Advice/troubleshooting revived frozen Alaska strain

vjansing
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Hi-Last year I received a wonderful dried starter from Alaska. I found that I was getting too busy to maintain and bake during the summer so I froze it. Anyway, last week I took it out and have been working to revive it with daily feedings using a 50/50 regular flour& rye mix. I'm getting bubbling and a tangy smell but not seeing any bona fide expansion. Am I expecting too much too soon?

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vjansing 2014 December 13
I just wanted to add after reading the beginner's blog that it is winter here and the house hadn't been over 68°f in several days.
farinam's picture
farinam 2014 December 22

Hello vjansing,

It's been a while since this was posted so you might be back in full swing by this.

Lower temperature will certainly slow things down but not stop them entirely.  Obviously then if you have a warmer spot in the house the rate will pick up and you could try using your oven with the light turned on (if you have that sort of luxury) as a temporary warm spot.

Otherwise, just press on and even if you don't revive your alaskan starter you will have generated one of your very own and be able to make great bread with it.

In my thinking, any starter very soon becomes 'local' as the yeasts and bacteria on the flour used replace those in the original.

Good luck with your projects.

Farinam

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