Feeding quantity

Maintain the regular starter quantity.

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Measurements

Daily sourdough starter feeding

Makes: About 1000 g fed culture
Heat: No oven needed
Cooking time: No baking in this starter recipe

Use the active starter in a final dough and follow that recipe for baking.

Starter & maintenance

Daily sourdough starter feeding

Maintain an established culture at 80% hydration with an 80:20 white-to-whole-wheat flour blend.

Include step photos when printing

Ingredients

Group	Ingredient	Amount	Preparation
Feed	Mature levain	100 g	Retain this amount; remove the rest.
Feed	White wheat flour	400 g
Feed	Whole wheat flour	100 g
Feed	Water	400 g	Warm; cooler end in warm weather.

Tools & alternatives

Utensil checklist

Tick the tools you have ready. Choose the recommended tool or its workaround; keep the specified pan size and heat rating.

Recommended Tools Regular Baker	Casual Baker Workarounds Hacks
Digital kitchen scale	Borrow a suitable scale for the gram amounts. Use measuring cups only where a volume is provided; fluff flour, spoon it in and level without packing.
Covered 5.7 L tub with its empty weight recorded	Use a food-safe container of similar capacity with a loose lid or plate. Leave room for rising; do not seal fermenting dough airtight.

Timing & recipe details

Time & temperature

Heat: No oven needed
Cooking time: No baking in this starter recipe

Use the active starter in a final dough and follow that recipe for baking.

Makes: About 1000 g fed culture
Heat: No bake
Plan for: Daily; a few minutes hands-on

Method

01 · Retain & feed
Once each morning
Use: All listed ingredients
About 24 h after the last feed, keep only 100 g culture. Mix in fresh flour and water; cover at room temperature.
Ready when: Immediately after mixing: 26–27°C.
01 Feed with white and whole-wheat flourMix the retained culture with fresh flour and water, then cover.
02 · Use
Usually 6–9 h after feeding; follow recipe
Use: Ripe culture
Take only the amount your recipe needs once the culture is bubbly, expanded and webbed. Keep the remaining culture separate.
Ready when: Mature enough for dough, before prolonged collapse.
02 Use the ripe cultureTake the portion needed for dough when the culture is bubbly, expanded and webbed.
03 · Repeat or store
Daily, or refrigerate after use
Use: Remaining culture
Repeat the retain-and-feed routine next morning, or use the refrigeration and restoration protocol.
Ready when: A retained seed remains available for the next bake.
03 Keep a separate seed cultureKeep a separate portion available for the next feeding.

What to look for

Stage	Look and feel	Needs attention
Activity	Feedings lead to repeatable expansion, bubbles and an internal web.	Calendar age alone does not show that a new culture can raise bread.

Troubleshooting

If you see	Likely cause	What to do now	Next time
Starter is not vigorous yet	A young or cool culture needs more development.	Continue regular feedings and wait for reliable activity before using in bread.	Keep feeding amounts and temperature consistent.
Pink/orange colour or fuzzy growth	The culture is contaminated.	Discard it and start again in clean equipment.	Keep the container covered and utensils clean.

Recipe notes

No commercial yeast, sugar, fruit, pork or added alcohol is used. Fermentation itself naturally produces small amounts of ethanol; this is not a guarantee of chemically zero alcohol.

Show ingredient flow

Recipe

Daily sourdough starter feeding

Maintain an established culture at 80% hydration with an 80:20 white-to-whole-wheat flour blend.

Include step photos when printing

Ingredients

Group	Ingredient	Amount	Preparation
Feed	Mature levain	100 g	Retain this amount; remove the rest.
Feed	White wheat flour	400 g
Feed	Whole wheat flour	100 g
Feed	Water	400 g	Warm; cooler end in warm weather.

Tools & alternatives

Utensil checklist

Tick the tools you have ready. Choose the recommended tool or its workaround; keep the specified pan size and heat rating.

Recommended Tools Regular Baker	Casual Baker Workarounds Hacks
Digital kitchen scale	Borrow a suitable scale for the gram amounts. Use measuring cups only where a volume is provided; fluff flour, spoon it in and level without packing.
Covered 5.7 L tub with its empty weight recorded	Use a food-safe container of similar capacity with a loose lid or plate. Leave room for rising; do not seal fermenting dough airtight.

Timing & recipe details

Makes: About 1000 g fed culture
Heat: No bake
Allow: Daily; a few minutes hands-on

How do I make it?

