Before preparing your sourdough bread, you obviously need to make and maintain your sourdough. And it’s precisely during this maintenance phase that you’ll find a lot of divergent advice on the net. But then, while some tips mention the need to discard part of the starter at each feeding and others claim the absolute opposite, you may be wondering which version to trust. BRO, specialized in training professionals in the preparation of sourdough bread, reveals all in this article.

Do you have to discard sourdough starter every time you feed it? Our answer

Although a lot of advice on the net contradicts itself, you may be wondering whether you need to discard your sourdough starter every time you feed it. To clear up this question once and for all, BRO tells you everything!

In reality, it all depends on the use and storage life of your sourdough. If you want to use your sourdough quickly and are only preparing it for baking, you won’t actually need to discard part of it. This is because discarding your starter serves two purposes:

• To free up space in the starter jar and prevent it from becoming too large to work with;
• To prevent the sourdough from developing too high acidity if stored over a long period.

So, if you’re a professional and prepare separate starters for each day of preparation, you won’t need to discard it during feeding. On the contrary, if you work on your sourdough at home over time, you’ll need to discard it regularly.

How often should I feed my starter?

Now that you know whether it’s necessary to discard part of your sourdough starter every time you feed it, you may be wondering how often feeding should be carried out. The answer depends on a number of criteria. Depending on storage temperature, sourdough activity and periods of use, you may need to plan different feeding periods.

Usually, however, it is considered acceptable to refresh the sourdough once a week, when you don’t need it for production. During production, there are often between 1 and 2 refreshments per day.

So, if you were wondering “do you have to discard sourdough starter every time you feed it?”, now you know what BRO, a specialist organization in the field, has to say.

Would you like to train your teams professionally in the preparation of sourdough bread? We can help! Contact us now to discuss your requirements.