What type of flour should I feed my starter with?
Different sites recommend different flours for the feeding of my established starter, so I suspect it depends on the purpose, but I can't find a definitive answer. Should I be using the flour I plan to bake with next? Will mixing and matching make a difference? Do certain types produce more activity? Better flavor?
Best Answer
Once my starter was established (started with organic whole wheat flour) I've been feeding it with unbleached AP flour (King Arthur) and that's worked fine. I do this simply because it's the flour I buy in large quantities to stock my pantry, and so it's generally the cheapest flour I have on hand.
If you want to "switch over" to a different flour you can always scoop out a bit of starter a couple days before you bake, and feed it with the different flour. Start with a small amount so you don't have to throw any away; just double the volume with each feeding. I don't usually bother, though.
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Quick Answer about "What type of flour should I feed my starter with?"
Technically, any grain-based flour works for making a sourdough starter. Flours made from rice, rye, spelt, einkorn and wheat all work. However, bread flour works the best and yields the most reliable starter. Even if you raise your starter on bread flour, you can still make bread with other types of flour.What kind of flour is best for sourdough starter?
Any flour containing starch is suitable for a sourdough starter, since it is the sugar that the microbes feed on. Glutenous flours, such as spelt, einkorn, rye, and wheat, tend to work best.Can I feed my sourdough starter different flours?
Yes, you can feed your sourdough starter different flours. The sourdough starter's organisms are looking for a food source, and that is starch. Starch is in all the grains, so any will do. Our friend Katie from Kitchen Stewardship even feeds her starter with leftover oatmeal.Does it matter what flour I feed my starter?
Whole grain flours tend to contain more organisms to feed the yeasts and bacteria. Switching from whole grain flour to white flour may cause a decline in the health of the starter. Rye flour, in particular, is very well-suited as food for sourdough starters.Can I feed my starter with plain flour?
Whole wheat flour is used to jumpstart the fermentation process. If you do not have whole wheat flour, just use all purpose flour instead. The starter will be fine.What's the best type of flour to feed a sourdough starter?
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Answer 2
I agree with Adam. Keep the mother alive with the 'cheapest' flour available. The yeast needs carbon hydrates. It doesn't matter much what flour you use to give it to them. Your other question, about flavor depends much more on your bread formula, bread flour, than on your mother or sourdough starter.
Answer 3
Whole grain rye flour is best. Because rye is better than wheat, and hole grain is better than ordinary flour. You get a better starter culture faster that way. So it is a good idea to start up with rye, even if you plan to use it for wheat bread later.
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