Keep a portion and feed it
Once each morning
About 24 hours after the last feed, weigh out 100 g starter and remove the rest. Mix in the fresh flour and water listed for the feed, then cover and leave at room temperature.
Mix the retained culture with fresh flour and water, then cover.
Ready when: 26–27°C just after mixing.
Take the starter you need
Usually 6–9 h after feeding; follow recipe
Once the starter has risen and looks bubbly with fine strands inside, take only the amount your recipe needs. Keep the remaining starter separate.
Take the portion needed for dough when the culture is bubbly, expanded and webbed.
Ready when: The starter is ready to raise dough; do not leave it long after it has sunk back down.
Feed again or refrigerate
Daily, or refrigerate after use
Next morning, keep the listed small portion of starter and feed it again with fresh flour and water. If you are not feeding it daily, follow the storage and restarting guide instead.
Keep a separate portion available for the next feeding.
Ready when: Some starter is kept separate for the next bake.

What can go wrong, and how can I fix it?

What you notice	Likely cause	What to do
Starter is not vigorous yet	A young or cool culture needs more development.	Continue regular feedings and wait for reliable activity before using in bread. Keep feeding amounts and temperature consistent.
Pink/orange colour or fuzzy growth	The culture is contaminated.	Discard it and start again in clean equipment. Keep the container covered and utensils clean.

Useful recipe notes

No commercial yeast, sugar, fruit, pork or added alcohol is used. Fermentation itself naturally produces small amounts of ethanol; this is not a guarantee of chemically zero alcohol.

See the detailed method and ratios in , or follow ingredients through the .

Ingredient proportions & recipe details

Daily sourdough starter feeding at a glance

Makes: About 1000 g fed culture
Heat: No oven needed
Cooking time: No baking in this starter recipe
Dough hydration: 80%
Leavening: Sourdough starter

How do the ingredient proportions compare?

Core dough totals include the flour and water in the portion of starter or preferment used. Do not add them again. Toppings, fillings and dusting flour are separate.

Formula component	Grams	Flour = 100%
Total flour	555.6 g	100%
Total water	444.4 g	80%
Salt	0 g	0%
Instant yeast	0 g	0%

Small-batch sourdough starter feeding

Makes: About 500 g fed culture
Heat: No oven needed
Cooking time: No baking in this starter recipe

Use the active starter in a final dough and follow that recipe for baking.

Starter & maintenance

Small-batch sourdough starter feeding

Maintain an established culture at 80% hydration with an 80:20 white-to-whole-wheat flour blend.

Include step photos when printing

Ingredients

Group	Ingredient	Amount	Preparation
Feed	Mature levain	50 g	Retain this amount; remove the rest.
Feed	White wheat flour	200 g
Feed	Whole wheat flour	50 g
Feed	Water	200 g	Warm; cooler end in warm weather.

Tools & alternatives

Utensil checklist

Tick the tools you have ready. Choose the recommended tool or its workaround; keep the specified pan size and heat rating.

Recommended Tools Regular Baker	Casual Baker Workarounds Hacks
Digital kitchen scale	Borrow a suitable scale for the gram amounts. Use measuring cups only where a volume is provided; fluff flour, spoon it in and level without packing.
Covered 5.7 L tub with its empty weight recorded	Use a food-safe container of similar capacity with a loose lid or plate. Leave room for rising; do not seal fermenting dough airtight.

Timing & recipe details

Time & temperature

Heat: No oven needed
Cooking time: No baking in this starter recipe

Use the active starter in a final dough and follow that recipe for baking.

Makes: About 500 g fed culture
Heat: No bake
Plan for: Daily; a few minutes hands-on

Method

01 · Retain & feed
Once each morning
Use: All listed ingredients
About 24 h after the last feed, keep only 50 g culture. Mix in fresh flour and water; cover at room temperature.
Ready when: Immediately after mixing: 26–27°C.
01 Feed a smaller batchFeed the retained culture, keeping the smaller batch proportions.
02 · Use
Usually 6–9 h after feeding; follow recipe
Use: Ripe culture
Take only the amount your recipe needs once the culture is bubbly, expanded and webbed. Keep the remaining culture separate.
Ready when: Mature enough for dough, before prolonged collapse.
02 Use the ripe cultureTake the portion needed for dough when the culture is bubbly, expanded and webbed.
03 · Repeat or store
Daily, or refrigerate after use
Use: Remaining culture
Repeat the retain-and-feed routine next morning, or use the refrigeration and restoration protocol.
Ready when: A retained seed remains available for the next bake.
03 Keep a separate seed cultureKeep a separate portion available for the next feeding.

