Sourdough Feeding Schedule (Every Scenario)

A sourdough starter is a living culture that needs food (flour), water, and a stable temperature to stay healthy. How often you feed it depends on one question: how often do you bake?

Daily bakers keep their starter at room temperature and feed once or twice a day. Weekend bakers refrigerate between uses. Vacation bakers can put their culture into deep storage for weeks. Each scenario has a proven schedule.

This guide covers all of them, with exact ratios from three of the most respected bread bakers in the field.

The Basics of Feeding

Every feeding has three variables:

1. How much old starter to keep (the seed)
2. How much flour to add (the food)
3. How much water to add (determines hydration)

The ratio of seed to fresh flour controls how quickly the culture reaches peak activity. A small seed in a large amount of fresh flour takes longer to ripen (more food to consume). A large seed in a small amount of flour ripens faster (less food, more organisms).

Temperature controls the rest. Warmer = faster fermentation. Cooler = slower.

Schedule 1: Daily Baking (Room Temperature)

If you bake several times a week, keep the starter at room temperature and feed daily.

Forkish’s Single Daily Feeding (Most Prescriptive)

Forkish designed this for home bakers who mix dough in the afternoon:

Levain hydration: 80% Schedule: Feed in the morning, 6-9 hours before mixing the final dough.

Forkish includes whole wheat in every feeding: “The bran and outer layers of whole wheat have more available sugars and minerals, creating a more vigorous culture.”

This single-feed approach works because the 1:5 ratio (100g starter to 500g flour) provides enough food for the culture to rise, peak, and be ready to use within 6-9 hours at room temperature.

Robertson’s Minimal Approach

Robertson’s method is the opposite of prescriptive. He uses just 1 tablespoon of mature starter to seed a fresh batch of flour and water. The exact weights are less important than the concept: a very small seed, a long ripening time, and use before peak acidity.

His leaven build for baking day:

• 1 tablespoon mature starter
• 200g flour (50/50 white and whole wheat)
• 200g water

Mix the night before baking. Use when it passes the float test the next morning — typically 8-12 hours later.

This produces what Robertson calls a “young leaven.” Because the seed is small and the culture hasn’t reached maximum acidity, the bread has complex wheat flavor and subtle fermented character without aggressive tang. This is why Tartine bread doesn’t taste “sourdough” despite being naturally leavened.

Hamelman’s Rye Culture Maintenance

For bakers who maintain a rye-based culture:

• Daily maintenance: Just 20g whole rye flour + 20g water
• Rye cultures are remarkably robust — they need very little flour to stay healthy

This is the most economical maintenance possible. The rye culture serves as the mother, and you build a wheat-based levain from it when needed for baking.

Schedule 2: Weekend Baking (Refrigerator Storage)

If you bake once a week or less, the refrigerator is your tool. Cold temperatures (37-40°F / 3-5°C) slow fermentation nearly to a standstill, though acetic acid bacteria remain slightly active — which is why refrigerated starters develop a sharp, vinegary edge over time.

Weekly Cycle

After your bake: Feed the starter with fresh flour and water (any of the ratios above). Let it ferment at room temperature for 1-2 hours until you see early bubbling. Then refrigerate.

2 days before baking: Remove from fridge. Discard all but 50-100g. Feed with your standard ratio. Let it ferment at room temperature for 12-24 hours.

1 day before baking (or morning of): Feed again. Wait 6-8 hours until the starter is at peak activity — domed, bubbly, passes the float test. Mix your dough.

The two-feed revival is important. A single feeding after cold storage often produces a sluggish, overly acidic leaven. The first feeding wakes the organisms; the second brings them to full strength.

Signs Your Refrigerated Starter Needs Attention

• Dark liquid on top (hooch): This is alcohol — the culture is hungry. Pour it off and feed immediately. Not dangerous, but the starter is stressed.
• Strong vinegar smell: Extended cold storage favors acetic acid bacteria. Two room-temperature feedings will bring it back to balance.
• No rise after feeding: The culture may need 2-3 consecutive feedings at room temperature before it regains full activity.

Schedule 3: Extended Storage (2-4 Weeks)

Going on vacation? Forkish recommends storing about 500g of levain in a nonperforated plastic bag, coated with a film of water, and refrigerated for up to 1 month.

Revival Protocol (Forkish’s Two-Step)

Night before baking: Remove from fridge. Retain 200g, discard the rest. Feed with 400g white flour + 100g whole wheat + 400g water at 95°F. Rest in a warm spot overnight.

Morning of baking: Feed again — discard all but 100g, same feeding. Wait 6-8 hours. Use when ripe.

