Sourdough Starter Guide: Feeding, Maintenance and Use for Home Pizza and Bread

The sourdough starter is a living microbial culture — lactic acid bacteria and wild yeasts in dynamic balance. It's not just an alternative to commercial yeast: it changes dough structure, aroma profile, digestibility and the shelf life of the finished product. But it requires understanding, not just following instructions.

This guide approaches the sourdough starter from the home baker's perspective: how to maintain it with minimal effort, how to feed it effectively, how to know when it's ready to use, and how to turn it into concrete doughs for pizza and bread.

Liquid sourdough (licoli) and firm sourdough: practical differences

The starter exists in two main forms, with different fermentation behaviors.

Firm starter (pasta madre): hydration 50% — half as much water as flour. It has a compact structure, ferments more slowly, produces less acidity and a more balanced lactic profile. It's the traditional Italian form, used for large enriched loaves like panettone and colomba and for rustic bread. It is stored wrapped in a cloth or in a covered jar.

Liquid starter (licoli): hydration 100% — equal weights of water and flour. It ferments faster, is easier to manage for beginners, and produces slightly more pronounced acidic notes. Suitable for sheet-pan pizza, breads with wholegrain flours, and for those who want results in shorter timeframes.

For home pizza, both work well: the firm starter gives more structure and more complex aromatic notes; the liquid is more immediate and less demanding.

How to feed (refresh)

Feeding (rinfresco) is the operation of nourishing the starter by adding fresh flour and water and discarding part of the previous starter (the discard). It is necessary to keep the culture active and to prepare it for use.

Standard feed for firm starter:

• 3½ oz (100g) of firm starter (taken from the jar)
• 3½ oz (100g) of type 0 or Manitoba flour (use the same flour consistently for culture stability)
• 1¾ oz (50g) of water at room temperature (hydration 50%)

Mix starter and water, then add the flour and knead briefly until you obtain a smooth ball. Close the jar loosely and leave at room temperature.

Standard feed for licoli (liquid starter):

• 1¾ oz (50g) of liquid starter
• 1¾ oz (50g) of type 0 or Manitoba flour
• 1¾ oz (50g) of water at room temperature

Mix well — licoli is liquid, you don't knead it — cover with plastic wrap and leave at room temperature.

Table: feeding management based on frequency of use

| Frequency of use | Recommended feeding | Where to store | Operational notes | |---|---|---|---| | Weekly | Once a week | Refrigerator | Take out 4–6 hours before use | | 2–3 times a week | Every 2–3 days | Room temperature | Feed after each use | | Daily use | 1–2 times a day | Room temperature | Continuous cycle | | Long pause (>2 weeks) | After... | | |