Drawn to its outside size
For temperature control around a starter jar
Brod & Taylor Sourdough HomeA small heating-and-cooling chamber for a jar, rather than a full dough bowl.
41 to 122°F, heats and cools8 × 10 in outside
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Changing the flour you feed your starter
A starter can live on almost any wheat or rye flour. Whole wheat and rye make it faster and tangier; white bread or all-purpose flour makes it milder and easier to read. To change, feed the new flour for two or three feeds in a row; expect it to rise faster or slower for a day while it adjusts.
Faster, tangier: rye or whole wheat, or some of either in the feed (10 to 20% is our starting point). Milder, easier to see the rise: white bread or all-purpose flour. Switching: two or three feeds with the new flour at the same ratio.
What each flour does
Whole grain feeds absorb more water, so a 100% hydration rye starter looks thick. Read the rise by the bubbles and dome rather than height alone. More on the grains in rye flour and whole wheat flour.
| Flour | Speed | Flavour | Texture in the jar |
|---|---|---|---|
| White bread or all-purpose | Steady | Mild, lactic | Smooth, easy to read the rise |
| Some whole wheat or rye in the feed (our starting point: 10 to 20%) | A little faster | Fuller | Slightly thicker |
| Whole wheat | Faster | Nutty, tangier | Thicker, absorbs more water |
| Rye | Fastest | Earthy, sour | Paste-like; rises less visibly |
Changing over
Keep the same ratio and switch the flour for two or three feeds. The first feed may peak sooner (to whole grain) or later (to white). Once it doubles reliably again, it has adjusted. The bread recipe does not change, because the levain weight stays the same. King Arthur notes that a starter fed another flour will probably look different, thicker or thinner and another colour; fuzzy mold, pink or orange streaks, or a smell that is not its usual clean, sour one still mean throw it out (when to throw a starter out).
Keeping two starters
Some bakers keep a rye starter for rye breads and a white one for everything else. You do not need two: build a rye levain from a white starter the night before a rye bake, with the feeding calculator.
Questions bakers ask
Can I feed my starter all-purpose flour?
Yes. Unbleached all-purpose works well; add a little whole grain if it becomes sluggish.
Does a rye starter make bread taste of rye?
Only slightly: the levain is a small part of the dough. It adds tang and depth more than rye flavour.
Equipment for this job
Keep what you own when it does the job. These are the other exact models we profile.
Drawn to its outside size
OXO Good Grips 11 lb Stainless Steel Food Scale
For seeing the display past a wide bowl
OXO Good Grips 11 lb Stainless Steel Food ScaleA pull-out display helps keep the reading visible under larger containers.
11 lb (5.0 kg), reads in 1 g steps