Preparing Your Sourdough Starter for Bread Making

You must make sure that the starter is bubbly and active before making bread with it. If the starter is flat (in the “discard” stage), the yeast is not active and will not rise well in bread.

How to get your starter to peak activity, and how to know when it’s ready:

1. Feed your starter consistently every 24 hours for a few days before baking bread with it. 

2. Always feed at least an amount equal to the starter you have on hand. This means that if you have about 1/3 cup of starter, stir in at least 1/3 cup of water and 1/3 cup of unbleached flour per feeding. (Remember to discard excess starter, if you do not want to throw it out, you can always make a wonderful discard recipe).

3. Check on your starter 4-6 hours after feeding. Mine is the most active after about 4 hours. Make sure you see a lot of bubbles.