Someone Gave Me A Sourdough Starter ... Now What?

So, someone handed you a jar of sourdough starter and now you're wondering what on earth to do with it? First of all, welcome! You’re now part of a wonderfully slow, satisfying, and delicious way to bake bread (and so much more).

In this post, I’ll walk you through exactly what you need to get started, how to care for your new starter, and where to go when you're ready to bake your first loaf of sourdough bread.

The best thing about being given a mature sourdough starter is that you don't need to wait for it to be ready, you can bake with it straight away! If you've been given some dried sourdough starter, you'll need to read these instructions to activate your dried sourdough starter.

A mason jar filled with sourdough starter that has risen all the way to the top of the jar and is about to over flow. The jar is sitting on a marble board. There is a blue dish towel behind the jar.

What Is Sourdough Starter?

Sourdough starter is a living culture made of flour and water, full of wild yeast and beneficial bacteria. When fed regularly, it becomes bubbly, active, and ready to leaven bread naturally, no commercial yeast required! If you want to dig in deeper, you might also like to learn about the science behind sourdough.

What Equipment Do You Need to Care for a Starter?

You don’t need a lot to get started, just a few kitchen basics:

A clean jar with a lid - I recommend a glass jar with a plastic lid. You'll find my recommendations for the best sourdough starter jar here.
Digital kitchen scale - makes feeding so much easier and more accurate. You can read more about why weighing sourdough ingredients is best here.
Spatula - A jar spatula, or alternatively a butter knife is a good option, just be careful when using it with a glass jar as it can break the bottom of the jar. You can find a list of my favorite sourdough equipment here.
Flour - you can start with all purpose flour, whole wheat, or a mix.
Water - filtered or dechlorinated is best, especially if your tap water is heavily treated (you can read about the best water for sourdough here).

How to Feed Your Sourdough Starter

Your starter needs regular meals of flour and water to stay active and healthy. The timing and frequency of feeding depends on whether you keep it on the counter or in the fridge. You might also want to familiarise yourself with sourdough starter ratios.

Feeding on the Counter (Daily)

If you want to keep your starter at room temperature and bake regularly (every day or two), feed it once a day:

Basic feeding ratio (1:1:1):

50g starter
50g flour
50g water

Discard all but about 50g of your starter, then feed with equal weights of flour and water. Mix well, cover, and leave on the counter. I've also written a comprehensive guide to feeding your sourdough starter.

You’ll know your sourdough starter is ready to bake with when it’s doubled in size, bubbly, and smells pleasantly tangy.

Kate from The Pantry Mama in the kitchen feeding her sourdough starter at the kitchen counter. She is using a kitchen scale to measure water from a jug into a mason jar. There is a jar of flour on the counter in front of her.

Storing In The Fridge

If you don’t plan to bake every day, your starter can live in the fridge. Here's how:

Feed it as above (50g starter, 50g flour, 50g water)
Place the lid on
Put into the fridge and leave it there (don't allow it to rise on the counter first).

When you’re ready to bake, take it out, feed it, and let it become active before using it in a recipe. You'll find this guide to storing sourdough starter in the fridge helpful in answering questions about how long it can stay in the fridge and ensuring it's ready when you want to bake.

What Type of Flour Should I Use?

Most starters thrive on unbleached plain/all-purpose flour, but you can also use bread flour, whole wheat, or a mix. If the person who gave you the starter used a specific flour, it’s a good idea to continue with that until it’s well-established in your care, but you can feed your sourdough starter different flour.

How to Know If Your Starter Is Healthy

A happy, active sourdough starter will:

Rise and fall predictably after each feeding
Smell yeasty or slightly tangy (not rotten or foul)
Be bubbly and airy when active

If it separates with a layer of liquid (called “hooch”), just stir it in or pour it off and give your starter a fresh feeding.

Ready to Bake? Start Here!

Once your starter is doubling in size within 4–6 hours of feeding, it’s ready to bake with!

You can also use sourdough discard in all kinds of fun and tasty ways like pancakes, muffins, cookies, and more. You'll find a tonne of sourdough discard recipes here. Because you've been given a mature sourdough starter, you can use your discard right away!

Tips to Keep in Mind

Your starter is very forgiving so don’t stress! If you miss a feeding or it looks sleepy, just feed it again and it’ll usually bounce back.
Keep a bit of starter “unfed” as backup in the fridge or dehydrate some sourdough starter to make sure you never lose it completely.
Label your starter jar with feeding times or notes if you’re new to the process.

Someone gifted you a sourdough starter - what to do next - Pinterest Image

You're Going To Love Baking Sourdough!

Getting gifted a sourdough starter is like being handed a tiny piece of a living tradition, and now you get to carry it on. With a little care and curiosity, you'll soon be baking fresh, crusty sourdough bread right in your own kitchen.

Have more questions? Drop them in the comments below and I'll be sure to come back and answer them.