Any sourdough aficionados?

[Livingonjuice]

I've previously made one loaf but either didn't have enough levain left or fed it incorrectly and killed it so have got more starter and trying again tonight.
My doner gave me a big tub of starter and I used maybe half today making a loaf - I've kept some levain and will feed that z(is that my new starter) but can I also use the rest of what she gave me? Mix it in or keep them separate?
I've also got another different starter I was given. Tried to feed that today with equal pats Flour and water but no bubbles visible yet. Have I killed it? 😭.
I think I have it right that your remaining levain makes your new starter right? But I'm going off friends' notes and never done a course myself and googled myself into a rabbit hole of info ! If anyone has simple advice for a simple girl I'd be v grateful! Thank you 😊

I have a starter that I began at the start of the pandemic. I used a recipe on the BBC Food site. So it was originally Flour water, and yogurt. I keep it in the fridge in a Tupperware container with loose lid.

Nowadays (but not at first) I aways make a pre-ferment too. In the morning, 50-60 g of strong flour in a bowl, a bout a tablespoon and a half of starter, and warm water to make a thick batter. Saucepan lid on top, then that on radiator (or sunny windowsill in summer). 4 hours or so later, 250g of strong flour in a large bowl, add bubbly pre-ferment, and more water to to make wet dough that looks like cold porridge! If you zero your scales before putting the flour in, it's around 600g total (flour, pre-ferment, and water). Stretch and fold, don't knead!

Put in greased bowl and put inside plastic supermarket bag in warm place for 3 to 4 hours. Stretch and fold again, adding salt, and form into ball. I wrap in a tea towel dredged with flour, leave again.

Levain and starter are basically the same thing. Take a tablespoon or so of the left over levain and feed with equal weight flour and water. Any remaining levain/ starter put in a separate pot labelled ‘trash’. Every time you feed your starter discard all but a tablespoon or so into the trash pot. And repeat for ever. If you want a break from feeding your starter put it in the fridge. Otherwise you need to feed it every day.

The trash or discard you can use for all sorts of fun things like pancakes or crackers or adding depth of flavour to certain types of cakes. Plenty of ideas online. Or follow Martha de Lacey on Instagram as she’s got some amazing trash recipes.

Is it necessary to discard any starter?? I've always found this really confusing. Can I not just e.g. use half and then keep feeding the other half?

If you keep a lot of starter you end up with a huge amount very quickly. I feed mine (equal weight of water flour and starter) a couple of times before baking over 2-3 days... But leave it in the fridge unfed for months in between. If I didn't discard most of it I would have 100g at the start... Bulking to 300g on the first feed. The next feed would be 300g starter plus 300g water and 300 g of flour. 3rd day it finishes at 2.7kg..... all to use 45g per 600g of flour because it is really vigorous. By only using 80- 100g of starter it saves loads of flour.

I've never thrown away anything in three years. I make a sourdough usually about every three days. I feed the starter after I've taken how much I use out with a small amount of flour and water to bring it back to where it was before, and put in back in the fridge. No need to feed it every day.

Scrap everything and follow Foodbod Sourdough on her website. Brilliant, very easy, hardly any waste and very little starter required for loaves. Sourdough bread making doesn’t have to be complicated I’ve found!

Obv if you only do it occasionally you'll have to throw some away. Or use it for something else.