

  • Double or tripled in size
  • Full of bubbles
  • Domed top with starter just starting to fall back down
  • Smells mildly milky sweet when it reaches peak height
  • Rising and falling predictably

Fridge vs. Counter Storage

If you only bake once a week or want to keep things low-maintenance, storing your sourdough starter in the refrigerator is the way to go. Feed it just once a week, and it will stay healthy and ready when you need it.

Here’s how I use my refrigerated starter:

  • I feed it using a 1:1:1 ratio (equal parts starter, flour, and water by weight).
  • After feeding, I let it sit at room temperature until it has almost doubled and reached its peak.
  • Then I store it in the refrigerator.

When I’m ready to bake, I check how long it’s been since my starter was last fed:

  • If it’s been 24–48 hours since feeding and the starter still looks peaked, bubbly, and smells sweet and milky, I’ll use it straight from the fridge into my dough or use it to mix a levain for my dough. No need to warm it up first—just use warm water in the mixture to give it a boost.
  • If it’s been longer than 48 hours or I just want to refresh my starter, I discard and feed it again. I don’t bother bringing it to room temperature—just use warm water to help kick-start fermentation. Then I let it rise until it’s nearly doubled and either:
    • Use it in a recipe, or
    • Stick it back in the fridge to maintain for another week.

This flexible routine keeps my starter strong and ready to go without needing daily attention. If you’re feeding your starter weekly, this method works beautifully. But if your starter has been sitting for longer or seems sluggish, just give it a couple of room-temperature feedings to revive it before baking.

How Much Should You Feed Your Starter?

The amount you feed your starter affects how quickly it becomes active and when it will be ready to use.

You can control this by adjusting:

  • the amount of starter you keep (more starter = faster rise, less starter = slower rise)
  • the temperature (warmer = faster fermentation, cooler = slower)

This gives you flexibility to make your starter ready when you need it, whether you’re baking the same day or planning ahead.

For example: I keep my sourdough starter around 78ºF as it is the sweet spot for wild yeast and bacteria to work together. If kept at that temperature:

  • A 1:1:1 feeding (equal parts starter, flour, and water) will typically peak in about 3–4 hours, making it great for same-day baking.
  • A 1:10:10 feeding (a small amount of starter with more fresh flour and water) will take longer to peak, around 10–12 hours, making it ideal for overnight use.

For a full breakdown of feeding ratios and a timing chart, read this guide:
Sourdough Starter Ratios

Feeding A Sourdough Starter Without A Scale

If you’re new to baking with sourdough, I highly recommend using a kitchen scale. Sourdough bread is a high-hydration dough (high liquid/water content), and most new bakers are still learning how it should feel and look. Using weight (grams) is much more accurate and gives you the best chance at success.

That said, if you’re using volume measurements, here are a few tips:

  • Flour and water don’t weigh the same. Equal weights of flour and water are not equal in volume.
  • A rough guideline is to feed 1/4 cup of starter with about 1/4 cup of water and 1/2 cup of flour.
  • Mix until you get a thick batter consistency—not too runny, not too stiff.

If you choose to feed by volume, just know you’ll need to pay closer attention and be ready to adjust as you go. Be flexible—sometimes you’ll need to add more flour or water to get the right texture in your starter or your dough.

A jar containing water, starter, and flour sits on a kitchen scale prior to being mixed together.

Common Issues + Troubleshooting

When you’re just getting started with sourdough, it can be a little tricky to interpret what your starter is trying to tell you. Don’t worry—it’s normal to have questions! You can check out my full list of Frequently Asked Sourdough Questions, but here are answers to some of the most common issues:

Signs Your Sourdough Starter is Hungry

  • It may have some bubbles but looks flat.
  • It may have a runny texture and smell overly sour or vinegary.
  • You might notice a layer of hooch (a thin, grayish liquid) on top.

What to do:
Feed it with fresh flour and water! A hungry starter just needs some nourishment to get back to rising strong. You may need to feed it a couple of times at room temperature to build strength.

Sourdough Starter is Bubbling But Not Rising

  • Bubbles mean there is some microbial activity, but if it’s not rising, it could be:
    • Too cold (move it to a warmer spot)
    • Too thin (try a thicker consistency)
    • Weak (needs more frequent feedings)

What to do:
Feed it at and keep it in a warm spot (around 76–78°F). Track it with a rubber band or marker to watch for growth. As soon as it rises to its peak height, feed it again and watch for more growth. If your starter is acting very sluggish, adding in some whole wheat or rye flour to your feeding can also help.

Sourdough Starter Smells Bad

  • A healthy starter smells pleasantly tangy and milky sweet. If it smells overly acidic, it needs to be refreshed.

What to do:
Don’t panic—bad smells often come from neglect. Discard all but a small spoonful of starter, then feed with fresh flour and water. Repeat this for a few feedings until it’s active and smelling healthy again.

I Killed my Sourdough Starter!

The good news? You probably didn’t.

