Sourdough Starter Feeding Schedule: Counter, Fridge & 9-to-5

There’s no single correct sourdough starter feeding schedule. There’s a schedule that suits your kitchen temperature, how often you bake, and when you’re actually home. Once you understand two levers, where the starter lives (counter or fridge) and the feeding ratio, you can build a routine around your week instead of rearranging your week around a jar.

The short version

• Baking several times a week? Keep the starter on the counter and feed it every 12–24 hours.
• Baking once a week or less? Keep it in the fridge and feed it once a week.
• Need the peak at a particular time? Change the ratio. Bigger ratios (1:5:5, 1:10:10) push the peak later; 1:1:1 brings it sooner.

Counter or fridge: which schedule fits you?

	Counter (room temperature)	Fridge
Feeding frequency	Every 12–24 hours	About once a week
Best for	Frequent bakers, strengthening a young starter	Weekend or occasional bakers
Ready to bake	Any time it’s at peak	After 1–3 room-temperature feeds
Discard produced	More	Much less
Flavor	Milder when fed often	Tangier, especially when fed less often

Many bakers switch between the two: counter during a busy baking week or a holiday, fridge the rest of the time. A starter handles that change fine. It just needs a feed or two to find its rhythm again.

Feeding ratios explained: 1:1:1 vs 1:5:5 vs 1:10:10

A ratio like 1:5:5 means one part starter to five parts flour and five parts water, by weight. Some examples:

Ratio	Starter	Flour	Water	Total
1:1:1	50 g	50 g	50 g	150 g
1:2:2	30 g	60 g	60 g	150 g
1:5:5	20 g	100 g	100 g	220 g
1:10:10	10 g	100 g	100 g	210 g

How the ratio shifts peak time

The more fresh flour and water you add relative to the starter, the more food there is and the more diluted the yeast and bacteria are. It takes them longer to multiply and fill the jar with gas, so the peak comes later and the starter stays active for longer before collapsing. Bigger ratios also make the starter less acidic, so it tastes milder.

Rough time to peak for an established 100% hydration starter (equal weights of flour and water; the hydration calculator explains the math), mostly white flour. Treat these as starting points and adjust to what yours does:

Ratio	~21°C (70°F)	~24°C (75°F)	~27°C (80°F)
1:1:1	4½–6½ h	3½–5 h	2½–4 h
1:2:2	5–8 h	4–6 h	3½–5 h
1:5:5	8–11½ h	6–9½ h	5–7½ h
1:10:10	11–17 h	9½–14½ h	7½–11½ h

Other temperatures are on the sourdough temperature chart, and the rise forecast works out today’s peak time from the weather where you are.

Whole wheat and rye flours feed a starter faster, so a starter with a good share of them may peak sooner than these ranges. If you’re not sure how to read the peak itself, see how to tell when your sourdough starter is ready.

The starter feeding calculator turns any ratio and target amount into grams, so you don’t have to do the division at 7am.

Counter schedules

Twice a day at 1:1:1 or 1:2:2

The classic routine: feed around 08:00 and 20:00. At 21–24°C (70–75°F), a 1:1:1 feed peaks in the afternoon or late evening, which is easy to watch. It’s the best way to strengthen a young or sluggish starter, and the most demanding: two feeds a day and plenty of discard.

Once a day at 1:5:5 or 1:10:10

With a bigger ratio, one feed can last a full day without the starter spending most of it collapsed. At around 21°C, 1:10:10 fed at 07:00 before work often peaks in the evening. In a warm summer kitchen, 1:10:10 keeps the starter from peaking at lunchtime and sitting hungry all afternoon.

A starter that sits a few hours past its peak before the next feed is fine. What weakens it is spending most of every day hungry and acidic, or being fed repeatedly before it has had time to rise.

Fridge schedules

Weekly maintenance

1. Take the starter out and discard all but 10–20 g.
2. Feed it, for example at 1:5:5.
3. Leave it at room temperature for 1–2 hours, until you see the first signs of activity.
4. Put the lid on (not airtight is fine) and return it to the fridge.

