13/10/2026
Busy week? Full-time job? Little ones running the show? You can still bake sourdough. It just needs a bit of planning, and I’ll show you how.
Keep your starter in the fridge and feed it once a week. No daily feeding, no guilt.
The night before you bake, take it out and mix 40g starter, 80g water and 80g flour in a clean jar. Hot night? Use 30g starter and 90g each of water and flour. Less starter takes longer to rise, so it’s still lively in the morning instead of rising and collapsing while you sleep. This makes about 200g, so you have enough for your loaf and some to put back in the fridge.
In the morning, you can use it even when it starts to fall, not when it’s sky high. It’s still full of life, a bit calmer, and it gets stuck into the new flour. You also get a much bigger window to catch it.
Folds take about 30 seconds each. Do them when the kettle boils, while dinner cooks or at bath time.
A Saturday loaf looks like this: feed your starter Friday night, mix on Saturday morning, do your folds through the day, shape after lunch, then pop it in the fridge. Sunday morning, bake it with a cup of tea in your hand.
Backup plan: spread a thin layer of active starter on baking paper, let it dry until crisp, crinkle it into a jar and keep it in the cupboard. It has no expiry date. Keep some jars in the fridge, one at the very back where it’s coldest, and one in the freezer. I froze mine by accident once. Two feeds, two days in a row, and it came back.
Did a class with me and your starter has given up? Message me. I’ll send you some of mine for free. Life happens, and one loaf every two weeks still counts. 🌾
