Yes, you can overfeed your sourdough starter. Audrey explains: “Every time you add more flour and water, you are depleting the existing population of natural bacteria and yeast.” If you keep adding more and more, eventually you'll dilute the starter so much that you'll just have flour and water.
Sourdough bread's benefits range from reducing the risk of heart disorders to promoting nutrient absorption. It has a low glycemic index and is a good bread option for those watching their after-meal blood sugar spikes. However, overindulging in it may lead to gas and bloating due to its fermented nature.
3 oz of starter is all you need to keep between baking sessions. As I said in my original post explaining How to Feed and Maintain a Sourdough Starter, there are a million ways to feed, maintain and use a sourdough starter.
Be sure your starter has a chance to ripen (develop) fully before it receives another feeding; before you use it in a recipe, or before refrigerating it. An ideal feeding regimen for a starter kept at room temperature (in the low 70s) is two feedings a day at 12-hour intervals.
You will need to 'feed' it every day (at the same time, if possible). A sourdough starter stored at room temperature and fed everyday will have a milder flavour than one kept in the fridge and fed once a week.
Room-temperature starter should be fed every 12 hours (twice a day) using the standard maintenance feeding procedure: discard all but 113g, and feed that 113g starter with 113g each water and flour.
Feed exactly the same way as the second feeding. Continue feeding your starter every 12–24 hours until it doubles in volume every 8–12 hours, has a pleasant, yeasty smell, and passes the float test (see note). Once it passes the float test, your starter is ready to be baked with!
FEED ROOM TEMPERATURE SOURDOUGH STARTER DAILY
If you bake frequently, maintain your sourdough starter at room temperature and feed 2-3 times daily, as described above. Most starters generally require feeding every 8-12 hours, depending on the temperature in the culturing area.
The very short answer is, your sourdough starter generally will be at its peak anything between 4 and 12 hours after feeding. The optimum time to use it will be when there are lots of bubbles at its surface and it has has physically risen to its peak level, just before deflating back down again.
Can I Use My Sourdough Starter Right After Feeding? It's not a good idea to use a sourdough starter right after feeding. Ideally you should wait at least 2-4 hours.
Discarding some first allows you to add this fresh food, whilst maintaining your starter at a manageable size. Not discarding your starter will also affect the flavor of your starter. Not discarding before you feed will cause too much acidity which may eventually be detrimental to your microbes.
A mature sourdough starter can last for several weeks to months if kept in a refrigerator without being fed.
The optimum point to use a sourdough starter is when it has risen to its highest point. Otherwise known as the peak, the highest point of the rise should be reached 3-4 hours after being fed. Cooler temperatures and less vibrant starters can mean that they will take longer (up to 14 hours) to reach their summit.
Sourdough bread contains lactic acid, which can help reduce inflammation in the body. Chronic inflammation can lead to a variety of health problems, including heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. Adding sourdough bread to your diet can help reduce inflammation and promote overall health.
Yes, sourdough contains the gut-friendly lactobacillus bacteria, but the high heat of baking destroys these probiotics. So, unless you'd like to eat the raw dough, sourdough is not a probiotic food. However, it does have some digestive benefits.
A starter stored in the fridge can be fed once a week. If you plan to use it often, you can store it for up to two months without feeding. When you want to use the starter again, remove it from the fridge for a few hours, then feed it every 12 hours for 36 hours before you make bread with it. Need a really long break?
If you do not plan to bake with the starter on the day it is fed, refrigerate 3-4 hours after feeding. Feed refrigerated starter weekly. If you go longer than a week without feeding, you may want to give the starter two feedings before using.
Feed the remaining 1/2 cup (113g) starter as usual, with equal parts (113g each) flour and water. Mix until smooth and let the starter rest for about 2 hours at room temperature before stowing it back in the refrigerator.
If at one point your starter was all bubbly and happy, and now it's not rising anymore, it's possible that it needs a few extra feedings to boost the yeast development. Assuming you understand how temperature and ingredients can effect the rise of your starter, try feeding it 2x per day and see what happens.
Generally a starter can stay at room temperature without feeding for a maximum of 3 days. After that you will need to give the starter few feedings before you can use it again. This is because it will become less strong and it will need time and food to become strong again.
Maintaining A Sourdough Starter:
Leaving it out on the counter, it will need to be fed equal parts water and flour every 12-24 hours. Warmer homes or frequent baking will require more frequent feeding (around every 12 hours), while colder homes every 24 hours.
LIQUID: If you see any liquid at the top of your starter, it means your starter is hungry. So, yes it's still alive which is a good thing! You can stir the liquid in, or pour the liquid out, either way, but feed it. This is a sign that you may need to feed it more often.
The rule of any kitchen is “When in doubt, throw it out,” but I wouldn't panic and toss your starter if you only missed 1-3 days of feeding. If it's more than 3 days AND you have a warm kitchen, you'll have to make the call based on how well you know your starter.
If your bread had a good rise and is still holding gas but got sticky while shaping, then it may be overworked. All bread dough requires a very gentle touch at this stage. If you break the gluten strands at the shaping stage by overworking the dough it will get sticky, flatten out in a blob, and won't look smooth.