.png)
How I Feed My Sourdough Starter (And Why I Stopped Doing 1:1:1)
- Ginger Borden
- Mar 31
- 8 min read
Updated: 4 days ago
This post contains affiliate links. I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.
If you've ever gone down the sourdough rabbit hole, you've probably seen the standard advice: feed your starter equal parts starter, water, and flour. A 1:1:1 ratio. Simple, clean, easy to remember.
I did that too, for a while. And it works. But once your starter gets strong, that ratio just doesn't cut it anymore.
Meet Janet. She's my sourdough starter, and she has been with me long enough to have a personality, a home, and honestly a little bit of an attitude. This is how I feed her, why I feed her the way I do, and some things I had to figure out on my own that I really wish someone had told me at the beginning.
What You Need Before You Start
You don't need a lot of equipment, but what you do use matters. I keep things simple.
A kitchen scale is non-negotiable. I use the OXO Good Grips scale, and it's on my counter every single day. Measuring by weight instead of volume is what separates consistent results from guesswork. Flour especially can vary wildly depending on how packed it is in the bag.
For Janet's jar, I use a Weck jar. They're wide-mouthed, easy to stir, and the straight sides make it simple to see exactly how much she's risen. I keep a few different sizes on hand: a short Weck for smaller feedings, a medium for everyday use, and a large for when I'm building up a bigger batch.
And then there's Janet's home. This is probably my favorite sourdough purchase I've ever made. It's a small mini warmer, also called a Sourdough Home, that I keep set to 70 degrees. Consistent temperature is one of the biggest factors in predictable starter behavior, and this little thing changed my baking life. Instead of chasing warm spots in my kitchen or stressing when the house is cold in winter, I just open the door, put her in, and know exactly what I'm working with.
This Sourdough Home has also been super useful when I go out of town. Yes, the refrigerator works! But a refrigerator is typically 32 degrees which really slows the starter down. I found that after being out of town for 4+ days, I would come home, pull Janet out of the refrigerator and it would take days to get her back to her usual happy self (hence the "attitude" I mentioned before, ha). So instead, I will feed Janet a higher ratio, maybe a 1:5:5, put her in her Sourdough Home and turn the temperature down to 45 degrees. This temperature seems to work better for her so that when I get home and start feeding her again, she is ready to bake after only one discard and feed.
The Fridge Cheat Sheet That Saves Me Every Single Day
Before I walk you through the actual feeding process, I want to share a tip that has saved me so much time and second-guessing.
I keep a handwritten cheat sheet on my fridge with the weight of every jar and bowl I use regularly. My short Weck is 293g, my medium is 393g, my large is 474g. When I'm ready to feed Janet, I put the jar on the scale, subtract the jar weight from the total and that tells me exactly how much starter is sitting in the jar. I then remove starter until I'm at the weight I want to keep.
Here's a real example of how this works. Say I put my jar on the scale and the total weight is 643g. I used 200g of starter in a recipe, so that leaves 443g. I subtract 393g for my medium Weck and I know I have exactly 50g of starter left to feed. From there I decide on my ratio and add my water and flour accordingly.
It may seem like a lot of math at first but you get used to seeing certain numbers, and the cheat sheet on the fridge does most of the remembering for you. Trust me, math has never been my strong subject, but this has worked for me.
Once you know your jar weights by heart, the whole process gets faster. No hunting around, no second-guessing, no starting over because you forgot to zero out before adding your starter. It's a small habit that makes a real difference.
Do You Need to Change the Jar Every Day?
This is one of those things nobody talks about, and I really want to address it directly because it caused me a lot of unnecessary stress when I was starting out.
No. You do not need to change your starter's jar every single day.
In fact, I'd argue you shouldn't. Here's why.
Sourdough is a living culture of wild yeast and good bacteria. It does not need a sterile environment to thrive. Quite the opposite, actually. That jar that looks a little messy on the inside? The dried bits of starter clinging to the sides? That's not a problem. That's just evidence that something alive lives there.
What IS a problem is introducing chemicals into your starter from an improperly rinsed jar. Even a tiny bit of dish soap or cleaner residue left behind can kill the very bacteria you've worked so hard to cultivate. Losing a strong, active starter because of a well-intentioned jar washing is genuinely devastating, and it happens more than people talk about.
I change Janet's jar every three to four days, or when it gets to the point where it really needs it. When I do wash the jar, I rinse it extremely thoroughly and make sure there is no soap residue left behind before I transfer her back. A daily jar change is not only unnecessary, it's an extra risk you don't need to take.
This is also exactly why the fridge cheat sheet matters so much. Because you are NOT starting with an empty jar every day, knowing the weight of the jar you are already working in is what lets you calculate your starter amount accurately without having to change anything.