What to look for

Stage	Look and feel	Needs attention
Activity	Feedings lead to repeatable expansion, bubbles and an internal web.	Calendar age alone does not show that a new culture can raise bread.

Troubleshooting

If you see	Likely cause	What to do now	Next time
Starter is not vigorous yet	A young or cool culture needs more development.	Continue regular feedings and wait for reliable activity before using in bread.	Keep feeding amounts and temperature consistent.
Pink/orange colour or fuzzy growth	The culture is contaminated.	Discard it and start again in clean equipment.	Keep the container covered and utensils clean.

Recipe notes

No commercial yeast, sugar, fruit, pork or added alcohol is used. Fermentation itself naturally produces small amounts of ethanol; this is not a guarantee of chemically zero alcohol.
At 500 g total, this feed is insufficient for a recipe needing 540 g levain plus retained culture. Use the full feed or scale all feed ingredients consistently.

Show ingredient flow

Recipe

Small-batch sourdough starter feeding

Maintain an established culture at 80% hydration with an 80:20 white-to-whole-wheat flour blend.

Include step photos when printing

Ingredients

Group	Ingredient	Amount	Preparation
Feed	Mature levain	50 g	Retain this amount; remove the rest.
Feed	White wheat flour	200 g
Feed	Whole wheat flour	50 g
Feed	Water	200 g	Warm; cooler end in warm weather.

Tools & alternatives

Utensil checklist

Tick the tools you have ready. Choose the recommended tool or its workaround; keep the specified pan size and heat rating.

Recommended Tools Regular Baker	Casual Baker Workarounds Hacks
Digital kitchen scale	Borrow a suitable scale for the gram amounts. Use measuring cups only where a volume is provided; fluff flour, spoon it in and level without packing.
Covered 5.7 L tub with its empty weight recorded	Use a food-safe container of similar capacity with a loose lid or plate. Leave room for rising; do not seal fermenting dough airtight.

Timing & recipe details

Makes: About 500 g fed culture
Heat: No bake
Allow: Daily; a few minutes hands-on

How do I make it?

Keep a portion and feed it
Once each morning
About 24 hours after the last feed, weigh out 50 g starter and remove the rest. Mix in the fresh flour and water listed for the feed, then cover and leave at room temperature.
Feed the retained culture, keeping the smaller batch proportions.
Ready when: 26–27°C just after mixing.
Take the starter you need
Usually 6–9 h after feeding; follow recipe
Once the starter has risen and looks bubbly with fine strands inside, take only the amount your recipe needs. Keep the remaining starter separate.
Take the portion needed for dough when the culture is bubbly, expanded and webbed.
Ready when: The starter is ready to raise dough; do not leave it long after it has sunk back down.
Feed again or refrigerate
Daily, or refrigerate after use
Next morning, keep the listed small portion of starter and feed it again with fresh flour and water. If you are not feeding it daily, follow the storage and restarting guide instead.
Keep a separate portion available for the next feeding.
Ready when: Some starter is kept separate for the next bake.

What can go wrong, and how can I fix it?

What you notice	Likely cause	What to do
Starter is not vigorous yet	A young or cool culture needs more development.	Continue regular feedings and wait for reliable activity before using in bread. Keep feeding amounts and temperature consistent.
Pink/orange colour or fuzzy growth	The culture is contaminated.	Discard it and start again in clean equipment. Keep the container covered and utensils clean.

Useful recipe notes

No commercial yeast, sugar, fruit, pork or added alcohol is used. Fermentation itself naturally produces small amounts of ethanol; this is not a guarantee of chemically zero alcohol.

At 500 g total, this feed is insufficient for a recipe needing 540 g levain plus retained culture. Use the full feed or scale all feed ingredients consistently.

See the detailed method and ratios in , or follow ingredients through the .

Ingredient proportions & recipe details

Small-batch sourdough starter feeding at a glance

Makes: About 500 g fed culture
Heat: No oven needed
Cooking time: No baking in this starter recipe
Dough hydration: 80%
Leavening: Sourdough starter

How do the ingredient proportions compare?

Core dough totals include the flour and water in the portion of starter or preferment used. Do not add them again. Toppings, fillings and dusting flour are separate.

Formula component	Grams	Flour = 100%
Total flour	277.8 g	100%
Total water	222.2 g	80%
Salt	0 g	0%
Instant yeast	0 g	0%