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The Oven Spring

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Keeping a sourdough starter in the fridge

If you bake once a week or less, keep the starter in the fridge. Feed it, leave it out for an hour or two to get going, then refrigerate. Feed it once a week. Before baking, take it out and give it one or two feeds at room temperature until it doubles reliably again.

Store: feed, rest 1 to 2 hours at room temperature, then fridge. Weekly: discard to 20 to 50 g and feed. To bake: one or two warm feeds, use at peak.

Feeding calculator →Reviving a neglected starter →Check your starter step by step →

Putting it in the fridge

A stiffer feed ferments more slowly, but how long a starter lasts in the fridge depends more on the temperature and how long it goes between feeds than on its hydration; see stiff vs liquid.

  1. Discard down to 20 to 50 g.
  2. Feed it 1:1:1 or a little stiffer (more flour) so it ferments more slowly.
  3. Leave it at room temperature for 1 to 2 hours until you see a few bubbles.
  4. Put the lid on loosely and refrigerate.

The weekly feed

Once a week, take it out, pour off or stir in any liquid on top (hooch), discard all but 20 to 50 g, feed, rest for an hour and put it back. Missing a week or two is rarely fatal; it will need an extra feed or two to recover. 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 instead: see when to throw a starter out.

Waking it up to bake

Take it out the day before you mix. Feed it 1:1:1 and let it rise at 75 to 78°F; if it doubles within about 6 to 8 hours, it is ready to build a levain. If it is slow, feed it again. The timeline planner counts back from your bake.

Why the fridge works

At about 38°F (3°C) the yeast and bacteria work very slowly, so a week's food lasts a week. The acid still builds, which is why a fridge starter tastes sharper and needs a feed or two to get its rising power back.

Questions bakers ask

How long can a starter stay in the fridge without feeding?

A week is routine; two to three weeks usually recovers with a few feeds. Longer gaps can work but need more patience. Whatever the gap, throw it out if it has fuzzy mold, pink or orange streaks, or a smell that is not its usual sour or alcohol smell.

Can I bake straight from the fridge?

Some bakers do with a strong starter, but the dough will be slower. One room-temperature feed first is more reliable.

Equipment for this job

Keep what you own when it does the job. These are the other exact models we profile.

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