Should I Feed Sourdough Starter Twice a Day
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Effects of Feeding a starter twice a day vs less often?
Effects of Feeding a starter twice a day vs less often?
I used to feed my starter twice a day. I'd bake one and waste one. I got tired of the waste and started just only doing the bake dump. This seems to produce good bread. The difference I've noticed is the crumb is tighter on the less fed starter. It's more like regular store bread as far as how open the crumb is.
What have you noticed in the differences?
I'm especially curious of feeding:
-twice a day
-once a day
-once every two to three days
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Source: https://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/34305/effects-feeding-starter-twice-day-vs-less-often
tchism
I feed mine every 12 hours
I feed mine every 12 hours when it on the counter and at least two cycles before i use it or place it back in the fridge. I keep my starter at 100% hydration.This seems to produce the best results and keeps my starter healthy.
I also feed 1:1:1
BreadBro
I leave my starter in the
I leave my starter in the fridge and only remove a tiny bit (ie ~5 grams) for each loaf of bread. I do 2-3 feedings to double it up to the size I need. This way I don't have to throw anything away.
For example, I need 56g of starter for my loaf. I take out 10 grams of starter, feed it 1:1:1. Now I have 30g. Twelve hours later I double that and then I have my starter. This method produces excellent bread with no ill effects.
dabrownman
I too keep
80 g of stiff rye starter (66%) hydration in the fridge and us 10-20 go fo it for each loaf of bread. I too use 3 builds to make the levain for the loaf at about 10-20% of the flour water weight of the final weight. After 3 weeks baking 1 loaf a week, I take the last of it and refresh it back up to 80 g and 66% hydration over 3 feeds. I call this the no muss, no fuss, no waste method of sour starter nirvana.
Feeding white flour twice a day @ 100% hydration will promote yeast growth while reducing labs and sour. Perfect for folks who don't want or like sour, but folks that do always ask - why has my sour gone away? They need rye, dry and cold, no feed starter like mine to get sour.
alan856
sour starter?
Could you elaborate on your point the feeding twice a day will DECREASE the sour? Sour is what i'm looking for (!). So far my (big) 2 bakes have looked ok - but are a bit shy on the taste/sour side.
I currently have a 100% starter based on gr - 1-1-1, using AP white flour. I'd like to get the rye into the game (if I can find any) and wondering what might be the best way to "upgrade" my mix to include rye.
frebay
From what I read the feedings
From what I read the feedings won't decrease the sour. If you want sour lower the hydration of your starter before you use it. I went from 100% to 75% and my 3rd loaf was nice and sour.
alan856
75% ?
So would that feeding be say 100 gr starter 100 gr flour & 75 gr water?
I'm getting the idea of the various ratios - but not totally clear on how to juggle them around!
gary.turner
Benign neglect
I confess to providing very little care for my mother leaven. It's 100% hydration fed with whatever flour is on the counter at the time. Feeding comes about when I start getting low, then I add 50g each water and flour of the day. I let it sit for an hour or so on the counter before it's back to the fridge.
My usage runs about 10–25g per batch of poolish, so feedings are about 4–6 weeks apart. I have used this mother for four years now with good results. Naturally, YMMV, but I am convinced that sourdough is made up of tough little buggers.
cheers,
gary
phaz
and I am just lazy, only
and I am just lazy, only feeding once a day in this warm weather. sometimes I'll forget to feed a day or 2, but doesn't seem to bother anything. things may get a little more tang, but as mentioned, feeding a time or 2 before use to make sure the starter is nice and active is the way to go. I usually bake 2-3 times a week, I'll bet I can get away with no feeding between bakes with this schedule. an established starter is a resilient beast, it can take a licking and it keeps on ticking!
M2
mostly feed once a week
I only have time to bake on the weekend, so I keep my 100% hydration starter in the fridge, and feed it at 1:2:2 to refresh it. My bread seems to have pretty good crumb. If the crumb is tight, I'll blame it to my poor mixing and shaping techniques!
Yes, I do run into the issue of end up having too much starter...oh well.
Michelle
FlourChild
Because I bake frequently, I
Because I bake frequently, I maintain my starter at room temp. Reducing your feed schedule while still at room temp can definitely be done. You need to decrease the amount of seed in your feeds so that the starter will have enough to eat between feeds. For instance, if you are feeding something like 1:2:2 (seed: flour: water) every twelve hours, then to move to a daily (24 hr) feed you would need to go to something like 1:4:4. It will help your starter if you stir or knead a little after 12 hours, this will give it a second rise and encourage yeast production.
With smaller seeds you have to be very careful to always let the starter reach full maturity and full acidity before feeding again- be careful when temps begin to drop. Otherwise, the starter spends too much time at a lower level of acidity and is less able to ward off infections from unwanted microbes.
The other way to go about it is to find a cool or cold place to slow down the starter. The fridge is an obvious choice, but you may also find a cool corner of the basement, etc.
DavidEF
I do it all, sorta
When I feel like it, I'll keep the starter on top of my fridge, and feed it twice daily. If I no longer feel like doing that, I just throw it into the fridge after a feeding, and get back to it whenever I feel like it again, or if I use it up in baking. I've also tried keeping it like a Pate Fermentee, with the Flour:Water:Salt ratio of bread dough, while keeping it in the fridge. I guess it is probably one part benign neglect, one part malicious experimentation, to see what kind of abuse the yeast can handle, and one part pure selfish "This stuff ain't gonna rule MY LIFE!" attitude. After several months of this bouncing around, the only thing that has caused sourness is switching to King Arthur 100% Whole Wheat flour for the feedings. That produced so much sour, that I had to add baking soda to subdue it, and afterward I switched to feeding with about 25% KA WW, with 75% unbleached AP, now down to just using the AP recently. I also never throw away any "discard" from feedings. I keep it in a sealed container in the fridge, and use it for baking after bringing it back up to room temperature. Oh, I also keep it at a 100% hydration, and feed it with a very small amount of seed, just a few grams, so I don't have to feed it as much flour and water. It seems to be doing fine.
Julie1959
Thin starter
My starter is 8 days old. It started out well, but is now thin, inactive, and has a layer of liquid on top. I've been feeding every 24 hours with 25g flour and 25g water.
When the seed:water:flour ratio is used, does the seed refer to starter? How do I add starter to starter?
dbazuin
Julie1959
dbazuin
Yes but you are diluting it
Yes but you are diluting it this way.
If you does not discard you need to feed it more and more every time.
The sign you describe are sign of a hungry starter.
Julie1959
dbazuin
Yes keep a part of it and
Yes keep a part of it and feed it 1:3:3 and see what happens.
I keep 7 gram every day and feed it 35 gram water and 35 gram flour (part white flour and part dark rye).
The discard I keep in the fridge an use it on sunday to bake pancakes.
Julie1959
7:35:35 is 1:5:5. Is that
7:35:35 is 1:5:5. Is that what I should do? If I keep the discard, will I need to feed it before using?
Thanks so much, you've been very helpful!
dbazuin
I think so. Don't feed the
I think so.
Don't feed the discard use keep it in the fridge in a plastic container.
There all kinds of sourdough pancake recipes around.
alan856
You answered my question!
Your formula of 1:3:3 is just what I was looking for! As soon as I can score some dark rye I'll def use that.
Now about the discard pancakes: I have been collecting the discard and am hoping to recreate a sourdough pancake my grandma made in the '50s: All I can recall is it was buckwheat flour, buttermilk and potato water. Occasionally i'd hear her grumble about needing to "add a little soda" - guess the rise must have been off a bit...
My question is: what should be added to the discard (minimal) to make pancakes. I have actually tried cooking a small amount of starter - and it was close!
BTW - most of the recipes I see on the web are... bleh! Eggs? Sugar? Blueberries? OMG!! These ideas seem quite blasphemous to my childhood memories of those heavy, delicious 'cakes' and that strong yeasty flavor - with either sausage gravy (PA Dutch!), plain butter, or maybe syrup & butter.
Can my discard be used to capture that dream??? :-)
dbazuin