I am going away for an extended overseas holiday (4 weeks). Any suggestions on how to store my starter whilst away? I currently store it in the fridge and feed it at least once a week. Thanks
For a short time you can just leave it in the fridge. If you wanted you could give it a feed just before you go.
I have just returned from three weeks away and hadn't used (read fed) the stock culture at least a week before I left and I am in the process of proving a loaf right now from a perfectly active levain made from an aliquot taken from the stock.
For longer periods (or to be doubly sure) you could freeze some and/or spread some out on baking paper and let it dry and then store the dried material in an airtight container or zip-lock bag. After thawing or rehydration you should have your culture back in no time at all.
Or, you could take it with you. It has been done before.
Or, you could find a friendly baby-sitter to look after it for you. maybe there is a 'culture boarding kennel' nearby.
you can spread the starter on wax paper very thin lit it dry then put in clean glass container when you return just add water flour let sit over night you are back in.
One way to deal with this is to feed at the last moment. Use cool water and use a low hydration. With additional flour and less water too move through, combined with the cool temperature it will take quite awhile for the yeast to work their way through all of the available fuel.
Just as Scotty and Farinam I'd suggest to feed your starter and dry it when it reached top level. Make sure that it is really dry. Otherwise it will produce mold. After this, your dried Starter will need 2-3 feedings within 24-36 hours to get back to normal. Yet it still works way better than frozen starter. In case you'd still like to freeze it,make sure to freeze at -21°C in order to minimise the yeast activity.
I hadn't time to bake after easter and I had so much to do that I completely forgot about my starter. After 5 weeks it was still active (I didn't feed it at all). It works only with a really small container with only very few air in it.
If I were in your place,I'd feed my starter and then do all the three things. Drying, freezing and storing a part in the fridge.
All the best for your little project and have a nice holiday!
I have left my starter unattended for over a month several times with no problems. What i do is very different from the other comenters here though. I always put about 1/2 inch of water on top of my starter in a lose topped container. Ive found that my starter dehydrating in the fridge is my bigest danger over time. I lost it once to that. When i get back to it i just feed it again...and off to the races it goes. Sometimes i pour off the hootch an replace it with fresh water for the first feeding again, but ive also just used the liquid there to get it going again. It all works for me. Also having a dehydrated backup is the best insurance there is.
Hi Frozzen! Thats an interesting method. What kind of starter do you have? Wheat or Rye? And what's its hydration?
When you refresh your starter after such a long time (more than 1 month) in the fridge, how do you bring it back to its old strenght? And how often to you refresh it until it triples its volume again within its usual time span?
Just a small thing to put a smile on everyones face: I'm posting this on 31 August but it says your post is from 1 September. So either the servers provide a wrong date or there is quite a time lag between the two of us.
Good day Eigebroetli! Im in Alaska....might be the diff in dates, depending on where yer at =) As far as my starter goes...well, my program is very loose. As the the hydration, I dont know...I just add water an wheat flour in about equal parts when ever i feed it. I dont measure anything...I just mix it till I like the consistency. The starter itself is a 100 year old+ starter that came from a very succesfull alaskan bakery. And I do try to feed it a couple of times before each use, but sometimes i only feed it once. So I guess im saying i just always make it up as I go, lol. The starter is very robust. That may be how I can get away with being so casual about what im doing.
I've read so many technical ways that people deal with their starters, but have had plenty of luck just using it alot, and getting to know what it likes. But it does make delicious bread!
lol the servers seem to be ahead of us, though. I'm from Switzerland by the way, sorry for my not so perfect English. Wow a more than 100 year old starzer! Mine's not even a teenager yet!
Thankfully my starter doesn't turn bad either. I keep my starter leftovers loosely covered in the fridge. Sometimes I add them to a dough but usually I end up throwing them away after a few weeks. Yet they never turn bad. It's just that I'd have to refresh it too often, until it's back to its usual strength. So the above mentioned methods turned out to best preserve my starter's activity.
Replies
Hello dmkentish,
For a short time you can just leave it in the fridge. If you wanted you could give it a feed just before you go.
I have just returned from three weeks away and hadn't used (read fed) the stock culture at least a week before I left and I am in the process of proving a loaf right now from a perfectly active levain made from an aliquot taken from the stock.
For longer periods (or to be doubly sure) you could freeze some and/or spread some out on baking paper and let it dry and then store the dried material in an airtight container or zip-lock bag. After thawing or rehydration you should have your culture back in no time at all.
Or, you could take it with you. It has been done before.
Or, you could find a friendly baby-sitter to look after it for you. maybe there is a 'culture boarding kennel' nearby.
But, for mine, I would just leave it.
Good luck with your projects and happy holiday.
Farinam
One way to deal with this is to feed at the last moment. Use cool water and use a low hydration. With additional flour and less water too move through, combined with the cool temperature it will take quite awhile for the yeast to work their way through all of the available fuel.
I have left my starter unattended for over a month several times with no problems. What i do is very different from the other comenters here though. I always put about 1/2 inch of water on top of my starter in a lose topped container. Ive found that my starter dehydrating in the fridge is my bigest danger over time. I lost it once to that. When i get back to it i just feed it again...and off to the races it goes. Sometimes i pour off the hootch an replace it with fresh water for the first feeding again, but ive also just used the liquid there to get it going again. It all works for me. Also having a dehydrated backup is the best insurance there is.
Good day Eigebroetli! Im in Alaska....might be the diff in dates, depending on where yer at =) As far as my starter goes...well, my program is very loose. As the the hydration, I dont know...I just add water an wheat flour in about equal parts when ever i feed it. I dont measure anything...I just mix it till I like the consistency. The starter itself is a 100 year old+ starter that came from a very succesfull alaskan bakery. And I do try to feed it a couple of times before each use, but sometimes i only feed it once. So I guess im saying i just always make it up as I go, lol. The starter is very robust. That may be how I can get away with being so casual about what im doing.
I've read so many technical ways that people deal with their starters, but have had plenty of luck just using it alot, and getting to know what it likes. But it does make delicious bread!
Oh, it is still the 31st of August here