That’s it, once a week. A little hooch (grey liquid) on top after a week or two is normal. Pour it off for a milder starter or stir it in for a tangier one.

Getting a fridge starter ready to bake

A starter straight from the fridge is cold and usually past its peak. Wake it up first:

• In the fridge about a week: one or two feeds at room temperature.
• Two to four weeks: two or three feeds over a day or two, until it rises predictably again.
• Longer than that: keep feeding every 12 hours in a warm spot. It may take several days.

Sample schedules for a 9-to-5 week

All three assume a kitchen around 21–24°C (70–75°F). If yours is cooler or warmer, move the times accordingly, or let the sourdough schedule calculator work the timeline back from your bake time at your temperature.

Schedule A: the weekend baker (fridge)

When	What to do
Sunday to Thursday	Starter sleeps in the fridge. Nothing to do.
Friday 07:00	Take it out, keep 20 g, feed 1:5:5 (20 g / 100 g / 100 g). Leave it on the counter.
Friday ~19:00	It should be at or near peak. Build your levain at 1:5:5 for an overnight rise. Feed the rest, leave it out 1–2 hours, then return it to the fridge.
Saturday 08:00–09:00	Levain at peak: mix the dough. Bulk ferment during the day.
Saturday afternoon or evening	Shape and put the dough in the fridge overnight.
Sunday morning	Bake straight from the fridge.

The levain build calculator works out the exact levain amounts for your recipe.

Schedule B: the weeknight loaf (fridge + cold proof)

When	What to do
Tuesday 07:00	Starter out of the fridge, feed 1:5:5 before work.
Tuesday 18:00	Near peak: mix the dough. Bulk ferment through the evening, with a few sets of folds while you cook dinner.
Tuesday 22:00–23:00	Shape and refrigerate.
Wednesday 18:00	Bake straight from the fridge after work.

The long cold proof, often 12–48 hours, is what makes sourdough fit around a job. If the starter has been in the fridge more than a week, give it an extra feed the evening before.

Schedule C: the daily counter keeper

When	What to do
Every day 07:00	Discard, feed 1:10:10 (for example 10 g / 100 g / 100 g).
Evening	Starter peaks. On a bake day, use it now.
Night	It rests past peak until the morning feed, which is fine.

On a bake day, if you want the peak earlier, switch that morning’s feed to 1:5:5 or 1:2:2.

Going on vacation

• Up to two weeks: feed it, leave it out for an hour, and put it in the fridge. It will be fine.
• Two to four weeks: same approach. Expect hooch and a sharp smell when you get back, then give it two or three feeds.
• A month or more: most starters survive longer, but to be safe, keep a dried backup. Spread a thin layer of active starter on baking paper, let it dry completely at room temperature, break it into flakes, and store them airtight somewhere cool and dark. To revive it, soak the flakes in water, then feed daily until it’s active again, which can take several days.

How to keep less starter (and make less discard)

The fastest way to cut waste is to keep a smaller starter. There’s no reason to maintain 300 g if a recipe needs 100 g of levain. Keep 10–20 g of starter and feed it at 1:5:5, and each feed gives you 110–220 g. When a recipe calls for more, build it up the day before. For the discard you do have, here are 15 sourdough discard recipes.

How Boulie helps

Boulie keeps track of this for you on iOS. Tell it whether your starter lives on the counter or in the fridge, and its reminders follow that mode: daily for counter starters, weekly for fridge starters, sent when the starter actually needs a feed. Each feed you log with its ratio, flour and kitchen temperature feeds a prediction engine that learns your starter’s rhythm and shows when it should peak next, which makes planning schedules like the ones above much easier.

Key takeaways

• Counter: feed every 12–24 hours. Fridge: about once a week.
• Ratio is your scheduling tool. 1:1:1 peaks soonest; 1:5:5 and 1:10:10 push the peak later.
• Temperature moves everything. Recheck your timings when the seasons change.
• Fridge starters need one to three feeds at room temperature before a bake.
• Keep it small to make feeding cheap and discard minimal.