I came across your quick and slow/overnight builds just recently from an earlier blog post. This was a game changer. I typically only have 30 grams or so of starter because Iām an infrequent baker. So my way of building took a LOT longer. Your way is so much better. Thank you!
This is so timely for me. My starter has been a little less strong these past few weeks, I've done the process for a few days to revive it but I like having some great options from this post!
One thing I would appreciate you covering is long-term starter storage. I'm going to be away from home for over a month later this year and am not sure of the best way to "preserve" my starter. I will probably feed it just before I leave and put it in the fridge, but I'd like to have a back-up in case that goes wrong. I know lots of people keep a frozen starter as a back-up, but I'm not sure of the best way to freeze it - let it mature, then freeze? feed and freeze right away? cover with plastic wrap before freezing? I've even heard of people smearing some on parchment paper and letting it dry, then freezing as starter "chips".
I used to do the ~6hr build on prebaking days but since I found the almost-no-knead sourdough recipes on here I mostly just use the starter from the fridge (I feed it ~ once a week and use the discard for granola, and just bake whenever I need). It actually worked as well when I was in a hurry a few weeks ago (but for that I put the dough into the oven with a pot of warm water to help it along...)
Rightly or wrongly, I feed my starter with rye flour even if it's going in the fridge (the version with white flour just never turned out that great and doesn't make as nice discard granola lol) :))
Thanks for the refresher, as it were, Andrew! I am familiar with the first two methods you write about, but the āboosterā technique is new to me. Other than rescuing an overripe starter, why would one use that? Does it improve the loaf? Under certain circumstances?
At this point, I have time to bake only rarely (maybe every month or 6 weeks), but I refresh my starter just about every Sunday, and it seems to be pretty solid!
I wish I had this information when I was just starting out, it would have saved me so much frustration! I suffered with an overly acidic starter for months, until I read a random post on someone's blog.
I feed my starter with fresh ground whole wheat flour twice a week, and then do an expansion the day before baking day. Most of my baking is whole grains, so feeding it with the same makes sense to me. It's good to know that for longer storage, white flour would be better. Also, if more feedings equal a more open crumb, I'm all for that. My wheat grinder runs too warm for larger amounts of flour, so I grind it a little on the coarse side, and that makes a more open crumb challanging.
I came across your quick and slow/overnight builds just recently from an earlier blog post. This was a game changer. I typically only have 30 grams or so of starter because Iām an infrequent baker. So my way of building took a LOT longer. Your way is so much better. Thank you!
This is so timely for me. My starter has been a little less strong these past few weeks, I've done the process for a few days to revive it but I like having some great options from this post!
One thing I would appreciate you covering is long-term starter storage. I'm going to be away from home for over a month later this year and am not sure of the best way to "preserve" my starter. I will probably feed it just before I leave and put it in the fridge, but I'd like to have a back-up in case that goes wrong. I know lots of people keep a frozen starter as a back-up, but I'm not sure of the best way to freeze it - let it mature, then freeze? feed and freeze right away? cover with plastic wrap before freezing? I've even heard of people smearing some on parchment paper and letting it dry, then freezing as starter "chips".
I used to do the ~6hr build on prebaking days but since I found the almost-no-knead sourdough recipes on here I mostly just use the starter from the fridge (I feed it ~ once a week and use the discard for granola, and just bake whenever I need). It actually worked as well when I was in a hurry a few weeks ago (but for that I put the dough into the oven with a pot of warm water to help it along...)
Rightly or wrongly, I feed my starter with rye flour even if it's going in the fridge (the version with white flour just never turned out that great and doesn't make as nice discard granola lol) :))
Thanks for the refresher, as it were, Andrew! I am familiar with the first two methods you write about, but the āboosterā technique is new to me. Other than rescuing an overripe starter, why would one use that? Does it improve the loaf? Under certain circumstances?
At this point, I have time to bake only rarely (maybe every month or 6 weeks), but I refresh my starter just about every Sunday, and it seems to be pretty solid!
I wish I had this information when I was just starting out, it would have saved me so much frustration! I suffered with an overly acidic starter for months, until I read a random post on someone's blog.
I feed my starter with fresh ground whole wheat flour twice a week, and then do an expansion the day before baking day. Most of my baking is whole grains, so feeding it with the same makes sense to me. It's good to know that for longer storage, white flour would be better. Also, if more feedings equal a more open crumb, I'm all for that. My wheat grinder runs too warm for larger amounts of flour, so I grind it a little on the coarse side, and that makes a more open crumb challanging.