Building Strength Into Your Sourdough Starter

Now that September is ending and Starbucks has officially given us the go-ahead to start using pumpkin again, I’m starting to mentally ramp up for my next season of baking. And I do mean “season.” Seriously, I love fall. So much pumpkin, and cookies, and dinner rolls, and more cookies. Partly I love baking in fall because of the nostalgia aspect. But it’s also because it’s no longer 100+ outside and it’s safe to turn the oven on again. Anyway, something I’ve been wanting to talk about since I started this blog was the topic of building up the strength of a sourdough starter. Which is coincidental for me because I’m doing just that with my own starter, Jarvis.

You see, Jarvis lives on my counter. I know a lot of people keep their starters in the fridge and only feed them when they want to bake. But literally 9-10 months out of the year, I’m baking pretty regularly. Enough to the point where I keep Jarvis consistently strong and active. However, I go through a bit of a mental hiatus over summer. You know how it is. It’s hot, nothing sounds appetizing. I don’t really want to turn the oven on. Maybe I can use the grill, but then you have to thaw some meat out or go to the store. Then you have to think about marinades, yatta yatta. Point being, I get a little lazy in the summer. And along with that laziness over the past few months, I started neglecting poor Jarvis. I’d maybe feed him once every three to four days instead of his usual every 12-24 hours. As a result, he’s not as strong. I.E., he’s not the ideal strength for baking. So now it’s back to building him up again.

I remember when I was first researching how to build up strength in Jarvis, I was a little lost. There were tons of recipes on YouTube or the web. Some would have you add a tablespoon of flour and water to the starter each day and discard half every few days. Other recipes would have you discard all but maybe a tablespoon and then feed it. But something I used to wonder was the “why.” As in, why do you feed a starter at a lower ratio one day and then a higher ratio the next. I’m a technical sort of guy. I like understanding my variables when I’m cooking. I like understanding the boundaries of a particular recipe so I can understand the flexibility I have if I want to change it up. It’s actually a pretty simple explanation, and it was obvious once I understood it.

It’s like when you’re buying items on sale at the store. Take Oreos for example. I love Oreos. But I’m not interested in paying $4-$5 for a pack of Double Stuffed. No, I’ll wait until they’re 2 for $7, and then I’ll buy 2 packs. Why? Because I’m getting more for less. Same rule applies with building up your starter. You want a stronger starter that will do more work with less amount. Prior to my being neglectful of Jarvis, he was eating 6 times his weight in under 12 hours and easily hitting 2.5 to 3 times growth. So he was easily tripling in growth in less than 6 hours when fed at only a 1 to 2 times ratio. This is sort of the ideal baking strength that sourdough bakers aim for. You want to be able to take 20 or so grams of starter, feed it at 1 to 2 times ratio, and have it triple in size in under 6 hours.

Example Method:

So I’m going to explain a general process for starting and feeding a starter, as well as a tentative schedule for building up strength in that starter… but I’d ask you in advance, please pay closer attention to the method and reasoning behind why I’m saying what I’m saying, rather than the timing. Every starter is different and will yield different stages at different times.

Two Stages of the Starter

To start with, there are a couple main stages when it comes to feeding a starter. The first stage is just collecting the wild yeast. The second part is building up strength in the yeast that you’ve caught. Some bakers might argue there are additional stages, but I’m trying to keep it fairly simple here. Your starter might double or triple one day and then go flat. And you might think it’s dead when in reality, your starter is just going through another stage. Most recipes would just tell you, stick to your feedings and be patient. Different environments, and flours when combined with equal parts water will yield you some wild yeast sooner or later. For simplicity’s sake, I’m going to give you an example of the type of recipe I’ve used. And if you already have an active starter but are just interested in building strength in that starter, feel free to skip ahead to stage 2.

Stage 1: Day 1 & 2

Stage 1 is all about just trying to capture some yeast. Hence why I’m feeding it with a higher amount of flour. I’ll add 50 grams water and 50 grams of flour to a Mason jar with straight sides. And I use a combination of a stone ground rye flour and bread flour. About 30% rye, 70% bread (15 grams rye, 35 grams bread). The rye flour helps early on because it’s less processed and therefore, should yield you more wild yeast than just regular bread flour. And yes, people swear by King Arthur Unbleached Bread flour, but it’s been very difficult to find this year. And when you do find it, it’s $12 for 5 lbs. No, I’ve been using Costco bread flour. And I use a Mason jar with sides that go straight up so when it begins to climb after a few days, I can see how tall it’s growing. Just mix the flour and water, loosely put the lid on so it can still get some air, and then let it sit for a couple days.

