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Sourdough Starter Tips 3 (CONTINUED) Storing Your Starter: "Once your sourdough pet is cold and relatively dormant, it can survive quite a long time between "feedings." It is certainly not as demanding as children, or more traditional pets, but it isn't happy just sitting for months on end like a packet of commercially dried yeast either." "Freezing: You may be able to ignore your starter for a month or even much longer, but if you know you're going to be away for a time, you can store it (unlike children or pets) in the freezer. You may want to transfer it to a plastic container first as it will expand as it freezes. When you are ready to use it again, give it a day to revive, feed it a good meal, give it another day to build up an armada of fresh, new wild siblings and it will be ready to go to work." "Drying: An alternative storage method is to dry your starter by spreading it out on a piece of heavy plastic wrap or waxed paper. Once it's dry, crumble it up and put it in an airtight container. Store it some place cool, or, to be safe, in the freezer. To reactivate the dried starter, grind it into small particles with a hand cranked grinder, a blender or a food processor. Pour 1 to 1 1/2 cups of warm water (what feels comfortable on your wrist) into a glass or ceramic bowl. Stir in and dissolve a tablespoon of sugar or honey. This isn't necessary but it gives the yeast an easy "first course." Blend in an equal amount of flour and dried starter. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and watch for small telltale bubbles which should begin to appear on the surface within a few hours. Once you see them you'll know it's alive and well. Let it continue to feed and grow for a further 12 hours before you cover and refrigerate it." How to Remove Some Starter for Baking: "With a spoon or wire whisk, blend the liquid back into the starter and then measure out the quantity required by your recipe. Replace the amount taken with equal amounts of flour and water. Since many recipes are based on using 1 cup of starter, you would return to your starter pot, 1 cup of flour and 1 cup of water. (This actually makes 1 1/3 cups more starter but you can adjust the amount whenever you want.) As you did when you first fed your starter, let it sit at room temperature for at least 12 hours to give the yeast a chance to "feed" and multiply before you chill it again." |
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