Sourdough Starter Feeding Ratio Calculators
I’m horrible at math, so I created two sourdough starter calculators. I figured I would make them available here on my blog in case you need them, too!
The first calculator allows you to enter how much starter you need, and you can choose your own feeding ratio.
The second calculator is for those who don’t really know what feeding ratio to use. Just choose when you want your starter to be ready to bake with, and the calculator will suggest the amount of starter, flour, and water to use.
If you want to learn ALL the details about feeding ratios – what they are, what the numbers mean, how you can use them to your advantage – check out this guide: The Ultimate Guide to Sourdough Starter Feeding Ratios
P.S.: I have another calculator to help with baker’s percentages and hydration level if you need it. Find it here: Sourdough Baker’s Percentage & Hydration Level Calculator
Sourdough Starter Feeding Ratio Calculator
Here’s a calculator to help you figure out how much starter, flour, and water to use with your desired feeding ratio:
How to use this calculator:
- In the first box, type how many grams of starter you want to make. This can be any number, based on your recipe.
- In the second through fourth boxes, input the ratio you want to use, like 1 to 1 to 1 (equal parts starter, flour, and water) or another ratio like 1 to 5 to 5 (1 part starter, 5 parts flour, 5 parts water). Experiment with different ratios for different peak windows. A 1:5:5 is my favorite ratio – I do this morning and night!
- Click ‘Calculate’. The calculator will show you exactly how much starter, flour, and water you need in grams to make the total starter amount you entered.
Useful material: Is My Sourdough Starter Ready to Bake With? How I Can Tell
Sourdough Starter Feeding Ratio Calculator (Select Your Timeframe)
If you have no clue what feeding ratio you want, this calculator lets you choose how far in the future you want your start to peak.
If you want your starter to be ready in 7 hours, as an example, select the 6-8 hour option. The calculator automatically picks the right feeding ratio for you and lets you know how much starter, flour, and water to use.
Fine print: this calculator makes assumptions based on averages for a 75°F/24°C home. You may need to adjust up or down based on your lived experience or if your home is warmer or cooler than mine. The strength of your starter will also greatly impact these averages.
The calculations used are as follows: 1:1:1 – 4 to 6 hours, 1:2:2 – 6 to 8 hours, 1:3:3 – 8 to 10 hours, 1:4:4 – 10 to 12 hours, 1:5:5 – 12 to 14 hours, and 1:10:10 – 16 to 24 hours.
Related:
OMG! I’ m having a heck of a time with my starter. I was watching another video on how to strengthen your starter, I fed my little starter little stater 25g,flour15gwater leave it on the table. The video saidvi need to beef it up so I fed it 1:2:2 a couple of days them 1:3:3 a couple of days then 1:5:5. Then I fed it your ratio 30g, starter 150g,four150gwater raised in 12 hrs, bubbly peaked. I mixed up the dough this morning. Did I do it wrong? I have asked many people to answer the question do I have to do all that before I can make the dough?
That’s a lot of beefing up! What’s wrong with it to begin with – is it acidic or sluggish? You didn’t do anything wrong, but if you need to strengthen your starter before using it to make dough, I don’t think you need to do quite so much. I’d just stick to a 1:5:5 ratio, maybe throw in a tiny bit more flour than water. Usually one feeding can perk the starter up enough to feed it again in preparation for baking.
For example:
Friday morning: Feed 3g of starter 15g flour and 15g water. Consider increasing the flour to, say, 18g, just to thicken up the mixture slightly.
Friday night: Feed that jar 150g flour and 150g water.
Saturday morning: Mix your dough