Starters are very resilient. Even if it looks flat, separated, or smells strong, chances are it just needs a few good feedings. If there’s mold (fuzzy, pink, or orange), then yes—toss it and start over. Otherwise, give it a chance to recover. A layer of black with liquid hooch at the top actually preserves your starter in the fridge – it is not mold!

An overhead shot shows a hand holding a jar of bubbly starter.

Sourdough Starter Frequently Asked Questions

How long is sourdough starter good for?

Sourdough starter can last indefinitely as long as there’s no mold. Storing it in the refrigerator helps preserve it—just feed it weekly to keep it healthy.

You can also dehydrate your starter as a backup, so you always have a way to revive it if needed.

Do you stir the starter when you feed it or use it?

You don’t have to stir your starter, but you can if you want to. Stirring helps redistribute the yeast and bacteria, which some bakers believe promotes more even fermentation. Others skip it entirely. Personally, I haven’t noticed much difference either way—do what works best for you!

Can I leave my starter on the counter?

Yes, you can keep your starter on the counter if you’re feeding it daily and baking often. If you’re not planning to use it for a while, it’s best to refrigerate it to slow down fermentation and reduce the need for frequent feedings.

Can you overfeed a sourdough starter?

It’s technically possible to overfeed a sourdough starter, but it’s not likely if you’re feeding it in reasonable amounts. Feeding too frequently without giving the yeast time to ferment can dilute your starter. That said, regular feeding generally makes your starter more active and healthy—just give it time between feedings to do its job.

Can you bake A loaf of Bread with sourdough discard or inactive starter?

You can, but it’s less predictable. An inactive starter or sourdough discard won’t have as much rising power, so your bread may not rise as high or as reliably as it would with a fully active starter. For best results, use discard in recipes that don’t rely on rise—take your pick from my popular sourdough discard recipes.

New to Sourdough?

Start with my step-by-step sourdough beginner guide, or try one of the beginner-friendly recipes below.

If you’re ready to focus on baking classic artisan-style sourdough bread, you can also explore my sourdough artisan bread guide for more in-depth techniques.

If you want everything laid out step by step, I’ve put it all together in my Beginner’s Guide to Sourdough Cookbook and my online sourdough course.

Beginner Sourdough Recipes

If you have a question or used any of these tips for Feeding and Maintaining a Sourdough Starter or any other recipe on my website leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. Happy Baking!

Glass jar of active sourdough starter with a spoon stirring thick bubbly mixture.
5 from 6 votes

How to Feed and Maintain A Sourdough Starter

By: Amy Coyne
Feeding your sourdough starter is quick and easy. With just a few minutes each day—or once a week using the fridge method—you’ll keep your starter healthy, active, and ready to bake whenever you are.
Prep: 5 minutes
Fermentation Time: 4 hours
Total: 4 hours 5 minutes
Servings: 1 starter (about 2/3 cup)
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Equipment

Ingredients 

  • 50 grams sourdough starter, about 3 Tablespoons, ripe and active or over-ripe and needs feeding
  • 50 grams all-purpose or bread flour, about 1/3 cup
  • 50 grams water, about 3 Tablespoons

Instructions 

  • Take 50 grams of ripe or over-ripe sourdough starter. Place it in a jar. Add 50 grams water and 50 grams flour. Mix together until combined. Scrape down the edges and mark with a rubber band or dry erase marker so you can judge how much the starter has risen. Cover the jar with a loose fitting lid or plastic wrap and set in a warm 78ºF place to rise.
    Note: This recipe shows an example of a 1:1:1 feeding ratio. I recommend a minimum of equal weights of starter, flour and water be fed at any feeding. You can adjust the actual amounts to work for you.
  • Over the next few hours, the sourdough starter will go through a fermentation cycle where it will begin to rise. Once it has at least doubled in size and reaches a peak height, it will be very bubbly throughout and smell milky sweet. If your starter is being kept around 78ºF, it will be peaked and active in about 3-4 hours. At this point the starter is ripe, active and ready to be used in a sourdough recipe.
  • If you do nothing to it, the starter will continue through the fermentation cycle and will fall back down. It will become runny and will need to be re-fed to be used as active starter again. Discard (throw away or store in the refrigerator to use in a discard recipe) 100 grams of the starter. Feed the remaining 50 grams of over-ripe starter with 50 grams of water and 50 grams of flour to begin the cycle again.
  • Continue this cycle of feeding and then discarding the sourdough starter to keep your starter active and strong. You can re-feed the starter any time as it falls back down. At a minimum, once the starter has completed the fermentation cycle, it should be fed again. I find it helpful to change my feeding ratio, alter the temperature, and use my refrigerator to make a sourdough starter work for me (see recipe notes for more information).

