Kitchen

[traveler]

I made sourdough starter and left it on counter covered with cheesecloth. It was bubbly and after 2 days I put it in fridge. Now the bubbles are gone. Did I just kill it?

[debic]

No, you just take it out when you're ready to use it, and then feed the leftover, let set and then refrigerate again. People who use it a lot never refrigerate at all.

[traveler]

I just fed it by adding flour and water. Now it's on counter warming up. Am I looking for bubbles again? So it can set on counter with no fridge?

[debic]

On 7/20/2014 traveler said:

I just fed it by adding flour and water. Now it's on counter warming up. Am I looking for bubbles again? So it can set on counter with no fridge?

There's a lot of different opinions on how to do that. I used to feed it, let it set for a couple days (yes it will bubble again) then either use it or refrigerate it. If I didn't use it I would take out what I wanted the next time and then feed it again and let it set for another couple days. I just never used it enough to leave out all the time. If you do that you have to feed it at least once a week from what I remember. I need to do another start, I was gone for six months and let it go bad.

[ennui1]

Sourdough starter is like having a pet. You need to take care of it. It's best to use some and feed it again weekly. Most people use some every weekend (pancakes, for example). I never put mine in the fridge; I actually kept it on top of the fridge, for warmth, but I did live at that time in a very cold climate.

[Annabellethecat66]

What is this and how does it work? Thanks.

[debic]

I used a dry package starter before, but this site has a lot of information. I may try it this way. There are recipes here also.

http://sourdoughhome.com/index.php

[oceantown]

In October of 2009 I bought fresh sourdough starter from a restaurant. They told me they originally bought their sourdough starter from King Arthur flour. I have been feeding and maintaining that same starter for all this time, almost 5 years.

A few months ago I decided to freeze some of the starter, just in case I had an accident such as dropping the bowl, etc. I plan to freeze another small batch of starter in a few months, and I will just throw away the old frozen starter. I will probably never use the frozen starter, but I would feel so bad if my starter was ruined and I did not have a back-up.

I learned a lot from the King Arthur Flour website.

I usually feed my starter weekly. I feed it, let it sit on the kitchen counter loosely covered about 4 hours, stir down and use part in my bread recipe and put the rest in a clean ceramic bowl, loosely cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate. I use only unbleached all-purpose flour and bottled water for feeding starter. I microwave the water until it is about 100 degrees.

I recommend the King Arthur Flour website for recipes and instructions for maintaining sourdough starter.

After feeding, as it sits on the kitchen counter loosely covered it bubbles. After stirring and refrigerating the starter, it will not bubble like that while it is cold.

[cajun3mama]

On 7/20/2014 oceantown said:

In October of 2009 I bought fresh sourdough starter from a restaurant. They told me they originally bought their sourdough starter from King Arthur flour. I have been feeding and maintaining that same starter for all this time, almost 5 years.

A few months ago I decided to freeze some of the starter, just in case I had an accident such as dropping the bowl, etc. I plan to freeze another small batch of starter in a few months, and I will just throw away the old frozen starter. I will probably never use the frozen starter, but I would feel so bad if my starter was ruined and I did not have a back-up.

I learned a lot from the King Arthur Flour website.

I usually feed my starter weekly. I feed it, let it sit on the kitchen counter loosely covered about 4 hours, stir down and use part in my bread recipe and put the rest in a clean ceramic bowl, loosely cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate. I use only unbleached all-purpose flour and bottled water for feeding starter. I microwave the water until it is about 100 degrees.

I recommend the King Arthur Flour website for recipes and instructions for maintaining sourdough starter.

After feeding, as it sits on the kitchen counter loosely covered it bubbles. After stirring and refrigerating the starter, it will not bubble like that while it is cold.

Exactly what I do and I have also frozen some in the event I ever lose mine.

I have had many starters over the years, but the one from KA (http://www.kingarthurflour.com/shop/items/classic-fresh-sourdough-starter-1-oz) is the best I have ever had and I make bread all the time.

I keep mine in one of the square large Lock and Lock containers (Lock&Lock, 88-oz / 11-cup, BPA Free, 100% Water tight, Square Food Storage Container, HPL822B found at amazon) in the refrigerator I take it out, stir it then feed it and let it sit until it starts to bubble. Take out what I need and return it to the refrigerator.