I have enjoyed “doing the sourdough thing” several times, and have given away starters dozens of times. When giving them away, I came up with this bit of info to include with the starter.
The ratios should be 1-1-1
So, if you have ½ cup of starter, use ½ cup flour & ½ cup spring water
When feeding, remove the discard, measure out the flour & water, and add to the remaining starter and stir well. It should bubble up over the next few hours. Once it bubbles up, pull out the amount required for your dough.
You are starting with a starter fed per the ratios above. You will need a larger jar to keep it in. I recommend Weck jars – they have a nice wide mouth to get measuring cups in & straight sides are much easier to clean.
The starter has been fed with bread flour (mostly King Arthur) and spring or mineral water 2-3 times per week. My house is rarely above 68 degrees, so it is not as active as it will be in a warmer house – meaning I don’t have to feed it as often as most.
Starters prefer temps around 75 degrees. If it is kept in a location warmer than 73 it will need fed daily.
Prior to feeding, remove the amount you will be adding. This is your “discard”. i.e. If adding 1 cup flour & water, remove 1 cup of discard. There are several great recipes that call for sourdough discard so you don’t have to waste it. Sourdough pancakes are very tasty!
Prior to baking bread, you will need to feed the starter. Most recipes will guide you on how long prior it needs fed.
Some great websites for guidance:
https://www.theclevercarrot.com/sourdough-baking/
(She has also published a recipe book, but most of it is on the website) Very approachable to those who know nothing about bread baking – many aren’t.
SO MUCH info on starters & sourdough in general. Fairly approachable, with lots of step by step guides and a weekly newsletter.
https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/learn/guides/sourdough
They have some great recipes & guides as well, with customer interaction on the blog.
There are SO many recipe books and blogs out there. Take some time to read and figure out what works for you. Every baker is different, and has different tastes.
One thing I have noticed over the years – and especially after 2020 – people try really hard to make sourdough appear difficult. It isn’t, unless you make it be difficult.
People have been making sourdough bread for centuries. They didn’t always have the dutch oven to put inside the oven, they didn’t have the proofing ovens, they didn’t have all of the gadgets we now have – and that many will tell you are “VITAL” to making sourdough. They aren’t vital. They are nice to have, if that’s how you want to make sourdough… but it doesn’t have to be hard.
Honestly, you don’t even have to feed it very often! You can keep a Tablespoon or so in the jar & put it back into the fridge until you want to use it again, pull it out a day before, feed it the amount you will need for your recipe, and put a tablespoon worth back into the fridge when you’re done.
Don’t overcomplicate it. Just enjoy doing it.