Liquid sourdough starter

Starter & maintenance

Transitions an established base starter toward an all-white, 100%-hydration culture.

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Ingredients

Group	Ingredient	Amount	Preparation
A · day 1 morning	Mature active levain	50 g	80% base culture
A · day 1 morning	White wheat flour	250 g
A · day 1 morning	Water	250 g	Warm
A2 · day 1 evening	Levain from first feed	250 g
A2 · day 1 evening	White wheat flour	250 g
A2 · day 1 evening	Water	250 g	Warm
A3 · day 2 morning	Levain from second feed	100 g
A3 · day 2 morning	White wheat flour	500 g
A3 · day 2 morning	Water	500 g	Warm

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	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 1,100 g after third feeding
Heat: No bake
Plan for: 2-day transition; approximately 9 h + 15 h + 6 h

Method

01 · Day 1 · morning
About 9 h; e.g. 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Use: A
Keep 50 g starter, mix with the new flour and water; cover at room temperature.
Ready when: Increasing bubbles and volume.
01 Begin the liquid feedMix the retained starter with equal weights of new flour and water.
02 · Day 1 · evening
About 15 h overnight
Use: A2
Keep 250 g from the first feed, discarding the rest. Mix with flour and water; cover.
Ready when: Expanded culture with a webbed interior.
02 Feed again after expansionRetain the required amount, mix in fresh flour and water, and cover.
03 · Day 2 · morning
About 6 h; e.g. 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Use: A3
Keep only 100 g from the second feed. Mix in flour and water; cover until aerated and ready for the final dough.
Ready when: Bubbly and webbed, with a mild fermented aroma; not collapsed.
03 Watch for bubbles and a webbed interiorAllow the fed liquid culture to become aerated before using it.
04 · Use or maintain
Use at maturity
Use: Ripe culture
Weigh the portion your dough needs. Keep the remainder separate. For ongoing liquid culture, repeat the third-feed proportions; for refrigeration, use the storage protocol.
Ready when: Only the weighed portion enters the dough.
04 Weigh the portion for the doughUse only the needed portion and keep the remainder separate.

What to look for

Stage	Look and feel	Needs attention
Maturity	Bubbles, expansion and an internal web after feeding.	A collapsed, thin culture indicates its peak has passed.

Troubleshooting

If you see	Likely cause	What to do now	Next time
Culture is sluggish	The seed was weak or the room is cool.	Allow more time in a gently warmer spot before using.	Start with a reliably active culture and record the temperature.

Recipe notes

Treat feeding times as estimates and judge the levain by its activity and maturity cues.
Nominal 100% hydration and all-white flour are approached over successive feeds. Trace seed flour and its earlier hydration remain after the initial transition.

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Recipe

Liquid sourdough starter

Transitions an established base starter toward an all-white, 100%-hydration culture.

Include step photos when printing

Ingredients

Group	Ingredient	Amount	Preparation
A · day 1 morning	Mature active levain	50 g	80% base culture
A · day 1 morning	White wheat flour	250 g
A · day 1 morning	Water	250 g	Warm
A2 · day 1 evening	Levain from first feed	250 g
A2 · day 1 evening	White wheat flour	250 g
A2 · day 1 evening	Water	250 g	Warm
A3 · day 2 morning	Levain from second feed	100 g
A3 · day 2 morning	White wheat flour	500 g
A3 · day 2 morning	Water	500 g	Warm

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	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 1,100 g after third feeding
Heat: No bake
Allow: 2-day transition; approximately 9 h + 15 h + 6 h

How do I make it?

Day 1: morning starter feed
About 9 h; e.g. 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Keep 50 g starter and mix in the fresh flour and water listed for this feed. Cover and leave at room temperature.
Mix the retained starter with equal weights of new flour and water.
Ready when: More bubbles and a growing mixture.
Day 1: evening starter feed
About 15 h overnight
Keep 250 g of the starter from the first feed and discard the rest. Mix in the flour and water listed for this feed and cover.
Retain the required amount, mix in fresh flour and water, and cover.
Ready when: The starter has grown, with fine stretchy strands inside.
Day 2: morning starter feed
About 6 h; e.g. 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Keep only 100 g of the starter from the second feed. Mix in the flour and water listed for this feed, then cover and leave until it is airy and ready to use in the dough.
Allow the fed liquid culture to become aerated before using it.
Ready when: Bubbly, with fine stretchy strands and a mild fermented smell; it has not sunk back down.
Use the starter and save some
Use at maturity
Weigh out only the prepared starter your dough needs and keep the rest separate. To keep this runnier starter going, feed it using the same proportions as the third feed. To refrigerate it, follow the Store & Restore a Levain guide.
Use only the needed portion and keep the remainder separate.
Ready when: Only the weighed amount goes into the dough.

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

What you notice	Likely cause	What to do
Culture is sluggish	The seed was weak or the room is cool.	Allow more time in a gently warmer spot before using. Start with a reliably active culture and record the temperature.

Useful recipe notes

Treat feeding times as estimates and judge the levain by its activity and maturity cues.

Nominal 100% hydration and all-white flour are approached over successive feeds. Trace seed flour and its earlier hydration remain after the initial transition.

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

Formula component	Grams	Flour = 100%
Total flour	550 g	100%
Total water	550 g	100%
Salt	0 g	0%
Instant yeast	0 g	0%

Method

01 · Day 1 · morning

02 · Day 1 · evening

03 · Day 2 · morning

04 · Use or maintain

What to look for

Troubleshooting

Recipe notes

How do I make it?

Day 1: morning starter feed

Day 1: evening starter feed

Day 2: morning starter feed

Use the starter and save some

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

Liquid sourdough starter at a glance