Where To Keep Your Sourdough Starter
The Temp Controls Where You Keep Your Starter
The warmer the temperature, the faster the starter ferments. At 70-80°F, the yeast and bacteria metabolize rapidly, causing the starter to rise and peak quickly – sometimes in just 8-12 hours. When the starter has reached its peak, that means it’s eaten most of its food source and is now going to slide back down as it runs out of food. To get it back to active his requires feeding the starter at least once a day, if not every 8-12 hours to keep it healthy.
On the other hand, storing the starter in the fridge at 40°F dramatically slows down fermentation. The cold temperature puts the yeast and bacteria into a dormant state, so the starter only needs feeding every 5-7 days.
The cool, controlled fridge environment allows for a very hands-off approach. The tradeoff is that the starter takes longer, 12-24 hours, to reactivate before baking.So in summary, the warmer the temperature, the faster the fermentation – requiring more frequent feedings. The cooler the temperature, the slower the fermentation, allowing for much less maintenance.
Understanding this temperature-fermentation relationship is key to keeping your sourdough starter happy and healthy, no matter where you decide to store it.
The Fridge vs. Room Temp
Where you choose to keep your starter can have a profound impact on its health, activity level, and the ease of your baking routine. Let’s explore the two primary storage options – the refrigerator and room temperature – to help you decide what’s best for your baking lifestyle.
The Fridge: Slow-Motion for Your Starter
Many experienced sourdough bakers sing the praises of the refrigerator as the ideal home for their starter. And they’re not wrong – the fridge can be a great storage option, especially for those with busy lifestyles. However, it’s important to understand that the refrigerator is NOT a pause or stop button. It doesn’t put the starter into a state of complete hibernation or dormancy.
Rather, the cool 36-40°F (4°C) temperature of the fridge acts more like a “slow motion” button, dramatically slowing down the starter’s fermentation and metabolic processes. At these chilly temperatures, the yeast and bacteria that make up the starter go into a sluggish, lethargic state. They continue to feed and reproduce, just at a fraction of the pace they would at warmer room temperatures.
This allows bakers to get away with feeding a refrigerated starter just once a week, or even once every 5-7 days, rather than the daily feedings required for a counter-top starter. When it’s time to bake, simply remove the starter from the fridge a few days ahead of time and give it 1-2 feedings to wake it up and get it roaring back to life.
If you store your starter in the fridge at 40°F or below, the cooler temps essentially put the starter into a state of hibernation, dramatically reducing its need for frequent feedings. This makes the fridge an ideal storage location, especially if you’re an occasional sourdough baker who doesn’t bake bread multiple times per week, or if you don’t feel like doing a daily feeding schedule. The infrequent feedings required for a refrigerated starter make it much more hands-off and convenient to maintain.
Just be sure to take your starter out of the fridge and feed it at least once or twice before you use it to bake sourdough bread, to reactivate it and get it bubbling again. But the fridge is truly a baker’s best friend when it comes to sourdough starter storage and care.
Pros of Cold Storage:
Cons of Cold Storage:
Room Temp: Faster, More Frequent Feedings
On the other hand, if you’re a frequent sourdough baker – say, baking once or twice a week – keeping your starter at room temperature may be the better choice. Ambient kitchen temperatures, usually around 70-75°F (21-24°C), will maintain your starter in a continuously active state.
At warmer room temps, the starter’s yeast and bacteria will ferment and consume their food (flour and water) at a much quicker rate. This means you’ll need to feed it more often, typically once or even twice per day, to keep it healthy, bubbly, and ready to use.
The upside is that a room temperature starter is always primed and ready to go when inspiration strikes. You won’t have to wait days to reactivate it from the fridge. The downside is the increased maintenance, with more frequent feedings to keep up with its speedy metabolism.
The beauty of it all, is that IF you miss a feeding –let’s say you forgot to do it and now it’s the next day or 2 days later that you are remembering, all you need to do is feed it again or put it in the fridge and feed it later. For starters that are left out on the counter that aren’t fed consistently, I like to discard heavily and feed at higher ratios to maintain a pleasant and neutral flavor.
Pros of Room Temp Storage:
Cons of Room Temp Storage:
Choosing the Right Storage Method for You
So, which storage option is the best fit for your sourdough baking lifestyle? It really comes down to your personal schedule and needs.