How to Feed Your Sourdough Starter (Step by Step)
Now that you understand the jar situation, here is how a regular feeding day actually looks for me.
I put Janet's jar on the scale and note the total weight. Using my cheat sheet, I subtract the jar weight to find out how much starter I have. On a typical day I want to keep 35 grams of starter, so I remove whatever amount gets me down to 35g in the jar.
Once I have my 35 grams of starter sitting in the jar, I add 105 grams of filtered room temperature water. Then I add 105 grams of flour. That gives me a 1:3:3 ratio, meaning Janet gets three times her weight in both water and flour.
A quick note on water: I have well water, so I don't have to worry about chlorine in my tap water. If you are on city or county water, I would not risk it - chlorine can kill the good bacteria in your starter, and that is the last thing you want after all the work you've put into building it. Instead, grab a jug of spring water, let it sit out until it reaches room temperature, and use that for your feedings. Simple fix.
I stir it all together until there are no dry flour pockets left. Then I put a rubber band around the outside of the jar right at the level of the fresh starter. That rubber band is your best friend. It is how you track the rise without hovering over her constantly.
Then she goes into her Sourdough Home at 70 degrees and I leave her alone to do her thing.
Why I Feed a 1:3:3 Ratio
The short version is that Janet is strong, and she needs more food.
A 1:1:1 ratio gives your starter a smaller amount of fresh flour to eat, which means it moves through its peak cycle faster. That can actually work against you if you're not baking on a tight schedule, because a starter that peaks quickly also falls quickly.
With a 1:3:3, Janet has more to work through. Her peak comes later, which gives me a longer window to use her at her best. In these photos you can actually see what happens when I left her for a full 24 hours on that ratio; she rose, peaked, and fell back down, but she was still plenty active. That is a sign of a healthy, strong starter.
I've even done 1:10:10 feedings when I know I won't be baking for a couple of days. The bigger the ratio, the slower the rise, the longer the window. It's a tool, not a rule. As your starter gets stronger and you get more comfortable, you'll start to develop a feel for which ratio fits your schedule.
Knowing When She's Ready
The rubber band tells you everything. When Janet has doubled or more from her starting line, has a domed top, and bubbles are visible through the glass, she's at or near peak. That's your window to bake.
My jar cover says "All Set to Bake?" which is the best little reminder; it came in one of the starter kits I bought ages ago and I have no idea where to find another one, but I love it. What I can point you to are these cloth jar lids that I added to my storefront. They are washable (which is absolutely necessary!), cute, and keep the top of your starter from drying out while still letting it breathe. When she's peaked and that lid comes off, it's time.
If you miss the window and she starts to fall back, don't panic. You can still use her, especially for discard recipes. Or just feed her again and wait for the next rise.
What to Do With the Discard (And One Drain Tip Nobody Tells You)
Let's talk about discard for a minute, because this is another area where I see beginners get overwhelmed.
First, save your discard whenever you can. There are so many recipes that use sourdough discard and none of it has to go to waste. Crackers, pancakes, waffles, muffins; discard is a gift, not a problem.
Here are a few that I love:
But here's something that used to stress me out that I want to address directly. When you are washing out your starter jar or rinsing a spatula, you are putting live bacteria down your drain. I had sourdough people online absolutely convinced me I needed to buy little mesh drain covers to catch every last bit that went down the sink. I bought them. I hated them. They took up more time and irritated me every single time I used them.
Here is what I actually do, and what has kept my drain clear for years: a splash of white vinegar down the sink every couple of days, or at least once a week. Vinegar helps neutralize the live bacteria and keeps anything clinging to your pipes from building up into a clog. I am not a plumber, and I am not making any guarantees, but this simple habit has worked for me and I have never had a sourdough-related drain issue.
Skip the mesh covers. Buy a big bottle of white vinegar. You're welcome.
The Honest Truth About Starter Maintenance
Once you get a rhythm, feeding your starter takes maybe five minutes. The learning curve feels steep at first, but most of it is just paying attention. Watch the rise. Smell it. Notice when she peaks on a warm day versus a cool one. The starter will teach you if you let it.
The things I wished someone had told me when I started; don't change the jar every day, don't panic about the drain, control your temperature, know your jar weights... none of them are complicated. They're just not talked about enough.
Janet has been through a lot of feedings at this point, and she just keeps getting stronger. That's the beauty of a well-maintained starter. You put in the small consistent effort, and it compounds over time.
Just like most good things do.
Everything I use for Janet's care is linked in my Amazon Storefront under Sourdough Baking Essentials -- the OXO scale, the Weck jars, her Sourdough Home, and more.
Comments