It had been several months, and I was ready to feed my starter again. There are a few steps I like to do before the feeding process to ensure an active starter. There are plenty of ways to feed, but it all depends on where you live and how often you are baking with it. I have found that this method works for my starter. I also have not named my starter, but for today it will be Yodough (my son’s birthday is Star Wars day).
**Disclaimer** Hooch is not mold or a sign that your sourdough starter is bad/needs to be thrown away. It just means your starter is hungry and needs to be fed. If the starter includes pink/orange tint mold, please throw away!
I usually keep about 50g of starter in a pint jar when it’s hibernating (not in use) in the fridge, but my 1 month postpartum self put it back with well over that amount and without cleaning the inside wall. I started Yodough from scratch and it’s about 18 months old, so I knew I can bring it back to life with patience and proper feedings.
Knowing that it’s been awhile since Yodough’s last feeding, the layer of hooch indicated how hungry it is, I wanted the first feeding to be filled with nutrients. I like to think of it as a bear coming out of hibernation. Whether it’s weeks or months, their bodies are in a depleted state, and their digestive systems need time to get going. They don’t typically eat a big meal. It’s usually grasses and early spring greens that are soft, easily digestible plants. Then later comes the berries, fish, and other small prey. If I overloaded Yodough with All Purpose Flour or Bread Flour, it wouldn’t get the nutrients it needs to rise again. No rise does not mean the starter is dead. I didn’t have any Whole Wheat Flour on hand (although I did think about milling some). I found some Wheat Bran and Gluten Free Flour in my pantry. Yodough is not a gluten free starter, but I was more interested in the flours used to create the blend–in particular, Sorghum Flour. This is a powerhouse of a whole grain. I’m all for experimenting and trying something new, so combining the Wheat Bran with the Gluten Free Flour (with Sorghum) is the perfect nutrient dense blend that Yodough needed as an energy boost.
Steps:
- Took Yodough out of the fridge and set it on the counter until room temperature. I poured off the hooch. You can stir it in, but mine had a lot and I wanted to start fresh.
2. Poured Yodough into a clean jar measuring with a scale to 160g. Normally I would do a smaller amount, but I had a few recipes in mind and needed a quick bulk.
3. I always like to do a 1:1:1 feeding, but this was going to be a rough estimate since my main goal was providing nutrients and not needing a rise. I fed Yodough about 60g bran, 80g flour, and close to 180g warm filtered water. The bran immediately changed the consistency–it was so thick. I thoroughly stirred it, placed it on the window sill where it was warm, and waited. 7:30pm.
4. There’s bubbles! Yodough really enjoyed that bran. The experiment worked! I did a rough feeding with All Purpose Flour and water (I discarded and estimated measurements). I was getting Yodough ready for the true feeding. 8am.
5. Yodough rose just barely over the marker. This time will be a true feeding. I poured 150g into a clean jar and measured equal parts All Purpose Flour and warm filtered water. 3:30pm
6. Yodough doubled in size and was ready to be used in recipes! 7pm
I used Yodough to make chocolate chip cookies and a sourdough chocolate cake for my husband’s birthday. I’ll have more details on this in an upcoming post, Baking with Sourdough.
Gathered and Growing 
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