Stage 1: Day 3

Discard half (the discard you can reserve in the fridge or freezer. I keep about a quart of discard at any time and use it mostly in waffles or cinnamon rolls), reserving 50 grams of the starter, and then feeding it 50 grams of water, and 50 grams of flour (the same 30% rye, 70% bread flour). This is called a 1:1:1 feeding. You have equal ratio of starter to flour to water. A note on the water. If you’re not a fan of your tap water, I’d suggest using bottled. And another note on the quantity of your reserved starter to use. I say 50 grams starter because it’s early on and you’re just starting out trying to catch some yeast. More starter means more chance for pulling some yeast from the flour. Also, early on you don’t need to be so worried about your starter rising up and spilling out the top. That comes later. If you want to use 25 grams or 30 grams or 40, feel free. The important thing is the ratio of 1:1:1. Either way, you’ll catch some yeast sooner or later.

Stage 1: Days 4-7

This is where understanding “why” you increase feeding ratios becomes important. Because I say, days 4-7, but you might see activity at day 3. Or you may not see activity until day 8. Every starter is different. Generally speaking, though, days 4-7, you should feed it every day using the same method from day 3. And you should expect to see some activity. By “activity” I mean you should see your starter rise, peak, and fall. When you start to notice your starter rising and falling, begin marking your glass jar when you feed it. I use a rubber band, but you can use whatever method. Then start paying attention to how tall it grows and the time it takes to reach peak. Watching how tall your starter gets and how long it takes to peak is key to determining when your starter is ready to start feeding at a higher ratio. For example: say you fed your starter at a 1:1:1 ratio at 9AM, and it’s doubled in size, peaked, and fallen within 4-6 hours. This means that the yeast in your starter have consumed their food source in a relatively short period of time. This is a sign that your starter is hungry ready to eat more. And this is where you can begin stage 2, building strength.

Stage 2: Days 8-14

Once your starter begins rising and falling, feel free to lower your reserved starter amount to say, 25 grams instead of 50. Again, the ratio is the important amount. Once you’ve captured some yeast, its about strengthening them. So say that you’re ready to start feeding at a higher ratio. Reserve 25 grams of starter, and feed it 50 grams of water, and 50 grams of flour. This is a 1:2:2 ratio. You can also reduce your rye flour to 10%. Increasing the bread flour will help add strength as well because of the added protein. And during this period is where you really want to start keeping tabs on your starter (if you weren’t already). When the starter peaks and falls, you want to feed it. Feeding a starter at peak or just after is key to building strength. Eventually, your starter should begin eating the 1:2:2 in the same 4-6 hours. Of course, the temperature in your environment does mater. Your yeast will be more active in a 75-80 degree environment than in a cooler one. Many people like to keep their starters in the oven with a light on. I did this for a little while until my son decided to make some chicken nuggets and didn’t know Jarvis was in there. Good thing I reserve my daily discard in the fridge.

Stage 2: Day 15-21

Some bakers swear by shooting for a starter that can triple in height in about 4-6 hours when fed at a 1:1:1 or 1:2:2 ratio. And you get there by just being patient and gradual with the feedings. When 25 grams of starter can chew threw 50 grams of flour and 50 grams of water in less than 6 hours, then bump up the feeding. 1:3:3. If your jar is a little small or you just don’t want to burn through flour so fast, feel free to lower the starter reserve again. Keep only 10-12 or even 15 grams. Again, it’s the ratio of feeding that matters. And just repeat the process. Feed your starter daily at a 1:3:3 ratio until it peaks and falls in say, less than 7-8 hours. 1:3:3 is a little higher ratio and should take some additional time for your starter to chew through it. If it can eat it all in 4-6 hours, that’s awesome. Bump up the feeding again.

Stage 2: Eventually...

As I said earlier, before summer, Jarvis was eating a 1:6:6 ratio overnight. I would keep about 10 grams and feed him 60 grams of water and 60 grams of flour (6 grams rye, 50 grams bread flour). I’d feed him late at night and then this would hold him over for 10-12 hours. A starter than can chew through 5 to 6 times the weight in under 12 hours can likely triple in height in under 6 hours when fed at a lower 1:1:1 or 1:2:2 ratio. And this is a fairly ideal baking strength. You honestly don’t need to wait this long to bake a loaf of sourdough. But if you’re going for a nice loaf that gets the best rise in the shortest amount of time, this level of strength is important. Optionally, once your starter is strong enough to be eating at a higher ratio like this (1:5:5 or so) you honestly don’t need to feed it every day. You certainly can. Some bakers insist on continuing feeding 2-3 times a day at a lower ratio. This keeps the starter “young” and will produce a stronger, less sour loaf of bread, but the obvious downside is that you’re tending to it several times per day. I prefer to feed Jarvis enough to hold him over for a little while. You’ll have to determine your own level of crazy obsession when you get there.