
GLUTEN-FREE STARTER MAINTENANCE
Once your starter is active, you don’t need to feed it daily unless you’re baking regularly.
If you’re not using it often, daily feeding will just waste flour and leave you with lots of excess starter.
There are two simple ways to keep your starter healthy:
1. Baking regularly via starter builds
A starter build is used when you don’t have enough starter for your bread recipe. Most recipes include instructions for this at the beginning to make sure you have enough fresh, active starter to bake with—and still have some left over to keep it going.
For example, gluten-free sourdough recipe includes a starter build step to ensure there’s plenty of active starter for the mix.
2. Maintenance feeds
If you’re not baking, gluten-free starters should be kept in the fridge and given a maintenance feed every 1–2 weeks. This keeps the starter healthy and prevents it from becoming overly sour—or, in rare cases, mouldy.
To reduce waste, keep these feeds small, using a 1:1:1 ratio of starter, flour, and water (equal parts by weight).
Example of a maintenance feed:
15g of starter
15g flour
15g water
Combine everything and mix well. Let it develop, once large pea-size bubbles appear, store back in the fridge in an air-tight container.
Maintaining a healthy & active starter means that you will produce delicious bread every time. It also means your starter will grow more predictably which will allow you to better plan when your bread will be ready. You only need to keep as little as 1 tablespoon of starter to continue feeding & keep for your next bake.
Storing Your Starter in the Fridge
You can store your starter in the fridge, but don’t leave it unfed for more than 2 weeks. After that, there's a risk of mould or harmful bacteria developing.
Maintenance Feed:
We recommend feeding it at least once every fortnight to keep it healthy.
Dormant Mode:
When chilled, your starter goes into “dormant mode.” It’s still alive, but it will take longer to become active again after feeding—this is normal, so be patient!
Storage Tips:
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Use a sterilised, airtight container
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Feed it before storing
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Always check for signs of mould or bad smells before use
Keep a feeding schedule to avoid issues and make sure your starter is always ready to bake when you are!
When Using from Fridge
Take your starter from the fridge & let it come to room temperature. Then complete a starter build as per the recipe.