How to take care of your sourdough starter

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1. How to take care of your starter
2. To make "fed" sourdough starter
3. To keep sourdough in the refrigerator

How to take care of your sourdough starter

Congratulations! You've just received a jar of King Arthur Flour's fresh sourdough starter. Your sourdough starter may look a little the worse for wear after its trip to your home. It may also have a sharp, astringent odor; this is normal. What it needs is food (King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour) and water; for best results, use chlorine-free tap water, or bottled water. Let's get your starter ready for baking

Here's your container of starter.

1) Add 1/4 cup lukewarm water to the starter in the container. Stir to dislodge the starter, and shake/stir to combine. Pour into a large glass or ceramic bowl.

2) Add 1 1/4 cups lukewarm water and 2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All- Purpose Flour (hereafter known simply as "flour"). Mix till well combined.

3) Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and let sit at room temperature (about 70°F) for 8 to 12 hours.

4) After 8 to 12 hours, the starter will be bubbly.

5) Stir the starter, and discard about half. Mix in 1/2 cup lukewarm water and 1 cup flour.

6) The starter will be fairly thick, like pancake batter.

7) Cover the bowl, and let sit at room temperature for another 2 to 4 hours, till bubbly.

8) Stir the starter, and divide it in half; discard half, or give to a friend.

9) Feed the remaining half with 1/2 cup lukewarm water and 1 cup flour.

10) Again, the batter will be thick. Lumps are OK; don't bother to stir them out.

11) Cover the starter, and let it rest at room temperature for another 2 to 4 hours.

12) The starter will be bubbly, though not as bubbly as it might have been after its earlier rises.

13) Stir the starter down. Place it in a stoneware or glass container, loosely covered with a lid, or a screw-on top, not fully screwed on. Refrigerate it until you're ready to use it in a recipe.

To make "fed" sourdough starter

Most sourdough recipes will call for 1 cup or so of "fed" sourdough starter. Here's how to turn your refrigerated starter into "fed" starter.

1) Up to 12 hours before beginning a recipe, stir the starter and discard 1 cup. Or give 1 cup to a friend, or use 1 cup to make waffles. However you do it, you want to get rid of 1 cup of starter.

2) Feed the remaining starter with 1/2 cup lukewarm water and 1 cup flour.

3) Let it sit at room temperature, covered, for 4 to 12 hours, till bubbly. It's now "fed" and ready to use in a recipe.

4) Once you've removed however much starter your recipe calls for (usually 1 cup), feed the remainder with 1/2 cup lukewarm water and 1 cup flour. Let this remaining starter sit, covered, at room temperature for 2 to 4 hours, until bubbly.

5) Stir down, return to its container, and refrigerate.

To keep sourdough in the refrigerator

If you're not planning on using your sourdough starter for over a week, take it out and feed it once a week by doing the following.

1. Stir the starter and discard 1 cup.
2. Feed the remaining starter with 1/2 cup lukewarm water and 1 cup flour.
3. Refrigerate immediately; no need to wait for it to become bubbly.
4. Feed weekly, either by using starter in a recipe, or simply discarding some and feeding the remainder as explained above.