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
Auf Deutsch · En français · En español
Sourdough starter feeding ratios
A feeding ratio is the weight of starter to fresh flour to fresh water. 1:1:1 means 20 g starter, 20 g flour, 20 g water. The more fresh food per gram of starter, the longer it takes to peak. In King Arthur's test at about 78°F, a healthy starter fed 1:1:1 peaked in about 4 to 6 hours, 1:2:2 in about 8 and 1:4:4 in about 12; higher ratios take longer still, by an amount that depends on your starter and your kitchen, so time your own and watch the rise.
Bake in the evening, fed in the morning? 1:1:1 or 1:2:2. Fed at night, bake in the morning? 1:5:5 or 1:10:10 in a warm kitchen. The feeding calculator works out the grams.
Ratio and timing
These are typical starting points; your starter, flour and kitchen will shift them. Cooler kitchens stretch every row; a warmer spot shortens it. Watch the jar, not the clock, and adjust the next feed. Feed only a healthy starter: fuzzy mold, pink or orange streaks, or a smell that is not its usual clean, sour one (an alcohol smell is fine) mean throw it out, not feed it. See when to throw a starter out.
| Ratio (starter:flour:water) | Example | When it peaks | Use it for |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1:1:1 | 30 g + 30 g + 30 g | Soonest: about 4 to 6 h | A same-day feed before mixing |
| 1:2:2 | 20 g + 40 g + 40 g | Later | A feed in the morning for an afternoon mix |
| 1:5:5 | 10 g + 50 g + 50 g | Later still | Overnight, ready in the morning |
| 1:10:10 | 5 g + 50 g + 50 g | Longest | A long overnight or a warm kitchen |
Ratio and flavour
Higher ratios dilute the acid in the old starter, so a 1:5:5 starter tastes milder than one fed 1:1:1 and left to over-ripen. If your bread is too sour, feed at a higher ratio and use the starter at its peak; see too sour or too weak.
Building a levain for a recipe
A recipe that asks for 200 g of levain means: take a little starter and feed it enough flour and water to make 200 g plus a bit to keep. For 200 g at 1:2:2 you need 40 g starter, 80 g flour and 80 g water, which makes 200 g; add a few grams to each to keep some back. The calculator does the arithmetic, including the reserve.
Weigh, don't scoop
Starter ratios are by weight. A cup of starter and a cup of flour weigh very different amounts. A scale that reads in 1 g steps makes small feeds like 10 g easy to weigh the same way every time; a 1 g step is the display, not a promise of 1 g accuracy.
Questions bakers ask
What is the best feeding ratio for a sourdough starter?
There is no single best: choose the ratio whose peak time lands when you want to mix. 1:1:1 for a few hours, 1:5:5 for overnight.
Does a higher ratio make a stronger starter?
Regular feeds at higher ratios give the yeast more food and dilute acid, which many bakers find makes a more vigorous, milder starter.
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