Most starter trouble comes from a mismatch between the schedule and the ratio. A starter fed 1 : 1 : 1 twice a day in a warm kitchen spends most of its life long past peak, hungry and acidic; the same starter fed 1 : 10 : 10 at 18°C (64°F) is still rising when the next feed comes. Picking the schedule first and then the ratio fixes both. This guide covers counter routines, fridge routines, coming back from a break and planning a bake day. How much flour and water a single feed needs is covered in how much to feed a sourdough starter; here the focus is when.
The rule behind every schedule
Feed the starter at or shortly after its peak — the moment it has risen fully and the dome is just starting to flatten. Feeding at peak keeps the yeast population strong and the acidity moderate. Feeding long before peak dilutes a starter that has not finished growing; feeding long after it means the yeast has been starving in sour paste for hours.
So the ratio should make the starter peak at roughly 70–90% of the gap between feeds. For a mature white-flour starter at 100% hydration, a useful model is about 4 hours to peak at 1 : 1 : 1 and 22°C (72°F), longer as the flour multiple grows, and about twice as long for every 8°C (14°F) cooler. That is an approximation — starters differ — but it is close enough to choose a starting ratio and fine-tune it by watching the jar.
Counter schedules
Twice a day (every 12 hours)
The classic routine for an active starter and frequent baking. At 22°C (72°F) a 1 : 4 : 4 to 1 : 5 : 5 feed peaks in 8–11 hours, just right for a 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. routine. In a cool kitchen around 18°C (64°F) drop to 1 : 2 : 2; in summer at 26°C (79°F) go up to 1 : 10 : 10 or more.
Once a day (every 24 hours)
Easier to keep up, but it needs big ratios to stop the starter sitting over-ripe for half the day. At 22°C (72°F) even 1 : 15 : 15 peaks in about 13 hours, so most once-a-day bakers use 1 : 10 : 10 to 1 : 20 : 20 with a tiny seed — 3 g of starter + 45 g flour + 45 g water — and accept a few hours past peak. A stiffer starter (50–60% hydration) or a cooler spot around 18°C (64°F) slows it further and makes once-a-day feeding comfortable.
Three times a day (every 8 hours)
Useful for strengthening a sluggish or newly revived starter. At 22°C, 1 : 1 : 1 to 1 : 2 : 2 fits an 8-hour gap. Two or three days of this usually doubles a weak starter's rise.
Fridge schedules
If you bake once a week or less, keep the starter in the fridge. Cold slows it so much that one feed lasts a week or more.
- Weekly maintenance. Take out a small seed (5–10 g), feed it 1 : 5 : 5, leave it at room temperature for 1–2 hours so fermentation starts, then refrigerate. Discard or bake with the rest of the old starter.
- Before a bake. One or two room-temperature feeds at a ratio that peaks in 6–12 hours wake it up. A starter that doubles within the predicted window is ready to build a levain.
- Stiff for long storage. For gaps of two to four weeks, convert to a stiff starter (about 50–60% hydration) before refrigerating. It ferments more slowly and holds up better. The feeding calculator has a hydration converter for this.
A layer of gray liquid (hooch) on top after a long rest is alcohol and acid, not spoilage. Pour it off for a milder starter or stir it in for a tangier one, then feed as usual. Pink, orange or fuzzy growth is spoilage: throw the starter away.
Coming back from a break
After two or more weeks in the fridge, expect the first feed to be slow. Feed 1 : 2 : 2 and give it as long as it needs to rise — that might be 12 hours. Then switch to your normal ratio for one or two feeds. If the starter still struggles, swap 10–20% of the white flour for whole wheat or rye: whole-grain flour carries more nutrients and microbes and usually speeds things up noticeably. Keeping it warm, around 24–26°C (75–79°F), helps too.
Planning a bake day backwards
The easiest way to time a bake is to start from the moment you want to mix the dough and work back:
- Decide the mix time — say 9 a.m. Saturday.
- Choose the levain build so it peaks then. Fed at 9 p.m. Friday, it has 12 hours; at 22°C a 1 : 5 : 5 build fits, at 18°C a 1 : 3 : 3.
- Make sure the seed is active: feed the starter once on Friday morning, so it is at peak when you build the levain at night.
- Build exactly what the recipe needs plus 10–20 g to keep. The sourdough formula lists the levain weight for your batch.
The same backwards planning works for pizza: a sourdough pizza dough mixed Friday night for a Saturday-evening bake needs a levain ready by Friday evening. The pizza dough calculator suggests how much levain to use for a long cold proof.
A printable schedule
Writing the schedule down is what makes it stick. The starter feeding calculator turns your target amount, ratio, flour blend and room temperature into a table of feed times, grams and expected peaks, which you can print and tape to the cupboard or share as a link. Change the feeds per day and it tells you whether your ratio fits the gap and which ratio would fit better.
Signs the schedule is working
- The starter at least doubles, reliably, within the window you planned.
- It smells yeasty and pleasantly sour, like yogurt or green apple, not like nail-polish remover.
- At peak it is domed and full of bubbles; a spoonful is light and airy.
- Your bread rises in the bulk time the recipe expects at your dough temperature.
If it consistently peaks early, raise the ratio or find a cooler spot; if it peaks late, lower the ratio, use some whole-grain flour or keep it warmer. Small, steady adjustments beat dramatic changes.