How To: Maintain a Sourdough Starter

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How to Bake Sourdough Bread: Fermentation, Starters & Recipes

Published 2025

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When the Starter reaches a consistent activity level, it’s called a Culture. With proper care are routine feedings, your Sourdough Starter can be sustained indefinitely.

To sustain the Starter, a baker uses a 3-step system.

A. Divide It ...

A1 Reserve ⅓ of the Starter...

Before any dough mixing is begun on a given production day, a small portion of the fermented Starter is removed from its original container. It’s put aside in a safe place. This can be a separate area of the bakeshop or sometimes back in the refrigerator, if the ambient temperature of the bakeshop is higher than 75°F.