The warmer water (95°F vs. the usual 85°F) is deliberate. After extended cold storage, the organisms are dormant and benefit from a thermal boost to restart activity.

Schedule 4: Emergency Revival (Neglected Starter)

If your starter has been in the fridge for months and looks gray, smells like rubbing alcohol, and has a layer of dark liquid on top — it’s probably still alive.

Day 1: Pour off the hooch. Take just 2 tablespoons of the culture. Feed with 100g flour + 100g water. Leave at room temperature (75-80°F).

Day 2: Discard all but 2 tablespoons. Feed 100g flour + 100g water. Watch for any signs of bubbling.

Days 3-5: Continue daily discards and feedings. By day 3-4, you should see bubbles and smell fermentation. By day 5, the culture should be doubling reliably.

If there’s still no activity after 5 days of feeding, the culture is dead. Start a new one.

For detailed troubleshooting of starters that won’t rise, see our complete sourdough starter not rising guide.

The Float Test: Your Timing Signal

Robertson’s float test is the go/no-go signal for when your starter is ready to bake with:

Drop a small spoonful of starter into water.

• Floats: Ready. Sufficient CO2 production to be buoyant — the yeast is active and producing gas.
• Sinks: Not ready. Give it more time.

The float test works best with starters at 100% hydration. Very liquid starters (125%+) may sink even when active because the structure is too loose to trap gas.

Feeding Ratio Cheat Sheet

Temperature and Flavor

The temperature at which you maintain your starter directly affects flavor:

If your bread is too sour, keep the starter warmer and feed more frequently. If it’s too bland, let it ferment longer at a cooler temperature.

Higher hydration starters (100%+) also favor lactic acid, while stiffer starters (60%) favor acetic. Between hydration and temperature, you can dial in almost any flavor profile. For the science behind this, see fermentation science.

Adjusting the Timing to Your Schedule

Real life doesn’t always align with a 6-8 hour feeding cycle. Here are practical adaptations:

You want to bake in the morning. Feed the starter the night before with Robertson’s approach: a small seed (1 tablespoon) into 200g flour + 200g water. The large food-to-seed ratio means it takes 8-12 hours to ripen — ready when you wake up.

You want to bake in the evening. Feed first thing in the morning with Forkish’s ratio: 100g starter into 500g flour + 400g water. It’ll be ready in 6-9 hours — peak activity by late afternoon.

You want to slow it down. Use cooler water (65-70°F) or reduce the seed amount. A smaller seed in a larger amount of flour takes longer to ripen. You can also refrigerate the starter 1-2 hours after feeding to stall it, then pull it out when you’re ready.

You want to speed it up. Use warmer water (90-95°F) and a larger seed. A 1:2 ratio (50g starter into 100g flour + 100g water) at warm temperature can be ready in 3-4 hours.

You’re going out of town for the weekend. Feed Friday morning, let it ferment 2 hours at room temperature, then refrigerate. It’ll be fine until Monday. Feed twice on Monday before baking on Tuesday.

Stiff vs. Liquid Starters

The hydration of your starter affects both maintenance and flavor:

Liquid starter (100-125% hydration): Equal or more water than flour. Pourable consistency. Easier to mix into dough. Favors lactic acid (milder flavor). Robertson and Forkish both use liquid starters. This is the most common home approach.

Stiff starter (60% hydration): More flour than water. Dough-like consistency. Favors acetic acid (sharper, tangier flavor). Hamelman uses stiff starters in several professional formulas. Stiff starters ferment more slowly and can go longer between feedings.

You can convert between them by adjusting the flour-to-water ratio at your next feeding. To go from liquid to stiff, feed with 100g flour and 60g water. To go from stiff to liquid, feed with 100g flour and 100g water. The organisms don’t care — they’ll adjust within one or two feeding cycles.

Common Mistakes

Feeding with hot water. Yeast dies at 140°F (60°C). Water above 110°F can stress the culture. Stick to 85-95°F.

Skipping the discard. If you keep adding flour and water without discarding, the acid accumulates and the ratio of organisms to food becomes too high. The culture sours rapidly and loses leavening power.

Inconsistent feeding times. A starter that’s fed at 8am one day and 10pm the next never establishes a predictable rhythm. Pick a time and stick to it.

Using the starter too late. A starter that has already collapsed past its peak is over-fermented. The yeast is exhausted and the acid level is high. Bread made with over-ripe starter will be flat and overly sour. For mild-flavored bread, use the starter when it’s domed and bubbly, before it starts to collapse.

When you’re ready to bake your first loaf, see our beginner sourdough bread guide.