I always see sourdough guides that insist on weekly (or even daily!) feedings. I'm here to tell you that there's another, much easier way.
The Basics
Store your starter in the fridge.
Take it out when you want to use it.
Replace whatever starter you use with equal parts flour and water.
Increase rise times to account for a less active starter.
If you're really impatient, add some yeast for a faster rise.
It's that easy.
A More Detailed Guide
Storage
Keep the starter in the fridge. Take it out right before baking or a few hours before to get it more active.
Feedings
Feeding replaces the starter you removed for baking. My starter is 100% hydration, meaning it has equal-weight water and flour (or volume 1 cup water: 2 cups flour). To feed it:
First, decide how much starter you need to replace. If you used 228g (1 cup) for a recipe, then it’s typically a good idea to replace this much.
Add half the desired amount in water (eg 114g or 1/2 cup water).
Add half the weight in flour (eg 114g or 1 cup flour).
Mix it together.
Let it sit on the counter for 1-2 hours before putting it back in the fridge.
Discard vs Active (Fed) Starter
Recipes typically call for either discard or active (fed) starter. Discard is starter taken straight from the fridge. Active, or fed, starter has been fed recently after taking it out of the fridge. To have a very active starter (doubles in volume in about 6 hours), you may have to do a few feedings.
Typically, I don’t bother with getting my starter very active or even at all. If the starter hasn’t been used in a while, it will take longer to rise, but this increase in rise times helps develop flavor. If you’re really pressed for time, you can always add some yeast for a faster rise.
Substituting with Starter
Starter can replace flour and water in any recipe that calls for them. Since the starter is equal parts flour and water, you replace half of each of those with the amount of starter. For example:
Suppose a recipe calls for 240g (2 cups) flour and 120g (1 cup) water.
Since the starter is equal parts water and flour, the most we can replace is 120g flour and 120g water.
Add to the recipe 240g (1 cup) starter and the remaining 120g (1 cup) flour.
This replacement works well in almost every recipe. Unless your starter is especially sour, it will typically enhance the overall flavor without adding any sour taste.
Conversely, if you want to replace starter in a recipe, divide the amount of starter in half and add that much each of flour and water. Add some yeast as a leavener.
Did I kill it?
Most likely, no. Starter is pretty hard to kill. If you see (and smell) a gray liquid on top, that’s hooch. It’s part of your starter and just needs to be stirred back in. If you see other colors or mold, then you need to throw the starter out. If you don't see any activity after months of not using your starter, give it a micro feeding of 20g flour (whole wheat is especially effective) and 20g water, and it should perk up.
Types of Flour
Good quality flour will help your starter thrive, so go with unbleached flour. If your starter is not as active as you’d like, feeding it whole wheat flour will perk it up faster. I like to make my feedings 1/3 whole wheat flour and 2/3 all-purpose flour to keep it more active.
To make a special kind of starter such as a rye starter, it’s best to take some of the original wheat starter and put it in a new jar before feeding it rye flour.
Recipes
There are countless sourdough recipes on the internet; here are a few of my favorites.
Sourdough pizza crust. Hands down the best pizza crust I have ever made. It's even better if you ferment the dough overnight. https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/recipes/sourdough-pizza-crust-recipe
Sourdough pancakes. A delicious pancake recipe with lots of flavor. https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/recipes/classic-sourdough-waffles-or-pancakes-recipe
Cinnamon rolls. A mouth-watering recipe that's sure to delight. https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/recipes/sourdough-cinnamon-buns-recipe
Granola. Sourdough helps form clumps in this customizable granola recipe. http://www.sandiegofoodstuff.com/2019/01/sourdough-oats-and-nuts-granola.html
Focaccia. A light and airy bread with olive oil on top. https://topwithcinnamon.com/sourdough-focaccia/
Of course, my own site has a whole collection of sourdough recipes here: https://biochromaticbread.wixsite.com/biochromatic-bread/all-recipes/categories/sourdough.
For anyone starting out with sourdough, I recommend starting with my do-nothing sourdough bread: https://biochromaticbread.wixsite.com/biochromatic-bread/post/do-nothing-sourdough-bread.
This is very helpful. Now all I need is a starter.