A comprehensive guide to understanding, feeding, and storing your starter

Name: Sourdough Starter
Brand: Mont Royal Bagels
Price: 7.0 USD
Availability: InStock

⚖️ The Flexible Golden Rule: Custom Feeding Ratios

Instead of sticking to a fixed amount, think of your starter as an adjustable ratio: 1 part starter culture : X parts water : X parts flour.

By changing the amount of fresh food (flour and water) relative to the old starter, you control its fermentation clock. Here is a link to a simple breakdown of the most common and realistic ratios used by bakers:

🔄 The Step-by-Step Feeding Process

You do not need to wash your jar every single time (fyi - we do😉), but using a clean kitchen scale ensures accuracy.

Tare Your Scale: Place your jar on the scale and zero it out.
Discard: Remove and discard the majority of your starter, leaving behind just your base amount (e.g., 50 grams) in the jar. Never skip discarding; otherwise, your starter volume will grow exponentially and become overly acidic.
Add Water: Pour in your room-temperature water (chlorine-free is best) and stir well to break up and dilute the starter.
Add Flour: Add your unbleached flour and mix vigorously until all dry clumps disappear. The texture should feel thick, like a paste or heavy pancake batter.
Cover Loosely: Scrape down the sides of the jar and cover it loosely with a lid or jar ring to let gas escape. Mark the starting line with a rubber band to track its growth.

🗓️ Choosing Your Maintenance Schedule

How often you feed your starter depends entirely on how often you plan to bake.

Option A: The Daily Routine (For frequent bakers)

Where it lives: On the kitchen counter at room temperature (ideally 70°F–78°F).
Frequency: Feed it once every 24 hours at roughly the same time.
Baking Readiness: It will typically peak (double or triple in size and become highly bubbly) 4 to 8 hours after a feeding, which is when it's ready to mix into dough.

Option B: The Fridge Routine (For casual or weekend bakers)

Where it lives: Inside the refrigerator. The cold temperature slows fermentation down significantly.
Frequency: Feed it once a week.
Baking Readiness: When you want to bake, pull it out 1 to 2 days ahead of time and give it 2 regular room-temperature feedings to wake the yeast back up and rebuild its strength.

🍪 What to Do with "Discard"?

The portion you remove during feedings doesn't have to go to waste. You can collect it in a separate "discard jar" kept in the fridge. Because it is already acidic and full of flavor, it makes an incredible addition to non-yeasted recipes like pancakes, waffles, cookies, crackers, and English muffin batters.

Note: Never pour raw, thick discard straight down your sink drain without diluting it heavily with cold water, as it can dry out and clog your plumbing like cement.

🕵️ Troubleshooting & Signs of Health

The "Hooch" (Clear/Dark Liquid): If a layer of liquid forms on top of your starter, don't panic. This is just an alcohol byproduct called "hooch." It means your starter is hungry and has run out of food. Simply drain it off or stir it back in, then perform a normal feeding.
When is it ready to bake? A healthy, mature starter will reliably double or triple in volume, feature a slightly domed top surface, and be filled with tiny bubbles throughout the jar.

For a clear, visual walkthrough on the exact texture your starter should look like when fed and how to track its rise, watch this maintenance demonstration: