Clean jar
A clean glass jar or container with room for your starter to rise.
Starter Care
Sourdough Starter Care & Feeding Guide
A happy starter makes delicious bread. Here is the simple Maui Wild Crust routine for feeding, storing, reviving, and knowing when your starter is ready.
The quick answer
Feed 1:2:2 by weight: 25g starter + 50g flour + 50g warm water.
Mix until smooth, like thick pancake batter. Cover loosely, let it sit at room temperature, and use it when it has doubled, looks bubbly, and smells tangy, yeasty, or fruity.
Living Maui starter
Born here from flour, water, warm island air, and time.
Our starter is a local, living culture shaped by our kitchen, our ingredients, and our island environment. It is cared for here in our Maui kitchen and fed regularly for healthy, flavorful bakes.
What you'll need
Gather these before you feed.
Kitchen scale
A scale gives the most consistent feeding ratio.
Unbleached flour
Use unbleached flour so your starter has good food.
Clean warm water
Use clean reverse osmosis filtered water, warm but not hot.
Spoon or spatula
Mix until smooth, like thick pancake batter.
Rubber band
Mark the starting height so you can see when it doubles.
Basic feeding
How to feed your sourdough starter.
This is the simple feeding rhythm from the care card: 1:2:2 by weight, or 25g starter, 50g unbleached flour, and 50g warm clean water.
-
01
Keep 25g starter
Start with 25g active starter in a clean jar.
-
02
Add 50g flour
Feed it with 50g unbleached flour.
-
03
Add 50g warm water
Add 50g clean reverse osmosis filtered water. Warm is good; hot can damage your starter.
-
04
Mix and cover loosely
Mix until smooth, like thick pancake batter. Cover loosely so gas can escape while it rises.
-
05
Let it rise
Let it sit at room temperature. A healthy starter should double in about 4-5 hours.
-
06
Use when ready
Bake when it has doubled, looks bubbly, and smells tangy, yeasty, or fruity.
Ready to bake
Look for the happy starter signs.
Your starter should double in about 4-5 hours. It is ready when it has doubled, looks bubbly, and smells tangy, yeasty, or fruity.
Doubled
The starter rises to about twice its starting height.
Bubbly
You can see bubbles through the sides and across the top.
Smells alive
Tangy, yeasty, fruity, or lightly sour smells are normal.
Not ready to bake?
Give it a fridge nap.
After feeding, you can place your starter in the refrigerator right away in an airtight container. For short-term storage, keep it in the fridge for up to about one week. The fridge slows the starter down so it does not need to be fed every day.
After refrigeration
Wake it up before baking.
- 1. Take starter out of the fridge and let it warm up a bit at room temperature.
- 2. Discard some, leaving 25g starter.
- 3. Feed with 50g flour and 50g warm clean water.
- 4. Mix well, cover loosely, and let it sit at room temperature until doubled, bubbly, and active.
Discard explained
What does sourdough discard mean?
Discard means removing some starter before feeding. This keeps the feeding ratio balanced and prevents your starter from growing too large. Do not waste it: use discard in pancakes, waffles, muffins, crackers, pizza dough, and more.
Simple routine
Counter rhythm or fridge rhythm?
Frequent bakers
Keep your starter on the counter and feed it regularly so it stays active and ready.
Occasional bakers
Keep your starter in the fridge and feed it about once a week for short-term storage.
Before baking
Feed your starter and wait until it doubles before using it in dough.
Starter health guide
Normal, watch, or start fresh?
Warm, not hot
Warm water helps wake your starter. Hot water can damage it.
Use unbleached flour
Unbleached flour feeds a starter more reliably than bleached flour.
Keep it cozy
A warm spot is helpful, but avoid direct hot sun.
Small sour smells are normal
Tangy, fruity, sour, or yeasty smells usually mean your starter is doing its thing.
Gray liquid is hooch
Gray liquid can be poured off or stirred in before feeding.
Mold means start fresh
Fuzzy mold or pink/orange colors mean it is safest to throw it away and start fresh.
Decision helper
What should I do now?
Tap the situation that matches your jar.
Feeding calculator
Scale the same ratio.
The guide uses 25g starter, but the pattern is simple: 1:2:2 by weight, or twice as much flour and twice as much water as the starter you keep.
Add flour
g
Add water
g
Save this card
Starter Care Quick Reference
Feed
25g + 50g + 50g
Cover
Loosely
Ready
Doubled & bubbly
Fridge
Up to 1 week
Fuzzy mold or pink/orange colors mean it is safest to throw it away and start fresh.
Need starter or bread?
Bring home living Maui starter.
Maui Wild Crust sells living Maui starter cared for in our kitchen and fed regularly for healthy, flavorful bakes. If your starter is waking up slowly, you can also order fresh sourdough from our Pukalani bakehouse.
Questions
Frequently Asked Questions About Sourdough Starter Care
How do I feed sourdough starter?
Keep 25g active starter, then feed it with 50g unbleached flour and 50g warm clean water. Mix until smooth, cover loosely, and let it rise at room temperature.
How do I know when my sourdough starter is ready?
It is ready when it has doubled, looks bubbly, and smells tangy, yeasty, or fruity. A healthy starter often doubles in about 4-5 hours after feeding.
Should I seal my starter jar tightly?
No. Cover it loosely while it rises so gas can escape. A tight seal can build pressure in the jar.
What should I do with starter if I am not ready to bake?
After feeding, you can place your starter in the refrigerator right away in an airtight container for short-term storage, up to about one week.
How do I feed starter after refrigeration?
Take it out of the fridge, let it warm a bit, discard some leaving 25g starter, then feed with 50g flour and 50g warm clean water. Cover loosely and let it sit at room temperature until doubled, bubbly, and active.
What does sourdough discard mean?
Discard means removing some starter before feeding. This keeps the feeding ratio balanced and prevents your starter from growing too large. You can use discard in pancakes, waffles, muffins, crackers, pizza dough, and more.
Is gray liquid on sourdough starter bad?
Gray liquid is usually hooch. You can pour it off or stir it in before feeding.
When should I throw away sourdough starter?
If you see fuzzy mold or pink/orange colors, it is safest to throw it away and start fresh.
Where can I get sourdough starter on Maui?
Maui Wild Crust sells living Maui starter cared for in our kitchen and fed regularly for healthy, flavorful bakes.