Welcome! This page will take you through what to do when you receive your sourdough starter, how to maintain it, and teach you some helpful tips and delicious recipes. If you don't already have a starter, our dried organic sourdough starters can be brought here. 

If you experience any issues, please place the starter in the fridge instead of throwing it out and read our common questions and troubleshooting guide or contact us for assistance.

Feeding The Starter

You will need

• Chlorine-free water
  • Achieved by boiling water and letting it cool or by using filtered water
• A jar with a lid
• A scale
• A spoon and a fork
• Flour:
  • If you have a rye sourdough starter, use rye flour (best option, available online or at health food stores) or baker’s flour
  • If you have a wholegrain wheat sourdough starter, use wholegrain flour (best option) or baker’s flour

Feeding 1 

1. Pour the dried starter into a jar
   
2. Add 50g of room temperature filtered water and stir well with a fork
   
3. Let the mixture sit for 10 min and stir again
   
4. Add 50g of flour and mix well to the point where there are no lumps of flour
   
5. Cover the jar loosely with a lid
   
6. Let the jar ferment in a warm spot for 48 hours

Feeding 2 

1. Add 50g of room temperature filtered water and stir well with a fork
   
2. Add 50g of flour and stir well until there are no lumps of flour
   
3. Cover loosely with a lid
4. Let the jar ferment in a warm spot for 24 hours

Feeding 3+

1. Remove 50g of the starter and place it into a new jar - discard or compost the rest
   
2. Add 50g of room temperature water to the starter and stir well with a fork
   
3. Add 50g of flour and stir well until there are no lumps
   
4. Cover loosely with a lid
   
5. Let the jar ferment in a warm spot for 24 hours
   
6. Repeat steps 1-5 until the starter doubles in size 

Maintaining Your Starter Between Baking

Baking Every Day Or Two 

If you're baking every day, you can maintain your starter by doing the following:

1. Remove 50g of the starter and place it into a new jar. Discard or compost the rest
   
2. Add 50g of room temperature water to the starter and stir well with a fork
   
3. Spoon in 50g of flour and mix well with a fork until there are no lumps
   
4. Cover loosely with a lid
   
5. Let the jar ferment in a warm spot out of direct sunlight for 24 hours

Baking Less Than Every Two Days 

If you are not baking daily, then you can keep your starter in the fridge. This slows down the starter to where it only needs to be fed once a week. Feed it by following the steps under, 'Baking Every Day or Two.'

The starter will need to be refreshed for baking after keeping it in the fridge. Follow the steps under, ‘Feeding 3+,’ above until the starter doubles in size after 24 hours. 

Recipes

Your starter will work with any sourdough recipe, using any type of flour, but below are two favourites

Traditional Sourdough Recipe

This basic sourdough recipe produces a traditional sourdough loaf in a beginner-friendly guide with step-by-step instructions and photos.

Tight on Time?

If you’re tight on time try this simple no-knead sourdough bread recipe which has been tried and tested again to produce wonderful results.  

Explore more fermenting favorites like milk kefir grains, water kefir grains, and kombucha scoby on our website. Enjoy and happy fermenting!