If you’re an occasional or infrequent sourdough baker, the refrigerator’s “slow motion” effect on your starter is likely the way to go. The reduced feeding requirements will save you time and effort, while still keeping your starter alive and ready for when you need it.
But if you bake multiple times per week, maintaining a room temperature starter may be preferable. The increased activity and faster fermentation will have your starter primed and ready to use at a moment’s notice, albeit with the trade-off of more frequent feedings.
Experiment with both approaches and see what works best for you. Your starter will adapt to its environment, so don’t be afraid to try different storage methods. With a little trial and error, you’ll discover the perfect home for your sourdough sidekick.
What do I do?
I usually keep my starter out at room temp and when I eventually miss a feeding because of my busy life, or just plain forgetfulness, then I just discard heavily and feed it again.
If I ever feel like life is too crazy and hectic to squeeze in any kind of bread baking, then I just put my starter in my fridge indefinitely, until I feel like baking again. At which point, I take it out, discard heavily and feed again.
Wherever you decide to stash your starter, remember to give it plenty of love and attention. After all, a happy, healthy starter is the foundation for truly magnificent sourdough bread.
Feeding Your Starter Around Your Busy Life
Here are several scenarios for feeding a sourdough starter (these are not the only ways to feed a starter, I am just giving you examples on how flexible you can be). Pick the one that is most like you and your schedule
Overnight Feedings
You could try feeding your starter right before bed, around 10-11pm.
By feeding it just before bed, the starter can work through the night while you sleep (on the counter, at room temp). In the morning, it should be nice and active, ready for you to either use it for baking or give it another feeding.
This allows you to fit in a starter feeding without having to worry about it during your busy workday evenings.
Weekend Feedings
Another option would be to put your starter in the fridge for the entire workweek, only feeding it on the weekends when you have more time.
On Friday evening or Saturday morning, you can discard most of the old starter and give it a fresh feeding. This will reinvigorate the culture and have it ready for any weekend baking projects.
Then you can put it back in the fridge for the following workweek and take it out and feed it again on Fri night or Sat morning.
Occasional Feedings
As a final option, you could take an even more hands-off approach and only feed your starter only when you know you’re going to bake.
In this scenario, we are going to keep the starter in the fridge indefinitely. When you want to make dough, take the starter out and feed it 1-3x to get it fully active again.
Use the starter for your recipe and feed any remaining starter in your jar, then put it back in the fridge.
If at any point you feel overwhelmed or too busy, you can always put your starter in the fridge. Next time you want to make bread, simply take in out and feed it again. When it reaches its peak, use it to make bread and feed the starter that’s leftover in your jar. Then put it back in your fridge.
This hands-off approach works great for bakers who don’t need a constant supply of active starter.
This would allow you to essentially forget about the starter in the fridge, then give it a thorough refresh (feed once or twice before using to make sourdough bread) when you have more availability.
Recap
The key takeaway is that there’s flexibility in how you feed a sourdough starter, as long as you keep it alive and wake it up before your next bake. Adjust the frequency as needed to fit your baking schedule and lifestyle.
The two main options are:
Room Temp Storage
Keeping your starter at a typical room temperature of 65-75°F allows you to have an active, rapidly fermenting culture. However, this also requires more frequent feedings, typically every 8-12 hours in warmer 70-75°F conditions, or every 12-18 hours in the 65-70°F range.
The advantage of room temperature storage is that your starter is always ready to use, with a quick activation time. The disadvantage is the need for very consistent, hands-on feedings to keep it healthy.
Refrigerator Storage
Storing your sourdough starter in the refrigerator at around 36°F dramatically slows down the fermentation. In the cold fridge, your starter may only need feeding every 5-7 days.
The advantage of fridge storage is the extremely low-maintenance required. You can essentially forget about the starter for days or even a week at a time. The downside is that it takes longer, 12-24 hours, to reactivate the starter before you can use it for baking.
Ultimately, the best storage option comes down to your personal baking schedule and availability. If you have the time and ability to tend to a rapidly fermenting starter with very frequent feedings, room temperature is a great choice.
But for those with busier lifestyles and less time to devote to starter maintenance, the hands-off approach of refrigerator storage may be the more practical solution. The slower fermentation allows the flexibility to fit sourdough baking into your schedule, rather than having to adjust your schedule around the starter.
Understanding the relationship between temperature, fermentation speed, and feeding frequency is the key to keeping your sourdough starter healthy, active, and ready to produce delicious homemade bread.