[HuggaBuggaMommy]

Originally Posted by UltraMother

I might have been inspired by the latest episode of Top Chef

It's day one, and I have mixed together 2T flour and 2T orange juice, as recommended by this page (scroll down a bit). Pretty straightforward, but I don't quite get how often to feed after day four. I think you throw out half the starter but still feed once a day? But how long do you keep this up? Forever? I've been looking through sourdoughhome.com, but I can't figure out the timetable.

Yes, throw out half the starter at each feed after day four, but feed just as often. Bascially, you'll want to do this until the starter is established, usually about 7-10 days (it takes a bit longer in the winter; putting the culture in your oven with the light on can boost the temperature and the yeast/bateria activity). Basically, once the starter can double in volume 8-12 hours after a feed, it's ready to bake with.

What you do with it then is up to you.


You can:

• Put it in the fridge at that point. Once in there, feed your starter about once a week, or 24 hours before you plan to use it. I like to give it at least two feedings in a 24 hour period, at room temperature, before I bake with it.
• Leave it on your counter and feed it daily. This is good if you plan to bake almost every day (and you can use the starter you're "throwing out" in all sorts of baked goods like pancakes, muffins, etc., so you don't necessarily have to be using it for bread). If not, you're tossing a lot of starter in the trash.
• Freeze it - it will stay good for about 6 months (or more!), and you'll need to defrost and feed vigorously before using.

I do all three of these things.

Everyone has a slightly different way of doing sourdough.

Now, you might want to consider feeding twice a day instead of only once. You can feed once a day, but it may take a little longer for the starter to establish, and it may be more, well, sour (easily remedied by feeding more, either in flour/water to starter ratio, or times per day). I've found that white flour can easily go 24 hours, but whole grains definately start getting that "hungry" alcohol smell sooner. Sourdough is all about observation. Watch and sniff, and you'll know if you need to feed again.