Starter care

Now that your starter is awake, it’s ready to grow and become your baking buddy for life. With a little care, your sourdough starter will stay strong, active, and ready to bake delicious loaves, pizza dough, and more.

Once you're ready to bake, dont forget to check out the DMG Calculator

Feeding Your Starter: The Basics

Once your starter is active (bubbly and rising), you’ll need to feed it daily (if kept at room temperature) or once a week (if stored in the fridge).

Show your starter some love; feeding keeps the wild yeast and bacteria balanced, healthy, and ready to ferment.

Wheat starters: feed it with quality, high-protein baker’s flour. If you don’t have high-protein baker’s flour on hand, Dough My God suggests either Lighthouse Bread and Pizza Flour or Laucke Wallaby Bakers Flour, available at Coles, Woolworths, or IGA. This will get you out of a spot of trouble and honestly works. But if you want to really take your bake up a notch, go for the stronger flour 💪.

Rye starters: Stick with wholegrain rye flour to keep your culture strong and happy. Rye ferments more quickly than wheat, so don’t be surprised if your starter looks extra lively after a feed.

Daily Feed (Room Temperature)

If you bake often, keep your starter on the bench and feed it every 24 hours.

  1. Discard about half of the starter (reserve this for discard recipes).
  2. Feed with equal weights of starter, flour, and water (e.g., 50 g starter + 50 g flour + 50 g water for a 1:1:1 ratio).
  3. Mix until the consistency of smooth peanut butter, cover loosely, and let ferment at room temperature.

Weekly Feed (Fridge Storage)

If you're not baking often, keep the starter in the fridge.

  1. Take it out once a week.
  2. Let it come to room temperature.
  3. Discard half and feed as usual (equal parts starter, flour, water).
  4. Let it sit out for a few hours after feeding until bubbly.
  5. Return to the fridge for storage.

Ideal Conditions

  • Keep your starter in a warm spot (24–27 °C) when fermenting.
  • Avoid direct sunlight or areas with strong temperature fluctuations.
  • Use filtered water where possible.

Tools That Help

  • Mason jar or glass container (easy to clean and see bubbles).
  • Digital scale (for accurate feeding ratios).
  • Spoon or spatula for mixing.
  • Rubber band to track the rise after feeding.

When Is It Ready to Bake?

Your starter is ready to bake when:

  • It has doubled in size 4–6 hours after feeding.
  • It’s bubbly and smells pleasantly sour.
  • A small spoonful floats in water (the float test).

Quick Tips

  • Keep a backup starter in the freezer.
  • Always use clean utensils to avoid contamination.
  • If you see “hooch” (dark liquid) on top, stir it back in or pour it off, then feed.
  • If your starter smells foul (like rotten eggs or mold), discard and start fresh with your backup.

💡 Pro Tip: Your starter will get better with time. Many bakers say a starter hits its peak strength around weeks 2–3, so don’t worry if early bakes are a little slow or flat — it’s all part of the journey!

Always keep a small backup in the freezer that can be revived - it's the yeast you can do to prevent a starter disaster!