Video

Notes

Note: Your sourdough starter is ready to use in a recipe when it has reached its peak height and is just beginning to fall. While you can use your starter as it starts to fall, it will be at its most active and full of healthy yeast right at its peak—this is the ideal time to bake with it.
Temperature: The temperature of your environment affects how quickly your starter reaches its peak. A cooler temperature slows down fermentation, meaning it will take longer for your starter to rise. A warmer temperature speeds things up.
Ratios: You can adjust the amount of starter, flour, and water you use during feedings to suit your needs. This allows you to make more or less starter, or to manipulate the timing of when your starter will reach its peak and be ready to use. I recommend a minimum feeding of equal weights flour, water and starter.
Refrigeration: If you’re not planning to bake right away, you can feed your starter and place it in the refrigerator after it has risen and doubled in size. Once refrigerated, it can be used directly in recipes over the next 24–48 hours. Refrigeration helps preserve the starter and makes sourdough baking more manageable.
If you store your starter in the fridge, it only needs to be fed once a week to keep it healthy and active. After feeding, let it rise at room temperature, then refrigerate it until you’re ready to bake again. Just remember: the longer your starter sits unfed in the fridge, the more time and feedings it may need to become active again.
Flour: I typically use all-purpose or bread flour as my main flour. If my starter seems sluggish, I’ll mix in a little whole wheat or rye flour—both contain more nutrients and can give your starter a natural boost.
Water: Most water works just fine, especially for an established starter. I use tap water with great results. Just make sure it’s free of chlorine or chloramine—if your tap water is heavily treated, you may want to let it sit out overnight or use filtered water.

Nutrition

Serving: 1g, Calories: 228kcal, Carbohydrates: 48g, Protein: 6g, Fat: 1g, Saturated Fat: 0.1g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.2g, Monounsaturated Fat: 0.04g, Sodium: 4mg, Potassium: 54mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 0.1g, Calcium: 9mg, Iron: 2mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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About Amy Coyne

Hi! I'm Amy. Sourdough lover and Kentucky based mama, sharing my best recipes and tips, one bake at a time. So glad you're here!

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63 Comments

  1. Julie says:

    Dear Amy,
    I have been baking sourdough and finally got the “hang” of it and it’s been coming out nicely and in fact i am selling it too. But since i do not want to go beyond home baking and just want to enjoy baking + covering my cost.
    And the Dutch oven baking only allows me to bake 1 loaf at a time. I have not tried open baking with a tray and hot water for steam.
    Would like to try and hope you can give me fool proof instruction. And also my oven’s max temp is 230 so i usually bake 40min covered (the bread is still very pale) and another 35min uncovered and it will come out good. Is this a good baking time?

    Reply

    1. I’m assuming 230 is Celsius? If so, that sounds like the right bake time and temperature. The most important thing is that the bread tastes good and has a good rise, so if you are getting the results you want then I’d say it’s working for you! Check out this post for how to bake sourdough bread to get all of Amy’s tips to open baking.

      Reply
  2. Patricia says:

    Im desperately attempting to find a recipe you had on this site for an easy/beginner loaf or cheesey garlic bread??

    Reply
  3. Katie says:

    5 stars
    I have been baking sourdough for a year now and love all the recipes from Amy Bakes Bread!

    One question- I think I had a hungry starter that I used for my batch this morning as it was very bubbly and smelled vinegary (sour but not unpleasant). I usually use pretty young/just ripe starter so I think I am just paranoid about it being bad, but if the starter truly goes bad with the pink/orange bacteria, will it always also smell terrible?

    Reply

    1. It doesn’t sound like your starter went bad (and it usually wouldn’t go bad that quickly if you are using and feeding it regularly). It sounds like your starter was active, so I wouldn’t worry too much!

      Reply
  4. Karla says:

    5 stars
    Made my first starter after coming across one of Amy’s videos! I’m in love with this sourdough journey! 😍

    Reply
  5. Callista Stockhoff says:

    5 stars
    I have a question about storing in the fridge. I will be out of town for 4 days so I will be putting mine in the fridge. Do I put the lid on tight or leave it loose?

    Reply

    1. I cover mine – I usually just put some plastic wrap on top (and a rubber band that I use to keep the plastic wrap on and mark how much my starter has risen).

      Reply
  6. Erin Bacon says:

    5 stars
    Love these instructions! So helpful!!
    I have a question. What if we’re going on a 2 week vacation? How should I store my starter?
    Thanks!

    Reply

    1. I would feed it, let it double in size, and then stick it (covered) in the fridge. It will be just fine for 2 weeks. Then when you get back, pull it out of the fridge and feed it. If it has extra hooch on top (liquid), you can either dump it out or stir it in. It might take one or two feeds to get back to rising and falling predictably, but it should be good to go!

      Reply
  7. Jen says:

    5 stars
    This is so helpful! Quick question does the starter always stay in the same jar? In other words during discarding and refreshing are you refreshing in the same original jar or putting in a new clean one?

    Reply

    1. It’s a matter of personal preference – I like to put my starter into a clean new jar when I am feeding it, but I know that not everyone does it that way.

      Reply
      1. Denice says:

        Because I’m new and didn’t know better, I put my starter directly in the fridge after feeding it not allowing it to grow in size first. What should I do now?

      2. I would take it out and feed it normally, let it sit at room temperature (or in a warm environment like a proofing box or the oven with the oven turned OFF and the oven light turned on). I’d feed it a few times and let it rise and fall predictably. It should come back to life!