Caring for your sourdough starter

Feeding

When the starter is out of the fridge you want to aim to feed it every day. If you miss a day or two (or even a few more) it’ll be ok, you might have to just feed it an extra time before baking with it.

To feed you first need to discard 80% - 90% of the starter from the jar (can make  savoury pancakes with the discard). Set the jar on a set of scales and add 80g wholemeal flour and 80g room temperature water. Mix thoroughly ensuring to incorporate the existing starter at the bottom. Put the lid back loosely on the jar and keep away from direct sunlight.

Refrigerating

You can refrigerate your starter if you don’t plan to bake for a few days. When the starter is in the fridge, you only need to feed it around once a week.

It’s best to feed the starter and let it become active before putting it in the fridge. Feed the starter as above and leave it for a few hours before putting it in the fridge. Ideally you should see activity in the jar and the starter has risen 50% - 100%.

When to take it out of the fridge for baking

You should ideally take the starter out from the fridge 2 days before you intend to bake with it. If you plan to bake on Saturday, take out the starter on Thursday night and feed. Feed it again on Friday evening and it should be ready to bake with on Saturday.

If you take it out the day before baking, take it out in the morning and feed it. You should then feed it again in the evening and it will be ready for the next day.

Sourdough discard pancake

This is a simple recipe to use up the extra sourdough starter discard from feeding. I don’t recommend doing this if you’ve forgotten to feed the starter for a few days as it will be really sour.

Heat up a pan over medium high heat with a glug of oil. Pour the discard directly into the pan and spread out with a spoon into a pancake. Season the pancake with salt and pepper. Optionally add things like sliced spring onions, cheese or other seasonings (i.e. Moroccan or Italian).

Once the first side of the pancake is golden brown, flip over and leave it in the pan until cooked through. I like to serve the pancake with scrambled eggs.